Avonlea Farms presented itself as a high‑end, trustworthy venue, but our experience was the…read moreopposite. Their website promises "care, craftsmanship," "support," and a vendor list of "trusted professionals we've worked with time and time again." They claim their preferred vendors "know the venue like the back of their hand" and will make planning "seamless and stress‑free." None of this matched reality.
Out of the vendor list we were given, 17 vendors were either closed, had broken links, redirected to spam pages, or led to expired domains. Several had no functioning websites at all, and one told us Avonlea Farms was outside their service range. Another vendor was closed entirely. When we brought this to the venue's attention, Jess, our point of contact, asked us to identify which vendors were closed -- unacceptable for a venue costing nearly $14,000.
Jess also promised to send an updated vendor list by July 3rd. We never received it. As far as we know, the list has not been updated at all, despite their marketing claims that these vendors are "pre‑vetted for professionalism and quality."
Before signing the contract, we told the venue we wanted pizza at our wedding. Jess enthusiastically recommended a pizza vendor she said catered there regularly. When we contacted him ourselves, he said he was unavailable for our date. After we told Jess this, she contacted him directly and he was suddenly "available." This reversal felt unprofessional and raised serious concerns about how vendor availability was being represented.
Because their vendor list was unreliable, we asked about using outside vendors. Avonlea required a $250 fee per outside vendor, plus mandatory proof of insurance, a signed vendor agreement with the venue, and an in‑person site visit. In other words, we were expected to pay extra, coordinate vendor travel, and help the venue build its vendor network -- all because their preferred vendor list was not maintained. The fee was only waived after we escalated the issue, even though the vendor list problems were extensive enough that it should have been waived immediately.
Communication throughout this process was consistently dismissive. Our concerns were minimized or reframed as normal. When we pointed out that the vendor list did not match what was presented during the tour, we were told:
"We respectfully disagree that Avonlea Farms has failed to provide the services outlined in our agreement."
This ignored the fact that the vendor list -- a core part of what they advertise -- was not functional, not vetted, and not usable.
Despite providing no services at all and being 11 months out, the venue kept $5,000 of our payments. The $2,000 refund they did issue was delivered in a card with a lemon on the front, which felt inappropriate and unprofessional.
It is also worth noting that Avonlea Farms no longer appears on major wedding platforms like Zola or The Knot -- websites where couples typically leave honest reviews. Given our experience, this absence feels intentional and raises concerns about transparency.
Based on our experience, Avonlea Farms did not demonstrate the professionalism, reliability, or integrity we expected. I strongly encourage future couples to look elsewhere. Do not book this place at all.
