When we chose Cameron, we were drawn to the beautiful grounds, inn, and the breathtaking conservatory.
The reason this review has any positives is strictly due to the staff that we worked with including Katelyn, Katie, and Kathy. These three an...d some of the other staff that I spoke with briefly were very kind, easily within reach, and worked with us to create the vision that we had hoped for despite Covid. On wedding weekend, they made us feel so special, helped the day to go smoothly, and decorated the venue just as we had envisioned. We are so grateful for all that they did for us, and recommend this venue strictly because of their presence.It is also worth mentioning that the food was truly phenomenal. Unfortunately, we did experience an unfortunate episode with a bartender. The bar was shut down 30 min earlier than was paid for, resulting in questioning as to why. In response, this bartender began cursing at my father, hitting the side of the tent, etc., which did ruin part of the mood for the evening. Emily was kind and did attempt to rectify the situation and Katie did assist us in refunding, however it should have never happened.
Unfortunately, we did hit bumps in the road that were not a reflection of the staff members mentioned above. Navigating a pandemic was no easy task, (which we understand as healthcare workers), but there were issues that need to be brought to light.During our time, a new owner began.
To put it frankly, this owner was too involved in the planning process. Every detail was a fight with her, and there was constant frustration after each phone call.After a discussion regarding CDC guidelines that the owner did not initially believe in and us wanting an outdoor tent (since we were unable to get out of the contract),the owner agreed to allow us to put a tent up at our cost.After securing all of these details, guidelines changed again out of everyone’s control, which forced the owner to put up her own tent.This “circus” tent that she chose was a joke, and while it was understood it had to be put up last minute in Aug, it was a long battle to have a proper wedding tent for our wedding taking place in 2 months. We were not being given a discount, so we did not find it unjust to ask for a proper setup for the amount of money we were paying.We offered to pay for extra lighting and heating of the tent as necessary. After finally getting that secured, the struggles did not end. The next round of issues included having to push to get tree stumps removed from inside of the tent, the location of the bar to prevent guests from constantly having to walk up/down multiple steps, and securing a small tent to allow for proper social distancing. This owner would constantly promise us that we could do things, and then later make her staff tell us that we could not. Had I not been so organized, our day could have potentially been a disaster with the constant back and forth. It was endless fighting to not have things ripped away from us that had been promised. After speaking with other couples and seeing other reviews, we take comfort in knowing that we were not the only ones dealing with this. For the sake of an honest review, Cameron Estate would find themselves in a much better position to have that owner take a back seat, and allow her amazing staff to do their jobs appropriately.We are so thankful to those staff members that assisted us in our beautiful day, but are disappointed at the amount of push back from the owner.