Secret Garden by Wedgewood Weddings

ryone to get ready. The grooms suite was far enough away from the bridal suite that I didn’t have to worry about seeing my husband. The photos came back so beautiful for the ceremony and the reception. The ceremony area is perfect! With the alter at the top of a slight hill there is not a bad seat! Fake grass so my heals didn’t sink in. EVERYTHING WAS PERFECT! Stephanie the wedding coordinator was a huge help, she made sure I didn’t worry about a single thing. I highly recommend this venue to everyone. Beautiful areas for photos and it is spacious for all your family members. And SUCH a wonderful team with their Creative Hands Cuisine Caterer in house. Food was also so amazing!

ning (when we toured the venue for the first time) to the very end (saying "I do"), the Secret Garden had every last detail under control. Their coordination with our other vendors was astounding - everything on the day of our wedding ran so smoothly and effortlessly, my husband and I were actually surprised because we were expecting something unplanned to happen. We got to enjoy our day without worry and soak in every moment, and we owe so much to this place for helping make our wedding day the best day of our lives. All of the kudos to our wedding coordinator, Stepheny. She was so on top of everything, knew every little detail of what we wanted, and worked tirelessly to make everything happen the way we hoped it would. Stepheny was truly a joy to have with us throughout the planning process and we highly recommend having her as your wedding day coordinator if you go with this venue! Long story short, we couldn't imagine having our dream wedding anywhere else. From the perfect atmosphere during the ceremony, to the dreamy outdoor dinner and FANTASTIC food, to the indoor reception area where we partied all night - the Secret Garden holds such a special place in our hearts now. We are truly thankful to them for everything and hope to visit them again soon for more events!

ined the venue is. The real hidden gem is their event coordinators! Our coordinator was Stepheny, and she is phenomenal! From our first email, she was extremely attentive. Any question, concern, or hiccups that came up she had an answer.. The closer we got, the more we reached out to finalize details. Without fail Stepheny always got back to us on the next business day. Even after the wedding, she got back to us on her day off! If I called she always made herself available or called back that day! When we had our tasting she was there with us. We had the good fortunate of meeting her husband, who is a chef with Creative Hands Cuisine, he was our chef for that night. We had several attendees who have dietary restrictions, including myself. Both Stepheny and Stephan know the menu inside and out. They were able to help us plan an amazing menu! We could not have had a more perfect wedding day! To be perfectly honest a good portion of that goes into how organized Stepheny and the vendors contracted with The Secret Garden Event Center are. Stepheny handled every little detail. At the end of the night she even grabbed the heels, I had changed out of and got them in a box so they made it home! I can’t even imagine how stressed if I would have been the day of the wedding, if not for Stepheny and the vendors we had! Thankfully I had no stress and that is in large part due to the fact that I knew Stepheny had it handled. She knew our wedding and all the plans inside and out, and took care of it all! Every detail Stepheny has thought of, and will be able to use her knowledge and expertise to make your event as amazing as ours! Creative Hands Cuisine will take care of any and all dietary needs! On top of that the food will be top notch! You can not find a venue with better food! The contracted cake vendor is Inspired Sugar, and the cake is amazing! We could not have asked for more delicious cake. Our guests told us best wedding cake they'd ever had! They even suggested the bakery we got gluten free cakes from, for our guests. Starz Entertainment has an amazing online portal to take you through the entertainment package process. The djs they have are top notch. Stepheny had all the details handled better than anyone else! The being said the dj we had, Brent has bringing a party to life down to a science! Fred's Florist is one of three florist we had the choice to choose from. We felt Renee with Fred's Florist connected best with us. They really added to the beauty to our event! The bouquets, centerpieces, flower girl crowns, corsages, boutonnières, chuppah, and all other decorations they were involved in were gorgeous! The only vendors we had to find outside of their package list we photography/videography and specialty cake. For photography/videography we went with RMW Photography and Videography. Rebecca and her whole team are incredible. We didn't even know they were there, unless they were giving direct instructions for photos. Specialty cake was made by Jewel's Cafe and Bakery! Guests couldn't even tell it was gluten free, or that the other specialty cake was gluten free, dairy free! Our guests are telling us we had the best wedding ever! It was made possible by The Secret Garden Event Center.

ding team should be and more. They helped me stay on top of everything as the date got closer and when it came down to the day of, I wasn't worried about a single thing because they really helped us all feel comfortable. I HIGHLY recommend Secret Garden for any event - they made our day so perfect and special.

ere. Carina was the BEST day of coordinator I could’ve imagined. The food was delicious and all of our guests raved about the food and the venue. There are several different areas within the venue and what’s nice is that you have access to them all pretty much. Highly recommend! Thank so much Secret Garden for being so accommodating and for having such an amazing list of vendors to work with. Special thank you to Carina!!! ♥️

hotels as most of our guests were traveling. Our guests stayed at the Arizona Grand Resort and it worked out very well having a private shuttle run between the two places (the service at the AZ Grand was truly five star and there is a discount code for booking with the Secret Garden- highly recommend). The staff at the Secret Garden, particularly Stepheny was amazing. I work very random hours in the ER (in Michigan, with a three hour time difference) and she promptly replied via phone, text and email on nights and weekends. She worked seamlessly with an outside wedding planner we hired and truly seems to love what she does. The venue itself sells the packages for a reason, they deliver them well. There was some opportunity for improved flexibility on certain things outside of those packages, though in the end they truly delivered. The best example of this was the menu tasting, we recommend contacting them early and requesting the entrees/hors d'oeuvres you are interested in tasting (otherwise it is a general menu they prepare). The venue itself is a beautiful setting. We used the large lawn for our cocktail hour complete with a quartet in the gazebo, the wedding burro, lawn games and two bars. Our dinner under the stars was timed perfectly for a sunset seating, complete with a duet plated service delivered beautifully by Chef Doug with creative hands cuisine (those mashed potatoes though!) and live jazz music. Electricity in the garden area has historically been a bit difficult, but Stepheny worked in coordination with our DJ (Greg, Gold Ring Entertainment) and our Jazz Band to make sure enough power was available. Dinner was truly magical. I remember taking a moment with my husband during dinner and looking out at all of the candlelit tables full of our favorite people and thinking how blessed we are. Inspired sugar delivered a beautiful and equally delicious cake to serve as our third course and then we moved inside for dancing! I don’t think we left the dance floor the rest of the night. At one point, I did briefly step out when the bustle on my dress broke. Stepheny was the first person by my side literally with a needle and thread offering to stitch it back together. The service throughout the entire night was genuine, kind and excellent. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for making our day so special.

t every little question that popped into our heads at all hours of the day, and we would receive a response within the day. The staff at Secret Garden always went above and beyond and made sure we knew how special they wanted our day to be. 

 Added perks that may be of note for newly engaged couples: 1 - They have a monthly payment option so you don’t need to pay for the venue upfront (just a deposit to hold your date). 2- This venue looks like a beautiful mission in Southern California, but has Arizona pricing. 3 - The preferred vendors they use are GREAT. Everyone absolutely loved Brent from Starz DJs - he got so many compliments from our guests, and rightfully so! The in house catering from Creative Hands Cuisine was also a huge hit. 4- They were great about working with our budget from start to finish. Overall, I highly recommend Secret Garden to any couple looking for a venue that is beautiful with some added touches, but enough of a blank slate to make your own stamp on your special day.

urroundings. We really wanted a location which lent itself well to interaction among guests but was still classy enough to feel like a wedding venue. WHY WE CHOOSE THE SECRET GARDEN The Secret Garden is not only beautiful, with its Spanish Mission styled buildings and lush gardens but cosy and intimate too. As we had such a unique group of people attending, we really wanted people to mingle in a relaxed and beautiful atmosphere. Also, my husband and I loved that we got married on the grounds of a historic home with character. LOCATION The grounds are tidy, thoughtful and well laid out. You get some desert vibes without being too ranch-y and do not have to walk long stretches to get from one part of your program to the other. The fountain at the entrance and the arches on the property are a nice touch. The grand staircase is just beautiful too. Several of our guests commented on how pleasant it was to be able to go outside to talk or just mingle next to the fire during our reception. So something for everyone – the dancers, non-dancers and some desert vibes too! PRE-PLANNING and WEDDING DAY We worked with Stepheny and she was very humorous and kind, but also thoughtful and resourceful. Since I was in Norway for all of the pre-planning, Stepheny chatted with me on Skype and emailed back and forth with me. She held my hand through much of the planning process but also gave me enough space to make my own decisions too. I never felt like she was pushy or trying to pull a fast one on us either. She was “on top of” our event and was mindful any of the important details we asked be respected. She also made sure some extra touches were in place on the day of our ceremony, so everything flowed well. Again, she was organized, thoughtful, positive and HONEST – pretty much everything you’d hope for on your wedding day. I personally felt taken care of and respected but also got to relax and just have fun on the day of because she was a professional. Maggie was also a part of our journey with The Secret Garden. Again, very professional and really sweet when we met her in person. THE FOOD We’re big time foodies (hate that word but it’s true) – and were blown away by the menu from Creative Hands. Not only was the food delicious but stylish and simply put, perfect. Edible flowers, visually interesting garnishes plus thoughtfully done combinations – and the food was tasty too! I think about half our wedding party came up to us to rave about the food during the event and we’re talking about a crowd from 11 different countries! So yes, if you enjoy a good meal and need a chef who can provide a world class dining experience, this is definitely the place for you. I cannot rave enough about the food – it was excellent! WHAT WE WERE MOST DELIGHTED WITH I wouldn’t change anything about our wedding and am so thankful we had such a top-notch venue to host our special day! We absolutely loved the Secret Garden as our event venue and LOVED (!!!!!!) Creative Hands as our caterer. If you’re getting married in Phoenix area, you MUST book your wedding at the Secret Garden.

e staff was so professional and helpful throughout the night, the wedding coordinator even was there to help sew my dress when a malfunction happened. I would recommend this venue to anyone to have their wedding here :)

t only is it a beautiful venue that your guests will love, but the food is AMAZING! We’ve all been to weddings where the food was sub par, this is not the case. My bridal party and guests are still raving over their dinner. Our coordinator Carina deserves 5 stars of her own. You’ll never meet a more prompt, sweet, and informative person in all of your planning adventures. You know you’ve lucked out when you feel like you’re discussing your ideas with a friend rather than a staff member. We could not recommend this venue more, you won’t be disappointed!

en is not only beautiful, with its Spanish Mission styled buildings and lush gardens, but from day one I felt that they were invested in make sure everyone had the best experience. The owners, Camille and Doug Brochu, are wonderful. I met Camille when touring the venue for the first time. I instantly knew that she was someone I would enjoy working with and every time I spoke to her, she exceeded my expectations with kindness and professionalism. I met Doug for the first time at our menu tasting. He is the Head Chef and truly made it memorable. The meal he made was visually pleasing and delicious which made it clear that he was an incredible chef. The whole staff was kind and congratulator through the whole process, but the true MVP was the Event Manager, Monica Crothers. She was my main point of contact for almost a year and there was not a moment where I did not love her. She responded to my calls and emails in an appropriate time frame, gave me advise when I felt lost and always took it upon herself to follow up with me at specific mile stones to see how she could help. On the day of, she was there to help everyone prep and feel comfortable and I did not worry once about how the day would go because I trusted her fully. The beautiful venue was the reason I initially picked Secret Garden but the people and the experience they created is why I cannot imagine getting married anywhere else!!

rds. Everything went very smoothly and I could not have been happier with Secret Garden!!! Highly recommend!

phone call, we knew we were in great hands. Maggie was tremendously helpful in setting up our tour, answering our initial questions, and securing our date. She is so knowledgeable and personable, and the Secret Garden is so beautiful that our choice for this venue was a no-brainer for my daughter’s night of a lifetime!! Next came Monica, the Secret Garden's Coordinator/ Planner Extraordinaire. After booking the Secret Garden for our wedding, she sat with us to thoroughly tackle all details of my daughter's special day, so that nothing was missed or left to chance. She worked with us throughout the process and was there to navigate and guide us through my daughter’s big day ...she is absolutely amazing!! The service at cocktail hour and at dinner was top notch and on point. Whenever I was ready for a passed Hors d'oeuvre, a Butler was there with one ...much like the Butler in Mr. Deeds!! After Sarah helped us with planning everything bar related, Jimmy, the bartender, stepped in and was personable, helpful, funny, witty, talented, and kept our guests entertained while they were sampling his tasty libations. ...which brings me to the food... Words cannot describe how incredible the food is. Chef Doug (with his lovely wife Camille) created a mouth-watering menu for us that was out-of-this-world OUTSTANDING (including his famous, signature vanilla-basil lemonade), and Chef Layndon delivered the knockout punch from the kitchen that night for all our guests!! Everyone is still raving!! From beginning to end, my daughter’s magical day went off without a hitch. I have 3 more daughters, and plan to have all of their weddings at the Secret Garden as well... it was that phenomenal!! We appreciate everything the Secret Garden and Creative Hands Cuisine did for us, and absolutely and whole-heartedly endorse and recommend them to make all engaged couple’s special day as memorable and magical as they made ours!! Thank you again Maggie, Monica, Sarah, Jimmy, Layndon, the Secret Garden, Creative Hands Cuisine, and staffs, and a special thanks to Chef Doug and Camille, for going out of your way to make my daughter’s childhood, fairytale wedding dreams come true!! These guys are truly the best!!

every step of the way. She was one step ahead of me at the wedding, keeping everyone and everything in line. They have packages that make choosing your wedding vendors SO easy and the vendor options are great. My wedding couldn't have been more perfect at the Secret Garden.

nice. So many of our guests couldn't get over how beautiful the landscape was. Big kudos to Monica and the Secret Garden staff!

e and the big tree, to the carriage house, to dinner under the stars and the elegant pavilion, we had amazing event; it was a true romantic, garden experience. We first met with Gina in December of 2015 and she showed us she was professional and cared about our wedding. The Secret Garden staff was very accommodating throughout the entire process and they were eager to build the experience we wanted for our wedding. We utilized the entire property to give our guests a unique taste for each part of the evening. The staff also worked with us on what we wanted to do for the ceremony and gave us new ideas. The meetings we had with them were personal and I truly felt like we were a priority. When we had our tasting with Creative Hands Cuisine, Doug blew us away with the food he presented. In addition, he was able to build some options for our menu that were personal to families’ heritages. I am so grateful to Gina and the Secret Garden team for contributing to our event and helping make it a success. The quality of service was incredible and I appreciate their flexibility with our event.

ything would be taken care of the way we wanted it. Definitely recommend this venue to anyone who wants the best day of their like to be amazing and stress free!

der, staff, cake, DJ, and photographers were amazing and on point! The only down fall to anything that day were moments that our day of coordinator, Maggie, had. Ok first off, when we had our walk through of the venue it was perfect! Maggie was the one who actually sold the place to us and she had me in tears! She was amazing and we wanted her on the day of our wedding. She was honestly lovely up until the actual day of the wedding. I showed up and went to my bridal suite with my girls. I had no idea where Maggie was and assumed she was in her office working, which was fine with me. About 30-45 minutes later, as I'm getting my makeup done, Maggie comes into the bridal suite, no hello or anything, and starts lecturing my make-up artist about getting the makeup off of the new chairs. She clearly seemed stressed and immediately made me feel uncomfortable and unwelcome. I brushed it off. My mom comes back from me sending her to check on a few things and comments on how Maggie seems stressed out. That's great. I find out later that she interrupted my mother-in-law while she was helping the guys put on their boutonnieres, and told her she was doing it wrong. What?! Then, she comes up to the bridal suite and rushes my bridesmaids to get downstairs and lined up. I asked if she could have the groom start walking down the aisle while the girls lined up because they were in white and it was a surprise for my husband to see them in white, because my dress wasn't white. She sternly looked at me and said, "It's too late for that.". I honestly couldn't believe it. She apologized and said, "We didn't rehearse that so sorry.". I don't understand what was so hard about making a tiny adjustment last minute and I'm sorry that I clearly had so much on my mind that I didn't mention that at the rehearsal. In the midst of all of this happening, being rushed, I forgot to put my veil on. Then, while she was helping take gifts out to be loaded, she was rude to my maid of honor and she started taking cards out of gift bags! So we had to go on our registry and ask many people what they got us, so for when we did our thank you cards. Kind of embarrassing and more work for us. The staff started cleaning up way too early. We paid to have the venue until 11pm and they started cleaning up around 10pm. We did not expect that to happen. Overall the venue was phenomenal and besides Maggie and the staff cleaning up early, everything was perfect and this post would've gotten 5 stars. The previous manager, Alexis, and the new manager, Monica; whom both assisted in the planning process, were amazing!! Beautiful venue and everyone couldn't stop talking about how lovely the wedding was. Maybe Maggie was having a bad day, it happens, but it was unfortunate that it had to happen on our wedding day. -The Murdicks

amazingly for our day.

reat compared to a lot of other venues that we looked at and got information for. The other thing that attracted us to it was that it was BYOB and after speaking with Chef Doug about the food options and doing a tasting, we were hooked! Everyone there was so amazing and helpful. The owners, Camille and Doug spent a lot of time speaking with us and helping us nail down the fine details. Alexis was great during the lead-up process. She was super responsive and every small detail was addressed. Maggie and Gina handled the day of and it went super smoothly. I did not have to worry about anything. On the day of, the grounds looked so beautiful and the food was AMAZING. I still have people comment on the Mac and Cheese bar we had. I definitely recommend this venue to anyone looking to get married in the Phoenix area.

to other venues and one of our favorite elements is the venue's ability to completely transform day of. Would definitely recommend!

nt the day of and did a fantastic job of ensuring that everything was on schedule and packed up at the end of the night. I would highly recommend the Secret Garden to anyone looking for a spectacular venue!