The Legendary Park Plaza

Let me start by saying the Park Plaza is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen and my wedding was equally as amazing. Here is my review:Service: I interacted with Jackie from Jan 2009 up until my wedding on August 7, 2010. She was always professional and explained things well. She was friendly enough. I didn't build a relationship with her to the point where I was completely confident and relaxed about how the wedding would go the day of.Responsiveness: At first I wasn't happy with how long it would take to get an email response back but that could be because of how far my wedding was at the time. It did get better the closer I got to my wedding though.Professionalism: I always felt Jackie and Trisha were professional when communicating with them. They were never rude or nasty. I took away 2 stars because of what happened the night before my wedding at my rehearsal:Their contract states that they can never gaurantee your rehearsal. Period. I am assuming because they rent out their venue to people who want to film movies and shows and last minute things could come up. I was fine with that as long as I got enough notice (at least a day) so we could rehearse somewhere else. All the way up until 2 DAYS before the wedding, I was told rehearsing the night before there would be fine. I had my ENTIRE bridal party drive to dowtown LA just to get there an find out the whole place had been rented out to filmakers for a show. We told by Park Plza's security we had to rehearse in the parking lot!!! Needless, to say I was livid and was not something I needed the day before my wedding. I was embarassed in front of my wedding party because I looked un-organized and I felt bad that they made that drive for nothing (the dinner was not in downtown). To top it off, Trisha and Jackie were NO WHERE to be found and instead we had to deal with a security guard who was clueless. We were all disgusted at the fact that not only wasn't I called and notified that day, but they were also not even there to rectify/assist in the situation. That is not how you treat a paying customer in my opinion. I felt that was extremely unprofessional.Value: The place is amazing. It was expensive...maybe a little overpriced. But the day of, people were amazed and I felt so wonderful having my wedding there. Flexibility- This venue considered a historical site. Therefore, there are rules to follow such as no open flames (candles) without a fire permit. Also, to get the permit you have to actually go to the fire department and show the centerpeice to get it approved. If you have florist you can ask them to do it, but for myself, I was DIY bride so my now husband and I had to take on this task. It's not an easy one at all. I also felt that since we were bringing in our own caterer and wine, they weren't very flexible with me with certain things either. However, the day of they didn't seem as strict and the day went smoothly and it was felxible in the sense that at least they do allow you to bring in your own caterer (licensed only).The bottom line: I do not regret having my wedding at Park Plaza because it was a beautiful place to have it. Just be aware, it's alittle pricey, make sure you follow the contract very closely and if you get their packages where they provide alcohol/catering it should be easier- but it's not DIY bride friendly.

I was surprised that there aren't more reviews for the Park Plaza online. Overall, it was a beautiful venue and easy working with Jackie and Trisha. Although I started off working with one person more than the other, they tend to split their time in the office so it's most efficient to just email both of them if you want a quick response. Price: At first I thought the venue would be way out of our price range. However, if you work with Trisha & Jackie you can customize what you're looking for in terms of parking, food & beverage, etc. Just beware of things that may get built into the package price already. Food: We had our food provided by Lawry's and it was a pleasure working with Melissa but you can bring in your own caterer for an extra cost. The one thing that I wish had gone differently was our guests didn't get enough wine/champagne throughout the night. We had brought in our own and the servers only poured it once. I'm not sure if that was because of Lawry's or Park Plaza (See Lawry's review for full details on that vendor). Venue: We utilized the Tuscan Patio for our ceremony and the Grand Ballroom for the reception. If you want lanterns in the patio like they have pictured on their website your florist can probably take care of it. Our ballroom was gorgeous and there was room for a few cocktail tables and a photo booth behind some pillars. Although I was worried the ballroom would be very dark it turned out to be well lit even after I cut the uplighting from my budget. I was happy to have gold Chivari chairs and overall the place looked very classy at night. One of my friends who didn't attend the wedding even asked me afterward if it was held at the Langham when she looked at my pictures. Although there was another wedding there on our wedding day using the ballroom right across the landing, there was very minimal confusion so it wasn't a problem.Safety: One of my parents biggest concerns was safety. It's not in the best neighborhood but it didn't turn out to be a problem given how we arranged the parking. The security guard helped some of my guests get cabs at the end of the night. Overall, I think it was worth spending 2/3 of our wedding budget on having this venue & having Lawry's cater the wedding.

This venue is gorgeous! When I first saw it I loved it. Jackie and Trisha were helpful and responsive throughout the process. We used Jackie as our day-of coordinator and she was great! There was a slight hitch with the bridal room being cleaned when we arrived because there was a wedding the night before, but after that was taken care of everything went extremely smoothly. We were a little concerned with the safety of the area, but the valet really helped and is recommended. If you want a breathtaking and unique venue, definitely check this place out!

The Park Plaza is such a beautiful and historic building. We wanted something classy and cool and the Park Plaza was just that! The staff worked with us on every detail. We live out of town and they helped us find vendors to make our day a success. Working with them made our wedding planning less stressful and fun. I would recommend the Park Plaza to any bride!

After looking at over 20 venues, we knew the Park Plaza was it when we first saw it. We liked that it was steeped in history as well as being visual stunning although it is not in the best neighborhood. The Park Plaza has been used (and is still extensively used) mostly for filming and large corporate events. They only started doing weddings recently. Their lack of inexperience in this area shows. The staff are not very well organized and do not communicate with each other. They fail to do things they promise (on both small things as well as big things). A wedding coordinator that you hire might help fill in the inadequacies of the existing staff there. In addition, the Park Plaza is privately owned and the owner is very unprofessional and will try to overcharge you wherever she can.

We loved our wedding but having to deal with the Park Plaza made for a stressful time even more difficult (both in the planning stages as well as the day of). If I had to do it over again, I would NOT have had my wedding ceremony and reception there.