Pen Ryn/Belle Voir

crjohnson8

Hello!

I am looking to get married at the Belle Voir/Pen Ryn on 2013. I am looking at end of April/early May. Has anyone had a wedding there during this time? Is the venue decorated nicely and are flowers in bloom at this time there?

Also--is the Belle Voir an affordable venue?

Any reviews you could give would be helpful!

bvanosten

I got married at Belle Voir in August.  I believe their prices start in the $139 range but shaved $45 off the cost of mine so it became more affordable.  Definitely negotiate.

The sales staff was terrible and unresponsive- they claim that your emails get caught in jumk mail (and it happened to other brides too according the various wedding review websites).  It can be very frustrating and you begin to think that they will forget about your wedding altogether.  Every time I called to find out why they didn't respond to me, they would tell me that the salesperson that was supposed to work with me was fired and assign me someone new. 

However, the final two weeks, I worked with Katrina- it I was doing it again, I would demand that she be my salesperson.  She responded to emails quickly and was so nice and helpful.  It all came together beautifully on the day of- very professional and beautiful.   The cocktail hour food is great- I received so many compliments on it (make sure you go with the mashed potato bar).  The entree food is really just wedding food- not great but not the worst thing you'll eat in your life.  The grounds are gorgeous and Belle Voir is well kept.  I received many compliments on the space.

If I had it to do again, I would have it there in a heartbeat, provided that Katrina was the only person I had to talk to.  If I had to work with anyone else, I'd take my business elsewhere- the sales staff is really that bad and disorganized.

boston88

I used Pen Ryn slightly after the time you are looking to get married, so I can't comment on the flowers being in bloom then, although I think I was there at the end of May at one point and the flowers were in bloom then, but I can't remember.

As the previous poster said, and as many others before also noted, once you choose them as your venue, it is very difficult to get in touch with them.  I had slightly more luck because my parents were pushy, but when I would call/email, it took longer to get a reply.  And one of the wedding coordinators who worked there left last year maybe around Dec/Jan 2011? So maybe some of not getting back has improved.

On the actual day of the wedding, our "coordinator" was very helpful.

My biggest problem with them was designing a menu since the chef never seemed to return my emails.  Calling was easier but still a delay in responses.  The main dishes were inconsistent.  The vegetarian dish was very good, but did not include all the things they originally told us would be on the plate.  The beef dish I heard was good.  We ordered the Raspberry Chicken, which sounded really good in principle, but people did not like it.  I wasn't thrilled with taste of the wedding cake, which was included,(and I knew ahead of time I didn't like it much,) but the other desserts, which were also included, I liked a lot.  I was upset that I had asked them to pack our meals for us to go since I wasn't sure we were going to be able to eat at the wedding and they forgot and had 'already thrown out all the food' when I asked.  They did pack up a lot of the desserts which was great because I never got to taste them until after the wedding.  The wedding coordinator left after the cocktail hour, so I couldn't ask her, and the head waitress really couldn't help me if it had been thrown out.  I was upset about it, but I wouldn't let that dissuade someone from choosing the venue, or allow it to ruin the day.

They do have a tasting but a very limited selection of their dishes were actually there, which was disappointing.   I think the only item well represented at the tasting were the cake flavors.  So it helped us to know that the food would be good, but almost none of what we we requested we actually got to taste.  Appetizers were really good, and I had them hold some aside for the wedding party which was good, otherwise, we wouldn't have eaten any.

Then venue was beautiful, and they take care of it well.  I was impressed with how clean it was first thing in the morning knowing that they had 2 weddings there the previous night.  (It wasn't spotless in the morning, a cleaning crew came to finish cleaning up, but it being so clean in the morning showed they they take care of it well.)   I felt they were fairly flexible in working with us and the things we requested, especially since we had a Sunday wedding, which helps in terms of cost and flexibility.  

I liked that they had both a bridal room and a groom's room, and that each suite had 2 rooms.  There are a lot of nice places to take pictures outside, and a few inside, which was also important to me.  I liked the view of the outdoor ceremony at Pen Ryn better since it faces the river.  Belle Voir, I believe can accommodate 350 people, while Pen Ryn can accommodate 250.  

I would probably get married there again since it had what I was looking for--a nice venue inside and outside, with options for good pictures if it rains, a good backup plan in case of rain, pretty grounds, and several things (like the food, cake, chairs, tables, etc.)  included.  I think I had already lowered my expectations of the place in terms of their calling me back based on other's reviews, so I wasn't overly upset when I didn't receive a phone call/email back immediately.  I was also willing to accept that things will go as they will and that if something happened wrong on the day, which it will, as long as I focused on the marriage and didn't let the small things ruin my day, things would be fine. I just kept reminding myself, all I really needed was myself, the groom, the officiant, and someone to have camera, and all would be okay.

You may want to look at the Facebook page and see if you can find people who got married there in April/early May to ask about flowers.

Good luck finding a place that works for you!

bvanosten

Oh, I agree with Boston about the tasting.  Don't bother paying for additional people to come.  We paid for my parents to come but the options have nothing to do with what they will serve you the night of the wedding and I think it was like $50 for them to come.  For example, they just have plain chicken- then a few of the sauces that would be on it so you can mix and match, but the chicken on the menu has ham or some other filling in it so you don't really get a feel for how things will be prepared.

crjohnson8

Is there any specific entree you would recommend/not recommend?

crjohnson8

bvanosten--I also just wrote you a PM regarding pricing