I am happy to give my highest recommendation to Fairview Crystal Springs as a wedding venue, and my highest praise for AnneMarie, their director of weddings and events. Together, t...hey make a fabulous combination!
We booked Crystal Springs in mid-June (2017), and our wedding took place less than 3 months later on Labor Day weekend! We had 80 guests and had our ceremony at the Crystal Springs gazebo and the reception at their golf course clubhouse.
We liked the various packages offered by Crystal Springs, and opted for the "Eternal" package, but we were able to customize it. AnneMarie and the venue were extremely flexible and accommodating in working with us and our budget.
Our wedding went off without a hitch. The ceremony location is amazing and to be honest, it was priceless. We were lucky enough to have great weather and our guests raved about the views. For nature lovers, if you want an outside ceremony with nature as your backdrop, this certainly fits the bill, allowing you to feel like you're in a magical area far from the city--while still being conveniently located. The venue also offers the reception venue as a back-up ceremony venue, which we fortunately did not need. The only tricky thing is that the ceremony and reception sites are about 1 mile apart, it's not walkable, and you wouldn't call Lyft/Uber for a mile drop-off, so we had to ask guests to carpool. It worked out fine.
The staff was extremely friendly and everyone did a great job at making our guests feel comfortable. A few guests did not RSVP their vegetarian preference, but the kitchen was able to accommodate them after all. A completely professional and responsive team.
You don't absolutely need a separate coordinator if you have a reasonably simple wedding with a simple program for the reception, because AnneMarie and her team were so great and responsive in terms of planning, and they're very hands-on for the ceremony. However, if you have a lot going on for the reception, then you might want to consider having a day-of coordinator to help you out (and/or a coordinator to help with the planning, as it's still a lot of work).
For sake of a comprehensive review, I will say that the only weaknesses are that the reception decor is a tiny bit dated and and could probably use some refurbishment. Also, the food that you get is perfectly adequate and they accommodated a variety of diets, but if you're a "foodie", then the menu might not be to your taste. Finally, the women's locker room is the private area where the bride and bridal party can get ready. We actually got ready at a hotel and I simply put my dress on in the locker room. It's not one of those photogenic bridal rooms. And that's fine, because that's not what I prioritized. What most of us learn in the process of planning a wedding is that we have to prioritize and make trade-offs. Crystal Springs more than satisfied my priorities and exceeded my expectations.
Overall, I would say that the strengths of Fairview Crystal Springs are the ceremony location, AnneMarie and her team, and the flexibility and convenience of their custom packages that accommodate a variety of budgets and can save you considerable time and stress in planning. Together, this enabled us to plan our wedding in less than 3 months, within budget, and we and our guests were delighted. I could not recommend them enough.