Oh my goodness, pictures do not do this venue justice! This venue is absolutely gorgeous and it has such a nice vibe to it. It's elegant but warm and inviting at the same time. It's the perfect balance between that wonderful old charm and modern sophistication. We emailed a lot with Sarahrose before booking The Estate and during, and she was so nice, so patient and very responsive throughout the entire time. She's very professional and always provided information we requested. We toured the venue a couple times and everyone we met there was always super nice as well (Aaron, one of their event captains, and Jeanne, their venue manager).
Our decision came down to deciding between The Estate and a place in Long Beach that we also loved. A couple of the reasons that we chose The Estate is because they had bathrooms on the first & the second floors, and they included catering, rentals, bar & staff.
The Estate is one of the venues owned by Jay's Catering. They have endless options for food and a ton of rental upgrades to choose from. Working with The Estate & Jay's Catering was such a fun process, we felt so special with the meetings and the events they allow you to go to. Jay's Catering invites their couples to The Taste of Jay's which they host at their different venue options. The event is the perfect place to try their food, look at their rental options, and meet their staff. You also get to have a design meeting, so we met with Debbie at their office. This was so much fun, and you'll definitely want to upgrade to their beautiful options. They keep your budget in mind though, so you'll never feel pressured to upgrade anything. It's just nice they allow you this time to see all the choices.
Our event specialist was Arielle Marte, and she was so great to work with! She was so patient with us especially when we changed our menu choice a few times. We decided on the Latin buffet, which was delicious! Our guests absolutely loved the food and the cake (white cake, with chocolate Bavarian cream & whipped cream frosting). Everything was so good! I know they say that wedding couples usually don't get to eat at their wedding, so we didn't finish our plates, I just wish we brought the leftovers home.
Their bar was great too! The drinks were so good, and the bartenders were nice and kept the line moving quickly. The venue will also provide security guards, which was nice. The Estate isn't able to guarantee a rehearsal ahead of time; so we knew that we may not be able to have our rehearsal onsite if they had an event booked the night before our wedding. Luckily, we were able to, so that was good, but just a heads up that that's not promised.
We had our ceremony downstairs, and while our guests were upstairs at cocktail hour, the staff flips the downstairs space to set up the reception area. They did this so quickly!
We don't really have any cons about having our wedding here; even if some things didn't necessarily go as planned or expected, the entire wedding was just perfect! This is a stunning venue on its own, and you really don't need to add much to it. It's gorgeous as-is, or with whatever other decorations you want to add. The space around The Estate is also beautiful! There are a ton of different perfect spots to take your wedding photos.
I also want to add that seeking out gay-friendly wedding vendors was important to us, and they made us feel so celebrated. They're incredible people & welcome all love!
Here's a link to our wedding same-day-edit to check out what the day looked like!
https://amariproductions.com/ashley-kelsey/
Wedding Vendors:
Venue: The Estate on Second
Catering: Jay's Catering
Photo + Video: Amari Productions
Florals: Blooms Dunn Right
DJ + Day-Of Coordination: KSDJ
Wedding Dresses: BHLDN read more