We booked our wedding for on a Saturday February 2021 back in January of 2020, long before most people even knew what COVID is. We planned on having a 100 person wedding, knowing that everyone, ourselves included, is traveling from out of town,... and most from out of state. It would therefore not be possible to have most of our guests attend, due to work schedules, to host on any day but a Saturday. Because of our Jewish faith, we cannot host the wedding during Shabbos (Friday sundown - Saturday sundown). We therefore planned an early February wedding because the sundown time would allow us to have our wedding at a reasonable time (6:30pm start time).
Due to COVID, they are now working with most couples on a 8-10 week out basis to reschedule their weddings. If you're considering a venue and have never planned a wedding before, you should know how unrealistic that timeframe is. At 8-10 weeks out, your invitations should be out, you should be receiving RSVPs back, working on vendor specifics, have the bride’s dress altered, etc. etc.
We approached them to reschedule our Feb. 2021 wedding, as we had been hearing from nearly all of our guests that they would not be able to come, due to travel restrictions and health considerations. As an exception to the 8-10 week policy, they offered to reschedule our event to June of 2021 at the latest, which we appreciated, but due to Shabbos, we cannot have a wedding any later than February, as the sundown time would force us to start our wedding very late in the evening. For example, if it were held in April, we’d have to start at around 8pm; this would mean the event would end at 1:30, well past their cut off time stipulated in the contract. We then asked for a Saturday in late October, or all of November and December, and they offer us the Saturday before or the Saturday after Thanksgiving; no other dates! They know this is not workable for a wedding where everyone is coming from out of state; nobody would come to a wedding right before or right after Thanksgiving.
We then asked several times for Saturdays in January or February 2022, both of which would accommodate our guests’ travel needs and our religious needs, but they refused to provide that option, however several asks later, they agreed to provide those options, but insisted on charging an additional $2,000, on top of our already outrageously overpriced venue contract (to the tune of $15,500+ originally).
Because it was the only venue my fiancee and I both liked, we begrudgingly agreed to pay the $2,000 additional fee, but they then refused to host our wedding, saying they’re “not a good fit.” They took it upon themselves to cancel our contract, refusing to host our wedding as scheduled or on any other previously offered date.
Nobody at this organization answers phone calls or emails without a three day minimum to get back to you. Some emails went a week without a response.
If you are considering a St. Augustine wedding, do know that there are many other wonderful options in historic downtown and along the beach (keep in mind Treasury on the Plaza is also operated by this organization, where you’ll have similar poor treatment). You should consider these alternatives if you value good communication, customer service, and/or having your religious needs accommodated. You should also consider these alternatives if you are Jewish as they have proven that they are happy to discriminate against and mistreat Jewish couples without hesitation.