Grand Newport Plaza

I just went to look at this venue, and while it is absolutely beautiful, it's in a horrible location, right on a busy road. I stood where the outdoor ceremonies take place, and I could hear cars whizzing by and horns honking. But for an indoor reception and photos, it's really beautiful.

I never experienced the “you’ll know it when you see it” moment with a wedding gown, but I had it with the Grand Newport Plaza. I loved the swaying palm trees, red-tile roofs, dramatic double staircase and beautiful Spanish fountain.

Ernesto gave my mom and me the grand tour, and we connected with him immediately. He was incredibly warm and shared his personal experience of joining the staff after enjoying his own wedding at the site.

A number of things convinced me that we’d found our venue. First of all, it’s one-stop shopping. This place had everything we could possibly need for a stylish wedding, including an onsite catering kitchen and stunning outdoor courtyard full of greenery that didn’t require us to spend a penny on décor. You couldn’t pick a more photogenic site – our wedding photos turned out great!

There was a Tommy Bahama lounge with bar and plasma TV for my groom and his guys; a lovely bridal suite where I immediately envisioned myself getting dressed and relaxing with my bridesmaids, plus easy freeway access and complimentary parking. Our guests were able to enjoy cocktails under the stars after the ceremony instead of getting back into their cars to drive to another location for the reception.

The dining room is open and spacious, not a windowless hotel room, and outfitted with a large dance floor and twinkling stars that appeared on the ceiling for our first dance. (It sounds cheesy, but trust me, it’s romantic.) Best of all, the site belonged solely to us – we didn’t have to share it with another party on our wedding day.

The venue offers a Sweetheart Deal, which provides a discount for non-summer weddings taking place on a Friday or Sunday. We’d picked a Sunday in November, so it worked out perfectly for us. The package included our choice of butler-passed appetizers, one-hour open bar, a champagne and cider toast, a custom wedding cake (a huge deal!) served with tuxedo strawberries and a gourmet coffee bar.

We chose from a variety of graceful white candle centerpieces surrounded by complimentary rose petals. Not only did the flickering candles make the room look warm and inviting, but they saved us hundreds of dollars in floral centerpieces. The staff also did a splendid job of arranging rose petals on the foyer table displaying our guest book, framed photo and place cards.

There was a wide assortment of formal dishware, tablecloths and cloth napkins of various styles and colors to choose from. I selected a gold and pewter-trimmed ivory plate and a rich russet-brown overlay with a matching tablecloth accented by deep fuchsia napkins. Even my fiancé commented on how incredible the room looked.

On our wedding day, the venue employees treated us like rock stars. I’ve never seen such a well-organized staff – they wear headsets to communicate and keep everything running like clockwork. Heather, my wedding-day coordinator, was especially good at keeping me calm and informed; anticipating my needs and serving as a liaison between the rabbi and kitchen staff.

Everyone raved about the beautiful setting, great food and exceptional service. The Plaza also gave us our choice of a complimentary service. We selected the whimsical candy station, which our guests loved. The staff also sent us off with a basket of sandwiches and goodies, which we devoured that night in our hotel room.

I only have one critique. Our consultant, Lori, was well-organized and responsive, and I was grateful for her help during the nine months of planning. My family and I, however, didn’t feel that she treated us with the same warmth as the other staff who went out of their way to make us feel special. Perhaps that’s simply her personality or the pitfall of having to juggle dozens of people’s weddings at once. She was friendly and focused on us on our wedding day, though, which we greatly appreciated.

I have nothing but high remarks for the Grand Newport Plaza/Turnip Rose. From the moment we viewed the site to our wedding day, the staff was professional, helpful, responsive and great to work with. Our guests are still thanking us for a wonderful time and are still raving about the food (and chocolate fountains). Lori was my coordinator and she was always quick to answer my emails and questions. Ernesto was amazing and was extremely thoughtful to give special attention to my husband's 89-year-old grandmother. Thanks to the staff, I did not have to stress about the reception decor, food, flowers, etc. and was able to enjoy every minute of the day. I would recommend this venue to any bride and groom.

The Turnip Rose is absolutely the best, one stop, one shop venue. It's gorgeous. Our cocktail party was outside and it couldn't have been more beautiful. The hors' were out of this world and plentiful. No one had to wait for another round.Inside and prior to the dinner, the Turnip Rose is a catering company first, so the food is already the best. Every detail was tended to. There was not one misqueue. People raved about the service and the food. The staff was friendly and attentive. The extras were the best and Lori is quite the professional. Very easy to deal with. The dancefloor was very big and the room is spacious and newly decorated. You will not regret having your wedding reception there. They can also provide your wedding service as well.

This venue is gorgeous and breathtaking. I fell in love with this venue the first time I saw it. After meeting our wedding coordinator – Chrissy, I knew right away, this is the place. The venue has two beautiful and unique stairways which provide romantic and dramatic bridal entrance. I just love it.

It was such a pleasure work with Chrissy and her entire staff. She was very helpful, organized, and professional. She answers all kinds of questions. She’s not only my wedding coordinator, she is my friend. When we ran into temporary parking issues before our wedding day, she pulled something out which we couldn’t ever expect it. She sure cares about our needs and did all she can to meet them. She and her assistant made sure everything went smoothly throughout the rehearsal and the ceremony.

My husband and I got married on 2/21/09. Our wedding was absolutely perfect! We received SO many compliments after the wedding. All my guests were impressed by how beautiful my wedding turned out. They have complimented how gorgeous the venue looked, the food was beyond delicious, and the services were exceptional.

We wanted something different, elegant, and breathtaking... and we found it here. The entire staff at the Grand Newport Plaza was AMAZING! I highly recommend this venue!

We had hundreds of pictures taken and some people would ask, "did you go somewhere else for the photoshoot" or the guests who were actually present in the recention was like "where was this?".... the place is simply the best! The staff were very professional... their motto "NO PROBLEM" is real.... they answer every single question we asked on the email, and trust me, we sent almost a thousand of them. The food was great... everything was just perfect!

My brides are always pleased with this location.
It is stunning...check it out!

The BEST and most AMAZING place for a venue!
Not only do they have a gorgeous location, but the food is second to none, and the service is top notch!
Their packet comes with a coordinator and a day of coordinator, which I desperately needed. The packages they offer may seem pricey on first glance, but you really do get MORE for your money! I love how everything is taken care off and all that we needed to do is sit back, relax and have a ton of FUN!
Lori (our coordinator), Heather (our DOC), and Ernesto were awesome to work with! They were very professional and know their stuff really well.
You should know however that your assigned coordinator (assigned to you at the first meeting) who helped you through all the process may not end up being your DOC. I was a bit concern about this since our main coordinator knew me (and knew what I like/dislike), and I just met our DOC during the rehearsal. It ended up being fine because Lori was actually there as well on the day of, but instead of attending to me, she attended to the other vendors and just overall making sure that things go smoothly. I actually think it works out better to have a separate DOC who attended to my and my wedding party's needs, and have a main coordinator who oversees the other technical stuff.
All of our guests are still raving about how elegant and classy our wedding was and truth be told, I don't think that our wedding would turn out that way if it wasn't for Turnip Rose staff's hard work!
I highly highly recommend this venue!

I can't say enough how wonderful the Turnip Rose was for both the ceremony and reception. The venue is absolutely beautiful. The food was terrific, we're still getting compliments on how wonderful the food was. Day of coordination by Heather was great.

If I could give higher than five stars for the Grand Newport Plaza and their entire staff, I would. They are a dream to work with and were highly professional and efficient. I received rave reviews from my guests on everything -the food, the staff, and the location. The GNP is run by the Turnip Rose, which is essentially a catering company, so the food is not the dry, bland food one would expect from a hotel. Food was one of my biggest priorities since it's a large portion of the reception and I wanted it to be good. People always say the bride doesn't have time to eat at her own wedding, but I MADE time because the food was delish. Lori was my coordinator and I had supreme confidence in her to take care of all the details - which she did, and made it look easy. The entire staff was very easy to work with during the entire wedding planning process, and my wedding day was perfect. Highly recommend Grand Newport Plaza!

Hands down the best reception location ever!! Food was delicious...service top notch. I loved everything about this place...two thumbs up. Definately recommend this place to anyone.

The entire staff at the Grand Newport Plaza was AMAZING! Everyone from Lori to Mary (our Day Of Coordinator they provided) to Chrissy, Ernesto, ALL of them were absolutely incredible. I got a numerous amount of compliments from guests about the staff. You get WAY more for your money here. I fell in love with the place the minute I stepped into it and got a first class tour. All of the staff wears white gloves and you feel like royalty. I didn’t have to worry about a SINGLE thing the entire day. I just had the time of my life and let them do all of the work. I can’t say enough about this place, it is gorgeous and comes with a First Class Staff. Highly recommended!

The staff and Grand Newport Plaza did nothing but surpass our expectations. They made our day absolutely perfect and ran everything with extreme professionalism. I would recommend them in a heartbeat.