Southern Vermont Arts Center Reviews

We somewhat accidentally stumbled upon SVAC as a venue, but we are thankful we did as we are so pleased with how everything turned out. We had our October reception at SVAC (ceremony in a church), but took advantage of the connected properties of the Barrows House and Dorset Inn. Working with Colleen Palmer and all of the Church St Hospitality Group was a joy. Colleen worked with us closely to craft exactly the wedding we wanted- the food, the bar, the decor. It was also very helpful that Colleen knew so many of our other vendors- everything went off without a hitch. The chef, JJ, was very receptive to any requests we had, such as tweaking a sauce, or a special order appetizer. He even personally delivered the meals to the bride and groom during the reception, which was a nice touch. Our guests have not stopped raving about how SVAC was such a great venue. Everyone enjoyed strolling the galleries during the cocktail hour, and taking photos outside in the beautiful setting which nicely displays the gorgeous fall foliage. We strongly recommend that you also make use of the Barrows House. A good portion of our guests stayed there and we had a welcome dinner there on Friday night. Colleen also organized the welcome dinner and thus was really able to capture our vision for how we wanted our guests to enjoy their time in Vermont- harvest buffet of local food, fire pits and s'mores for the kids. All around, we highly recommend SVAC for a wedding venue.

The Southern Vermont Arts Center is a beautiful location for a Welcome Party (or Rehearsal Party or Wedding/Reception). We had our daughter's Welcome Party there and it was GREAT. The staff at the SVAC are extremely helpful in assisting with vendors and then working with the vendors. We chose all area vendors (Bistro Henry for the food, Celebration Rentals for the tables/chairs, Nancy Bishop Florist for the flowers). They all know each other and worked together to make the event specular. Since it was a destination for us, having them work their magic together helped so so much. The SVAC is a small arts center with outside art sculpture and trails around their property and out to the sculpture. We had 21 children at all weeding events and the inside/outside venue of the SVAC was perfect for children/parents/grandparents. The $1800 fee is for the site, with $300 being a damage fee to be refunded if no damage; the other vendors charged their own separate amounts which were all good/fair prices for excellent services. We had a great time and believe our guests did too. We all would highly recommend the SVAC for all types of events. They are a pleasure to work with, especially considering the distance and stress of wedding planning.

What a beautiful evening! The room settings were so beautiful against the backdrop of the art on the walls - it looked like an exclusive party with the doors open to the back lawn facing a beautiful mountain setting.