Camp Starfish

was a beautiful ceremony. That’s about where the good parts ended. We paid $1600 for a their half day package. We realized after the fact that when it said 4 hour package, it literally meant 4 hours - start to finish. They expected us to set up, have a ceremony, have the reception, and clean up within 4 hours exactly, which is unrealistic for any wedding. However, that’s on us. When I went back and looked, it was stated in the information we were provided before we booked. Just something to consider before booking so you don’t make the same mistake! We paid $500 for an extra hour. 2 days before the ceremony, the camp emailed me a waiver that all guests need to sign to be allowed on the premises. It was a liability form of some kind. Now, maybe this was buried in the fine print, but the first time it was mentioned to me was two days before my wedding. We had planned for 70 guests to come and were just now hearing about the form? It caused stress as I was worried some of the older guests wouldn’t want to sign it. Day of, family friends arrived at the campsite an hour before the ceremony to set up. When we toured the property there were two main parking lots. One when you first pull in that is far from the main camp ground, and a smaller parking lot right at the beginning of where the cabins are. The closer lot had been labeled “visitor parking” when we toured. When we got there, that was crossed out and it was labeled “staff parking”. Every guest was expected to park far away. Even the elderly ones. They allowed people with decorations to drive further down the path closer to the chapel and dining hall. They essentially shrugged their shoulders as my husband’s elderly grandmother asked how she was supposed to get to the chapel with all the flowers for the wedding arch. They told her they’re not really supposed to be “of service” as they drove away on their golf carts. When we toured, we were told that golf carts were available to any elderly person who really needed them. I was the only one who was permitted a golf cart ride, and my great aunt fell after the ceremony, walking to the dining hall. Things only got worse with the sound system I paid $300 extra for. It wasn’t set up in the chapel as promised—it was in the dining hall. The ceremony was delayed nearly 20 minutes while they moved it, which mattered since we were paying by the hour. When they finally handed over the microphone, staff said, “I hope it’s charged.” Unbelievable. During the reception, the sound was awful; the mic cut out if you stepped more than a couple of feet from the speaker. Our videographer missed all the speeches because of this. Save yourself the money and bring your own equipment.As the reception wrapped up, staff showed up 10 minutes before our end time to make sure we were packing up. I understand weddings never go perfectly, and some issues were on us, but a supportive venue makes a huge difference. For $400 an hour, I expected far more professionalism, flexibility, and basic courtesy. Maybe if you rent the entire weekend they treat you better, but for us, Camp Starfish was an extremely disappointing and stressful experience.