An Exquisite Venue
The day I dreamt of my whole life, was executed so perfectly by a team of wonderfully caring people who worked tirelessly for over a year to make my vision a reality. Bear with me as I go through each thought I have on the Chateau Grande and its staff who were as wonderful as the venue itself. I want to give credit to each person who had a hand in making my dreams come true. Since I was the girl who thought about her wedding from the time she was little, by the time I got married, I had a very clear vision of what our day would look like and The Chateau Grande made my dream a reality.
Let me start by explaining how we found the Chateau and why this was the perfect venue for us. Besides the fact that I wanted to be married in a French chateau style venue, what really got me in the door was the fact that every other venue we went to look at required a 200+ minimum guest count for a Saturday night wedding. Some venues were a 250 guest minimum and in order to get a date at other venues, I was being offered weekday daytime weddings to accommodate our more intimate 120 guest count. After visiting a dozen venues, I was becoming very disheartened by what I was hearing. I had started looking into restaurants that could accommodate our guest count but nothing felt right or special enough. I was starting to lose sleep over not finding a venue. We really did not want to invite 250 people, that’s just not the wedding we wanted. Against my better judgement, because I knew the size of the venue, I went to see the Park Chateau just to check it out which is right across the lawn from The Chateau Grande. It’s where EVERYONE gets married, we would have needed to invite people we barely knew to make it make sense. The look of the venue however was everything I wanted, coupled with the fact that you know the food is abundant and amazing quality as well. We were looking for this exact style venue and quality but on a smaller scale which is exactly what Chateau Grande offers. I made an appt to tour it after hearing the maximum guest count is 120, and the second I walked in, we knew we had found it. It was the easiest decision during the planning process. And so, after signing on the dotted line, the planning began.
I owe a huge thank you to the venues coordinator, Hope, who from day one assured me that wedding weekend would be perfect. You often read reviews that say coordinators that work for the venue is not the same as hiring your own wedding coordinator, that they won’t be there to help you make decisions along the way, suggest ideas when you are stuck on something and are merely a day of coordinator who lines the bridal party up and gets you down the aisle. This could not be further from the truth at The Chateau Grande. Hope was the most helpful, caring and knowledgeable person I met during the entire process of wedding planning, bar none. She answered every email (there were many) and texts promptly and would happily get a phone call to discuss things in detail at a moments notice. Hope not only suggested the best floor plan options for each event when we were struggling to find a way to make everything work and guided us through every step of the way but was also extremely flexible in every single way to ensure this was truly “our day”. Hope went above and beyond for each event we hosted, for the rehearsal, she spent hours setting up the candles on the tables exactly the way I had them photoshopped in my inspo pic (yes, I photoshopped my entire wedding weekend so we can see the vision and make any changes needed). She made sure every napkin, place card, menu and our signage was perfectly placed and the room was lit exactly how I envisioned. On the wedding day, she was by my side all day in addition to our bridal attendant, Serenity. Hope did not just get us down the aisle, she didn’t just show up that day, she truly built our wedding day with us from the ground up. Hope became a huge part of the wedding to me. She was an integral part of the process without whom I know I would not have had the bridal experience I waited my whole life to have. I can never thank her enough for everything she did. I know she went above and beyond for us and I am forever grateful for her.
A huge thank you to Neesh, second in command to Hope and incredibly helpful. Her disposition is sweet and very calming. She puts you at ease at times when you’re stressed and her calming nature is most definitely needed at times. Thank you for facilitating everything that needed to be coordinated from the scheduling of the food tasting and meetings, attending walk throughs and understanding the vision for the day and for getting all of our decor moved into the venue so quickly on drop off day. You are invaluable to the team and it was a pleasure working with you.
The room block- Possibly the most stressful part of wedding planning and definitely the only stressful part of planning at CG. The hotel, although large in stature, has only 108 guest rooms, which when you take into consideration that Park chateau is right next door and guests from both weddings share this hotel, securing rooms can be difficult. We didn’t want to over shoot the runway when opening our room block and be on the hook for any unsold rooms, so we chose to open the block with 10 rooms thinking just immediate family would be staying. We quickly needed more rooms as guests who originally weren’t going to stay over at all suddenly wanted to stay all weekend (smart move on their part). Waiting for rooms to become available through cancelations was a painstaking process. I must have called/emailed Alison every other day for weeks
checking up on any cancellations. We finally were able to accommodate everyone who needed rooms and everything worked out in the long run. Alison and Mikayla could not have been more helpful or patient with me and constantly kept an eye out for cancelations that I could swoop in and book. We ended up with 65 guests staying over, about half of those guests staying over for multiple nights. Thank you to both Alison and Mikayla for handling everything hotel related. You were incredibly kind, understand and accommodating.
The food tasting- I was expecting to do a food tasting in the ballroom with other couples getting married around the same time as us. I was so pleasantly surprised to walk in and see it was a private food tasting for just my fiance, my parents and I. Hope and Neesh sat with us and walked us through the options as dishes came out. We had eaten at Orchard Park restaurant in the hotel many times, but this was our first experience tasting their “wedding food”. We were blown away. Not only did they bring us so much food to taste, but this is where we learned how many options there really were to add to our cocktail hour. We decided to add some stations, including a live mozzarella chef, (more on that later) who Hope suggested and were so happy we did. Guests are still calling us and complimenting the food. The experience of the food tasting was 5 star. You didn’t feel like just another couple getting married here, heard into a room to do a mass tasting, it felt very high end and special.
-La Pomme room: The rehearsal dinner
My dream rehearsal dinner, held in the La Pomme room was everything I could want and more. I cried when I walked in and Hope showed me how stunning everything turned out. We were a smaller group of 23 guests but the ambiance, lighting and decor was 10/10. If you want to know what luxury looks and feels like, it’s this room on this night.
Our maitre d’, Christiano, was the most attentive person throughout the whole evening. We were introduced to all of the staff prior to guests arrival and were treated like royalty. Our guests were incredibly impressed with the level of service by everyone in the room throughout the night. The level of attentiveness was unparalleled. Our bartender, Sheila, was the warmest and kindest woman. I enjoyed our conversation very much at the rehearsal (and the wedding) and her drinks were delicious (best margaritas I’ve ever had anywhere and guests agreed). The menu was outstanding! We chose the 4 course dinner option with an open bar. Guests had plenty of options to choose from as well as a rolling cart that came around serving their signature clothesline bacon cut table side for each guest. It was such a special touch having it served like that rather than just placed in the table taking away from the aesthetic of the tablescape (another thoughtful special touch from Hope). I remember thinking “if this is how special tonight feels, I can’t imagine what tomorrow will feel like”. It was a pinch me moment.
The wedding day- May 18, 2024 went by in the blink of an eye just as I knew it would. I had my heart set on an outdoor ceremony from day 1 but my dreams of that were squashed by uncooperative weather. Hope knew how much an outdoor ceremony meant to me so the ceremony chairs were set up outside the morning of the wedding while it was still sunny even though we were all watching the weather very, very closely. We hoped we would make it time but just before doing our first look outside the skies opened up. Hope had to break the news to me. I appreciate more than anything that they waited until the last minute to have to make the decision. I could tell she genuinely felt bad having to tell me we needed to move it inside. In the moment, there was so much going on around me I didn’t have time to think or process the changes it was just go, go, go. Hope, along with my DJ promised me that they would make the indoor ceremony space stunning with the use of only uplighting and closing the windows curtains to give the room a dark, romantic glow and promised to make the room look intentional rather than a last minute rain plan. In addition to everything else the venue did, Hope had a new pipe and drape curtain system ordered in time for my wedding in case the ceremony was inside that had absolutely no gaps in the curtains so that my photos of me coming down the aisle would look like a beautifully draped room rather than a rain plan (you’re welcome future brides). She knew early on my how detail oriented I was so the fact that they had that waiting in the wings on the off change the ceremony was moved inside was a cherry on top. I didn’t know I could have an indoor ceremony of my dreams but I trusted the team whole heartedly and they delivered on their promise. The room was stunning. Immediately upon walking out of our ceremony we were congratulated by staff and handed our signature cocktails (a chocolate martini and an old fashioned), very nice touch. After the wedding was over word got back to me that my florist had dropped the ball with the delivery and of set up time of all of the ceremony decor but as soon as Hope caught wind of the issue she went outside and handled it immediately and whatever was said to them really got them moving. I appreciate her taking charge in that moment and letting me sit back and not have to deal with getting upset in the moment.
Thank you to my bridal attendant, Serenity, who was by my side all day. Serenity did the real grunt work of the day- holding my dress up walking outside in the rain for photos, helping bustle my gown, carrying my phone and touch up makeup and even taking my shoes off for my when my feet were screaming from my heels. Thank you for all of your help and for every makeup check in letting me know it was time to reapply my lipstick!
The bridal suite- Room 432. The bridal suite was stunning and immaculately kept. I suggest packing your own steamer for gowns as there was a small hand held steamer in the room but a large steamer would have been faster to get through all of the dresses when we first arrived that weekend. The room is not only spacious, but set up with hair and makeup stations perfect for getting ready and hosting large bridal parties/visitors wedding weekend. My room overlooked the outdoor ceremony space which was so exciting to watch them set up the chairs the morning of.
Cocktail hour: La Pomme room
I stressed to Hope throughout the year of planning that the quality and quantity of food is of the upmost importance to my family, specifically my father, who wanted to know that guests would never have to wait for food to be replenished at cocktail hour and that we added enough food options that guests would have an abundance to choose from. We also chose to extend cocktail hour to an hour and a half so guests had more time to enjoy everything. In my opinion this is an absolute MUST and worth every penny. I requested cocktail smoker tops for old fashions at the bar and the request was happily accommodated, such an elegant touch when guests ordered the signature cocktail.
Reception: Angelique ballroom: The reception was everything and more. The lighting built in to the venue once again, superb. We added our own uplighting package from the DJ as well but the lighting the venue has can easily be used in the event that you don’t want to do any additional lighting packages. Our guests were attended to quickly with anything they ordered at the bar. From salads to entrees, the food was top tier and cooked perfectly. The room fit all 105 guests comfortably and if it hadn’t been raining still, the ballroom opens up to the most beautiful outdoor patio area for guests to enjoy under the beautifully lit trees on the property.
Our Post wedding breakfast was held in the same ballroom as our reception the previous night. Once again Hope pulled out all the stops using our wedding flowers to decorate the room so incredibly beautifully. I’ve honestly never been to another wedding breakfast where the room looked just as stunning as a reception. The way she repurposed the flowers, specifically on the bar, was gorgeous. The decor I brought in was perfectly placed at guests tables and everyone commented on how beautiful the breakfast was. The food was once again outstanding. The French toast was easily the best French toast I’ve ever had in my life, puts all other French toast to shame. Our food was replenished constantly the entire length of the breakfast. Believe me, our guests took notice of the service all weekend and breakfast was no exception. Everyone complimented us on how attentive the staff was and how the food was refilled the minute it started getting low, they never waiting for it to be empty before completely refilling it.
Every detail of our weekend was exquisite. This venue provided such a high end and luxurious feel from the moment we booked with them. Luxury is a running theme at this venue and it is no surprise that a venue this well managed has the ability to accommodate your every request. I wish anyone who gets married the same experience that we had. I’m only sad that it’s over because I miss everything about this venue and its wonderful staff. I could never say enough about them and I will never stop bragging about the service they provided us and our guests. I can’t wait to come back for dinner, weekends away and special occasions. The Chateau Grande will always hold the most special place in our hearts.
