Sierra LaVerne Country Club

Let me just say that I absolutely LOVED our reception site! EVERYONE at Sierra La Verne was fantastic! The servers were very professional and were always attentive. The food was fantastic! The catering manager was always there, making sure everything went smoothly! Staff members could be seen throughout the entire night. They even brough out milk to our familiy who brought children. This venue is beautiful. The staff is great, I just can't say enough. When I arrived, Mary and Lori were there waiting for me, and were sure to help me keep my Timeline. The next day after our wedding, EVERYONE in our family gave compliments on how great the venue and staff was. Really, this place rocks. The day before the wedding, I had dropped off A LOT of things to be put up (candles, table cards, place cards, etc) and EVERYTHING was put up where it should have been. They definitely went above and beyond. I would definitely recommend this site!

I decided to get married at Sierra La Verne Country Club for two reasons - the first being because it's about a quarter mile from my parent's house and my mom had always hoped I would get married there, and the second being because they offered packages that included a premium open bar at a "decent" price. I have to wonder now that it's all said and done if the cost savings of having the wedding in La Verne rather than Orange County (where we were originally looking) was worth the multiple headaches that came along with the venue.

We chose the "Platinum Package" - their top of the line package - which included the ceremony, 2 cold Hors D'ouvres, 3 hot butler-passed Hors D'ouvres, salad, chicken chardonnay dinner, chocolate covered strawberies, and a premium open bar for 4 hours. Also included in the package, which are some of the things that "sold us", were wine service at every table during dinner, a "custom wedding cake", "centerpieces for each table", and a round of golf for 4 at the private country club. When I did the math, having my wedding at SLVCC was more affordable than any venue we had researched in OC.

My first question before signing the paperwork and placing a deposit was about the "custom wedding cake" that was included. I specifically asked the event coordinator, Kaitlyn, if any cake was included, even fondant, and she said absolutely. I asked her again if she was sure about that and she said yes. I confirmed it a third time when my mom and I went back the next day to sign the paperwork, and the other event coordinator, Lori, confirmed that any cake was included. I specifically asked her about fondant and she assured me that any cake was covered, and that they have "never had a bride 'go over' on the cake." Needless to say I was pretty furious (after we put down a deposit, of course) when I called each of the three cake bakers I was referred to and they all three confirmed that fondant was not included, and it would be an extra $2/slice, as well as a $50 "art charge". When I confronted the manager, Mary, she said that fondant cakes were not part of the package, and when I asked her why her two employees told me otherwise, she told me that they knew better and never told me that. She was basically telling me that I lied or misheard both of them, even though my mom and MOH were there with me and heard them assure me fondant was included when I asked 3 different times.

Another thing I asked Kaitlyn about before we put down the deposit was the wine service at each table during dinner. My ILs are huge wine drinkers and I wanted to know what kind of wine was included with this package. She gave me a list of all of the wines that they stocked, and told me I could choose any and all of them. I thought this was a bit strange, so I called her back when we got home just to have her confirm. Yes, any of the wines on that sheet were included. Again, I was pretty mad (again) when Mary sent me the function sheet a few weeks later stating that house wine would be served with dinner. I told her that Kaitlyn confirmed that I could choose any wine on the list and Mary said that wasn't the way it worked. I was limited to house wine with the Platinum Package and had to pay extra to upgrade to the wines on the list. After many tears and a few stern letters to Mary, she finally agreed to let me choose whatever wine I wanted from the list as long as I didn't have tulle over the dance floor. I don't see how that was an even exchange, but whatever. I am not a tulle fan, so it worked for me.

I was also very disappointed when we had our food tasting. The ILs came with us and I was so embarrassed when all of the food arrived COLD. It was so hard to choose what we wanted because nothing tasted very good as cold as it was. Mary wasn't around that day to help fix things, so I faxed her a letter (they don't have email - frustrating!) telling her about our horrible experiences at the food tasting and her reply was something to the effect that they always try to provide excellent service. No apologies for the cold food tasting, and no offer to have another tasting.

Based on these things as well as another bride's terrible review of them from the summer of 2006, I decided to hire a DOC. I didn't originally budget for this because we were provided two on-site coordinators (Mary and Kaitlyn), but it was very clear that the site-provided coordinators had the venue's interests at heart and not mine. I came up with the extra money for a DOC and boy am I glad I did.

Sierra La Verne is a private country club, and therefore, jeans are not permitted. Fine, but I really don't think it was necessary for Mary to yell at the Best Man as he was walking in from his car to the locker room to change, "You had better have something other than jeans to wear and you need to change immediately!" Obviously he was on his way to change. He had his tux in his hands! She also told my DOC to "change immediately" when she was in the reception room (by herself) setting up the candy buffet in jeans in case she got chocolate all over her. She also had words with the flower girls who were in the bridal room with their shoes off (they were getting blisters from their shoes), and told them that they had to keep them on. They also took them off to walk down the aisle and Mary came up to their mothers (my bridesmaids) right after the ceremony and told them, "I don't care if their shoes are uncomfortable - they need to put them on, NOW." Give me a break, lady. Every single person there that day thought Mary had a HUGE attitude and it just didn't seem necessary.

Mary was not happy at all that I hired a DOC. She fought with her the entire day, from her outfit to why she was stepping on Mary's toes and trying to coordinate the ceremony and grand entrance herself. (What part of 'I hired a Day Of Coordinator' didn't she understand?) Mary tried starting our ceremony even though DH's grandma wasn't there yet. DH was super upset and Mary just didn't care. For whatever reason, she wanted the ceremony to start regardless of what family members were missing. Luckily my DOC stopped the ceremony from starting until DH's grandma arrived (which by the way was 5 minutes later). Mary also fought with my DOC about the grand entrance. Karri, my DOC, said that she would coordinate it, and Mary got so mad that she sent Kaitlyn over to interrupt our family pictures to ask if I wanted them or my DOC to coordinate the grand entrance. I can't believe she interrupted pictures to burden me with that!

I have been told the food and service was good. My coordinator did tell me that they forgot to bring out the kids' meals and she had to bring them out herself, but other than that, everything ran smoothly. The venue is nestled among foothills of the mountains and is very pretty on a clear day, but the reception room needs to be updated. The walls, curtains and carpet are an 80's seafoam green color, and the wallpaper border is seafoam and mauve. The colors of the reception room really narrowed down my options for my wedding colors. The bridal room is tiny and the wallpaper in there is a hideous white with green viney things all over. We got ready at my parent's house just because I don't think the bridal room was big enough for everyone in my bridal party. Plus it's just plain heinous and I didn't want to be reminded of it in my getting ready pictures. When we put down the deposit, we were told the bridal room would be updated by my wedding date, but it wasn't. Not a huge deal, but just another example of them going back on what they originally promised.

Even though we had a wonderful wedding and everyone had a ton of fun, I can't recommend Sierra La Verne Country Club. The manager and her staff continually lie, and will never admit to or apologize for ANYTHING. It was such an inconvenience for me to have to fax everything to them because they don't have email. Every time we talked on the phone, I would have to fax them a copy of things that were said. Such a pain. I just wish I would have known to get every word they said in writing before we signed the contract, because it ended up costing us extra money in the end. Worse than the extra money, all of their lies and attitudes caused me a lot of tears and stress throughout the planning process. That is just something I'll never forget, no matter how great the wedding was. I think they need to learn a lesson in customer service and step back and remember that their goal should be aiming to not only meet, but exceed, every bride's expectations. Afterall, so much of the wedding business revolves around reviews and word of mouth, and vendors should be striving for a stellar review each and every time.