An honest review about my wedding experience at Sapphire Creek.
In front of the scenes (ie our day of + wedding guest experience):
Feedback received from guests was that it was one of the best weddings they have attended. (Even during a global... pandemic). The space was exquisite, food and drink was delicious, and the servers and bartending staff was lovely. Erica (our day of coordinator) was a total pro and went above and beyond to help us on the day of our wedding.
Behind the scenes (my experience as bride):
We started planning our wedding with Emily (who was customer service gold) in October 2019. At the end of May 2020, Emily left her position and was replaced by Meghan. From our final walk through on, major breakdowns in communication and disorganization left me feeling very disappointed. A few of the breakdowns:
- For religious purposes, our wedding had to be held indoors and was going to be held in the Oak Room. When I arrived at the location for our dress rehearsal the night before the wedding, the room in which our wedding would be held, instead, had a separate event happening. I was immediately thrown as the day before the wedding was one of the most stressful days in the entire process. The wedding coordinator Meg and another wedding staff member, Sally, came and explained that I “shouldn’t be disappointed”, that “all their weddings usually happen outside” and that the event using our rehearsal space that evening “had been planned for a very long time”. They told me we would have to hold the rehearsal outdoors. I explained that of course our expectation (and every person’s expectation) would be that the rehearsal would be in the same space as the ceremony the next day so that those participating would be actually rehearsing where the ceremony would be. I let them know that if they had communicated with me, I could have shifted my expectations or we could have chosen another time for the rehearsal. It was a deeply, deeply frustrating moment.
- I was told our family style dinners would be served and plated individually due to COVID. I shared this precaution with my guests pre-wedding to alleviate concerns. On wedding day, the food was served family style with guests passing and touching multiple platters. This was never communicated to me at any time.
- At our final walk thru, numerous agreed upon things were changed (among them - I was told there would be “no fridge space” for my cake the day of the wedding.)
- Lastly (and maybe the most impressive error?), due to COVID, our guest count ended up being far fewer than originally expected. Because of this, we were due an amount back. The reimbursement check was short by over 1K. I ended up receiving the correct amount but only after chasing it during my honeymoon.
Unfortunately, I could go on, but I’ll end with this thought. Even knowing what I know now about the lack of communication and customer service, I would still book my wedding here due to the gorgeous space. It is absolutely perfect for photos + video and the food and drink was superb.
To Sapphire Creek, you have far too much of a world class space to not make sure your customer service matches it. Every bride should feel like a VIP and be treated as such. When issues arise, solutions and kindness should always be given.