Had a similar experience to what Jen B reviewed. I was married at Lago G. in September 2012, and Jeanine's demeanor has not improved. The location is stunning and if you are willing to be very diligent and expect that there will be last minute complications and or changes you will be fine. I did not use her as a wedding coordinator, and think that immediately put her off. From the beginning most of my interactions were with Joe, he was awesome to work with, but as with Jen made arrangements that were later changed/denied because they were not in writing.
These are the negatives..aside from the staff issues, several things to keep in mind. There is NO lighting provided at the venue aside from rope lighting that lights the walkways, and up lighting on the surrounding trees. While what is there is beautiful it is not sufficient to light the location after dark, to the extent that we were concerned it may be a safety hazard especially for some of our older guests. Jeannine was very specific about the vendor that would be allowed on siteto hang lights (only one) who thankfully was available last minute, but charged us nearly a thousand dollars to string two strands of bistro lights!!
During initial conversations with Joe about décor it seemed like sky was the limit as to what we could do with the site. During the final site walkthrough I was suddenly confronted by Jeannine who began placing restrictions on what we could and could not do, just a week from the event. Nothing could be placed on the grass, certain things couldn't be moved etc. To such a degree that I was worried that the 6 shepherds hooks I had as isle decorations were going to be banned, (luckily they were not). Had that information and restrictions been brought up early on it would have been no big deal, but a week prior to it added to my already high stress levels.
The list of "suggested" vendors is rather small and shrinking. Due to issues the vendors have had at the site, or that the site has had with vendors "not respecting their facility" there are only a limited number of vendors who are allowed at the location or will work at the location. For a money conscious bride this makes it difficult to shop around. I have also spoken to vendors who say they will not recommend this location to their brides because of complaints they have heard, or experience they have had.
The biggest issue we ran into was access to the site. This was disappointing as their misrepresented flexibility was one of the largest reasons we chose this site. At our initial visit Joe boasted how flexible they were with times, the day of, and ability to drop off early, clean up the next day etc. Again the week of we were told we needed to have everything out the night of the wedding by midnight. Our rental company does not pick up on Sundays, and arrangements had been made prior to with Joe to leave the small amount of chairs we rented and glasses at the location to be picked up on Monday. They denied this and said, per our contract...which unfortunately was correct, as we had failed to get their "flexibility" in writing. Joe and Jeannine were gracious enough to allow us to extend our midnight deadline to 8 am. At which point, my husband, my parents and I had to return with our own trailer to remove the rental items so that they could be picked up from our home the next day. HUGE INCONVIENCE!! All because they were leaving out of town.
The positives of this site; It is gorgeous. I had many people tell me that our wedding was one of the most beautiful they have ever been to.
The bathroom situation has greatly improved, as two very nice restrooms have been built on the property. We were not required to arrange for a dumpster.
The wine was excellent. However they only had red wine available. On a hot summer afternoon, a nice glass of red wine is not very refreshing. So we ended up with nearly a case left over even with a 120 person guest list. We did bring in our own white wine and since there was no LG white wine to compete with didn't have to worry about the wine issue Jen had.
We did not stay in the guest house, but rather used it as a staging area to get ready. It was well equipped with necessities, but for that purpose it was rather small and HOT, there is no AC. I would highly suggest if you are a bride and you plan on getting ready or want to wait for the ceremony to start in the guest house bring your own fan. And for god sake don't use the mirror in the bathroom behind the door, hopefully it has been replaced. ( I told Joe it was bad) Its like a fun house mirror, and not the flattering one.
All things aside I don't think I would have picked another location had I know, Lago G was perfect for us, I just think if I would have known what I do now back then I would have done things a little differently. I really do hope they work out their issues, because it is a wonderful location. read more