Oaks Manor

Pros: The Ability to DIY: Oaks Manor does not have their own catering service. As a result, you can bring in whomever you’d like to supply your food. Additionally, you have the option to hire bartenders and bring in your own alcohol. For those who would like to plan a wedding on a budget, this could be a great avenue to do so. The Mansion: Along with the reception hall, you have the ability to rent out the adjacent 11 bedroom for the weekend without breaking the bank. Our entire wedding party of 18+ people was able to stay comfortably and we all split the bill. When you rent out the property, you get it for the whole weekend. We were able to get access to both properties as soon as the Friday morning before, and were given as much time as we needed to pack up and leave on the Monday after (we had a Sunday wedding). Cons: General Upkeep of the Property: When we arrived at the venue, we, as well as our caterers, noticed a bunch of basic issues regarding the cleanliness of both spaces. The caterers had to sweep the floor when they went to set up the reception area, the kitchen was dirty, there were a ton of smudges on the windows, and someone found a mouse in the first floor kitchen. Additionally, the AC in both spaces and the refrigeration in the reception hall were not working properly, and were not fixed until shortly before the ceremony. Even during our first look, we saw maintenance on the roof doing extensive repairs. We’re grateful that they got it fixed before the ceremony and reception, but as a result, it was very hot getting ready in the bridal suite because the AC hadn’t been fixed yet. Lastly, because the refrigeration wasn’t working in time, we had to send our wedding party out to buy coolers and ice in order to make sure our drinks would be cold. When we requested reimbursement for the added expense, we were told that we could’ve just served the drinks over ice (that could’ve worked for soda, but not for alcohol). Maintenance Support: When we went to talk with the caterers as they were setting up the Friday before the wedding, they showed us two plastic rectangular tables in the middle instead of the round tables that we were promised. When we probed Heather (the event coordinator) about the tables, she let us know the day before the wedding that they were broken and that the maintenance team wasn’t responding. Turns out, they were just missing a few screws, so we ended up sending Heather to get the screws and ended up putting the two tables back together ourselves. Event coordinator: It speaks volumes that the feedback we’ve gotten from most of our wedding party after the wedding was how Heather was unprofessional throughout the weekend. There were multiple times where we were supposed to meet with her, and she was either sick or had a family emergency, and didn’t bother to tell us until we contacted her asking where she was because she didn’t show up. One of those times was the day of the rehearsal. We get it, emergencies happen, and no one can control when they do. However, we asked her if there was anyone else who could cover for her so she could take care of her personal matters, but she said it was only her, so we were left to do the rehearsal on our own. Even though her job was to coordinate and take stress off of us and our wedding party, we honestly felt the opposite. We understand that she was trying to stick to the schedule, but we felt rushed the entire day, and it honestly just made things more stressful.