We can't say enough nice things about Ann Marie, our wedding coordinator at Highfields. Yes, Highfields itself was a wonderful venue. It was absolutely gorgeous, the food was fantastic, the prices reasonable, and everything was maintained perfectly and held to a high standard. But let's be honest: when you choose Highfields, the REAL benefit is that you get to work with Ann Marie. My wife and I started planning our wedding about one year prior to the date, and the first thing we knew we had to do was find a venue. We looked at plenty of places all around the state. Then a friend of mine suggested Highfields because her sister had her wedding there. We ended up making an appointment with Ann Marie to go see everything, and wouldn't ya know it? Highfields was FIVE MINUTES away from our apartment!! Of course, when we got there we saw right away how amazing the building was and how beautiful the view was, and we knew that aesthetically Highfields would be perfect for us. Then we met Ann Marie...
Like I said before, we had met with a few different wedding coordinators at different venues, and they we're all kind and helpful if not a little boring, but Ann Marie was a huge surprise. Right from the get-go, she was extremely friendly and very outgoing but on a real-people level, not a dry "vendor-client" level. As our first meeting went on, she made us feel more and more at ease with the incredibly daunting task of planning our wedding, and we realized that we wouldn't be left to the wolves if we decided to go with Ann Marie. When we left, we knew right off the bat that this was where we were getting married.
Every meeting we had with Ann Marie from our first to our last went just as smoothly and was just as fun. She never let us get stressed out because she always reassured us that everything was under control and that we were NOT alone in the endeavor. She kept up with us on a regular basis between meetings, making sure we were meeting each deadline as they came. Not a single detail was missed, Ann Marie had EVERYTHING in mind: food, flowers, dress, tailoring, you name it.
Once the big day finally arrived, we were so calm that it surprised everyone. We had seen Ann Marie work only in the capacity of our one-on-one meetings, but when we saw her doing her thing the day of the wedding...WOW. She was on the proverbial ball, and the whole night went off without a hitch. Whenever we thought something was going to be an issue, or if we needed ANYTHING, Ann Marie was right there getting it taken care of. It was nothing short of awe-inspiring.
I could go on for days about the merits of having Ann Marie in our corner with our wedding, but I won't. If you want an amazing venue, with delicious food, and a wedding coordinator that will go to the ends of the earth to make sure that you're nothing but happy from the start of your planning to the day you say "I do", then you should choose Highfields.