We chose La Jolla Cove Rooftop due to the view, and Wedgewood, due to its all inclusive nature... so we thought. We were so bogged down already, and it seemed at the time like it w...ould be the easiest/most cost-effective option. What would follow was by far the most difficult, time-consuming process. They were so minimally involved, and fought us on everything - we were forced to get a wedding planner to represent us.
In addition to the elite package that we purchased, we had to spend A LOT more money, adding quality vendors, decorations, and solutions for what they lacked, misrepresented, and were plain unwilling to accommodate. We had to fight them each step of the way. You WILL need a wedding planner to fight on your behalf, so make sure to account for that in the cost. We also had to replace their dirty cushions by the firepits and removed the chair located at the bar entrance, as all of it was filthy. Their table #'s were beat up so take that cost into account.
Before booking, we were warned they are impossible to work with, but proceeded due to the promises made during the sales pitch: "venue includes cake, food, florals, DJ, etc..." We had maybe 2/3 meetings with Wedgewood and I can say with full confidence, we would not have been able to pull off our wedding without a planner. She was a partial planner, but she had to do Wedgwood's job as well. It was like pulling teeth to extract information like, "when is our rehearsal?" "When can we try the food we will be serving?" ...Things like that. They simply don't care about the details. They also promised things they had no intention of delivering (zaffa&candles).
Wedgewood is a good option if you're throwing a corporate event or a BBQ picnic style wedding, if you don't care about details. Most emails are eventually answered by whomever gets to it first, ensuring that no one is up to speed on anything discussed during prior meetings creating for additional dialogue and wasted time playing catch up).
- Table flip takes place pre-ceremony so guests are seated next to tables. Because of the nature of the space and the slow elevators (plan to tell guests to arrive an hour early, as waiting for elevators adds at least 30min and guests WILL arrive late because they have to wait to get up to the rooftop." We tried to fight them on this (looked super tacky), but ultimately lost that battle.
- Florals: Michelle at Emerald and Ivy - florals were very poor quality and she was incredibly rude and insisted on taking my husband (then fiancé) off every single email, adding attitude wherever she could and took a lot of time providing a quote. We also could not get a gauge for what she was planning to provide, and every "we received was far above the amount allotted, which was not disclosed, until after we asked about taking the funds allocated for a Florals. ($3 per person) so we decided to take out $350, YES. $350 and put that towards quality florals... We went with someone so much better, so it worked out, but it also cost us a ton more than expected.
- The cake was the easiest part of the process and cute cakes was easy to work with, their work was quality. They insist on having the cake out on the bar, since seagulls will eat it if outside, and they also have no where else to put it! Also something we were informed of about two weeks out from the wedding.
- Food: Wedgewood has two events per year for their "clients" to come taste the food, where they can also be a captive audience for all of their preferred vendors... We missed the event before our wedding, so we couldnt taste the food we'd serve (they asked us to choose it a few weeks before the wedding)... When we asked when we could taste the food they told us the next event would be in September...our wedding was in July. They were unwilling to accommodate, so we had to go to Temecula 3 weeks before our wedding to try "some of the same food options" for our wedding. We made our selection, as the food at the event wasn't too bad. That's because the food they served at the wedding was nothing like what we tasted. The mashed potatoes were way too salty, salmon was bone dry, and the food was pretty nasty. We did get good feedback on the appetizers, which I didn't try because Wedgewood didn't think to put any of the apps aside for my husband and I at the wedding.
- Photo Booth: they had a very cheap setup and they insisted on putting the Wedgewood logo on the prints and GM, Nick wouldn't budge. If u can tolerate their attempt at free marketing, the booth was fun but we used our own background since theirs was beat up.
- DJ: this is also included thru dancing DJ productions, an agency which assigns a DJ to you. There was no one who could play Egyptian music, so we were assigned a different "ethnic" DJ. He was horrible and didn't prep at all, didn't play the songs we requested. We specifically said no song requests. He still took requests.. from the kids...
- It was also difficult to find a photographer willing to work with Wedgewood