Bella Collina Anyone?

Alisonrv

Anyone have any input on this venue?

Thanks!! :~)

x3Harmony534

I fell in love with this venue from pictures... but their customer service was TERRIBLE. It took over a week to hear a response from them. The price quote I recieved was very high, but we set up an appointment regadless. I emailed asking if anything could be done to lower the price because it was a bit high for our budget. The lady Emailed me saying there MIGHT be something they could do... Well I emailed them back confirming our appointment they day before & she said they had CANCELED it because they thought we were no longer interested because of the price... WHAT?! She said they might be able to work with me and I NEVER said I was no longer interested. Needless to say that was enough to turn me off... I would have been REALLY pissed had I driven the two hours to find they had taken the liberty to cancel our appointment without informing us. On top of that she said she would email me to set up another appointment since she had canceled our first.... but I never heard back.

Alisonrv

Wow, my fiance and I went and saw the place and met with Dana and it was beautiful, but not your typical venue.... they can seat up to about 70 guest but in seperate rooms... we love the look and feel of it but we are still mixed on the fact of having to split our guest in two different rooms and for the fact that the price is SO high..... We don't want a hotel wedding and we are on a very tight budget.... we were thinking Lake Mary Event Center but we just are not sure...... I don't want to stress out so much about the wedding, I want us to be able to enjoy this moment

x3Harmony534

Well at least it sounds like your experience with them was good. We looked at another venue (Dubsdread) where our guests would have to be split, and we just didn't like the idea of having to choose who gets to sit in the front room with us, and who gets ousted to the "back room". lol I decided on Lake Mary Events Center myself since the venue is so beautiul & unique (I also didn't want a generic hotel wedding) I love that they have a large list of caterers and some of them are VERY budget friendly. If you decide to go that route there are a LOT of girls here having their weddings at LMEC so we can help if you have any questions! Good luck!

swtbliss

I went to look at this venue and I LOVED it! I had called and left a message for Dana and she replied with an email the same day. She was also able to meet with me within that same week and seemed nice while she was showing me the venue. Though it is pretty pricey, I'm not crossing it off my list just yet because it *seemed* like she may be willing to work with me? The food & beverage pricing was the thing that had me worried but I asked about customizing a menu. My guest list is around 150 so the indoor clubhouse thing for the reception is out.. because I also don't want my guests to be separated. My idea was to have the ceremony on the lawn, cocktail hour inside, and then dinner outside again in the rotunda looking area that had the fountain in the middle. Right now though.. I am actually leaning towards a Disney wedding.

I have heard mixed reviews of people saying they were willing/not willing to work with your budget and I think that's the biggest issue with this place. So if you are willing and love it, go for it! I've also heard great things abotu LMEC as they are very budget friendly but again.. two totally different venues!

Alisonrv

Hi kpabis! I am still waiting on a cost estimate from Dana.... We are SO in love with Bella Collina but it is on the pricey side.... we are trying to figure out how we could set things up so everyone wasn't so seperated!