Palace Ballroom

When my (now) husband said that he was in love with Palace Ballroom and was certain it would be the perfect spot for our wedding, I admit I was a little skeptical. The venue has hosted anything and everything you could imagine - from presidential luncheons to city meetings to circus-style performances. I wondered if it could be transformed into a romantic, vintage-inspired venue for our ceremony and our reception, well the answer is... YES!

From the first moment I met Alexis Berry, who runs the show at Palace Ballroom, I adored her. She's funny, personable, incredibly knowledgeable and up for a culinary challenge. Alexis and her team (Chef Annie is a genius) created the most delicious menu - I'm still getting phone calls and emails from guests complimenting the food and begging for recipes. In fact, one guest said that they loved the food so much that they ate everything served family-style at their table and helped finish off the next table's gnocchi.

The staff was incredibly helpful and charming at our wedding. The special little additions were sweet and didn't go unnoticed - from the staff gently handling our five wedding cakes, to the treats set up in the bridal suite to the thank you card. Even Tom Douglas, himself, even stopped by to say hello and to congratulate us before dashing into the kitchen.

Thank you Alexis, Annie and the rest of the crew at Palace Ballroom. What a perfect night!

The venue was amazing and our pictures turned out beautifully! Also the food was delicious and all of our guests were very impressed with it. The difficult part was getting to that point. The wedding coordinator that initially gave us the tour told us that she would be our "day of coordinator" to make sure that all of our vendors arrived on time and that everything was set up appropriately. After we put down our deposit, a different person took over coordination of our event and she did not meet with us or anything to help keep our event on track and help maintain our confidence in her abilities. She simply sent out a little FYI e-mail and that was all. She was very very very difficult to get a response from and when I would call to get a hold of her - the response I got from the person on the phone was "At least you have some time until your event - so your question is not urgent". As it got closer to the event, the coordinator changed back to the original person and e-mail communication was a little bit easier but not great. I was so discouraged that I hired an additional coordinator to be there on the day of to make sure that everything went smoothly. The impression I got was that the venue has too many events and not enough staff to help coordinate the events and so they don't have time to discuss the details that make your day extra special. Also, when the big day finally arrived - I did not see the venue coordinator at all after the tables were set (around 1:00PM).

The room itself is gorgeous. Little is needed to make it special. Linens, tables, chairs, AV systems, candles and much more are all included. And the food - done by famous chef Tom Douglas is just fantastic. There is so much flexibility, you can accommodate any budget or wish that you want.