La Venture Grove

working the coordinator they originally assigned us, Brooke. We couldn't get a response for literally months from her and the unlimited communication months prior was pretty much non-existent. She was simply overbooked and didn't have help. I pretty much handled all coordination duties myself until the day of the wedding. They ended up switching our coordinator with a new hire, Paige, and she was a lot better at communicating with us and apologized for the previous ones short-comings. Overall, she did a good job. It seemed like they were going to be using her from now on so hopefully our issue we had won't be an issue for other couples. So even though our wedding planning process with them was not good, our wedding day was beautiful and I wouldn't have changed a thing.

dream to work with for the bar! Day of the wedding it rained and La Venture team worked so hard to make it perfect for us. I am incredibly grateful for their willingness to pivot and make it all happen day of. They were rockstars! We even had the Jags game playing thanks to their help #dtwd!!! It was a dreamy little night that I will remember forever. However, there were many areas that I had to choose joy in and overlook in the moment instead of being bothered by that day. Now that it is over, I want to give honest feedback and inform future brides. At the time of booking we were required to hire Brooke as our wedding coordinator - I believe that requirement has since changed. After booking, Brooke was nearly impossible to communicate with. We paid for the package that included “60 days unlimited communication” not sure what that means or what I was expecting, but at the very least I would expect it to mean within that 60 day window I would have a response or acknowledgment within at least 48 hours. Unfortunately, she would take weeks to respond to urgent texts and emails. The week before the wedding she did pick up her communication pace, but the money we paid to have the 60 days unlimited communication was truly a waste. It was like pulling teeth to try to get her to respond. When she would respond there was never an apology for her delay and she lacked the professionalism to provide out of office notifications. We had meetings to discuss vision and details, which at the time I felt great about. I took the time to send inspirational pictures and clear outlines of my vision and attach them to our Google Doc and included a Pinterest board link. She completely disregarded my Pinterest board link and never joined it. She also paid no attention the notes and pictures I left on our Google Doc where I was VERY specific about my desired color palette for the florals. I will start by saying, Brooke is incredibly creative and talented. However, she is not attentive to listening to the bride because while I had the most beautiful florals they were NOTHING we discussed. I outlined very clearly on multiple platforms of communication with her that I wanted my flowers to match my color palette of ivory, browns, oranges/rust, and hints of blue. My flowers were vibrant and colorful and filled with pinks, purples, and yellows - colors I never discussed or desired. It did not match what my vision was. A few other mishaps of the day that are worth mentioning. Brooke was MIA for multiple points of the night. She didn’t assist in sending tables to get food and that was slightly chaotic. Our tables were set incorrectly - I was informed later that this was brought to her attention and she said it didn’t matter. My mom had requested spoons also be laid out with the flatware and they not included. All in all - beautiful venue and a sweet family who owns it and they were helpful in most areas. Brooke’s coordinating services were incredibly subpar and not worth the investment if you value communication, professionalism, and having your specific vision executed.

fresh oranges scattered across the ground, vibrant pink azaleas, palm trees, and gorgeous live oaks with Spanish moss. It is the most magical and dreamy venue I have ever seen. The reception area is the perfect relaxed, intimate setting for an outdoor wedding. During our reception our sweetheart table had the most amazing backdrop of the St. Johns River with a deep red and orange sunset. Our guests raved about how perfect the venue was! The quaint, historic home was the perfect place for the bridal party to get ready in the day of the wedding. Tami and Todd (the owners) are incredible. They felt like family and worked with us before our wedding and the day-of to make sure everything was absolutely seamless behind the scenes. We hired their daughter Brooke as our day of coordinator and Florist. I was blown away with the florals and how they made my Pinterest board dreams come true from the bouquets, to the table settings, everything was perfect!

es can choose from or that are included in some of their smaller wedding packages. From our experience, they did not follow what is offered in those packages and so it was stressful for a new bride when she’s trying to plan a wedding and there is no answer to plan! Honestly, I really loved the beauty of the venue too but had to cancel out of fear for how this could end and it’s not worth the stress for an experience that is suppose to be fun and exciting! I was sad having to notify all the venders and our family of the news but what concerns me is no one has gotten back to me about the cancellation months ago at La Venture Grove and I received an email since asking to set up my rehearsal to which I responded I’m still trying to cancel. I just don’t wish to get charged any late cancel fee or anything like that lol! I truly hope they try and start giving everyone, regardless of who they are, a great experience for something so special! Communication is key! Best of luck!

y, and the entire LaVenture team did everything in their power to make sure our event was exactly as envisioned. They were creative, listened well, and rolled with last-minute changes and workarounds--there is ALWAYS something--which demonstrated their commitment and agility to their customers. Their recommendations for a celebrant, band, and photographer were greatly appreciated and delivered a great experience. Ideas for tablescapes, decor, and little details such as signage were welcome. Our family and friends were stunned at the transformation of this vintage homestead into a romantic, intimate space that was just ideal for our wedding for 90+/- people. Would recommend LaVenture Grove and Brooke without hesitation.

tiful and stress free for me. Our coordinator, Brooke, also did an amazing job planning our decor and set up with a just few generalizations of ideas of how I wanted things to look. The decorations in their “decor closet” made the day and were absolutely stunning. The whole wedding planning experience was a little overwhelming for me and she took the reins for the details and made everything beautiful for us. I would 100% recommend her services to anyone looking to have their wedding here.

sional and accommodating and it felt like they provided everything they could to make our event more comfortable for us. I could not have found a better place for our wedding.

ld even consider. My heart was set on that dreamy venue! They were so much help leading up to the wedding and I had Brooke be my wedding coordinator without hesitation. I couldn’t have done it without her help and just having her presence made me feel like nothing could go wrong! The wedding was absolute perfection and to this day everyone who came still talks about how glorious the location was. Just let me spend everyday roaming around La Venture Grove and with the family behind it!

h moss. This property turned my dream wedding into reality but it wouldn’t have been what it was without the staff at LaVenture Grove. I decided to get the coordination packages that comes with the one of the packages. This included the help of Brooke and Kendall who both had a huge hand in making my wedding day what it was. Everything ran so smoothly from the day I signed the contract until I made my exit after the reception. There’s always the option to hire outside coordination, However, I felt that hiring the staff at LaVenture would make things a lot easier- and it did. I’m so happy with LaVenture Grove and I would recommend any one wanting a beautiful Florida wedding to spend it here. I still have friends and family raving about how beautiful this place was. My bridesmaid, who is now engaged, just signed her contract with them as well. Don’t sleep on this place!!!

sional and went out of their way to make sure all of the guest were comfortable and having a good time. I can’t even describe how beautiful the sunset on the river was...you have to see it for yourself. The pictures of the bridal party in front of the sunset are breathtaking! The historic home at the venue has beautifully appointed rooms for the bride, groom, bridal party and groomsmen to get ready. I hope we get to attend another wedding at La Venture Grove cause it was the most fun wedding we have ever been to!

cture worthy areas and a beautiful old house to get ready in. The owners Todd and Tammy were wonderful and accommodating and if I could have solely dealt with them then this would be a very different review. Unfortunately, their "coordinator" Brooke was the cause of most of my stress regarding wedding planning due to her complete lack of ability to communicate with a bride(she was not my planner but she was in charge of all communications with venue). It could take up to a week for a response, she didn't show up to ANY of the 5 meetings I had there after cancellations up to ten minutes before appointment or just not showing up at all. i have still never met this person face to face. Luckily someone from her family would usually arrive eventually to save the day and be able to show me and my planner around. Brooke told me and sent photos of items I could rent, then told me one week before my wedding that they no longer rent to people who don't use her planning services which had me scrambling for decor days before my wedding. The final straw was when I was told my seating sign which was accidentally left was found after an email conversation.. my mom drove 40 minutes to get it and had to wait to be let in 15 min past the time she was told she could come, then was told my item actually was not there and a very insincere "sorry" was given before she turned her back to my mother and walked away. The venue itself is great. I want to recommend this venue but I could never recommend dealing with their coordinator to anyone.

ke works so hard to help all your visions come true- she was literally foraging the property for the perfect accents for my centerpieces the day of the wedding! She is a very busy woman and can sometimes be challenging get a hold of, but as my wedding approached, she became much more available. I also did not realize she offers a coordinating service until late in my planning, but I would DEFINATELY recommend it. I never felt pushed or pressured to change my vision, always met with "we can make that happen." I started my day with yoga on the porch, married my best friend, and sailed away from the dock into married life. Pure magic. The venue and vegetation is decoration enough (did I mention a 1000+ year old oak tree and orange trees of the original grove?), and the history of the grove and the St. Johns Rive is quite interesting as well. Huge thank you to Brooke and her team!

n’t have to stress about a single thing. Beautiful venue makes for STUNNING videos and photos. Highly recommend this venue to anyone getting married!

operty you could have a wedding. Whatever look, scenery you are looking for, La Venture Grove has it all. BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Thank you, La Venture Grove, for giving my parents the anniversary celebration of their dreams.

oss and the orange trees that dot the venue as well as the historic home onsite create an enchanting experience. The setting alone is worth the money, but there’s more. The proprietors truly went above and beyond to make our day the best day ever. They were day all day as we decorated and they made suggestions, moved tables- whatever we needed, they were there. The wedding planner, Ashley, was so on top of everything and made our day run so smoothly! She was so calm through the entire evening, and we couldn’t have done it without her! Just magical!

e the venue in the future. Our day was perfect regardless of the avoidable issues we encountered along the way. There were many unprofessional issues and working with the venue was difficult at best. Among these issues were: • Being stood up for a scheduled venue visit. The original appointment was requested to be changed by LVG less than three hours prior to our confirmed meeting time. It was moved to the following day for us to come do a walk through and pay the remaining balance. We showed up ten minutes early and waited for 45 minutes at the locked gate. My attempts to reach LVG staff went unanswered, so we left. I was called later that night with an apology, being told they forgot about the meeting and that they’ve been busy and chaotic prepping for the wedding that coming weekend. I was also told we would receive a discount to “make it right.” We were not given said discount. • Communication issues. The average turnaround response time was a week. When trying to give vendors answers and plan, this isn’t acceptable. I do not know of any business that waits minimum seven days to respond to clients. When I did get a response, there was an apology and a reason given that they were busy with events happening at the venue. This is an event venue with many events on the calendar and blaming lack of response/communication on other paying customers is worrisome. I’ve also reached out regarding items that were not returned to us that we brought to the wedding. I provided a detailed inventory list on wedding day so nothing would be misplaced/left behind. I still have not received a response. I live out of state so I cannot simply swing by the venue. • Invoices/Discrepancies. We were originally misquoted and paid too much for day-of services. We were told that since we’d have a large number of guests that the overpayment would go towards the cost of portapotties. On wedding day we were surprised to see no portapotties and we still have not been refunded for the overpayment. • Staff Attitude/Conduct. On wedding day some members of the staff were dressed inappropriately — low cut/see through clothing. The tone and attitude of some staff members communicating with my mother, the wedding party, our vendors, and even their own staff members was appalling — saturated with snarky and condescending comments and impatience and cursing. I understand that this is a new venue, but there’s no excuse to not operate with integrity and professionalism. It’s truly disappointing to have personal ties to both the location and coordinators and to still experience these issues. I am rooting for this venue because it truly is a magical place and could be one of the best event venues in the area.

er! The venue is complete with a historic home that is the focal point of the property. The home accommodates the bridal party comfortably with both a bride and groom’s suite. We used the home for our dinner buffet and it felt like the guests had gathered at the family’s homestead. Our daughter chose to get married on the front porch of the home and walk down the palm lined walkway to her groom. It was something to be remembered. The outdoor covered pavilion with farmhouse tables and many beautiful features created the perfect place for our guests. The property is stunning and the views of the river at sunset are breathtaking!! The owners, Todd and Tami are genuine and professional. They accommodated our requests and last minute changes due to an impending storm. Brooke, our day of coordinator was amazing and put together a full staff to make our wedding run so smoothly. I can’t say enough about this amazing wedding venue!! We feel so blessed and fortunate that we were the first large wedding at La Venture Grove and our daughter’s dream of an “Old Florida” wedding came true! If we could give this venue more than 5 stars, we would!!

ost beautiful weddings I have ever been to. It was well run, the organizers had obviously done an incredible job and it has one of the most beautiful sunsets of any place in North Florida. I will highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a venue. I can’t say enough wonderful things.

gorgeous views around with a spectacular sunset. You won’t be disappointed!

out worries. We can’t say enough wonderful things and we really appreciate everything and highly recommend you guys!!

a wedding here is like having a wedding at a family members house. The family here is more than accommodating, they go above and beyond to make sure your day is perfect. We can’t say enough wonderful things and will always highly recommend this amazing venue for any occasion. Our wedding was absolutely perfect!!

give historical information on the property! I cannot wait to recommend this venue to my future brides!

on the property. This venue is by far one of my favorites! The owners have always been amazing and very hospitable! I couldn't ask for a better venue!

roperty, then we were quoted a different price on the contract that was quadruple the original estimate. They won’t honor the original quote due to the date we chose. At the time we informed them of our date, they did not mention there would be a price difference from the quote until we physically showed up on the property over a week later. Great property, but just know they are still learning their way around how to handle things.