City View by the James Reviews

Awesome venue, amazing owners and staff...your wedding reception or special event will certainly be well done. We loved working with Kim Jennings and you will too!

We booked City View after my dream location was already booked (and condemned the Tuesday before the wedding, so close miss there!). We booked the all inclusive package, so you pay a overall fee, and then certain amounts are allocated to different vendors (flowers, cake, food, etc.). You are welcome to bring in outside vendors and they'll just not charge you for that portion of the package. I was very nervous leading up to the big day because I didn't feel like everything was organized and would go as planned, but I was completely wrong. Kim was there for the rehearsal and actual ceremony and it went off without a hitch. Everything was perfect and she was in touch throughout the reception without being noticeable as we made adjustments to the times of different events based on how the wedding was flowing. The venue was absolutely stunning at night with all the glass and the candles we'd placed in the windows. The only downfall is that City View doesn't have a handicapped restroom and my dress was too big to fit into a normal stall. We had to run down to Terrace View (where another wedding reception was taking place) and dash into their restroom.

This venue was absolutely perfect for our reception. We wanted something indoors since the chance of rain on this day was very likely, but in VA there's a lot of humidity so we wanted to stay cool. Kim and Karen will work with you in every way possible. The venue itself is very beautiful on the inside with a perfect view of Lynchburg.

When my husband and I were looking and venues, the view that City View by the James offered was absolutely incredible and breath taking; it ended up being one of our big selling points! However, don't let that be the only thing that sells you. During the initial meeting of asking questions about the venue, we were promised all sorts of things and were simply told everything we wanted to hear. Don't let it fool you! Working with the management was absolutely terrible, inconsistent, and the biggest stressor of my wedding planning. Because we opted out of not using the in-house caterer since prices were absolutely ridiculous, we were then charged a $500 higher rate for using an outside caterer (which that fee for 2014 has now increased to $700). We were promised a free hotel stay at the Craddock Terry on our wedding night, and when I met with management three weeks prior to the wedding, I was laughed at for not booking my hotel room, when we were told eight months before the wedding via email they would take care of it, so I left that meeting with more money in their pockets. Even on the wedding day, the manager tried to rush through our reception- we cut our cake before any dances and toasts which was not what we planned. Management at City View will try to squeeze every single penny out of your pocket- every other vendor we used worked with us to save us money, not steal from us. While the view is incredible, it was NOT worth the hassle with management.