Francis Marion Hotel

sales manager, is so great to work with!! She captured exactly what we were envisioning and made it into a reality!

and execution worked diligently to make sure the event was a success! Bailey Mikolay, the venue's wedding sales manager, did a fantastic job of making sure things went as planned, and she was willing to share her expertise in wedding event planning throughout the planning process. Though she started her position after the initial meeting, she jumped right in and stayed on top of the details. Everything was great!

l on the wedding day. We were very satisfied!

ce as seamless and enjoyable as possible. They were really responsive and organized, which put our minds at ease. In the end, the entire day flowed beautifully and we had the most FUN party. The food was great (even the crowd flying in from Maryland loved the crab cakes!). Aside from the wedding day itself, the hotel was a great location for our room block, as guests could enjoy a weekend in Charleston with historic sites within walking distance.

arion for our wedding hotel block. The parking is a nightmare, the garage is so tiny and cramped, and to get items in and out (gifts, wedding decorations, luggage, etc) You have to leave you car in the street, get a cart from an elevator, bring it in, load the car, bring the cart back inside, put it on a tiny elevator to the lobby, and then pull it up to the room all while hoping that your car is fine in the middle of King Street. It was a huge hassle, and the guests at our other hotel were much happier. The room types are also not guarenteed, so if we planned to put 2 people in one room with 2 beds, and the room only had one bed, we had to take everything back downstairs and request a change. The positive is the staff was PHENOMENAL at the front desk and fixed any and all issues we had. Unforuantely, the higher management seemed alarmed that they had a wedding in the building and were taken aback almost like "oh my gosh you're having a wedding? what can we do to help you?" and I wish they had been like that from the very beginning. They were difficult to work with (I was planning this wedding from 600 miles away) and the girl who was my main point of contact quit, and no one informed me. It was quite a mess and they don't seem suitable for wedding block services.

for my out of town guests to party and stumble back to their rooms with ease. Definitely consider the hotel for special events or just to say there! Very nice! We booked this hotel for the fact they also let us bring our own alcohol. Thank you Francis Marion Hotel!

communication with the on-site coordinators up until the wedding week and then there was little-to-none. The coordinator that showed up day-of was not someone we had worked with prior or been introduced to and that caused confusion. We went with the plated dinners, the guests liked the food and we liked what we were able to eat in-between interruptions, but we had an issue with our confirmed food. We stated from the very beginning at the food tasting, and confirmed multiple times, that we would be able to get a few halal meals for our guests. We found out the day before the wedding that the chef suddenly wasn't sure he could procure the correct meat because of how it needed to be prepared (something we thought had been worked out 5 months prior). We also had an issue with drinks; the waitstaff kept removing full, untouched drinks if you looked away for just a few seconds... literally less than 30 seconds sometimes. This normally wouldn’t be as much of a problem, but we went with a BYOB approach where we provided our own alcohol. The staff also took away our (wedding couple) champagne flutes before we finished and specialty bottle. We brought in our own bottle, separate from the venue provided champagne (part of the contract), that we were going to take back with us. Outside of the serious issue with drinks, the serving staff was great with their food timing and service and the bartender handled winos really well. There was also a major miscommunication about when our event ended. We had confirmed that we would be able to end at 11 pm and provided a timeline that went until 10:50 pm. Instead, the staff (without warning) turned on the lights at 10 pm and started cleaning the room and moving tables. The room block worked well for our guests and we were not limited to the amount we blocked; if there were rooms available, people could still use the block. We would have addressed more of our issues with the staff at the Francis Marion, but our only follow-up from the coordinators after the wedding was an email saying the wedding was beautiful and asking us to leave a review. Of course, we had the immediate, automated emails after we checked out of our rooms asking how the stay was.

m didn’t get their goody bags. The bellhop service was on point. Tai made sure that my bridal party and family was well hydrated and taken care of. We really appreciated that. We did have a brief issue with one of the banquet staff oversteppping their professional bounds.

ties with travel and us actually getting to Charleston for our wedding. Gillian and Marie understood our uncertainties and were willing to work with us through the process while so many other venues gave no room for flexibility. The staff were so understanding and supportive and worked seamlessly with our planners and all the other vendors to help give us a beautiful event. Not only did we have our wedding at the hotel, we also had our rehearsal dinner and brunch for our family the day after the after the wedding. Our stay at the hotel, the food and the staff was fantastic and we cant wait to go back to visit!

led, Savannah was available or called me back within five minutes. We had to move our date - she was accommodating, we needed to extend our time for our room block – she was accommodating, we needed to add more people to our room block – she was accommodating, early check in/ late check out – no problem…….no matter what we asked for Savannah was always there to make our wedding such a pleasurable experience. Planning a wedding can be such a stressful ordeal however Savannah and the staff at the Francis Marion made everything seamless and effortless. If we could give a 10 star rating we would. Our rehearsal dinner in the Gold Ballroom was decorated beautifully, the food was delicious and the pricing was very reasonable. We aren’t the types to review venues no matter the occasion however we could not go another day without praising Savannah and her entire staff. Thank you again for making our wedding weekend so special. Our family and friends were so impressed and we will always be loyal to Savannah and The Francis Marion.

t was a destination wedding for us so hard for us to come and visit a lot. We cannot say enough great things about Savannah and the Colonial room. It was absolutely beautiful! From the start of our planning to the end, it was a smooth process. The hotel staff also made it enjoyable as they were all very polite and went above and beyond for not only ourselves but for all of our guests. Highly recommend this venue to anyone! It is a beautiful reception hall.

single person that worked there was the definition of southern hospitality and all of our guests loved staying there (we had about 40 rooms). The only "complaint" we had from some of our guests was that for a regular room, the bathrooms are pretty small, but it is a historic hotel, so it is understandable. For myself and my bridal party, we stayed in the Harbor View Suite and it was perfect! There were two bathrooms, a living room, kitchen, and bedroom so plenty of space to get ready. The food for the brunch on Sunday was delicious and plentiful. Just as a suggestion, we had 88 people RSVP "yes" to the brunch but I only told the hotel 70 and there was more than enough food.

! The food was fabulous; everyone stated it was the best shrimp & grits they had ever tasted! My daughter stated her wedding was a dream come true! Thank you Savannah & all the staff at Francis Marion!

eneral hotel staff, everyone affiliated with the hotel provided thoughtful, professional and considerate service. The hotel's common areas have recently been renovated and are stunningly beautiful. We held our reception in the Colonial Ballroom, which has sweeping arched windows and is so beautifully decorated that only minimal additional decoration (flowers for table centerpieces) was needed. One feature that sets the Francis Marion Hotel apart from many other reception venues in Charleston is that they maintain and make available many of the "hardware" items needed for receptions such as tables, chairs, serving stations, dance floors and basic risers for bands or DJs. They also provide standard china, silverware and stemware should you wish to use them. It was incredibly easy to work with the on-site coordinator to plan the day. Their catering service is all in-house and is overseen by the executive chef for the hotel restaurant - everything was delicious and classically Charleston. We would highly recommend contacting the Francis Marion Hotel if you are looking for a place to host a reception in Charleston!

solute dream! From the architecture to the décor to the downtown location, the Francis Marion Hotel was everything we wanted and more (at a surprisingly reasonable price)! We worked with Gillian first and then Savannah, who didn’t skip a beat when taking over our wedding. Both ladies were wonderful! I planned the wedding from 900 miles away and did not meet Savannah in person until the wedding weekend, however it was super easy to coordinate the event via email. When we finally met for the rehearsal, she had everything organized and ready to go. We are extremely pleased with FMH and couldn’t be happier that we chose this venue!

gs about the whole day. Savannah ensured that everything ran smoothly from start to finish. I feel that she really went above and beyond for my husband and I and we are eternally grateful! The hotel is historic and beautiful and I got so many compliments from guests on the ceremony space, the reception space, and the hotel and staff in general. Majority of my guests were from out of town and they LOVED being right in the middle of the city. The food was delicious as well!

l, incredibly responsive, and joys to work with during the wedding planning and the reception! They made everything easy and made us feel like real VIPs the weekend of the wedding. The venue is in the middle of downtown Charleston and was ideal for out of town guests coming in to explore our city. Plus, the venue is so easy because they provide tables, linens, chairs, flatware, glasses, candles, place settings, in-house coordinators and catering! Very few venues in Charleston provide all of that from one vendor. Further, they let you bring in your drinks and they provide the bartenders! We were able to bring all our additional decorations and alcohol to the venue on Tuesday the week of the wedding, so we had no headaches about dropping everything off on Friday. Then they stored everything for us Saturday night for pickup on Sunday! Further, the food is delicious! We've had so many guests comment about how good the food was, especially the shrimp and grits, since the wedding! The Francis Marion was really the perfect venue for our weekend and if I had to plan it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing! I would recommend it to anyone.

ave an issue with planning. All my expectations were met and exceeded, and I cannot believe they are able to offer what they do at such an amazing price. They make weddings and events move flawlessly, and you’re missing out if you don’t snag this venue! If you’re wanting a Charleston themed venue, BOOK! I wish I could redo my wedding just to relive my reception at the Francis Marion all over again! HIGHLY recommend!!!

he beginning. She was wonderful! She met with us and helped us set up the entire event the way we wanted it to be. After her promotion, we started working with Savannah. she was just as amazing! She helped us continue the process for the reception. She was very professional and always responded to emails or calls promptly! We were able to deliver all our decorations to the hotel, and the set up the venue exactly as we requested. The evening was wonderful! The staff all were polite and answered any questions we had. When the reception was over, they put all our stuff in one area and helped us load it all up again! I can’t say enough wonderful things about the Framncis Marion!

(in the Gold Ballroom) and reception (in the Colonial Ballroom) in April 2018. From start to finish Gillian and all of the Francis Marion Hotel staff were accommodating, communicative and professional. Gillian makes wedding planning fun and easy, providing a list of reputable vendors and also patiently talking through all options during the planning process. Our wedding guests have all been raving about their pleasant experience with the front desk, house keeping and how beautiful the historic hotel is! If you are looking for a beautiful historic Charleston venue with top notch service the Francis Marion Hotel is a perfect fit.

hat it really fit with my roaring 20s theme. They do a great job decorating even when I supplied all the decorations. Gillian and her staff (servers, bartenders , and banquet managers ) were all amazing and friendly. We loved getting to bring in our own alcohol. It saved us a lot of money and a lot of venues don't let you do that. The food is to die for, most people dont go to wedding really for the food but my guest couldn't stop talking about it. We had stations with shrimp and grits ( unreal) , chicken and waffles, and beef with potatoes and veggies. We absolutely loved everything and did it all on a budget!!

our budget was a little on the lower end of what it costs for a plated dinner reception in Charleston, but we were ecstatic with what we were able to serve our 80 guests. The Colonial Ballroom was gorgeous, spacious, and historical. Gillian was so incredibly helpful and went above and beyond with every detail!

ception at the Francis Marion and they made my reception better than anything I could dream. Thank you!!

the planning process. She was incredible! She was always available, always putting our minds at ease throughout planning, and always did everything she could to make sure our day was everything we dreamed it would be. And it was! Everything from the food, to the ballroom, to the staff was above and beyond our expectations. We can't thank the staff enough for making our wedding dreams come to life. We will forever be loyal customers of this wonderful hotel and I'll suggest it to anyone planning an event in Charleston!

tart of the planning process till the last song played at the reception she was there making sure everything went accordingly. You won't regret having your wedding here!

wedding from 7,000 miles away from South Korea. I knew when I started searching venues I wanted simplicity, as in I didn't want to have 40 different vendors to work with as far as food, tables, linens, etc. At the Francis Marion, we parked on Thursday night and didn't have to leave the hotel for a single thing until Tuesday morning when my husband and I left. We had our rehearsal there, rehearsal lunch at the Swamp Fox restaurant, the wedding in the Gold Ballroom, and the reception in the Colonial Ballroom which gave us the feel of experiencing two different locations during the wedding, but just one floor above the other :) The best part was the wedding package which basically had everything we needed. I only had to reach outside of the venue for our flowers, DJ & cake. (These vendors had all also worked with Francis Marion numerous times so I never even had to see the cake or flower vendors the day of, they came at some point of the day while I was busy getting ready, and bam: the flowers were brought to my door by gillian, and the cake was beautiful when we walked into the reception :) Gillian definitely knows what she's doing. She was there EVERY step of the way. I mean every step...I felt like I didn't have to do a thing. She made sure the entire ceremony ran smoothly, came to my room to get the decor the morning of and set it up exactly as asked, etc. She asked if I wanted the flowers brought to our room or left downstairs, 10 minutes later they were in my hands as my makeup was being applied right there in my room. Ladies, if you're getting married and feel overwhelmed by "details", choose this place. Gillian made everything so simple and answered any questions I had politely & quick. It allowed me to focus on my family and friends on our big day while still having everything go off without a hitch! People are still messaging me two weeks later saying how beautiful and fun the wedding was but thats all thanks to Gillian and her staff (also Ryan was such a fun and energetic banquet captain!) I feel like i'm missing something because just everything was so perfect from the first message I sent to her last June but don't let this place get away if you're searching for beauty, elegance & simplicity :) Words aren't enough to justify the perfection of this place as a wedding venue :)

Being from out of town, we were very thankful for Gillian Crum (wedding coordinator at the Francis Marion)! She answered any questions we had leading up to the wedding day and was extremely helpful when it came to decorations and a timeline for the day. We were able to arrange a food tasting, which helped us narrow down our choices. Although, the decision was not easy because everything we tasted was amazing! On our wedding day, both sides of the wedding party were able get ready at the hotel. We used the bridal suite and reserved one of the conference rooms. Some of the staff checked in with us throughout the day and made sure we had everything we needed. Everything ran smoothly throughout the day and through the evening. Our guests raved about the food and how fun the venue was for a downtown Charleston wedding. We, along with our families, would highly recommend the Francis Marion! We are so thankful we were able to use them for our special day! -Laura & Jake

I was her only bride. As a micromanager, the only thing I wish I would have done differently, was not worry so much about the details of the reception - she really does have it all under control. The entire staff was excellent: bartenders, servers, bell men, and the reception desk staff. I was simply blown away by how much they went above and beyond for us.

r team went above and beyond to make our day extra special. My only complaint.....the day wasn't longer! If I had it to do all over again, I would choose Francis Marion for my reception every time!

n replying to any question I had! Both Gillian and the entire hotel wedding staff worked so hard to make our reception a night to remember! The dinner service was seamless, and the food entrees were delicious. The set-up was exactly how I had asked, and the value of the venue (hard to find in Charleston!) was terrific.

t the venue or would she be available to help all the way through to the wedding day (I was in the process of interviewing planners), she said verbatim "if you have me, you will not need another planner!" That sounded GREAT... What I didn't know was that she was basically only there for quick emails and the month of our wedding. I planned my entire wedding ALONE. In addition to poor planning, the FM lost items that we rented, causing vendors to call and harass us and our family during our honeymoon, threatening to charge us for items the staff at the FM lost. When I felt as though my issues weren't being addressed, I had to call the event coordinators manager and she had no idea about my grievance... Also, even after laying out a floor plan and discussing SEVERAL times how we wanted things set up, the reception did not look how we discussed at all. My husband and I rented a BEAUTIFUL vintage settee for our sweetheart table (which deserves special attention in my opinion) and the settee was shoved in the back of the reception hall and we were forced to either have the staff move furniture in the middle of the reception, or sit on uncomfortable folding chairs. We sat on uncomfortabl chairs. The wedding coordinator also did not attend our rehersal which led to sheer chaos. I thought she ran downstairs until the front desk told me she left for the day. The ceremony doors weren't closed after the wedding party exited the ceremony, so my guest followed and TRAMPLED my beautiful Lazaro gown which I am still in the process of getting fixed. Our guests said the wedding turned out beautifully. The food was on point but this day was basically ruined for me, with no apologies and I can never have another. This is a pretty expensive, historical venue and maybe my expectations were too high, but I asked specific questions so that I wouldn't be disappointed or expect too much and I was still deeply disappointed. If I had to do it over, I definitely would pick a different venue.

I would recommend having your wedding there. The only reason I am giving them 3 stars and not 5 is because when choosing my vendors I called Francis Marion for their advice on a DJ. I called and asked specifically if they had worked with Burt of FingerSnappin Entertainment in the past. They said yes they had worked with this DJ and they would highly recommend him. Unfortunately, this DJ was absolutely terrible and I am currently trying to get fully refunded. My advice would be to make sure when a bride calls you for your professional and highly respected opinion about vendors, that they are actually a good business. Please do not ever recommend his DJ services to any bride in the future.

eautiful, the location is great, and the food was also very good, but the real treasure here is the wedding coordinator, Gillian Crum. I can't tell you how helpful she was, not just during the planning, but the week of the wedding as well. She truly helped us achieve exactly what we wanted, and went above and beyond. We had a destination wedding, and I don't believe we would have been able to pull it off without her help and expertise. The rest of the staff was wonderful, as well.

d. We planned our wedding from out of town and within a 5 month engagement, and I do not believe I could have done it without Gillian. She basically comes with the venue as a mini wedding planner, and really did serve as a week of and day of coordinator. I can not say enough nice things about her or our experience with this hotel! If I had it to do over, I would use Francis Marion again in a heartbeat!

recommend this hotel!

great, all my guests stayed in the hotel and had access to everything in the middle of downtown and made it easy after the reception to get to an after party spot! The room was beautiful and the service was great and my guests raved about the food, I had shrimp and grits and pasta stations. Its a one stop shop and you can't beat the value!

answered and every detail planned to make sure we were getting exactly what we wanted. They were extremely accommodating and we loved the fact that we didn't have to travel all over Charleston on our wedding day. They're wedding packages and pricing are ideal for a couple on a budget (mindful however that this is Charleston we're talking about). The space was gorgeous and the food absolutely delicious. I really cannot say enough great things about the Francis Marion!

eat. She saved us a ton of money we would have spent on a wedding coordinator. She was super attentive to detail and put our mind at ease about the whole planning process. We are still hearing about how great the reception was and how beautiful the hotel was.

e process so easy. From being prompt to answer emails and make updates to our event, we were able to put together an amazing reception. The hotel front desk staff was wonderful as well. They made sure that all of the guest who booked rooms in our block were well taken care of as well. The Francis Marion worked extremely well with all the vendors that I hired for my reception (photographer, DJ, bakery, Chaircovers)

king with caring and kind people, we still came across several frustrations, which would eventually be made right. Overall, I was extremely pleased with how the event turned out – we loved our wedding, we love the vintage hotel, and it’s location in the center of Charleston, SC. There are many benefits to choosing a venue like The Francis Marion: Room set up and clean-up is included in the cost. The price of silverware, plates, glasses, white/black napkins and linens, and cake cutting is all included in the cost. They allow you to bring in your own alcohol (at a fee per person) which helped us get better bang for the buck on the alcohol we were serving. The catering is done by the Francis Marion – another decision to cross off the long wedding list – and the food was awesome. I was somewhat concerned with how the food was going to taste, because we’ve had less than stellar meals at the Swamp Fox, but both our tasting for the wedding and the actual wedding food was amazing. People have been raving about it - particularly the Crab Cake Station, Pasta Station, and passed hor devours! Our frustrations stemmed mostly from us asking for some (what we believed were reasonable) changes to their ordinary set-up. I was surprised how hard it was to get them to agree on some of these requests, especially with how much we were paying to the Francis Marion alone. Almost every change we made came at a price. However, let me reinforce, that in the end, it all turned out beautifully, but I can’t discount the frustrations we felt while getting to the final event. All the people we spoke with were more than caring and kind, but they didn’t necessarily have the power to make the decisions. Caroline was instrumental in helping us achieve our wedding day vision, she definitely had more say/empowerment than others we spoke with at the Francis Marion.