Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club

Golden Ocala was my dream wedding venue for as long as I can remember, and it definitely lived up to all my expectations and MORE! Alisa was so helpful throughout the entire planning process. She made me feel comfortable, informed, and prepared. The day of, both Alisa and Georgie worked tirelessly to ensure that our big day went off without a hitch. They worked seamlessly with our team of vendors to create a wedding day experience that was SO enjoyable. They take amazing care of you as the bride and groom!! Golden Ocala is beautiful and their team is amazing. You cannot go wrong choosing to have your wedding here!!

We recently had our wedding at Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club in November 2019 and couldn’t be happier with everything about the day. Alisa was very helpful along the way and flexible to accommodate the ideas and decor we had in mind. The food was phenomenal and the service staff very polite and friendly. Many guests commented on how beautiful the location was, and our pictures turned out exceptional with the breathtaking landscapes and backgrounds. On top of being the perfect venue for what we envisioned for our wedding, it was a fantastic value, wrapping all the costs into one simple package. We highly recommend this venue to anyone looking to get married in Central Florida.

My wedding was flawless thanks to the staff at Golden Ocala! From start to finish it was done seamlessly and every detail was perfect. Alisa was there every step of the way, she also was great at reminding me when things were due and decisions were needed. Nikki who assisted Alisa was also phenomenal with helping especially the day of (like when I completely forgot to put my veil on before walking down the aisle, so she ran to the building we got ready in to go get it!) Chef Rick's food received endless compliments from my family and guest- our food tasting was extremely difficult because it was so hard to narrow down our choices, everything was delicious. Robert and his serving team were on point the whole night, if someone had an empty drink or plate they were there immediately there to remove and refill. I really cannot compliment the entire team enough, my wedding was an absolute fairy tale thanks to all of the staff at Golden Ocala!!

I had my wedding here a couple of years ago and can't believe that I did not write a review. This place is gorgeous!!! The staff was out of this world amazing!!! They made me feel like a princess! The food was great and we could not have asked for more!!! My guest are still to this day telling me how amazing my wedding was!!!! (Almost three years later)

We recently had our wedding at Golden Ocala, and I was blown away. The grounds are absolutely gorgeous. Many friends and family told us it was the best wedding they have been to. After they lost the original wedding planner, I was a little worried, but Alisa and Nicki were fantastic! LOVED them. Great venue!

Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club was a beautiful venue with great scenery and luxurious features. Unfortunately, our experience with Julianne was sub par at best. Prior to the wedding date, the experience with Julianne went quite well It seemed that she was quite experienced and knowledgeable about hosting a wedding event with a fairly large group of guests (approx. 270+). She made some promises prior to the event that during the wedding event were never executed (i.e., opening all three (3) doors from the Raspberry room to the Ballroom for our guest to see what is happening). The table number placement was poorly executed which caused some guest that were intended to sit inside the ballroom (close relatives) to sit outside on the veranda. She had a copy of the seating arrangements that we e-mailed to her prior to the event which also included the table numbers. Her attention to detail is quite lacking in my opinion. One of the biggest complaints I have with Julianne is her unwillingness to work with us when a hurricane (Hurricane Matthew to be specific) was headed towards Florida. Our final guest count was due on Wednesday. A majority of our guest flew from out of state and out of the country (I'd say this accounted for approximately 2/3 of our guests) on Thursday for our wedding but approximately 30-40 guests could not make it due to flight cancellations and flights not being available to fly in earlier. In our contract, it states "Cancellations due by acts of God will receive considerations." While this applies to cancelling the event completely, some consideration should have been taken about the guests that could not attend. The excuse from Julianne was that they already ordered the food (which was mediocre) for the wedding. On top of the food cost that we had to pay for the guest that could not attend due to the hurricane, we also had to pay for the liquor package (per person). This resulted in approximately $5,000.00 additional for food and drinks for people that couldn't attend due to "acts of god" (i.e., flight cancellations due to hurricane). On top of the the $5,000.00 additional that they charged for guests that could not make it, she charged us an additional $1,500.00 for "gratuity and service charge". We did get that refunded, however, after contacting her. It's a shame that spending so much at this venue while getting borderline terrible customer service (I will say that our guests, except for a select few, had a wonderful experience). My recommendation is to have your agreement between Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club and yourself be reviewed by a lawyer so you don't get into a situation we did. Also, make sure you check all the details when the room is being setup prior to the event. Because Julianne is very unwilling to alter things once she has them setup her way. I think this entire experience for my wife and I was completely terrible due to Julianne's lack of attention to detail.

I can truthfully say that Julianne and her team made our wedding! I could not have done it without her help. She was there every step of the way and such a pleasure to work with! Her recommendations on vendors gave us the wedding day dream team. Words cannot thank her enough for everything. Golden Ocala is a 5 star venue for a wedding. We first had our hearts set on a wedding in the garden but changed day of to the portico because of weather and I am SO happy we did - it was even more gorgeous than I could have even imagined. If you are even remotely considering Golden Ocala, schedule a meeting with Julianne and I promise you, you will not be disappointed! Chef created the most wonderful cocktail hour and reception food. It truly was a dream!

As a minister for over 30 years, I have conducted and attended numerous weddings. Yet, I can truly say that nothing has come close to the superlative experience we enjoyed at Golden Ocala for the marriage of our son and his bride. We were captivated immediately by the exquisite natural beauty of the grounds and surroundings, matched with grand facilities to create a one-of-a-kind venue. Julianne Cuomo’s grace, warmth and thorough professionalism was a joy. She and her staff handled the myriad details with patience, flexibility, and expertise, and the responsiveness to our needs was so reassuring. We chose the option of selecting Julianne as our personal wedding coordinator. Her creative suggestions and guidance helped us immensely. A wide range of fabulous gourmet food was available for creating our reception menu, which we were able to sample at our private food-tasting. A delightful pool-side brunch with family preceded our rehearsal, where Julianne’s experienced leadership helped all participants be at ease with their parts of the service. The ceremony itself was held in the immaculate garden, with our bride descending the stairs like royalty. A cocktail reception on the broad veranda (with signature drinks and appetizers) was followed by a glittering reception under the lights of the gorgeous ballroom chandeliers, featuring sumptuous food served with impeccable attention to detail. A sparkler send-off for the happy couple through the porte-cochere brought a glowing finale to our evening (this area also serves as a rain-out option). We have received countless rave reviews from family and guests. In short, we could not be more pleased with the Golden Ocala experience – exceeded our fondest expectations. Special thanks to Julianne, Greg, Erin, and staff – you created truly “golden” memories we will treasure for a lifetime. I cannot encourage readers enough to contact Golden Ocala – they offer the “total package” with quality and value that cannot be matched.

The venue was beautiful for pictures, however that's about the only thing I can vouch for this place. Julianne, made this place seem like a dream. Not only did her staff (or her!) steal over $1500 from our wedding card box, we were promised exceptional service, top notch meals, wedding coordination, seating set-ups, and she promised me that if "anything went wrong the day of, I would never know". The service was downright terrible. The staff was rude, pretentious, made nasty comments about my mom, and mocked my guests and table set ups. The meals were mediocre. Julianne's "wedding coordination" is not worth the extra $250. She refused to help with the seating set-ups that she "promised to do" and when I asked for help with anything she said it "wasn't her job". My family had a reserved row at the ceremony and when they sat down, Julianne kicked them out of the entire ceremony and made them stand in the back even after they said they were family. My own grandparents stood in the back of my wedding ceremony!! Every time a problem arose, I was the first person she went to which put an enormous amount of stress on me. She even went to the extent of interrupting my husband and I's dinner to tell me of a problem at another table. Her attitude and the way she carried herself was just as disgusting as her wait staff. The day after the wedding we noticed all the missing cards. Entire cards were missing and some cards that originally had cash were tore open and left empty. They stole over $1,500 cash from us. When I emailed Julianne about it, she wrote me a completely unprofessional and defensive email explaining it wasn't her or her staff and told me they had no cameras to prove it. After contacting the owner of Golden Ocala, we found that they do indeed have cameras and she lied to cover either herself or her staff. I had such a terrible experience at this place that I regret choosing here! Save yourself the outrageous amount of $$ and go elsewhere!

Absolutely Perfect! Choosing this venue was a no-brainier. We were offered $100 per person and that included the ceremony and reception area, chairs, tables, tablecloths, dinnerware, and food. The venue was ours the whole day if we wanted it. I got there at 10am and could have stayed until 11pm if we wanted. Anywhere else in the central FL area could only offer us 4hrs for twice the price and no food included. This is truly a hidden gem. Our guests traveled as much as 2hrs to get there and they all said it was worth it! The venue is breathtaking and the staff is just incredible. Julianne especially helped me all the way, from the initial walk through to the day of coordinating. She is prompt in responding to emails and calls and was always willing to answer any questions I had no matter how small or crazy. She has the patience of an angel. I definitely recommend using her as the coordinator for your wedding day, there can't possibly be anyone better. To me the most important part of a wedding is the food because food brings family and friends together. There was not a single person who did not enjoy every item on the menu. We had crab cakes and chicken wellingtons as appetizers, prime rib and salmon in a lobster sauce as the entree with garlic mashed potatoes and a vegetable rice as well as asparagus and carrots in a spice sweet sauce. Spectacular! You cannot go wrong with any of their choices, and that was proven to us since the food tasting. Honestly I can write all day about how wonderful this venue and the workers are but I doubt anyone has the time to read it. Do yourself a favor and at least meet with Julianne and take a tour of the venue because it is truly a dream come true.

Golden Ocala - I cannot say enough about how gorgeous a setting it was for my daughter's wedding. And Julianne Cuomo, the Director of Celebrations, is a delight to coordinate things with. From the beginning till the end, the Bride and Groom were made to feel the most important people in the world, and totally at ease. I am sure I am missing praising something - from her recommendations who to choose as DJ and photographer, down to her staff - we were utterly spoiled and made to feel like royalty. The food was excellent, and our guests just loved the venue! 2 weeks post wedding and this Mother of the Bride is still feeling rosy from the experience. Did I mention how nice Julianne Cuomo was, not only professionally but as a person? You will not regret choosing this as a venue.

As the bride, they really did their best to make the planning and the actual day all about me.

Great food. I loved that they had packages for smaller budgets that still made my guests feel like they were high priced meals.

Golden Ocala is a beautiful place to get married! Not only do you have a wonderful backdrop for your wedding, but a great staff to help you as well. They cater to your every need and truly work hard to make your day special. I would recommend this venue without reservation!

I loved this venue. It is so beautiful.

Love this club! No need to decorate, its already beautiful!

We were worried that we weren't going to find a place as beautiful as we wanted in the price range we needed. Golden Ocala had an amazing English elegance to it, and a great package! The staff is devoted and cater to your every need. They made our wedding, and the whole day, a day to truly remember!

I had a December wedding at Golden Ocala. It was a smaller ceremony held indoors in the Governor's Room. It looked like a victorian library and seated about 80 guests. The fireplace was on and it felt very cozy. Our reception was in the ballroom. I thought the food was great.

Golden Ocala is not only a Stunning setting for a wedding but the staff is beyond helpful. They will bend over backwards to make your wedding everything you dreamed of. The food was to die for, the facilities are top notch, but the people truly are the best. You would be making a huge mistake having your wedding elsewhere in Ocala.