We chose The Pavilion because the venue itself is absolutely beautiful, and ultimately we did have…read morea wonderful wedding day with our family and friends. However, for the amount of money we paid, the level of organization and communication from the staff was not what we expected.
Throughout the planning process, we were sent incorrect invoices numerous times. One invoice was $8,000 more than what we actually owed, and I had to catch and correct the mistake. Having to repeatedly double-check invoices created unnecessary stress during an already expensive and stressful planning process.
Our rehearsal was also not very organized. The staff was not particularly directive about where people should stand, how things would flow, or exactly what we were supposed to be practicing. A lot of the direction felt vague, and we left the rehearsal still feeling unsure about how the ceremony was actually going to run.
Unfortunately, that lack of communication continued on our wedding day. Our event coordinator came in that morning and asked me how the day was going to go. I asked if she had spoken with the coordinator who had conducted our rehearsal, and she said she had not. She then questioned why the rehearsal coordinator had us practice walking a certain way if we were not doing a first look. At that point, I was already extremely overwhelmed, and one of my bridesmaids had to step in and communicate with the coordinator because I was close to having a nervous breakdown.
There were also several last-minute questions that should have already been handled. About 15 minutes before our ceremony, I received a message asking who was going to finish putting the glasses on our champagne wall, even though it had previously been discussed that the venue staff would be taking care of this.
When it was time to line up for the ceremony, there was also confusion about where everyone was supposed to go. We ended up getting behind the tree line and walking through the apple trees, to the point where my now-husband almost saw me before the ceremony. Our event coordinator also asked multiple times where different people were supposed to go, which was concerning because these details should have already been coordinated.
I want to emphasize that the venue itself is beautiful, and we genuinely enjoyed our wedding and the memories we made there. Our issue was not with the space -- it was with the level of communication, organization, and coordination leading up to and during the ceremony.
For such a significant investment, we expected the staff to be more prepared, communicate with one another, and take more of the logistical stress off of us rather than adding to it. Unfortunately, much of the coordination fell back on us and our wedding party, which is not what we expected when paying for a professional wedding venue.
I don't regret having our wedding there because the day itself was special and beautiful, but based on our experience, the service and coordination could have been significantly better.
