We signed with Chateau St. Cyr in May 2026 for our NYE 2027 wedding and cancelled in late Oct after months of unanswered questions and a dismissive call with the owner. This reflec...ts firsthand experience and documentation kept over 5+ months.
We did not expect to be paying while basic questions went unanswered - the longest stretch was 7 weeks.
From July 31 through Oct 23, we repeatedly asked basic questions: when the fountain and gazebo would be installed, whether 150-200 guests would fit in the ceremony space, photos of decor and linens, whether speakers connected inside and outside, and whether our rehearsal dinner needed a bartender.
After the employee we signed with left in mid-Aug, Ashley became our contact, calling me from her personal number on Aug 21; I kept using the method she established. When her replies stopped after Sept 3, no one told us anything changed. Only on Oct 26 did I learn it was her personal number and we were expected to use a separate messaging system, never explained while our questions sat unanswered for weeks.
On Aug 21, Ashley agreed our capacity concern was valid and offered to set out chairs so we could visualize the space. Promised the week of Aug 24, then Aug 29, then Sept 2, then "within the week," it never happened. The owner later called setting out chairs a kindness beyond staff's job scope, even though her own staff offered it. A venue's ceremony capacity is basic information for a couple making a major financial commitment.
On Oct 23 I asked to speak with a manager; on Oct 24 I accepted a call for the morning of Oct 26. My question about the manager's name went unanswered. The call ran late, so I called in and learned the "manager" was Ashley herself, the person I was trying to escalate over.
I then messaged the owner, LeAnn, about my issues with Ashley. She immediately added Ashley to the call instead of hearing me privately, and questioned why the owner even needed to be involved. The employee we signed with told us in writing we could adjust from 100 guests to 150-200; we were also told the ceremony space held 300. LeAnn said our contract was for 100, offered an amendment, and said she believed 200 could fit with chairs circled around the gazebo, a layout we did not want, but county approval was still pending. After months of asking, we still had no certainty.
On decor, we were told to ignore the contract add-ons because they were for the company's other venue. On the call we first heard about options like 10 ft trees, after asking about decor for months, yet LeAnn said we should have known from the contract. She blamed the former employee; if management knew clients were misinformed, correcting it was their job.
LeAnn also described the property as a rental residential home rather than a traditional venue that provides planning. I never asked them to plan my wedding, only for basic facts about capacity and what our rental included. When we pressed on seating, she said she did not know "whether [we] wanted guests five feet apart or right next to each other" - an unreasonable excuse for dodging a basic capacity question. We asked for no unusual arrangement, just confirmation the space could hold our guest count at a new venue with no photos or examples.
We asked for nothing extravagant: clear information, follow-through, and professional communication. I hope future couples receive the professionalism we were not given.
Shortened by over 50% to fit the character limit.