Venue Help!

kmh1585

Hi All, 

This is my first time writing so hopefully this is the right board. 

I guess I just want opinions on what you all would pick for a venue. Fiance and I really want an orchard/farm/outdoor wedding. We are down to our last two venues and I'm so torn. The place that we really like is great in pictures and has all the features that we want however the reviews that we've read on The Knot make us a bit concerned. We are going to check it out on Tuesday. 

Namely, the reviews state that the event coordinator there is super disorganized and unprofessional. I'm not too concerned about that part because we have a wedding coordinator of our own so I feel like I'm paying my coordinator to handle all the organization and what not. The concern about this place is that apparently they've had a lot of issues with the neighbors and noise complaints. To the extent that the town has gotten involved and threatened to take away their event license. Next, there were some shady issues with the exclusive bar service they make people use. They lost their liquor license and couples had to scramble to get things sorted before their wedding. The couples had to pay more and there was some debate about how long the farm knew there was an issue before the farm told the couples. Lastly, one bride and groom had some cards/belongings stolen. We're really concerned we're setting ourselves up for headaches. Part of me thinks that's why we're hiring the wedding coordinator though - to manage all that stuff for us so we can enjoy the amazing setting and not worry about that stuff. 

The other place is more of a mansion/garden feel. It's not the rustic setting we originally thought and it's a bit fancier than we really envisioned. The event manager there was super nice and prepared. She also had all the info we needed and we just felt like it would be an effortless and stress-free experience as possible... as much as any wedding can be at least! We would have a beautiful wedding there and we wouldn't go wrong with this place either. It's really gorgeous. 

So, I guess my question is, what do you think? I am leaning towards the mansion/garden place but it's just hard to give up on that original vision we had. Any thoughts or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much in advance

JCbride2015

I wouldn't even consider the farm with those terrible reviews. One bad review, fine. But consistently bad reviews about such major problems? Next. 

CMGragain

I think you should be open to other venues that offer your guests the best experience.  Nobody cares about your wedding "VISION" except you.

chibiyui

That farm sounds like a venue to run from, not too.

Skip it. Go with the mansion, use loose, wildflower arrangements instead of roses and call it a day.

kmh1585

Hi All, 

Thanks for the feedback We're going with the mansion/garden wedding option. I think I just needed to see I wasn't crazy or putting too much stock in reviews if that was ridiculous to do so. I'm super new to the wedding planning thing at this point.  

This was never really about cutting costs and sacrificing guests' comfort for a "vision", by the way. I don't know why I feel the need to clarify but I know how important being a good host is having a wedding. It's also a super big topic on these boards. And rightly so!  I've more than once read these boards and thought, "I can't believe how rude/inconsiderate some people are to their guests!"

But regardless of where we go we've already got the plated dinner, Saturday evening/non-holiday weekend, open bar (or consumption - not sure what makes sense cost-wise yet but point being our guests don't need to bring their wallet to our wedding), and no gap because we'll be having the ceremony and reception at the same place. All of which is factored into the budget and we're more than fine hosting our guests at any location we've looked at thus far. 

My attitude towards planning really is "Would I want to go to my wedding as a guest?", "If I were a guest, would I be comfortable?" and I think the mansion/garden just seemed a little more formal than what I wanted to host. 

Thanks again for helping sort this one out! 

Kerigirl9

You probably feel the need to clarify because some people on these boards are unnecessarily brusque with their responses.