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Quality of service
1.0 out of 5 rating
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Average response time
1.0 out of 5 rating
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Professionalism
2.0 out of 5 rating
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Value
3.0 out of 5 rating
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Flexibility
1.0 out of 5 rating
I Loved My Wedding But Not My Venue
I loved my wedding however I found my experience with Crystal Ballroom to be tedious and unsatisfactory due to the CB policies they emphasized but then did not themselves follow, the copious amount of follow-up it required, and lack of proper staffing and staff procedures day of.
Décor: Beautiful venue with lots of drapery, chandeliers, and up-lighting. The venue bills itself as décor inclusive meaning the room décor, table linens/decor, and centerpieces (fake flowers) are included but there are options to upgrade table décor. We ended up upgrading our table runner and were pleasantly surprised as it was only $5 per table. We did not feel pushed into any upgrades during our design meeting which was nice.
Communication: I found myself constantly having to follow up with CB. Their response rate was variable but always on the slower side. For instance, if I called with a question which they needed to look into they said they would follow up and call back. I ended up always having to call back after a few days of no reply. Communication was extremely poor whether it was via phone or email. I also found it odd to receive critical change information conveyed via text instead of phone call or email. For instance, since our initial tour it was explained a final meeting, event summary, was always conducted the Wednesday before your event, however I received a text message that our event summary would be conducted on Thursday instead (we were given a few months’ notice though) however email communication continued to list the date as Wednesday. I speculated that this was a one off exception which is why other standardized emails may have still stated Wednesday. However when I asked, CB replied that ALL event summaries would now be held on Thursday yet they did not update their own material causing potential miscommunication and more follow-up on my end. In addition, when my husband went to drop off payments, we were told to call before he went to make sure someone would be there. He would spend all day trying to call CB and receive no response until much later. Once he would go to drop off the check he would have to knock or call repeatedly to be let in.
Contract: The contract went through 3 iterations as they were updating their system. CB told us we just needed to electronically sign again. However upon reading the new contacts I notice additional clauses added. For instance the required per person gratuity was changed from $2 per person to $4 per person. When asked about this they said they would honor the original amount. However if I did not follow up or read it through they could have charged me to the new amount, which is not transparent business practice.
Event Summary: The CB policy is to hold a final meeting a few days before the event for you to go over last minute details, drop off all supplies and beverages, and provide the refundable deposit. They emphasized how important this meeting was and how tight the schedule was. We made sure to arrive early as suggested (4:10pm for a 4:30pm meeting) however the doors were locked and no one answered the doorbell or the phone number you are supposed to call when you arrive for a meeting. Staff did not arrive to let us in until 4:50pm. However upon looking into the windows of the venue you could see a staff member was inside and did not respond to over 6 phone calls, repeated knocks, and doorbell rings. In fact, my husband received a callback based on his message while we were still in the venue conducting our meeting. My father in law had also called and received a call back the next day, which leads me to believe they did not listen to the substance of the messages.
Coffee and Cake Service: CB stated that coffee and cake service was included which was nice considering caterers will generally charge you extra for those services which then becomes a savings, just provide the cake and coffee supplies. However it is misleading as it was sold as CB staff cutting and serving cake to our guests and brewing and serving coffee to our guests. What actually occurs is SELF-service. Cake was cut into slices and left on the table the cake was initially displayed on. However no announcement was made to indicate you need to get up and get your cake and no effort was made to hand out the cake. Upon talking to my guests after the wedding I heard that hardly any guests got cake as they were unaware they had to go get it. The norm at weddings is for it to be brought to the tables. This is evidenced by the fact that we brought home the majority of the 3 tier cake (bottom tier was untouched excepted for one slice, half of the middle tier, and a quarter sheet cake untouched). We ended up having to through it all out as it did not last and we immediately went on our honeymoon. We found out coffee service was actually a station set up on the bar during the course of planning which I was OK with however again no announcement was made and I did not see any guests with coffee. In addition, we provided flavored syrups to be served with coffee which I did not see put out nor did we receive it back.
Bar and Bartenders: CB told us they provide a bartender as part of the staff, all glassware, ice, and bar tools. Our role was to just provide the actual beverages and alcohol and drop it off at the event summary. I provided a very detailed inventory list and also labeled every box. We paid an additional $300 to have a 2nd bartender as we did not want to have any of our guests waiting as even soda was to be at the bar, however this also became a self-serve station at the bar (CB asked that all soda be provided in cans). In addition, CB talked about how all glassware, silverware, and plates were provided yet not even half way through the event I noticed most of my guests were receiving drinks in plastic cups instead of the promised glassware.
Unfortunately the claim of bartender was again misleading as it appeared only one of them was adequately trained to make mixed drinks. My guests indicated the female bartender was great and made delicious cocktails upon request. However the male bartender did not know simple drink recipes and claimed to not have certain items. My mother ordered a vodka with grapefruit juice, and he claimed there was no grapefruit juice. My mother was the one who took care of buying everything for the bar and knew there was grapefruit juice and had to point it out to him. We brought a lot of different mixers, liquors, and wine as we wanted to provide an optimal experience for our guests. However if we had known the skill level of the bar we would have planned the menu differently. In addition, at the start of cocktail hour pre-made cocktails were found at the bar. This is confusing as there was no corresponding guest order and resulted in waste. We feel they were overwhelmed by the variety and did not advertise it accordingly causing the guest experience to suffer. During the course of planning, once we expressed a desire to add a 2nd bartender, CB explained then 2 bottles would be open at the same time as each bartender would need their own ‘well’. We then worried about potential waste as they then told us they would not return opened liquor bottles (which have closable caps) due to the Open Container Law in Florida. We looked up the law ourselves and it clearly states that if the open bottle (defined as seal being broken) is in a trunk or locked glove compartment it is allowable it just cannot be in the main compartment of the vehicle or able to be accessed by its occupants. When we brought that information to their attention they continued to insist all opened liquor would be poured down the drain in front of us so we would know what was disposed us. We had rented a shuttle to transport our out of town guests and the bridal party, we contacted them about transporting open bottles and they said this would not be a problem. Again when we brought this information back to CB they reiterated their policy. In light of this we paired down our selection and removed flavored vodkas, for instance, and would just rely on mixers, juice, and purees. However CB staff then stated the bar would be run a different way. One bartender handling beer and wine while the other makes mixed drinks so as to keep with their original 1 bottle open at a time policy. It was frustrating for this to keep going back and forth, and none of the policies ended up actually being used as night of the bartenders overlapped in service areas. At the end of the night, during the walk-through they did NOT take us behind the bar nor did we see anything poured down the drain which we were told was policy. I do not think we got all of our bar stuff back as the amount we brought versus the amount that came home with us was substantially different. And according to my guests the bar service was lackluster and drinks were not readily available.
Signature Drink: We wanted to have a signature drink for our wedding but wanted it to be simple and easy to make. So we decided upon a sparkling wine with a colored rock candy stirrer which then turns the wine that color, one color denoting bride the other groom. We also provided sprite to have a non-alcoholic version. However, most of the signature wine bottles came home with us and I saw very few people with the signature drink nor did I see signage advertising it.
Guest Arrival: CB told us the ballroom would open to guests about 30 minutes prior to the start of the ceremony at 6pm. However some of our guests arrived exactly at 6pm. While I understand and appreciate not letting guests into the ceremony space once we have begun as it would disrupt the procession I heard from those guests that some were allowed to wait in the cocktail hour room but some were literally locked out of the building. I find this behavior to be unwelcoming. They should have been allowed to wait in the cocktail hour room with the others.
Day of Coordinator: Yvette was our day of coordinator and was satisfactory for the most part. Again it required copious communication on my part to get answers. In addition, she did not seem to self-start. For example, the day of during first look photos I noticed the gum-paste flower cake topper was not on the cake. I asked her if anything else came from the cake vendor and she said no. I explained what was missing and she said nothing else came. I then had to pointedly ask her to call the vendor to get the mix-up resolved. The job of the day of coordinator is to handle these day of issues and liaison with my other vendors (for which they had all the contact info).
Event Conclusion: Very late in the process we were told that a final walkthrough must happen at the conclusion of our event that we could do ourselves or designate someone to do on our behalf in order to make sure there is no damage. I find this to be a burden that at the end of your event you have to walk around or pull away a trusted family member to take a look. We were told this would include going behind the bar to see what was used and what was opened and needed to be poured down the drain, however this did not happen. In addition at the event summary you must provide $400 cash as a refundable deposit in case of damage. We were told you could get it back the next Thursday after the event, however we were on our honeymoon and the next Thursday it was Thanksgiving. When I called to schedule a Thursday appointment, they then told me to come on a Tuesday. CB also never reached out to arrange this and again it required follow-up on our part to make sure it happened.
I loved my wedding however I found my experience with Crystal Ballroom to be tedious and unsatisfactory due to the CB policies they emphasized but then did not themselves follow, the copious amount of follow-up it required, and lack of proper staffing and staff procedures day of.
Décor: Beautiful venue with lots of drapery, chandeliers, and up-lighting. The venue bills itself as décor inclusive meaning the room décor, table linens/decor, and centerpieces (fake flowers) are included but there are options to upgrade table décor. We ended up upgrading our table runner and were pleasantly surprised as it was only $5 per table. We did not feel pushed into any upgrades during our design meeting which was nice.
Communication: I found myself constantly having to follow up with CB. Their response rate was variable but always on the slower side. For instance, if I called with a question which they needed to look into they said they would follow up and call back. I ended up always having to call back after a few days of no reply. Communication was extremely poor whether it was via phone or email. I also found it odd to receive critical change information conveyed via text instead of phone call or email. For instance, since our initial tour it was explained a final meeting, event summary, was always conducted the Wednesday before your event, however I received a text message that our event summary would be conducted on Thursday instead (we were given a few months’ notice though) however email communication continued to list the date as Wednesday. I speculated that this was a one off exception which is why other standardized emails may have still stated Wednesday. However when I asked, CB replied that ALL event summaries would now be held on Thursday yet they did not update their own material causing potential miscommunication and more follow-up on my end. In addition, when my husband went to drop off payments, we were told to call before he went to make sure someone would be there. He would spend all day trying to call CB and receive no response until much later. Once he would go to drop off the check he would have to knock or call repeatedly to be let in.
Contract: The contract went through 3 iterations as they were updating their system. CB told us we just needed to electronically sign again. However upon reading the new contacts I notice additional clauses added. For instance the required per person gratuity was changed from $2 per person to $4 per person. When asked about this they said they would honor the original amount. However if I did not follow up or read it through they could have charged me to the new amount, which is not transparent business practice.
Event Summary: The CB policy is to hold a final meeting a few days before the event for you to go over last minute details, drop off all supplies and beverages, and provide the refundable deposit. They emphasized how important this meeting was and how tight the schedule was. We made sure to arrive early as suggested (4:10pm for a 4:30pm meeting) however the doors were locked and no one answered the doorbell or the phone number you are supposed to call when you arrive for a meeting. Staff did not arrive to let us in until 4:50pm. However upon looking into the windows of the venue you could see a staff member was inside and did not respond to over 6 phone calls, repeated knocks, and doorbell rings. In fact, my husband received a callback based on his message while we were still in the venue conducting our meeting. My father in law had also called and received a call back the next day, which leads me to believe they did not listen to the substance of the messages.
Coffee and Cake Service: CB stated that coffee and cake service was included which was nice considering caterers will generally charge you extra for those services which then becomes a savings, just provide the cake and coffee supplies. However it is misleading as it was sold as CB staff cutting and serving cake to our guests and brewing and serving coffee to our guests. What actually occurs is SELF-service. Cake was cut into slices and left on the table the cake was initially displayed on. However no announcement was made to indicate you need to get up and get your cake and no effort was made to hand out the cake. Upon talking to my guests after the wedding I heard that hardly any guests got cake as they were unaware they had to go get it. The norm at weddings is for it to be brought to the tables. This is evidenced by the fact that we brought home the majority of the 3 tier cake (bottom tier was untouched excepted for one slice, half of the middle tier, and a quarter sheet cake untouched). We ended up having to through it all out as it did not last and we immediately went on our honeymoon. We found out coffee service was actually a station set up on the bar during the course of planning which I was OK with however again no announcement was made and I did not see any guests with coffee. In addition, we provided flavored syrups to be served with coffee which I did not see put out nor did we receive it back.
Bar and Bartenders: CB told us they provide a bartender as part of the staff, all glassware, ice, and bar tools. Our role was to just provide the actual beverages and alcohol and drop it off at the event summary. I provided a very detailed inventory list and also labeled every box. We paid an additional $300 to have a 2nd bartender as we did not want to have any of our guests waiting as even soda was to be at the bar, however this also became a self-serve station at the bar (CB asked that all soda be provided in cans). In addition, CB talked about how all glassware, silverware, and plates were provided yet not even half way through the event I noticed most of my guests were receiving drinks in plastic cups instead of the promised glassware.
Unfortunately the claim of bartender was again misleading as it appeared only one of them was adequately trained to make mixed drinks. My guests indicated the female bartender was great and made delicious cocktails upon request. However the male bartender did not know simple drink recipes and claimed to not have certain items. My mother ordered a vodka with grapefruit juice, and he claimed there was no grapefruit juice. My mother was the one who took care of buying everything for the bar and knew there was grapefruit juice and had to point it out to him. We brought a lot of different mixers, liquors, and wine as we wanted to provide an optimal experience for our guests. However if we had known the skill level of the bar we would have planned the menu differently. In addition, at the start of cocktail hour pre-made cocktails were found at the bar. This is confusing as there was no corresponding guest order and resulted in waste. We feel they were overwhelmed by the variety and did not advertise it accordingly causing the guest experience to suffer. During the course of planning, once we expressed a desire to add a 2nd bartender, CB explained then 2 bottles would be open at the same time as each bartender would need their own ‘well’. We then worried about potential waste as they then told us they would not return opened liquor bottles (which have closable caps) due to the Open Container Law in Florida. We looked up the law ourselves and it clearly states that if the open bottle (defined as seal being broken) is in a trunk or locked glove compartment it is allowable it just cannot be in the main compartment of the vehicle or able to be accessed by its occupants. When we brought that information to their attention they continued to insist all opened liquor would be poured down the drain in front of us so we would know what was disposed us. We had rented a shuttle to transport our out of town guests and the bridal party, we contacted them about transporting open bottles and they said this would not be a problem. Again when we brought this information back to CB they reiterated their policy. In light of this we paired down our selection and removed flavored vodkas, for instance, and would just rely on mixers, juice, and purees. However CB staff then stated the bar would be run a different way. One bartender handling beer and wine while the other makes mixed drinks so as to keep with their original 1 bottle open at a time policy. It was frustrating for this to keep going back and forth, and none of the policies ended up actually being used as night of the bartenders overlapped in service areas. At the end of the night, during the walk-through they did NOT take us behind the bar nor did we see anything poured down the drain which we were told was policy. I do not think we got all of our bar stuff back as the amount we brought versus the amount that came home with us was substantially different. And according to my guests the bar service was lackluster and drinks were not readily available.
Signature Drink: We wanted to have a signature drink for our wedding but wanted it to be simple and easy to make. So we decided upon a sparkling wine with a colored rock candy stirrer which then turns the wine that color, one color denoting bride the other groom. We also provided sprite to have a non-alcoholic version. However, most of the signature wine bottles came home with us and I saw very few people with the signature drink nor did I see signage advertising it.
Guest Arrival: CB told us the ballroom would open to guests about 30 minutes prior to the start of the ceremony at 6pm. However some of our guests arrived exactly at 6pm. While I understand and appreciate not letting guests into the ceremony space once we have begun as it would disrupt the procession I heard from those guests that some were allowed to wait in the cocktail hour room but some were literally locked out of the building. I find this behavior to be unwelcoming. They should have been allowed to wait in the cocktail hour room with the others.
Day of Coordinator: Yvette was our day of coordinator and was satisfactory for the most part. Again it required copious communication on my part to get answers. In addition, she did not seem to self-start. For example, the day of during first look photos I noticed the gum-paste flower cake topper was not on the cake. I asked her if anything else came from the cake vendor and she said no. I explained what was missing and she said nothing else came. I then had to pointedly ask her to call the vendor to get the mix-up resolved. The job of the day of coordinator is to handle these day of issues and liaison with my other vendors (for which they had all the contact info).
Event Conclusion: Very late in the process we were told that a final walkthrough must happen at the conclusion of our event that we could do ourselves or designate someone to do on our behalf in order to make sure there is no damage. I find this to be a burden that at the end of your event you have to walk around or pull away a trusted family member to take a look. We were told this would include going behind the bar to see what was used and what was opened and needed to be poured down the drain, however this did not happen. In addition at the event summary you must provide $400 cash as a refundable deposit in case of damage. We were told you could get it back the next Thursday after the event, however we were on our honeymoon and the next Thursday it was Thanksgiving. When I called to schedule a Thursday appointment, they then told me to come on a Tuesday. CB also never reached out to arrange this and again it required follow-up on our part to make sure it happened.
