The Gardens at Heather Farm Reviews

We got married in late July at The Gardens at Heather Farm Park, and it was truly the most perfect day. This venue holds such a special place in our hearts. My husband asked me to be his girlfriend under the gazebo years ago, and later proposed under the same gazebo. Choosing to get married where it all began was a complete no-brainer.

We had a ceremony-only wedding, and the gardens were absolutely breathtaking. Every flower was fully bloomed, the grounds were stunning, and the atmosphere felt magical. So many of our guests, especially those visiting from outside Walnut Creek and neighboring cities, could not stop complimenting the venue. Many even took time to wander the gardens and take their own photos because it was just that beautiful.

I cannot say enough good things about Cathleen and the entire GHF team. They were incredible to work with and made everything feel seamless and stress-free. The weather was perfect, the venue was perfect, and honestly, everything was perfect. It was truly the best day of my life, and I will forever be grateful that we were able to say I do in such a meaningful and beautiful place.

Highly recommend this venue! We had our wedding at The Gardens at Heather Farms in mid-September and it was such a beautiful day. I was originally worried about the construction work occurring at the community center next door leading up to our wedding day, however the venue put up fencing so that this wasn’t a distraction during the ceremony. We loved how romantic and intimate this venue felt and it was a perfect size for our 75 person wedding. The entire GHF team was very helpful in answering all our questions and recommended some great wedding vendors to work with.

My wife and I got married at Heather. Farms on November 1st 2025, and we couldn't have picked a better place. The venue was very affordable. Wheelchair accessible and well maintained not to mention a very beautiful place. We would recommend Heather farms to anyone getting married. Thank you, Heather farms.

Oh where do we even begin? The Gardens at Heather Farm is breathtakingly gorgeous and perfect for our Peonies and Poppies themed, outdoor, garden wedding (peonies and poppies are our favorite flowers). Our guests were singing praises about the beauty of the Gardens at Heather Farm. One guest even mused that her garden wedding venue wasn’t as vast and beautiful as the Gardens at Heather Farm. The sunset and golden hour lighting at this garden is oh so majestic and beautiful. Our wedding photos turned out stunning! The roses, the gazebo backdrop and the lush greenery of the gardens, you really don’t need to spend a lot on decor to decorate the place, it is already beautiful on its own. The gardens and the roses were regularly maintained by volunteers and workers so they are always in tip top shape!


We decided to go with the Gardens at Heather Farm for various, multiple reasons:

1. We loved that there is an indoor hall for us to host our reception. The Camellia Room is a white blank space, perfect for us to decorate to our hearts desire. You can customize it to any color and theme that you want and it will not clash with the interior. We decided to go with a muted orange and pink, disco balls, fun games themed wedding and it turned out amazing! There is a huge window that lets in plenty of natural lighting that looks good in pictures.

2. The Gardens at Heather Farm coordinator, Jenna was a dream to work with. She replies to our emails promptly and answers all of the questions we have, even the ridiculous ones like “are there any trash cans on site?” She is professional, easy to work with and amazing! She is constantly on top of everything and makes you and your wedding feel important.

3. We love that the venue allows outside catering options (with a $1,000 extra fee), we toured a bunch of venues and most require us to use their preferred catering options. We fell in love with an outside caterer and was able to have them for our wedding

4. The venue provides chairs for the ceremony area, high tables for the cocktail hour and chairs and tables for the reception which are convenient to have. Chair and table rentals can be expensive!

5. The gardens being a public place means that we have the option to come and visit whenever we want, especially on our anniversaries. We also didn’t have any problems with random strangers wandering into the wedding considering it’s a public space.

6. No loud music curfew, we wanted to party and dance!

7. Wheelchair accessible and friendly which was a necessity for my wife’s grandmother

8. Tons of parking spaces for our guests. It was also reserved for us when there was a festival held in Heather Farms Park. We unknowingly book our wedding date during the infamous annual Walnut Festival in the Heather Farms, where the gardens are located, usually on the weekend of Sept 20th-ish. You can hear the music played during the festival but it didn’t bother us because we were having the best day of our lives.

10. There is an option to book the Rose Room which works as a getting ready place for our outfits changes

All in all, the Gardens at Heather Farm was a great find and is a beautiful and amazing wedding venue. We highly recommend it for anyone who is planning their wedding!

I hosted a surprise birthday party for my husband at The Gardens in March 2025. The booking process was smooth and seamless and I had a great experience with several of their recommended vendors including Elisa's catering. The venue and event staff were extremely flexible and answered my questions quickly. My event was beautiful and the venue allowed our guests to enjoy the beautiful scenery as well as celebrate my husband's birthday. I highly recommend The Gardens at Heather Farm for any event you are hosting, large or small.

After looking at many potential venues for our wedding this October, we decided to go with The Gardens at Heather Farms, and boy are we glad we did! This venue has a beautiful garden backdrop and an elegant Gazebo for the ceremony, an upper patio area with additional garden beds for happy hour, several great private areas for personal vows, an additional room for the wedding party to hang out in as the guests start to arrive, and a building for the reception to be held in, all within a single property that is entirely accessible even for those with mobility issues. The fact that The Gardens is a non-profit also makes them one of the more reasonably priced options in the area for a medium sized wedding.

After a Zoom consultation with Jenna where we discussed their amenities and available and our approximate wedding plans at the time, we scheduled a time to have a guided venue tour, and somehow the pictures do not do it justice! The grounds were pristine, plants extremely well kept, and the Camellia Room was recently re-done giving it a brighter look.

The Gardens at Heather Farms had all of the chairs and tables we needed for our event, provided us with options for floor plans for the ceremony and reception, and they even recommended the wedding coordinator that we decided to hire. We were able to have the wedding rehearsal on-site the day before the wedding.

If you are in the area and are looking for something to do (even if that something is not “host or attend a wedding”), I would highly recommend stopping by. As long as there is not a private event going on, the gardens are free to tour, and there are tons of different flowers, plants, and fruit trees to experience. They even have painting classes, volunteer opportunities, and they sell plants!

We are so lucky to have had our event at The Gardens at Heather Farm! We got married here in April 2024 and could not have imagined a more perfect day. Jenna was so helpful and very responsive to our questions. Our vendors took great care of us and we would highly recommend this venue this to anyone!

We got married in August 2024 at the Gardens at Heather Farms and it was an amazingggg experience. I would highly recommend it!!!
Jenna is the point of contact and she answered any question or email we reached out within 30 minutes. The venue was very clear as to what was included/not included and what was required of us to make the day go smoothly. The venue is soooo beautiful!
They do have a list of approved caterers that you can choose from. We chose Elisa's catering - the food was delicious (Everyone raved about it!) and for a great price! Juan (the owner) is also very responsive and great to work with!

My daughter and her fiancé chose The Gardens at Heather Farm for their June wedding and it was everything our families could have wished for. The Venue is exceptional. The entire garden was privatized for the event. The ceremony at the Gazebo in the rose garden was picture-perfect. The location is unique and the lovely Gazebo surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of roses in full bloom was the perfect backdrop for their special moment.

Cocktail hour was at the patio Pavilion – a large “U” shaped bar with granite countertops and covered by a vine-covered wooden pergola. It sits next to a raised bed garden space filled with flowers which provided a pleasant place for our guests to mingle and enjoy the beautiful flowers while enjoying their cocktails.

Dinner was indoors in the Camellia Room. This room is stunning. Huge glass windows around the room provide views out to the garden and the lovely lake. The neutral colors in the room were perfect for our summer wildflower color theme. There is a large deck that runs around the outside of the space which was perfect for an outdoor bar, photo booth, and our audio guest book (phone).

The Gardens provided an amazing array of beautiful places for photography and spaces for our guests to stroll and enjoy the views. The indoor space was lovely, clean, and bright. Lots of space for seating, a DJ, a cake table, a Sweetheart Table, and dancing.

The Gardens staff were experienced, helpful, and responsive during the entire process.

We would choose this venue again in a heartbeat.

The Gardens at Heather Farm was a stunning location for our wedding. We are a pretty DIY couple so we were looking for a place that was flexible to bring in your own decor and create a really unique event. Our families also loved the gardens, there are so many gorgeous spaces to decorate and celebrate!

Be aware, there is a public park nearby, so there may be other celebrations going on – but the other party on our wedding day was very gracious and turned down their music for our ceremony.

Overall would absolutely book the Gardens at Heather Farm again, it was perfect and beautiful for our wedding!

We originally booked the Gardens for October 2020, but due to Covid needed to reschedule. The venue was very gracious and found us a new date with no issues regarding payment. All the coordinators we communicated with were wonderful about responding to any questions we had. My husband and I along with our guests. felt very safe with their Covid guidelines

As luck would have it our new wedding date was the Sunday of intense rain so all of our outdoors planned had to be scrapped and everything moved inside. The venue was helpful with making suggestions about the ceremony and where things could be placed in regards to decor.

A big thanks to the venue for being such a big part of our day!

Gardens at Heather Farm was the first venue we visited and as soon as we visited, we knew we had to book! At the time, we booked 2 years in advance and a lot of the Spring/Summer weekends had already started filling. Jen and Rebecca were very responsive via email to all our questions about venue specifications and vendor recommendations. GHF is a very beautiful, natural venue; but the best time to be at the gardens is definitely when all the roses have started blooming in the Spring/Summer.

If you’re looking for a venue that has very romantic, simple, natural, garden vibes— this is the place to book. They are one of the most affordable venues in the bay area that has a space for an outdoor ceremony, a cocktail hour, and an indoor reception. The reception area is also just a beautiful canvas to DIY decorations-wise. And if choosing to do the ceremony in the gazebo area— you can definitely save on ceremony flowers when the roses are in bloom!

When COVID hit, due to the lockdown, we had to postpone/cancel our big wedding. After rescheduling twice, we were finally able to have an intimate outdoor ceremony there a year later from the original date, and we’re just so grateful that GHF was flexible at the time and able to accommodate us. On the day of, our attendant Lauren made sure we had everything we need, made sure no one else that was not there for the wedding was lingering in the gardens for our ceremony, and was just so professional and easy to work with that day. I’m also so so glad we were also around for when all the flowers were finally in bloom. Thank you again Rebecca and team!

Photos by Olivia Marshall Photography

I cannot give The Gardens enough praise for being absolutely flexible when it came to planning my wedding. The outdoor space is absolutely amazing no matter what time of year and I am in love with my photos. Although I was unable to use the indoor space due to COVID, it is also lovely and one of the main reasons I chose this venue. Rebecca was fantastic and was a valuable resource during planning. I am so thankful that The Gardens were flexible when I had to downsize our wedding and applaud them for being so on top of everything. Thank you again, Rebecca!

We had booked the Gardens at Heather Farm for our wedding in May of 2020, but unfortunately had to cancel everything due to COVID. However, I wanted to write a review because working with everyone at the Gardens was a joy. They were always quick to respond, very professional and informative, and super sweet. They even gave us a full refund of our booking when we had to cancel, so we really appreciate that! The venue itself is a true gem. So beautiful!

I would highly recommend The Gardens at Heather Farm to anyone, especially those who want an intimate, rustic, elegant, and most importantly, beautiful wedding.

The venue is spacious. It has roughly three levels: a lower level rose garden and gazebo area (most couples use the gazebo area for the ceremony), a middle level patio/cocktail area, and upper level reception hall. Amazingly, it provides a cozy/intimate vibe at the same time, which is exactly what me and my husband were looking for.

The staff here are amazing. Rebecca and Jenn are both caring and passionate about their work. They were also very responsive during the entire process and answered our questions promptly.

Since we had a November wedding, we were quite worried about the weather. Rebecca and Jenn explained the rain contingency plans thoroughly and put our minds at ease. It turned out beautifully on our wedding day - and surprisingly, the roses were still in full blossom, which was a big bonus to us.

We visited the venue multiple times through different seasons (summer, fall, winter) before our wedding, and each time we visited it, we fell in love with it a little more.

When it’s time to decide for our wedding venue, I tried browsing online to see pictures of possible places that we might like. The Gardens at Heather Farms was the first thing that we saw and to be honest, we didn’t really looked somewhere else anymore because the pictures of this place online were all pretty. Me and my fiancé immediately went there the next day and we knew from that very moment that this is going to be the place our wedding will take place. The ambiance was very romantic and serene which are perfect for our wedding. Rebecca helped us and toured us around the place and she was very helpful and knowledgeable. She was suggesting a lot of things which gave us ideas on what we should do on our wedding day. We Did our ceremony at the gazebo and the reception at the Camella hall. Our guests were all saying that our venue was so beautiful which proves that we made the right choice. We love the Gardens and we highly recommend it!

This place is a fairy tale and the absolute best venue to have your wedding. From their incredible staff (Rebecca is amazing) to the stunning garden full of every flower imagable, to the stunning backdrop, this is the perfect place to start the rest of your lives together. We didn’t live in Walnut Creek when we booked the venue and Rebecca spoke to us on the phone for about an hour easing any concern and answering every question we had with kindness and care. She was so on top of communication and every detail we hadn’t considered. She even recommended a phenomenal florist for us (Sweetness and Light), based on my personality, who we simply adored.. The Gardens at Heather Farms is one of the most stunning places I have ever seen, with an exceptional staff, and a gorgeous venue, this is hands down one of the best affordable and elegant Bay Area finds. Book now, while there is still space available.

Such a beautiful venue and the staff was very accommodating (allowing us to use the library and classroom downstairs as prep areas). They were communicative throughout the planning process, especially when discussing a rain option given my wedding was in November. I was so pleased with the gazebo and surrounding foliage. It was the perfect wedding venue!

This was the perfect venue for our wedding and is such a beautiful spot. We first visited in February and even though all the rose bushes were trimmed back, we liked the layout of the gardens, and could tell that it would be really stunning when everything was in bloom. We worked with Kelly from the start, and she was super helpful answering our questions, showing us photos from different seasons, and suggesting vendors. Both she and Rebecca were extremely prompt answering emails and made the whole process much easier. We picked a lot of vendors from their suggested list and I'd definitely recommend doing the same; the caterer, DJ, and decoration company knew the venue so well and worked seamlessly together.

The gazebo and rose garden are really lovely for the ceremony and photos, and it was wonderful having a cocktail hour on the patio before moving up to dinner in the reception room. The room looks a little bland on it's own, but I couldn't believe how it transformed once all the tables and decorations were set up. It's sort of like a blank canvas, so you can dress the room up however you like.

Planning a wedding can be stressful, but I feel like ours was much easier than it could have been, in large part thanks to the venue we chose.

Working with both Kelly and Rebecca was the BEST! They are both super responsive and very helpful. The venue was perfect - it was very beautiful inside and out, affordable, and our guests really enjoyed the gardens. VERY happy with GHF!

We loved our venue. We had our ceremony at the garden gazebo area and reception a short walk away. Tons of greenery and beautiful flowers. Our guest constantly complimented our wedding venue. We wanted a venue where our guest didn't have to drive around. The Marriott Hotel gave free shuttle rides to and from the venue to the hotel for our guest. This was important since we had an open bar. No complaints :)

My November wedding was beautiful and amazing. After looking at several outdoor venues and being displeased with the sites my husband and I knew this was the place for us the second we parked the car. Its so romantic and fun and gorgeous. Our wedding guests were so impressed with this venue. The staff are very professional and accomidating. If you are looking for an amazing venue then this would be it.

This Venue is beautiful!! Had my wedding here and they were so accommodating to my every need. Not one thing went wrong. Would recommend this venue to anyone and you cant beat the price either!

We got married here, and were so thrilled with how beautiful the grounds were, and how smoothly the wedding went. We were working on a limited budget, but because The Gardens has discounted rates for weekdays, we were able to have a beautiful Friday night wedding for under $3000. When we were first considering The Gardens, we were a little concerned that they had a list of preferred caterers, which limited our options for food, but it turned out to be a great decision since all of their preferred caterers are vetted ahead of time and are very familiar with the site. The site is spacious, open, wheelchair-accessible, and really really gorgeous. We had plenty of space for our 120 guests to wander the grounds and took advantage of the gazebo area, patio area, and reception hall for our wedding events. Rebecca and Kelly, the two people we were in contact with, were very professional and friendly, and were willing to help us with whatever we needed.

I got married here on May 3 2015. It was absolutely the perfect venue for us: gorgeous, affordable, great amenities, and they were fine with my dog being in the ceremony. We really lucked out in the timing of our wedding; it was a beautiful sunny day and all the flowers were just amazing....even the roses on the gazebo were in full bloom. That said, we visited the venue at several times of year while planning our wedding and it was always gorgeous, so even if you can't do spring it would still be a great venue. We had our ceremony at the gazebo, our cocktail hour at the pavilion, and our reception in the Camellia room. The Camellia room is set up with absolutely everything you could ever need for a wedding reception (yes the reception chairs are not exactly gorgeous, but we didn't care about that--the ceremony chairs were very nice, though). In addition to the gorgeous setting and fabulous facilities, the people that work in the office there are amazing. I would e-mail them with the most inane and random questions and they always got back to me immediately and they were always super friendly and professional. They do have a list that you have to choose from for caterers, but we didn't find that to be a negative, that means your caterer (we chose Elegant Occasions, highly recommended) will be familiar with the venue which is a great bonus. I highly recommend this venue, I can't think of a single negative thing to say!

Amazing Venue for both ceremony and reception, they also include tables and chairs with your rental! Stunning amount of roses.

I loved this venue! The ceremony needed no extra flowers because it was gorgeous all on its own! We walked through a rose garden into a gazebo. It was perfect. The cocktail area was shaded and had a big bar area. The reception area had gorgeous windows and high ceilings. It easily fit our 109 guests and had enough dance floor space for EVERYONE to dance! It was a perfect place to get married :)

I absolutely postively loved my venue!!! Gardens at Heather Farms is an absolutely beautiful venue to get married at. The staff was accommodating and prompt in their responses. We booked the Camilla Room (main reception hall), the Pavillion Room (outdoor patio area) and the Gazebo (ceremony area) and it was absolutely perfect. The flowers were blooming, the sun was shining and it was quiet and serene. And while it there were people adjacent to the Gazebo (since it is near a park) they were respectful of the fact that a wedding was taking place! My wedding was absolutely perfect and the staff helped make my day one of the most memorable!

The Gardens at Heather Farm is such a beautiful and affordable wedding venue. We looked at many different sites as a possibility for the venue of our wedding. The ironic thing about it all is that the Gardens at Heather Farm was our favorite, and least expensive, out of all the venues we looked at! We highly recommend renting the gazebo for a ceremony since the gardens are absolutely beautiful. We had our wedding in early September and all of the roses were perfectly blossomed, the weather was perfect, and we had a great time. We couldn't have asked for anything more.

Our wedding was perfect, the gardens were beautiful, the staff professional and most helpful for our special needs — all-in-all a superb location for our wedding. The wedding service was held in the gazebo/rose garden. It was a warm afternoon and the staff thoughtfully provided an awning for our guests for shade. The reception and celebration was held in the patio which beautifully accommodated our sixty guests with tables, sun umbrellas for guests, caterers and musicians. I can't recommend The Gardens at Heather Farm more highly as a wedding venue and can assure you that your wedding will go as smoothly as ours...

Great venue; the gardens are incredible. The staff was very friendly and easy to get in touch with during our planning. We highly recommend this location!

The Garden was beautiful! The venue was amazingly convenient in that the ceremony took place right outside the area we were holding the reception. People could walk the grounds while we got beautiful pictures taken. Best part is that we didn't have a need to pay for flowers since it was such a well maintained garden and in bloom in October!

Just two weeks ago I had my wedding reception at The Gardens at Heather Farm, and I would highly recommend this venue. We found it to be the most affordable site in the East Bay, especially for all you get--10 hours of rental time, access to the reception hall, and ability to roam throughout their entire beautiful garden (a great spot for all of those photos)! Our guests loved exploring the rose garden, gazebo, and sensory garden before the reception began, and after sunset dancing in the moonlight on the patio. Their staff was extremely responsive and easy to work with. I appreciated their patience with all of my questions. It was also a bonus to us that they are a non-profit organization, hosting many students and horticulture lovers throughout the year. Not only was our money spent well but it went to support great cause!

The Gardens are beautiful and the roses gorgeous. The water fountains and rock garden were perfect for pictures. Everything in the gazebo and garden was amazing. The Camilla room is a little dated looking and small. If you have a good imagination you can really spruce up the room like I did. I had to bring in other vendors for lighting, covering up one of the walls with a curtain, linens, etc. etc.. I would recommend this place for someone who wants a small and intimate wedding day. You do have to watch out for extra fees like using non preffered caterers and such. I also wish you could rent the venue past twelve o'clock, but you can't. All in all the outside location is beautiful, the inside needs a bit of work, and watch out for little kids riding their scooters past you during your ceremony! It is a public park!

They were amazing- I would definitely recommend this vendor. They provided lists for preferred catering, florists, officiants, dj, photography, you name it. It is a stunningly beautiful site and for the price is unbeatable! The people working there are nice and welcoming and easy to work with.

The event coordinator was amazing over the phone, and incredibly detailed in her discussion of the venue. She was also very helpful with outside vendors!

We searched high and low for our perfect venue and we found it at Heather Farms. If you are looking here and have a date in mind during the wedding season, GO EARLY! We were there a year out and got the very last Saturday in October, and we almost missed it!! The staff were very responsive and accommodating, they allowed us to visit and scout the place out many times after booking, and were always on top of responding to my questions. The venue is beautiful and the gazebo is an excellent place for the ceremony. There is a rain option to move the ceremony into the reception hall at no cost (very important for someone looking in October/November). There was potential for rain on our day, but Kelly didn't stress me out about it by waiting to call until the day before to ask how we wanted to proceed. Luckily, we had no rain and were able to enjoy all of the beautiful expanse of the gardens.

Choosing a wedding venue is the first and one of the hardest things to do when you start planning a wedding. After viewing a few other venues within similar price ranges, we checked out the Gardens at Heather Farms as it is near where both my husband and I grew up. We signed up for a tour that was very informative! They do have some rules (as any venue will have) like no throwing rice and choosing a caterer off a preferred vendor list. But, the beauty of the garden and reception hall completely make you forget about that! We were able to plan and have the wedding of our dreams!! I had an easy time working with the staff and when I lost my wedding bag, they opened their arms and hearts to me and helped look everywhere for it. I would definitely recommend using this facility for a wedding or any large event!!

Great location for a summer wedding! There is a beautiful rose garden that surrounds a gazebo where our ceremony was held. In summertime, the garden is in full bloom, there are many shade trees, and a beautiful lagoon nearby that has many birds frequenting it. There is a small staff that is employed by the Garden, and they are very helpful and professional, and made everything run smoothly. They will set up chairs at the gazebo for you as part of the rental fee. I rented the gazebo for an early afternoon wedding and then used the Heather Farm Community Center (across the lagoon, run by the city of Walnut Creek and not the Garden). Garden also has a reception hall but it is more costly than the Community Center.

We just had our April wedding at The Gardens at Heather Farm, and our guests raved about how beautiful it was! The Gazebo ceremony site is beautiful, you don't even need flowers! The reception room is fairly plain and bland, but you can really spice it up and make it your own. The big windows and exposed beams provide for a beautiful canvas!

The Pros-
- Price! For the Bay Area this is an amazing value for a venue. You have a lot of flexibility with vendors on their lists, and it is really a bare canvas.
- Location- easily accessible, lots of parking, easy enough to find.
- Scenery- gorgeous garden setting.
- Staff is easy to communicate with and very responsive. I never had any problem getting ahold of either Tracey or Tyler.
- they provide and set up any tables you might need, as well as chairs (if you want to use their ugly ones- see con below).


Cons:
- They are very particular and have their rules. The one I was frustrated with is that you can't use the white folding chairs used for the ceremony for the reception, because they won't allow them to be around food. The chairs they provided for the reception are hideous conference chairs that look like they're straight out of the '80s, so we had to pay $500 to rent the exact same chairs they provided us for the ceremony to use at the reception. You also can't use birdseed, flower petals, etc, which is frustrating to some, but it seems like most outdoor venues have these rules.

Overall I would definitely recommend this venue! Our wedding was 2 weeks ago and we already got our deposit back in the mail.

The staff were very friendly and easy to work with. Beautiful location, and eco-friendly/non-profit.

The venue was absolutely amazing! So beautiful! Everyone was so helpful! I just didn't like that we had to be out at an exact time. But I also didn't want my day to ever end! Thank you Heather Farms for making my day so beautiful!

The garden was beautiful, all my guest love it...

The Gardens are beautiful. Some downsides include not being able to use flower petals, rice, bird seeds, confetti, etc (indoors or out); this however was not an issue for us, but I can see where some brides it might be a let down. The saff was helpful and friendly.

Unfortunately, I can’t recommend the GHF for a wedding at this time (but maybe I would in the future).

Pros:
- The gardens are beautiful and our wedding photos from our August 2023 wedding we’ve gotten back so far already look fantastic
- The cocktail hour and bar is a great setup and looked amazing

Cons:
- Poor communication: the building flooded back in September 2022 and is still unusable! The GHF team waited until late January to inform us of this and give us our options. By this time, we had already booked most of our vendors, sent save the dates, ordered invitations, set up a room block, and several other venues we reached out to were already booked. We had to reach out to GHF multiple times for updates, but the projected completion date continued to be pushed further and further back. Luckily, we were able to book the venue next door for our reception but the logistics of booking 2 separate venues that don’t communicate ended up being really difficult
- The noise: when they sell you on the venue, they don’t tell you about all the noise that might be coming from the park. During the ceremony, a huge party in the park right next to the gate was playing extremely loud music, drowning out some of our live music. While we did ask kindly if they’d be able to turn it down just for the ceremony, they declined. GHF will not tell you about this very likely possibility or even offer suggestions to prevent this issue (had we known, we would've considered things like renting out the picnic spaces)
- There were a few other hiccups working with Jenna & the GHF team during our planning process and wedding (i.e., the gate being locked or the attendant being absent when the gate needed to be opened).


If you are considering booking this venue for your ceremony & reception, I would look elsewhere until they have confirmed that the building is up and running given the continuous delays. If you have already booked and were informed that the building will not be ready by your date, it might be best to find a new venue all together. When we booked the reception venue next door, we didn’t anticipate the additional headache and unforeseen costs regarding needing additional staffing, 2 DJ locations, rentals, gates being locked, parking, paying for the same timeslots for 2 separate venues, and coordinating all of this with vendors.

I have to start out with saying that Heather Farms is BEAUTIFUL, our pictures came out amazing! Couldn't have asked for a more affordable and beautiful venue. With that said, sadly the venue staff itself wasn't as easy to work with. They were very responsive in emails, however this is a DIY venue. You can't drop anything off the night before, so we had to rely on friends and family to set up the day of, not allowing themselves to completely get ready for the big day, everything had to be picked up and removed the night of, which didn't seem like a big deal in the beginning, however all our rentals ended up charging us extra for "late pickup." After the party ended there was friends and family, myself and husband included, cleaning up to make sure we would fully get our deposit back. I will say that our on staff employee, David, that stayed to supervise the venue was great! He got in there and helped and was very kind and extremely helpful!

I would recommend this with the caution that it is completely DIY venue!

I only have one real complaint about the Gardens at Heather Farm, but it is a pretty major one.

We had the ceremony by the gazebo. Unfortunately, just beyond the hedges at the back of this area is a public picnic area and there happened to be a birthday celebration on the same day as my wedding. I know it was a birthday celebration because they very loudly sang happy birthday during the middle of my ceremony. One of our guests went over and asked them to quiet down, only to be yelled at. For the entire ceremony they were quite obnoxious and it was extremely upsetting.

Besides that, everything else was fine. The coordinator was often pretty slow to respond to questions, but their price is so low that I was willing to look past that. Also, they have a lot of rules, but they are very clear about them ahead of time so that was fine too.

Bottom line, there is no way to predict what will be happening at the nearby picnic tables, so unless you are very laid back and don't care about noise, I highly suggest that you do not have your ceremony at the gazebo. However, they do also have a lawn area that you could also use, so that might be worth checking out.

The day of was beautiful, no complaints, went off without a hitch, everyone was raving about it. A few issues before and after. We didn't have a flower girl so it wasn't an issue for us but no flower petals, no rice, no confetti, no loose candy (either inside or outside for all those things) nothing on the chairs outside, no decorations on the walls inside unless they're attached with packing tape. In other words, lots of restrictions which I could get past but was a little annoying. Also, if you're not familiar with the process of planning a wedding a lot of questions come up and you only meet with their onsite person once a week and a half before the wedding so I felt like I was always calling them with questions because I didn't know what was going on. They were nice and always answered my questions but I felt like there had to be an easier way. The lastly the big one, after the wedding, 10 days after we got a call saying they found some damage and believed it to be from our wedding on the floor from what they believed to be a high heel that had worn down and the nail part was sticking out and we may need to replace their entire floor but they don't know yet they have to have someone out to assess the damage. Why does the dance floor of a reception hall not hold up to high heels? That's not our problem. We have no idea if that damage was there before, we did a walk through afterwards with someone who worked there and signed off ok, it's 10 days later and we're just now getting a call and you don't even know what the exact damage is yet? I don't see how they think they can possibly pin this on us. Very unprofessional. I felt like we had great things to say about the place after such a great day and it was spoiled by their actions and unprofessionalism. Be very cautious if you go with them. Take lots of pictures of everything before you even start setting up and have someone who works there go around with you and document everything. Better safe than sorry.