Margaritaville Resort Orlando

A true Florida Fairytale - Margaritaville was the absolute perfect location for our wedding! Our guests can’t stop talking about how incredible the food was, as well as the atmosphere and the gorgeous backdrop. Lissette was absolutely incredible to work with and made the whole experience so smooth. Cannot possibly recommend this venue enough!!!

The Wedding Event staff was responsive and knowledgeable about various options for the ceremony, reception, and rehearsal dinner. They were transparent about the true costs of each venue, each menu, and additional items and services. The catering manager (Lissette) and staff were professional and attentive. The wedding coordinator (Michelle) assigned to our event knew exactly how to get everyone where they needed to be and when. When a few things needed changing at the last minute, they were able to facilitate solutions. The entire weekend went so smoothly because the Margaritaville event staff made sure it flowed.

I am going to preface my review by saying my husband and I are Italian from NY. So anyone who is familiar with NY/NJ Italian Weddings knows what I mean when I say we are used to big, over the top, weddings where EVERYTHING is included and they will make ANYTHING you want a reality.. We definitely wanted something different, but just noting this is not that kind of Wedding Venue. When we first visited Margaritaville in 2020, we knew we could picture our wedding here. It was bright, brand new, airy, clean, and had so many Modern, Tropical, Romantic aspects that we loved. Once we were engaged in 2022, we reached out to schedule a formal tour and learn more about the offerings. We met with a team member who is no longer there, booked our date and began the process. With our Wedding being in May of 2024, and having had booked in August of 2022, we had almost two full years of planning - which can be daunting at times because there is only so much to accomplish and get done in certain timeframes. After some miscommunication regarding the Catering Manager I initially booked with leaving her position (which was my biggest fear after seeing the past reviews), in came Lissette who was nothing but a pleasure to work with. She was very understanding of my stress of having to get her up to speed on my vision and went above and beyond to make sure our day was everything I envisioned. She was always quick to respond and on the money. She was always an advocate for us and worked hard to accomplish each and every one of my asks. We had a wonderful final walkthrough/tasting a few months prior to the wedding which left us with minimal finalizations to do ahead of the big day. All in all, I would recommend Margaritaville Orlando as a Wedding Venue and working with Lissette if possible. The resort has several beautiful options for where you can hold your ceremony and reception. We opted for a ceremony outside with a Reception in the Compass Rose Ballroom. The ballroom was my least favorite thing about the resort. It is very beige and boring. But, I pulled together so many excellent vendors who transformed the space into a bright and colorful room full of romance. I only have a few cons from my Wedding day that are no direct reflection of Lissette, but are worth noting as things to look out for: - When booking, we were given one night stay in a suite for the night of the wedding. Since we wanted to get ready there, we had to book and pay for the night before, which would then be upgraded to a suite to match what the comp is. When I went to check into this room at 9am on Friday for my Saturday wedding (since I was already there staying in the Cottages) I was told my room would be ready soon! Which was music to my ears as I had a lot to transport up to the room before my 4:30pm rehearsal. Long story short, the day went by and there was never a room ready for me. When I called the front desk to question it, I was told I would have to wait til 4pm (which I understand to be standard, but I was told one thing, and another happened...) It took a couple of hours longer, but I finally got into the room around 3pm that day. With the amount of money we spent to have our Wedding there, and the amount of guests I had staying at the resort, I was very disheartened by the treatment from the staff at the desk that day. ---- But, the one bright side was the beautiful Champagne and Chocolate Covered Strawberries left in our suite after the wedding, with a beautiful card from Lissette -- again, she saved the day. -The ceremony space wasnt "locked down" until about 10 minutes before I walked down the aisle. All during my first look, hotel guests in bathing suits were trapsing through where we were. There were about 5 instances in 10 minutes where people almost stepped on my veil... - In the age of social media, I did a lot of research to see past events at Margaritaville to gauge the things I did and didnt like, as well as put together my vision. One thing I had seen SEVERAL times online was the use of Cold Sparks in the HUGE ballroom. I booked a package that included these with my DJs, who also confirmed they had used them there before so it would be no problem. Well, the day of my wedding, it was a problem. They were told they couldnt set them up. Fortunately, I was so relaxed the day of my wedding and realized I had no say in things at this point, I let it go. From what I can gather, there is someone new in charge who is very by the book and fails to take into consideration that a little grace goes a long way when someone is planning the biggest day of their lives! It is not my fault that their practices were different then who came before them...I had dreamed of the pictures with the sparklers since the day I booked them two years ago, but fortunately, my DJ's and coordinator came up with an alternative so 2 of the 4 I had paid for could still be used at the exit. - Overall, the food was good. Everyone had great things to say about our choices for the cocktail hour. There were some meals where the meat was either severely overcooked, undercooked, or in some cases, the fish had an extra fishy smell. But, our guests were all great and nobody mentioned any of these things until the next day. - The one major thing I am very dissappointed in is Coffee Service never took place. Of my 116 guests, only 5 guests got coffee and that is because they explicetely asked for it. Shame on us for having fun on the dancefloor and not stopping to think we needed to check on this standard piece of any function. Again, our guests showed great kindness and didnt inform us of this til the next day. - It was hotter than usual in Florida the week of my wedding, so ALL of the resort spaces were very hot the entire time. Hallways, bathrooms, the ballroom, the Foyer - there was nowhere to go for relief. I understand it takes a lot to cool down a space that big, but it was unbearable at times.. These few things definitely caused me some unnecessary stress and dissapointment on my Wedding day but the love we were surrounded by saved the day. All in all, Margaritaville did a nice job. The venue is beautiful and most of the staff was pleasant and kind. One huge pro of having your wedding here is they provide you with a Day of Coordinator - and in my case, Kelsey from Simply Enchanted Events was who was assigned. Kelsey and Lissette worked seamlessly together to make sure everything leading up to the day was perfect. There is definitely value in that offering so I must give credit there! I truly can't say enough wonderful things about Lissette and Kelsey. For any other NY/NJ brides who are familiar with those costs, just know there is in fact value in what you pay in the Tri-State Area. The cost savings in Florida is in the vendors, not the venue, as each asks comes with a price tag, and a hefty admin tax + sales tax (++).

Great place for a wedding! Lissette was the best from start to finish! Highly appreciated