Lovely setting, but make sure to get a written commitment on how many employees are scheduled for your wedding. This could be a fabulous place, but they miss the mark in planning, communication, and staffing. Luis (the manager) is a gem, but his hands are tied by upper management. The wedding coordinator was very sweet and great in helping us to plan, but the weekend of the wedding she was overwhelmed with trying to do too many other jobs and was not available when needed the most..
The wedding coordinator who was an employee of the Purple Orchid said that she had less than half the staff she needed for our event. The staff that was supposed to set up tables never showed up and we had to have the groomsmen and family putting up tables for the reception and moving chairs around.
There were no parking lot attendants or pool lifeguards as was promised in the contract. We paid big money for a beverage service that was grossly understaffed. Because of this, water was not supplied to the tables (it was an outdoor reception and was 95 degrees and the water glasses were empty with no water on the tables), wine was not poured at the tables or bottles left on the table, as specified.
The wedding started 20 minutes late because we couldn't find the wedding coordinator. We finally gathered the wedding party ourselves and were about to go ahead without her when she was found.
The wedding coordinator was missing most of the evening (doing other people's jobs), bathrooms were out of paper products, the wedding cake was never cut until most of the guests had left because of a misunderstanding between the caterer and the wedding coordinator. (The wedding coordinator didn't tell me that there was a problem or I would have cut it myself-- total waste of a gorgeous and expensive cake.)
Even though we paid to rent the entire property for the weekend, they still ran the Day Spa all weekend (a surprise to us) and we were constantly waiting for spa patrons to check in or out at the front desk when we needed HELP! Fifteen minutes before the ceremony I was picking up wet towels and plates from the pool that had been left by spa patrons.
My eldest daughter was married at the Palm Event Center in Pleasanton several years ago. I cannot say enough good things about the staff there. I would suggest that venue if you can get it. They were awesome.
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