Once my husband and I walked into the Rumely we knew we had found our venue. That said, we had a number of difficulties that added to the stress of being an out-of-state couple planning their wedding long-distance. Things were more-or-less rede...emed the day of (coming into contact with a way-worse vendor put our encounter with Rumely in perspective) but here's a list of pros / cons:
PROS:
• There really aren't any other spaces like it in the city. It's such a unique venue, and I loved having the opportunity to have our cocktail hour underneath the 12th Street bridge. All of our guests loved the space, and I loved not feeling like we were having a cookie-cutter wedding.
• We had an unfortunate incident (see the first con) and they continued to work with us despite never receiving payment.
• We were able to come in a day early to drop off decorations.
• The space functioned very well to have both our ceremony and reception there—it never felt too cramped or too big (we had a smaller wedding).
• They were accommodating to a unique request: having a petting zoo as a surprise for my husband.
• I really didn't have much contact with them the day of, which is great: They were handling their business, which let me handle mine.
CONS:
• Our money (along with other couples) was stolen by a former employee. They had no record of us, and as such, we didn't learn about it until months later when we came into town and a potential vendor told us what was going on. It took them a few days to get back to us once I contacted them multiple times, and they did honor the contract we signed, but it was a stressful beginning to the relationship.
• The second contact we were connected with promised us a lot of things—most notably, that I would be able to have lit candlesticks as part of my reception centerpieces. We weren't immediately told when she stopped working there; it wasn't until my wedding planner contacted them maybe a month before the wedding that we learned that we'd have a new contact.
• We learned later that we wouldn't be able to do a few of the things the previous person promised months prior. The one that upset me the most was not having lit candlesticks because they use fans along with AC to keep the old building cool in the summer. So, 30 days before my wedding, I had the stress of thinking of an entirely new centerpiece idea after I had become SUPER attached to this specific look. It was disappointing—if the second contact had told me I wouldn't be allowed to do it, I would never have the disappointment of being told I couldn't so close to the wedding date.
• Poor communication was an issue throughout my experience with them, but I've been promised by Jamie, a capable member of the team, that they're working on it.
• It's an old building, and it got very hot—especially in the bridal suite. They brought in an industrial cooler, but it wasn't very effective. And having the fans whirring wasn't ideal.
All in all, it was a very beautiful, unique space—but there were issues that kept it from ultimately being a stress-free, ideal wedding venue for us.