Foxhall Resort

. We had problems from day one. Honestly, I ignored the red flags because the venue is so beautiful. I strongly urge anyone considering Foxhall to read my review—and learn from my experience. Our issues included abrupt/unexplained fees,TERRIBLE communication, constant turnover of bridal consultants, and just plain foolishness. Pictures are included at the end to corroborate this horror story. Abrupt/Changing Fees I feel as though this paragraph will get everyone’s attention quickly. In our first meeting, we were told of a beverage minimum that applies to Saturday weddings (I will go further into detail about this when I discuss their communication problems). However, we were under the assumption that this beverage minimum was a fee for an optional service if our caterer was not providing our drinks. When the date of the wedding approached, we came to find out that this beverage minimum is $4000 on top of the price of the venue, which was $10,000 (actually $13,000 with all the fees applied). After the contract was signed and the date of the wedding approached, our bridal consultant (at the time) and the general manager stated that this fee was required. Furthermore, in our first meeting, our bridal consultant stated that Foxhall only allows their catering at the venue or 3 preferred outside caterers.They also made it seem like it was required to use these vendors when in fact it was not. The staff push these ‘preferred vendors’ because Foxhall gets a cut of their profits for promoting them. With some pushback, we were able to get our own outside caterer - not preferred by Foxhall. But, we had to still pay $1,000 more to Foxhall just because ‘there is a fee to use an outside caterer that is not preferred by the venue’. On top of these larger fees that were not properly discussed with us, the staff at Foxhall were nickel-and-diming us wherever they could. I ask about a trash service; they tell me it is $500 alone to just use their bins at the venue. We asked our caterer to haul the trash off the property for less money than Foxhall wanted to just use their bins. And I am not joking, they remove all the trash bins from the property- even the bathroom. I wanted our cake cut by Foxhall’s staff; they told me it is $600 to cut my cake ($5 per slice). I inquire about a fee ON TOP of my outside catering fee; they say it is an admin charge that goes on all their fees. They were not administering anything ,catering or cake cutting-wise, so there was no need for this charge as well. Terrible Communication/Lack of Transparency It is important that I go into this topic next as it will explain some of the trouble with Foxhall charging us out the window. In our first meeting, our first bridal consultant made us feel pressured to book the venue. She was talking as if the beverage minimum was optional. Therefore, we would not worry about the venue costing $14,000 instead of $10,000 – leading us to rush and book. As it was explained to us, the beverage minimum for Saturday weddings is based on their cheapest alcoholic drink package (that included nonalcoholic drinks as well). She told us only alcoholic drinks need to be provided by Foxhall as it is a liability issue which we understood. We stated that we were interested in a dry wedding so the beverage package was not needed.Our bridal consultant okayed this and never said this was an issue. After the contract was signed and the wedding was a few months away, we were ready to pay the rest of the venue costs but I see that there are thousands of dollars added to our bill. The same bridal consultant and general manager told us that the beverage minimum still needs to be met even if it is a dry wedding. Plainly stating that we needed to get our drinks through Foxhall alcoholic or not. In one meeting at Foxhall, a helpful staff member said that if we were having a dry wedding that caterers are always allowed to bring their own drinks in– Foxhall wouldn’t provide this as they would not personally serve the guests during dinner. In our first meeting as well, the first bridal consultant made it seem like we were required to use them or their preferred vendors for catering. It was never stated that we could use our own ‘outside caterer’ until we pushed back on this issue. FYI: Foxhall’s catering and their preferred vendors are $15,000 on the cheap end. When it comes time to send her my caterer’s information, she finally tells me of the $1000 ‘outside catering fee’. They never told us about this fee until we had to send her our caterer’s information. And as I previously stated, they either get all the money for catering a wedding or a large percentage from their preferred vendors for promoting them. Whichever way you slice it, they get money for guests getting fed on their property. I obviously had big issues with this. They seemed to be pulling fees from everywhere, so I sent an email explaining my frustration. After that, calls and emails went unanswered for weeks. Calls were going straight to voicemail for the general manager and bridal consultant. My mother and I would call the lobby to see where the first bridal consultant and general manager were. They would say the bridal consultant was unavailable – citing no reason. They would always say the general manager was in a meeting. I called for 2 weeks, differing times of the day, and still the general manager was always in a meeting. One day I *67 called the general manager, and she answered on the first ring. Anytime I wanted to schedule a meeting in person, emails went unanswered for days to weeks. Prior to our actual wedding day, I had to submit a floor plan to the general manager for how I wanted the venue to look with tables and chairs. I called the general manager -she told me I could on the day of- to have the tables moved since they were not in the right place.I also needed chairs replaced because they were broken. She never replied to my texts or calls until I repeatedly called her phone until she answered. When she answered, she told me someone would come at 2 pm to replace the chairs, move the tables, and provide the black linens for those tables. When 2pm came and passed, no one came to move the tables and chairs so I called again. Finally, someone came to move the tables at 3 – still no linens were provided. Thankfully, my caterer had extra linens and stepped up. The general manager also wanted my wedding day timeline the week before, so she knew my ceremony was at 5. Therefore, I was out decorating the tables at 3 in my wedding dress. Turnover of Bridal Consultants I went through 3 bridal consultants in my year of wedding planning with Foxhall. My first bridal consultant was with me for approximately 5 months. My second bridal consultant was with me for a month; she was a mutual friend who quit due to management issues. The third bridal consultant was hired but I never met with her. This sucked, because my point of contact was the general manager who never answered her phone. Plain Foolishness When discussing our proposed timeline, the first bridal consultant and general manager initially tried to not let our vendors in until 1 pm to set up. Again, she knew the ceremony was at 5. Our vendors all told us that it was not enough time to set up. While our florist was setting up and we were decorating, the third bridal consultant (who I never met) was bringing people to tour our venue while we were just getting ready. It was just plain tacky. Our photographer and florist both said that they had never seen anything like that. Foxhall was taking advantage of the set dressing since no one wants to get married there. Also, chairs were broken when we entered the venue and duct taped together. This is another reason I called the general manager so that they could be swapped out. During the mother-son dance, one broken chair was not removed and my husband’s grandmother had the chair fall out right from under her. She even had a huge bruise the week after. Positive And to prove I am not a vengeful person, I will be fair and state the one positive thing they did for us. My husband and I got a complementary (actually free for once) stay at one of their villas on our wedding night. Conclusion All in all, save your money and get married somewhere else. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.