Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

Full disclaimer I am writing a review as someone who toured the venue but chose to use a different venue. Starting with the reason that I loved this venue: Fairchild is absolutely beautiful. Seriously you could walk around it for hours without a phone in sight just taking in all the beauty. There are so many different beautiful choices for the ceremony, reception, and cocktail hours which definitely makes Fairchild stand out from other venues. I'm certain that guests would rave about the beauty of the wedding for years to come. Moving onto the reason why I chose not to use this venue: the on-site coordinator is too hard to get a hold of. I read the reviews and saw this was a reoccurring theme but I couldn't get over the pictures so I still reached out for a tour. It took the ONLY on-site coordinator weeks to get back to me and when she finally did it took her another week just to respond. She was never able to make time for me so I had to do a self guided tour. Your relationship with your on-site venue coordinator is extremely important and I just wasn't willing to risk my big day especially at how expensive this property is to use. Additionally, the venue is actually too big I think. It's clearly a nature preserve (with a gift shop and everything), not a wedding venue. I was afraid that my guests would get extremely lost trying to find their way around (especially after a few drinks). And with all of the restrictions of using the property, that was just something I couldn't risk.

Fairchild was a BEAUTIFUL and wonderful place to have our wedding. It was an amazing venue and I couldn't imagine any other place to get married. However the on site coordinator Lori Sellers was not the best. She was hard to get in touch with on a consistent basis. After my wedding, my planner told me she would not work for another couple that was to be married at Fairchild. My photographer had great difficulty with her as well. She was very rude to him. Despite her lack of professionalism, I still recommend this venue. It is stunning!

I'll start this review by saying that despite our MANY MANY issues with the onsite coordinator, the venue is truly exquisite, and provided the most gorgeous backdrop for our ceremony and reception. While selecting Fairchild as our wedding venue proved easy, working with the onsite coordinator, Lori Sellers, was most certainly not. Throughout the process she was difficult to reach via email and phone, inconsistent in promises made, unprofessional, and rude to nearly everyone she came into contact with. From the beginning of our planning process, Lori proved very difficult to reach with our many questions regarding her ever-changing rules about what is "allowed". She went back and forth 3 times, for example, on whether our caterer's food truck was allowed onsite, until we provided email evidence she had promised us such. While she brought much confusion and anxiety to the planning process, her behavior on the day of the wedding was appalling. When my bridesmaids and I arrived onsite, the bathroom in the gate house (our designated getting ready area) was flooded with over an inch of water. There was no indication anyone had attempted to fix this, and Lori was conveniently nowhere to be found. When climbed the stairs to use an alternate bathroom to change into my wedding gown, Lori appeared, screaming at me I was not allowed in that bathroom. When I explained to her that the other bathroom was flooded, she continued to argue with me until I was in tears just minutes before the ceremony began. Every guest and wedding party member who came into contact with her commented on her brash demeanor and negativity. My understanding of her job is that she is to ensure that the day ran smoothly, but she brought nothing by anxiety, high drama, and negativity to our special day. She would never be able to ruin our wedding day for us, but it certainly seemed like she intended to do so. As a mental health professional working with children exhibiting severe behaviors on a daily basis, I was truly appalled by her behavior and lack of professionalism. I would still recommend this venue to future brides as there is truly no place like it, but I would add that dealing with the charmless on site coordinator is not for the faint of heart.

Fairchild is a perfect place to get married as it gives you a beautiful setting but also an indoor and outdoor options. I was so lucky to have good weather too. And my pictures turned out fabulous -- it helps to have a gorgeous place. Chihuly was just the cherry on top!