Vendor Question

Kiki1982 · March 2010

Hi Ladies,

I have been lurking for a while, but my fiance and I are just starting to plan for our 5/14/11 wedding in St. Augustine. We are going up to St. Augustine soon to interview possible vendors, and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with the following vendors:

The White Room
Scott S. Smith Photography
The Wedding Authority

Also, are there any florists you would recommend?

Thank you!

toblave13 · March 2010

I strongly recommend Parker's Events for florals. I just got married on March 13th and my flowers were amazing. I've had a ton of comments and Tammy is very affordable. I haven't written my vendor reviews yet (I'm slacking) but a full review is on its way, haha.

griffin64 · March 2010

The White Room is a beautiful place but the staff and the rules and hidden costs are ridiculous. A friend of mine is planning her wedding there and is going through hell. I have been helping out my wedding planner do some weddings and the things they are going through with them is ridiculous. They say they will do all these things and they don't hold up to their word. They will not go out of their way for you at all. If you have your wedding there you should hire a wedding planner.

The room is beautiful and that is why the white room is always booked but the service, fees, and awful customer service is ridiculous for the amount of wedding they host. So beware.

have you ever heard of the River House in St. Augustine. Its beautiful, right on the water and has a parking lot.

its a brand new venue in st. augustine.

the bad thing with the white room is your guests have to find parking and its never close to the building they have to walk.

here is the link to the river house. check it out i just heard about it not too long ago

http://riverhouseevents.com/

i also found some pictures and put it on my blog if you would like to see them room. I have never been there in person but just have seen pictures. a friend of my sisters just decided to have their wedding there and said its beautiful.

http://jkgriffin.blogspot.com/2010/02/inside-of-river-house.html

grainne13 · March 2010

Hello,

i have never heard anything about those vendors personally, but as someone who lives here in st augustine, I wouldnt recommend The White Room. There are so many areas downtown that would be farther from the hubbub of downtown traffic & may have parking.

look into the st augustine historical society, it is in the area but away from the water. Its an old mansion in pretty good condition.

There are tons of B&B's on the waterfront if you do really want that, and if you book a venue there they might even give a package deal for the rooms. 95 Cordova is pretty, as is the Raintree Restaurant. These are just in the downtown area, except the Raintree is more north. Good Luck! I hope you find the one you are looking for.

Kiki1982 · March 2010

Thank you for all of your suggestions- I am looking into all of them now. I appreciate all of the feedback on the White Room, that was my # 1 choice so far. I am researching other options now. Thanks everyone!

griffin64 · March 2010

i helped a friend with a wedding there last night and it was absolutely beautiful. the Loft and Roof Top deck were amazing. but the guests arrived 15 minutes before the scheduled contract time, 5 o clock and the white room made all 150 guests stand downstairs in the ice cream shop for 15 minutes because that is what the contract said. (example of bad customer service)

KappaUCF20 · March 2010

Since other people are making recommendations, I will too... lol. I got married at the Government House, and it was beautiful. Catherine (the site manager) is really laidback, and there were hardly any rules or regulations to worry about. She let us do pretty much whatever we wanted, and we were also allowed to start storing items down there and decorating a few days before.

spears327 · March 2010

I'm getting married at the white room. I haven't had a bad experience with them. They do cost more than some of the other venues around but if you are planning a bigger wedding its one of the few that can accomdate them. They have been a little slow on responsing to emails but when ever I contact them by phone or in person they are very friendly and accomadating. All the costs have been explained upfront and we understood what we were getting into before we signed the contract. We are renting a trolley to transport guests from hotels or the parking garage. There are a couple of parking lots nearby but it does cost. Like others said its a beautiful site. I met there yesterday to get a bunch of questions answered and they were accomdating on all my requests. Don't rule them out just yet.

Thanks,
Jackie

*Mrs.CPH* · March 2010

I was married at the White Room Loft and was extremely unhappy with the service. It's a beautiful location but the event cordinator Shannon is a PITA to work with. If you decided to go with the White Room hiring a wedding planner is a MUST.

Some of the issues I had include...

Shannon telling me at the rehersal that she wouln't be there for the wedding...
Them STEALING multiple items from me. (as in my planner asked for them back and they denined having them)
One table did not get served til half an hour into dinner, the server apparently forgot???
They did not set up the rooftop deck with lougne furniture because it was too cold and they thought no one would want to go out there? even though I specifically said to set it up anyway.
They assured me that they had BRAND new heaters for the ceremony (on the rooftop) and that I did not need to rent my own, on the day of the wedding ONE heater was turned on!!!!!
I paid for top shelf liquor and found out they were serving Smirnoff intead of the Grey Goose I paid for. (it was only 2 guests that reports it but STILL!)

I'm sure there are other things I just can't think of it right now...

Kiki1982 · April 2010

I am in St. Augustine now and am meeting with a few different venues today and tomorrow. I hadn't ruled out the White Room entirely, but the more I hear about it, the wearier I become!

Since we are planning from about 4 hours away, it's important to me for the contact at the venue to be good at communicating- email is my primary method of communication.

I really appreciate everyone's advice/recommendations! You have all been incredibly helpful!

roxygirlie1021 · April 2010

I am getting married at the White Room this November, and so far I have been extremely happy with them. They answer all of my calls/emails extremely fast, let me pop in to do whatever whenever I need to, and this is actually the first time I have ever heard of bad things about them. Everyone I have talked to has highly recommended them, said the food was fantastic, that the weddings there are wonderful. I would say your best bet is to go there in person and feel it out for yourself. Shannon is our coordinator and so far we haven't had any problems with her. Of course, I am a bit of a control freak when it comes to certain things, so I am making sure everything is being done EXACTLY the way I want it, and not depending on anyone else to do it for me - lol.

rumbalicious · April 2011

I actually met with Shannon at The White Room for the Loft space and she was wonderful, but there are so many things that I would've had to compromise on with the predetermined rules of the space that it wouldn't have been the reception we wanted in the end. Plus the price for what you are allowed to have, is rediculous. We actually got everything & more for way less at the Casa Monica. But these are for big parties. For a smaller more intiment place, the DOW museum of historic houses is a very charming place. It's very "historic St Augustine". The Raintree restraunt has a beautiful little courtyard area and also an indoor area for smaller receptions or rehearsal dinners. Their food is amazing too. good luck.

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