The Willow Ballroom & Event Center

Fate brought us to The Willow Ballroom and we sure are happy about that! After researching every single venue within a 40 mile radius, we were pretty set on one venue nearby that had a similar look we were going for. Then one day we received a marketing email for The Willow Ballroom - never heard of it and it never came up during any of my searches. It looked beautiful in photos so we decided to go check it out immediately after work. We were sold! If you book here you have to pick a DJ and caterer on their preferred list, but otherwise any other vendors are your choice! Don't worry about that slight limitation, if you even want to call it that, because they have some awesome choices to select from. The ballroom itself is huge and has so many possibilities. We were one of the first to get married outdoors and luckily The Willow added brand new turf just before our wedding date! The view from the outdoor space is beautiful with the greenery and the river in the background. There are two wooden pergolas already set along with planters, so you really don't need to do much to the space! Downside is if you're getting married in hot weather, it's pretty tough on the crowd. The bridal party is all in the shade up front but other than that it's just direct sunlight. We rented umbrellas and provided fans to help with some of that sunlight. If you wanted to avoid that, you could do your ceremony inside as well and do a room flip during cocktail hour. So many options! The indoor area is even more beautiful! Chandeliers and market lights are lit across the room, highlighting the high wooden ceilings and contrasting concrete columns. You can soften the look with drapery options but we opted to keep it without drapery to avoid breaking up the space. We barely even needed to bring any major decor. The Willow has a ton of inventory that you can use as a part of your event. Throughout the planning process, Angelica was highly responsive and easy to talk to. I appreciated her quick response time and level of patience with my numerous questions! She's super sweet, gives suggestions when you're unsure, and supports your decisions when you share your ideas with her. It felt like I was just talking to a friend, not a business owner. Upon booking, she will give you a checklist of important dates which makes it super easy to make sure everything is done timely. During our actual event, she was easy to reach if we were in different areas, and catered to not only the groom and me, but also our entire bridal party and family. She's extremely thoughtful and literally thinks of everything. Our event moved so seamlessly. She probably came up to us once or twice during the whole thing and she didn't skip a beat. I didn't need to coordinate with anyone once different vendors arrived, she just knew where they needed to be and what they needed to do based off of my timeline and room layout, which are required by a certain due date before your event. She even had our car packed by the time the event ended, which allowed time for us to say goodbye to our guests and clean out the lounge space. I could probably keep going on and on about The Willow but I'll leave it at this. The Willow is amazing and more people need to know about it. Even if you're not booking an event anytime soon, share it with someone who is, so they can go check it out!

I had an absolutely terrible experience with this venue. They got shut down a week before my wedding by the county because of some code violations they never corrected. It was completely irresponsible of a business and wedding vendor to allow something like that to happen. This is peoples weddings we're talking about! Event coordinator was hard to get in touch with when we tried to contact her. Her inexperience really apparent during the whole process. The venue doesn't offer a lot, you will have to provide a lot of your own stuff. Bridal suite was really the front office area, not super pretty, and really nowhere for the groom/groomsmen to get ready or hang out beforehand. I'm glad that there were some pleased brides that had the chance to have their wedding here before me but for me, a bride who had to move everything to a new venue 9 days before her date, this is definitely a venue I will give a 1 star rating to, if not lower. Thank goodness for my coordinator, family, and friends I was able to move my wedding in such short notice. My wedding was amazing and beautiful so it was a blessing in disguise to get out of The Willow Ballroom.

The Willow Ballroom is a wedding/event center located in a repurposed warehouse just south of Sacramento in Hood, CA. Let me first say that I absolutely LOVED the vibe at the ballroom. After only 15 minutes (literally!) of our meeting Angelica, the general manager, and viewing the space, my husband and I signed the contract for our wedding/reception which was held in November 2016 Angelica and her family were amazing to work with and have a beautiful eye for design. During the pre-wedding days, Angelica helped solve a major problem with one of our other vendors and also pitched in during the reception where she thought she could help (all gratis!) The ballroom is a "blank canvas" where you can create your own rustic chic event. The space is a mix of concrete, brick and beautiful old chandeliers. There is a patio out the back and the area behind the facility abuts the river has wonderful photo shoot opportunities. We elected to use draping to divide the space into separate "rooms." The facility rental includes basic tables and chairs, but we added several vintage rentals which work perfectly with the decor. We couldn't have been more happy with our choice -- I HIGHLY RECOMMEND working with Angelica and planning your event at the Willow Ballroom!!

My husband and I were looking for an indoor venue for our fall wedding that wouldn't limit the amount of guests we wanted to invite or be effected by the weather. We stumbled upon the Willow Ballroom and said YES to this venue immediately. The space is a gorgeous blank canvas which you have the freedom to design and create an event unique to you and your future spouse. The space is beautiful on its own and doesn't require a lot of decoration. I would suggest paying to have the drapes hung as in the photos, it really helps enhance the space for aesthetics and acoustics. A great coordinator and involved catering staff is a must since this space is so open. Angelica is very friendly and easy to work with, if you have questions or are stumped about the design of your event, she has great ideas and solutions. Our wedding was AMAZING and all of our guests had nothing but wonderful things to say about the venue. You will not regret having your wedding here.

We haven't had our wedding yet, but working with them has been a joy so far and they are so helpful! It is such a beautiful location, and I'm so excited to have our big day there!