The Victorian Belle Mansion

y fairy lights. It's a dream venue. The venue comes with a day off wedding coordinator too. The catch: You HAVE to use their catering, their bar and that's how they are making their money. BUT, the food is DELICIOUS and I felt their beer and wine was reasonably priced. It's just something to account for in your budget. Disappointing: We had the venue booked until 11pm and they started cleaning up the tables at 9.30pm. That is not ok and I'll still have to talk to the manager about this. It was a real turnoff. That's why I'm knowing off a whole star. It puts a damper on the whole experience.

rking with Deb through the process. It’s unfortunate that the experience with Deb is this excruciatingly painful as the grounds are so beautiful and provide a wonderful atmosphere for what could be a dream wedding. Every person in our wedding party that interacted with her (even the nicest, sweetest of our friends/family who were determined to “win-her-over” and have a positive interaction no matter what) have commented on how horrible she was to work with. I don’t feel it’s necessary to detail out everything that went wrong, but overall this is what we experienced: 1. Rules change frequently depending on Deb’s mood. One day or minute she will tell you one thing and the next day/minute her rules have already changed. The contact was merely a “loose guideline” and several “house rules” made an appearance throughout the process that we didn’t know about initially (and always seemed to serve Deb’s wavering habits). 2. Deb is extremely unprofessional in written and verbal correspondence. I’m still flabbergasted by some of the things she thought were alright to write/say to me, our family, our friends, and our guests. She is also unreliable in responses to questions/inquiries. It took several follow-up attempts and often would take weeks to get an answer. 3. Deb is over controlling. We had to describe in miniscule detail every minor thing we wanted to do with decorations, etc. Her reaction to our normal plans was oddly irregular and improper. Without being there the day of to decorate, we wouldn’t ultimately know in detail what would look best or what decisions would need to be made. These were merely ideas for our decorating team to utilize. 4. The inclusion of their “wedding coordinator” was one of the selling pieces for us at the mansion. However, we were actually forbidden to correspond with her until the rehearsal dinner or day of our wedding. We were also told the coordinator couldn’t make any decisions. It is hard to properly prepare a coordinator that you can’t talk to before the event. (The coordinator was actually very nice.) 5. Although the grounds are overall beautiful, the white fences are moldy and the roofs of the house, gazebos, and white tents are covered in a plethora of debris which is highly unattractive. 6. Several items that were discussed and agreed upon to happen on the day of the wedding, DIDN’T. Deb is very unorganized and items had to be discussed/answered multiple times. As a bride/groom, you want your experience with your vendors to be precise, easy, and stress free. This portion of our wedding experience added SO much stress it was horrendous! The only way we could handle it was with help from our friends and family who shielded us from Deb’s craziness (oh the stories we have heard afterwards…). If you are set on having the QAVM as your wedding venue – PLEASE proceed with caution and be sure to have EVERYTHING in writing. Be prepared to be very flexible as Deb changes her mind frequently and it will put wrenches into your plans (even on the day of your wedding). Please learn from our experience – it will at least be something positive that comes from it!

I had many people mention this to be the most beautiful wedding they had ever attended, I had to agree. The place is wonderful. I heard many people including my mother how rude the staff was to her. I did not have much interaction the day of so I can't confirm. But the fact I heard many people express the same concern, so I'm sure it was valid. It did not ruin my day and it was wonderful.

ner chose this time to approach me about hard alcohol in my dressing room. So instead of me walking down the isle excited to see my soon to be husband I was telling my dad about what happened,super stressed. She took my moment away from me and I will never get it back...I think about it daily. I have never in my life wrote a review but I just cant get over this. Now I will say maybe she did previously tell me no alcohol was allowed BUT my Bridesmaids did bring it in AND it was the last thing on my mind!! Deb should not have approached me before walking down the isle...she could have found a better time or just talked to my wedding party NOT the bride. I also had the worst coordinator assigned, I cant remember her name because I really never spoke with her. (Purple hair is all I remember) Can not for the life of me figure out what it is she does?? But returning calls/texts was not part of her job since she has a day job and made it clear I was not a priority! Thank god for an awesome DJ that did her job for her!! He made sure everything was taking care of including making sure we (bride/Groom) ate and kept asking if I needed anything. BTW..Frank from Bust a Move is the BEST DJ ever and made my wedding!!! We met with Deb a week before our wedding to discuss what we wanted and I am not sure why since she didn't listen to a thing we said. We wanted the over flow seating in the yard so when people came late it wouldnt interupt the wedding but when I walked down the isle she had out the seats in the ISLE ouside the gazebo (looked way TACKY)! She didn't have the beers at the bar we requested INCLUDING the GROOMS favorite beer (that he had been drinking in his room getting ready). Also the bar RAN out of beer at our wedding...so no one could order beer the last 1 1/2 hr of the wedding. A few other things: We were suppose to have unlimited lemonaid but we never saw that. The glass was not suppose to be in the Gazebo but it was. No one was suppose to be allowed up into my room and Deb said she would make sure of that...and Sooo many guests made there way up and saw me in my dress before walking down the isle a couple even saw me in my bra while getting ready. Grrrr...I could go on but I am just getting upset thinking about it. Good Luck to you Bride's if you get married here. Watch out for Deb and Purple hair!!

s victorian details. The white gazebo made it absolutely amazing. I believe it's an 42 ft gazebo so it can be used for multiple things (wedding ceremony, dinner, or dancing). Since we got married somewhere else, we used it for dancing and it was very nice. One of the major things I liked about this venue was even though it was very pretty naturally, Deb (owner) will let you come out and decorate. It was nice to be able to go on the property and add a personal touch (special for our wedding). The reception dinner was set up outside and the food was really good! :) We had pasta with red and white sauces, garlic bread and salad. It was a simple dish but very good (since it was hot outside). Deb (the owner of the place) is very nice. She was VERY helpful and did whatever she could to make our day amazing. Once it got closer to the wedding, she will have a day of wedding coordinator to help everything stay on schedule. Depending on the time of year, I know this place books up. My one negative thing I would have to say is because we had our reception at such a busy time of the year, sometimes it would take her a while to get back to me via email/phone. However, when the day came, everything was amazing and simply PERFECT! :)

hich was upsetting but the place it's self was beautiful. Just wish I didn't have to deal with the owner.

nd simple. Deb the owner was great to us and let me create my own vision. The food was good and Kiki our coordinator was on point and friendly. I had the most amazing wedding there, you just have to be willing to do some extra work.

obably would have! The food was prepared by Deb, and was amazing! We had it the next morning too, before our flight, and I couldn't have asked for a better "breakfast" :). You cannot find a better value for your money either - if you only have 100 people like we did, you can do a wedding for under 7500 - and that is for an evening ceremony! I can't wait to be there at a special anniversary to celebrate all over again!

oppurtunities in garden with many flowers and fountains throughout the property.

are suggesting them to everyone!

hile to make an appointment to get a tour and information on their prices and services so that you can compare them with other places you're considering. They have their own catering that you have to use, but the food is actually really good. Also, they charge 15% gratuity instead of 17%-20% that I've seen while hunting for venues. This place is very well decorated and they have some simple centerpieces you can use - so if you want to spend little to no money on decorations, this place will accommodate you. The staff are friendly, knowledgeable, and they really try to work with you. Now, we did get an extra $20 tacked on to our bill because someone snuck in a flask of whiskey, so warn your friends/family (or just don't get caught). The rental of the venue includes 6 hours and you'll have to pay about $200-$300 per hour for additional time, so if you have a vision of getting ready there and taking hours of photos at the venue, expect your budget to hike. Hidden fees: $300 mandatory cleaning fee; 15% mandatory food and alcohol gratuity; $100 optional rehearsal; $200-$300 per additional hour that's beyond 6 hours - but to tell you the truth, every venue has those "hidden fees" so read your packet carefully before you make any decisions no matter who you decide to go with. I paid total about 5-6K to this venue for 95 guests which did not include a dress rehearsal, we only did 1 entree meal (it was plenty of food), our wedding was on a Sunday which was cheaper and we didn't go over our allocated 6 hours. Overall, if I had to do my wedding over again, I would still pick this place.