For our 3/26/22 wedding, we booked the Historic Thomas Center. We had a great experience throughout the entire touring/booking process. Kathy and Jessica provided excellent service and had timely responses to all of my questions.

This venue allows you to book out different rooms/areas based upon what you need, and for what length of time. However, the venue as a whole only books one event per day, so the entire grounds are basically exclusive. We rented out the Turtle Court, Veranda, Period Room, Long Gallery, and Spanish Court for different areas, and all of the spots were clean, well maintained, and gorgeous for our guests! The pricing for this venue was also extremely competitive with others that we looked into and found that it was worth every penny.

We took bridal and family pictures out in the garden. Please be advised that while the signs clearly state dogs are not allowed, there were multiple dogs in the park, and dog feces on the ground. Be careful where you step!

The Thomas Center holds a very special place in my heart. In my opinion, it is the perfect venue space. Located in the heart of Gainesville near downtown, it has beautiful historical charm, several photo shoot locations and to me is the most perfect venue space! My husband and I used to have picnics under the large, magical oak tree and under that same tree is where we said our vows to each other. Honestly, for us there weren’t any cons to this place. Some people may not be happy if you want to use sparkles and they do have a limit on how many people fit inside the venue space. However, those restrictions were not an issue for us at all.
To us the pros included:
-Ceremony and reception in the same location
-Beautiful venue space inside and out
-Accessible parking
-Helpful and organized staff
-Great network of vendors to work with
-Reasonably priced for everything that it included
The staff at the Thomas Center went above and beyond to make our wedding day feel extra special! Kathy Nguyen and Jessica Loveless were phenomenal to work with, especially planning a wedding with several COVID restrictions in place. They answered all of my questions in a timely fashion and helped us plan a safe, intimate and beautiful wedding during a pandemic. The day of my wedding everyone greeted me so warmly and I will never forget everything they did to make us feel welcome and comforted. From the bottom of our hearts, want to thank the entire Thomas Center staff for all of the work they did to make our wedding day a dream come true!

Leslie Ladendorf and Jessica Loveless with the City of Gainesville and Thomas Center were so helpful and enthusiastic. They worked closely with us so we could have the dream wedding we wanted despite all the COVID restrictions imposed by the county. Leslie and Jessica went above and beyond to ensure that the event was perfect, safe, and every detailed was covered. Our wedding theme was lights and stars. Leslie and Jessica were even able to convince the city of Gainesville to allow us to keep the gorgeous Christmas lights that were in the magnolia trees around the fountain. Those lights which were blue and gold (our wedding colors), added an unforgettable feeling and made the ambiance feel like a true fairy tale. Leslie was on premises the day of the wedding making sure everything was going well. We are very appreciative of all the time and effort put forth by both Leslie and Jessica. The event would not have been the success it was without their help and support.