The Empress Estate

Reviews 3

LE

Leuke Meyler

I had a lot of high hopes when my fiancé and I went to Empress Estate to meet with Angel to discuss a wedding event at the facility. The first thing we were unprepared for was that you actually will need to drive through a very trashy neighborhood to get to the property. Your guests will be going through that too. Once you start to get closer, the route is not clearly marked and it appears that you will need to drive through someones back yard to continue. We were so unprepared for this that we actually thought we must have taken a wrong turn and had to stop our vehicle and ask the children in the yard if it was actually taking us there. Once we finally arrived, we entered the front door and no one was around. We knocked on the wall and called out down the hallways, but there was no one there to meet us. We finally started to just walk though the rooms ourselves, and found Angel talking in a room near the back of the facility. She said she had lost track of time, but sounded like she really had just forgotten our appointment. So we began the tour of facility, and she was explaining how each area could be used. Its a wonderfully beautiful site and building, but Angel appeared to be unwilling to entertain any questions from us or our own insight and ideas of what we hoped to see at our wedding. In fact, when I did have questions and comments, she got louder and talked right over us as if she really just wanted to rush through the tour and get us out of there. She announced herself as the designated wedding planner, but would not listen to any of our desires for the wedding as we went along. She just kept going with her performance. Throughout our visit she also took several phone calls on her cell phone and would tell us to wait. We were both on a time constraint. Bear in mind that if you have any guests with disabilities, this site is not ADA compliant in any way. The mattresses in the bedrooms are also bereft of any spring or comfort, and one bedroom doesnt even have a frame for the bed. Its on the floor. But both my fiancé and myself were impressed enough with the vintage qualities of the building that we were considering not only contracting for the day, but also purchasing all of the rooms for the night for ourselves and special guests. We sat down to discuss contract prices and packages that would include the rooms and the catering, but were again interrupted with a phone call and by the owner, who pulled her away for something. We were left to sit with a tray of cold coffee and curdled creamer, which had to have been sitting out in the creamer dish for over 24 hours. When she finally returned, she said that she would get us set up for Mar 29th to come back to try the catering at the Empress, as there was a large event scheduled and they could save us some tasting items. We informed her that we would have to leave in order to make it to a meeting by 7pm, and that we didnt have time to finish the discussion about the contract pricing and terms, but if she would email them to us we could read them through and finalize everything. She made innuendo that perhaps we just didnt have the money to proceed. 5 days later, we still had not received anything from them, so we emailed the Empress to ask for the information. We have never heard back from them again. The 29th came and went and we could not get in touch with anyone about the tasting for the catering as well. We have $35,000 saved up to spend on this wedding, and unfortunately, this is not the business that will be benefitting from that savings. If this is the behavior of the people who are still trying to get your business, imagine the depths of their behavior after they get it. I cant imagine anyone claiming the efficiency to get you through a stress-free wedding who apparently cant even get through a single visit, nor a responsive email with some degree of grace. A fair warning to all the brides out there. There is something that doesnt smell right here.

RO

Robin Chelsea

I recently had my wedding ceremony and reception at the Empress Estate. Steavie worked with me (the bride) to help make my "winter wedding" theme come to life. I had a vision I wanted to create and she made it happen. The decorations were exactly what I wanted down the wreath that hung on the bannister. Steavie was with me every step of the way. What made me even more impressed was their attention to detail. Steavie worked with my on making sure all the accent colors went along with the theme. As a first time bride I will admit I was nervous going in because I had no idea what I was doing. They really have figured out a structured planning that takes the stress off. I was given 90 day checklists, 30 and even 10 day. This was my wedding and I was willing to put the work into every last detail but having someone there to help guide me went above and beyond. The ceremony itself went off without anything going wrong. It was absolutely perfect. Zoe, the other owner who we worked with, surprised me after with a huge fireplace lit up with a dozen or so candles which made for a beautiful photo back ground. We worked with our wedding photographer/Dj to make sure everything was planned before hand. This planning my husband and I did helped make the day flow smoothly.We had everything planned down on a timeline that EVERYONE knew and and followed. This way everyone was on the same page. The reception. We picked the centerpieces, the table cloths, the food, the drinks and much more. It was the way we wanted and it turned out simply amazing. Zoe was out on the floor making sure everyones needs were attended to. Then the food. I have never had better food at a wedding then what the chef cooked up for us. The food alone deserves 5 stars. Everyone raved! Nothing over/ under cooked. They even made me a plate for later. The presentation went above the typical "buffet" The cake was so beautifully done I almost cried when I saw it! Over all I had the most romantic, memorable wedding I could have ever imagined. Thank you Zoe, Steavie, and your staff for helping me put together my dream. I would recommend using this venue for more then just weddings. The over all experience was easy, structured, and personalized.

DO

Dolly Hoisington

A truly gorgeous establishment. I attended an event at The Empress Estate and was delighted by the tasteful yet unique estate. I must say, the staff here truly does go above and beyond. They are dressed elegantly in black slacks and white button up shirt with a bow tie. It reminded me of restaurants my husband and I had traveled to in Europe. My husband has some difficulty walking, and the staff was truly divine in helping make his time as easy and fun as possible. One waiter truly went beyond the call of duty when she came to check on us and my husband exclaimed, "I really just want one more meatball." The waitress smiled and said, "Well how about I go get you a few meatballs then! Ill be right back sir." Even though the event was buffet style, and we were supposed to help ourselves, the waitress gladly took my husbands plate and came back with a fresh plate with not just one, but several of the last of the meatballs so he (as she said) he, "wouldnt miss out on the last of the meatballs." Then after dinner, although coffee was not on the event menu, my husband mentioned how he wanted some coffee to the same waitress. The waitress exclaimed, "Absolutely sir! I will go make a fresh pot right now." Shortly after, she returned with the most darling antique cup filled with coffee, and matching antique dishes filled with creamer and sugar. It was truly some of the best service Ive ever had. I hope I get the privilege of getting to experience it again.

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