We were deeply disappointed by the facility’s management, and how they conducted themselves on our special day. From the very
start, at our rehearsal, the coordinator, Nancy, gave ...us a preview of the lack of zeal and professionalism that we would imminently receive on our wedding day. Nancy cut our rehersal time in half in a pressured and impatient manner, to the point that even our officiant was displeased with her disposition. Unfortunately, our wedding day brought similar disappointments.
On the wedding day we arrived at Fern Hill at approximately 3:10 p.m., to a group of apathetic managers and frenetic servers working in a panic to flip our banquet hall, which was neither clean nor organized after an event that had ended only two hours before our reception. Our contract had granted us access two hours prior (at 3:00 p.m.) to set-up our centerpieces and table runners, but instead my mother and mother-in-law were left waiting until well after 4:00p.m. with the florist, watching the staff as they rushed to flip the hall. My aunt had to request new linens because the staff, in their frenzy to flip the hall, had somehow missed wrinkled and dirtied linens, while my mother listened as managers verbalized in panic how they “didn’t know if they had chair covers”. I lost that precious time before our ceremony with my mother because she was delayed in her set-up.
Our DJ spent all the time speaking with us and coordinating, while Nancy was nowhere to be found (for a banquet coordinator to fail to coordinate is a bit ironic), and as a result, our DJ was playing messenger boy for her while she was elsewhere. A half-hour
before the ceremony, Nancy told our DJ, who told us, that we had to make a decision to have the ceremony inside or out due to inclement weather. It would truly have been nice to have Nancy tell us herself, in person, to personally to lend her expertise and advice; to communicate specifically the next steps to take given the circumstances. Her absence made us feel neglected and unwelcome. Management made sure to let us know that they were under the stress of balancing multiple events, but again, the facility failed to make us feel like a priority on our wedding day.
As stated in our contract, we were supposed start at 5:00 p.m., and we didn’t begin our ceremony until 5:30 p.m. due to Fern Hill’s negligence and/or disarray. Again, Nancy was nowhere to be found with an explanation of the delay, which took time away from our reception which we had PAID FOR!!! We were left without any sort of communication with any manager at all. After the ceremony, Nancy left without so much as a goodbye and we didn’t see her again. Nick,(the new coordinator) blatantly told my sisters that their speeches were too long. After the company delayed our ceremony and failed to show us the respect and courtesy that we paid for, I feel it was very audacious- comical even- for him to say that. It was very unprofessional to comment and simply not his place to do so. Management could have made our experience much more satisfactory were they to conduct themselves with the warmth, intimacy, and respectability one expects when they sign the contract. I can’t in good conscience keep our disappointments to myself because I would hate for another bride and groom to experience the treatment we experienced.