The Wooly Reviews
Reviews
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![John]()
John Sent on 04/29/2025Amazing venue and staff
To say that everything went off without a hitch is an understatement!! The beauty of this venue alone made us fall in love. However the staff, the ambiance and the food were out of this world. I not only recommend it but say it is a must if you are needing an event space in Gainesville!!!! -
![Bridget]()
Bridget Sent on 04/24/2025Marvelous!
Review for: The Wooly/The Top/Top Secret Events/ Bailey Bruce
Where to begin?
We had what is currently being called by all, “The BEST wedding and the BEST reception EVER!”
First off, the team that helped us was incredible.
From the moment we met Bailey at the Wooly, she helped us solidify our vision. She was extremely helpful with every question/concern we had. She really listened and understood who we were right away. Bailey introduced us to our wedding planner and her team (Calla with Mercer & Smith, who are BEYOND the best, BTW), who work with The Wooly for day of planning, so we chose to hire Calla and Mercer & Smith for the entire wedding, including the offsite portions.
We chose The Wooly for the vibe, firstly. We were so taken by the venue, with its unique touches and its awesome history. We could see how the space could be either as modern as a person wanted, or as retro. We loved this place, and began to highlight our very loose vision to Bailey. We knew we wanted a full reception with a live band, so we rented the whole space (including the bonus room). They were able to make a plan to utilize the entire space to accommodate both a cocktail lounge, a dinner party and flip it for live music and dancing. We had a live big band playing on the stage. It was SO COOL! It was nice that the Wooly team were able and willing to work with our vision, the band, and the in-house production people and just make it happen! That to me, means this is an INCREDIBLE group of people, with a venue that offers EVERYTHING! Even a small closet for me to change into my second dress (because my wedding dress was going to be WAY too much to try to dance in)! The in-house catering from The Top was a huge success.
In summation: you have a visionary in Bailey, who gets along and helps coordinate with the other vendors right away, you have this gorgeous venue, you have food that really is “The Top,” and you have all the other people involved in Bailey’s team that truly are INCREDIBLE. And they were! From thoughtful touches to fantastic planning, this team and venue is the way to go. If it weren’t for Bailey, we wouldn’t have had the absolutely perfect wedding that we were able to have. I can’t wait to do our next party with them! Just need to find a reason……
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![Blair]()
Blair Sent on 02/24/2025The Wooly is a five star experience!
Five stars is simply not enough stars for the experience that I had when I had my wedding at The Wooly. I am a type A bride who spent 15 months planning our wedding. Bailey and her staff at the Wooly were there for me every step of the way. To making sure my vision came to life, to easing whatever anxiety I was having each week, to doing everything in their power to make sure we stayed within our budget without having to compromise what we wanted. Bailey went above and beyond and truly helped us have the wedding of our dreams. We had both our ceremony and reception at The Wooly and on the day of the event the venue was stunning, the staff were exceptional and our 100 guests had the time of their lives. People were RAVING about the food. The music never stopped (shout out DJ CAM). There was never a line at the bar. Everything was so perfect. Honestly, I wish we could go back and do it all over again because it was THAT fun! I cannot recommend Bailey and The Wooly enough! -
![Mikayla]()
Mikayla Sent on 04/07/2024Tobin Wedding Review
I just celebrated my wedding reception at the The Wooly and it was absolutely perfect! Bailey was incredibly accommodating, thoughtful, responsive, and a general pleasure to work with! Our guests raved about every detail - from the incredible food (focaccia in particular was a huge hit), the amazing bar staff, the sound system, and the look & feel of the space. The Wooly is the greatest space in town to really highlight Gainesville, which is exactly what my husband and I were wanting. I could not recommend this venue more for a special event. -
![Tammy]()
Tammy Sent on 08/21/2023Amazing staff and atmosphere
Thank you so much to The Wooly for a beautiful wedding celebration for my son and his beautiful bride. Bailey and her staff were amazing. We couldn’t have asked for anything better! The atmosphere was fabulous and space was perfect! -
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Jennifer Sent on 11/20/2022
Perfect Wedding
Our wedding at the Wooly was everything we could have asked for. The venue itself was perfect for what we envisioned, including its downtown location. The layout was very important to me and with The Wooly, there was enough space for dining, a dance floor, a little nook seating area by the bar and a small outdoor patio. It was cozy and spacious. Also, with it being a blank slate, you can really adapt it to how you want it. It looked beautiful and felt like us.
The Top catered, which was obviously a hit. We got so many compliments on the food, some guests even claiming, “best food at a wedding”. Bailey and her staff were response, accommodating and professional. Mercer and Smith are fabulous; I cannot recommend them enough as wedding coordinators. They really put you at ease and truly make you feel like your day is important to them.
We had a blast. I knew going in that Top Secret Events was a good event group, but my expectations were exceeded in how seamlessly the night went. There’s not a single thing we would’ve done differently. -
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![Chris]()
Chris Sent on 08/02/2022Excellent all the way around
My now wife and I chose The Wooly for our wedding reception and we cannot say enough good things about it. Paired with the Top for catering, there were plenty of food options all of which were great which included vegan options for each course. We had a large variety of desserts which were all incredible, and they even made a custom dessert that we requested. The Wooly itself had plenty of space for our final guest count of 70. We specifically loved the layout which allowed space for people at the bar, people dining, and those on the dance floor. Bailey and her team were very friendly, attentive, and communicative with any concerns or questions we had. All in all everything was excellent, we couldn’t have imagined our wedding any other way.
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![Mackenzie]()
Mackenzie Sent on 05/25/2022Incredible Experience!
We had an incredible time having our reception at the Wooly! Bailey was great to work with and she was able to answer all of the questions we had which made every meeting go very smoothly. The venue was great and we would like to thank all of the staff that were respectful and professional. During our reception there was a wandering person who came in through the front door and before anyone could notice the staff walked them out. The catering was also incredible! A lot of our guests complimented us on the food that was served and for the drinks at the bar. We also got our wedding cake done through the Wooly’s catering and it came out beautifully! We highly recommend this venue to anyone in the area!
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![salid]()
Salid Sent on 03/07/2022The Whimsical Witchy Wedding of My Dreams
The Wooly (and Top Secret Events) were super easy to work with, and very accommodating of my witchy wedding dreams. We had catering from The Top, and everything came together flawlessly. Bailey and Brianna were very helpful and communicative- which really reduced wedding planning stress, and was greatly appreciated. All of the staff were masked and very helpful, as well. Thank you all for making my wedding so wonderful! HIGHLY RECOMMEND. -
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![Terance]()
Terance Sent on 08/11/2021Terance Baker 15 Year Wedding Anniversary
This past weekend My Wife and I celebrated our 15 year Wedding Anniversary at the Wooly Event Hall. It. Was. Beautiful. It was wonderful to know that there is still a place to go to create beautiful memories and have an amazing time with family. The Wooly Event Hall was that place for us. We had family and friends attend our ceremeony with us and Every One of them had a fantastic time! Bailey and all of Her Staff did an absolute Superb Job of ensuring that our 15th Anniversary was one for the record! We used our Own DJ and a local Decor team as well, but Wolly recommended a local photographer Mr. Chris Watkins who captured gorgeous moments for us to cherish the memories. We also Had our own videographer who also captured video for us, Ms. Kenya Robinson, between the two of them we had moments captured that we will forever cherish. The Wooly was just right, large enough to house all of our Guests, the accomodations were very nice indeed.The food was amaxzing! These place knows how to cater! I was able to present my own slide show with my projector but they had every thing we needed. The Staff was very kind and genuinely nice, They cared and You can tell, they all wanted to make sure we had a good time, and we did! Bailey and team have winning personalities, I will highly reccomend this place and will definitely book it again for a future event. If You need a place to create wonderful memories RENT THE WOOLY! Terance Baker -
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![Keeley]()
Keeley Sent on 07/07/2021Great Place!
I loved my wedding reception at The Wooly! Bailey and her team did an incredible job. They were insightful and extremely accommodating through the entire planning process. Plenty of space for my guest count of 100 and they layout worked really well for my group. Great location in the heart of downtown Gainesville. We even walked to a local bar after! -
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![Tori]()
Tori Sent on 08/13/2020Unique, Personal, and Affordable!
Working with Bailey and The Top Secret Events team was amazing and so easy! If we were to do it all over again we would without a doubt choose this team for our wedding! Bailey was responsive and flexible throughout the process which is such a luxury when wedding planning. She also went the extra mile to make sure our day was unique to us and helped set up a first-look at The Dime Bar where our first date was. It was such a sweet and special moment and we were so grateful to her for making that happen. From the venue, to the catering, and even the lighting, this team ensures that your priorities are their priorities. I HIGHLY recommend working with The Top Secret Events for all things wedding related!
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Ashley Sent on 02/16/2020
Incredible customer service in a beautiful downtown venue!
Beautiful venue in downtown Gainesville - with equally incredible customer service! I've had the privilege of working on several gorgeous weddings and special events in this space and am always so happy with the result. Thanks to Bailey and her amazing team, I know that everything will be handled and look great when working with this venue! -
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![Elio]()
Elio Sent on 10/16/2019Most amazing Venue in Gator Nation
Highly recommended for Weddings,Corporates Events,Graduation Parties and events of all types. Great prices,big space,beautiful Bar and dance floor,the stage is stunning. Check out the Wooly today. -
![Emily]()
Emily Sent on 07/10/2019Funky & fun event space
We would highly recommend hosting an event at The Wooly. We recently held our wedding reception there and it was everything we hoped it would be. The space is so versatile- we wanted a reception that spoke to our love of games and The Wooly provided just that. They were able to bring in a foosball table, ping pong table, and an arcade game. It's also such a plus to be able to have food catered from The Top- it was delicious. More importantly the staff were so friendly and easy to work with. Event Coordinator, Bailey Bruce, was always so responsive to emails and gave thoughtful guidance throughout the whole process. If you're looking for a space to host an event, The Wooly should be at the top of your list! -
Kelsey Sent on 07/10/2019
#1 Wedding Venue!
I knew that The Wooly was going to be the perfect venue for us. Downtown Gainesville had been a special place while dating, it just felt full circle for us to celebrate our wedding day there as well.
Working with Bailey made the whole experience even better. She was approachable, patient and accommodating. Wedding planning can obviously be super stressful, but she always put us at ease.
Their staff is creative and helped a lot with the decor. I was pretty indecisive with some of the details, and I trusted them to use their expertise. It all came together better than I could have ever imagined.
I loved hearing the feedback from friends and family :
"Seriously that was the most fun I've ever had at a wedding" -Shy Friend Who Didn't Know Many People There
"The reception looked so cool" - Grandma's Best Friend
"Everything was great, the food was incredible, the whole place had a fun vibe" - Opinionated & Critical Friend
It made us happy to know everyone had a great time. I was able to relax and enjoy the day because I trusted Bailey and the staff so much. If I could do it all over again I wouldn't change a thing! ---except maybe eat more corn nuggets!!! :) -
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Steve Sent on 01/15/2018Working with Bailey Bruce (Events Director) and the rest of the staff of The Wooly and The Depot was definitely one of the highlights of our wedding. Of course, streamlining our Ceremony & Cocktail Hour (The Depot Building @ Depot Park), Catering & Reception (The Wooly) all through Bailey made the task of planning and preparing for our big day significantly easier. Bailey was always responsive to our frequent and maybe crazy questions. The Wooly itself had just been renovated when we had our wedding and we could not have been more pleased with the updates. It may seem like a bit of a blank canvas when it's empty, but with the right lighting and decor, the venue absolutely comes alive. The food my now wife and I had at our tasting was difficult to choose from, but as always, Bailey made every step of this process enjoyable and special. The eventual catering choices we made were absolutely well received! Because of my wife's Celiac, we had an entirely gluten-free menu, which the Wooly staff went out of their way to accommodate for. In addition to the amazing taco bar, we had a variety of dessert bars. I don't have Celiac so I can say this honestly: those were the absolute best desserts I've ever had (at a wedding or otherwise). The only negative about the wedding would be some poorly behaved guests; which is actually a positive regarding the Wooly. These guests, though belligerent, were handled professionally and gracefully. While we were disappointed in the guests poor behavior, the staff of The Wooly was tremendous in their understanding and in how they dealt with the situation. I cannot say this enough, there is nothing bad to say about The Wooly or its staff. The venue was perfect and the staff were professional and great. A special tip of the hat to Bailey Bruce as well who has been an absolute joy to work with. I highly recommend this venue if you're considering a wedding reception space, party, or any other type of large event.
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![Michelle]()
Michelle Sent on 05/10/2022Lovely Reception Hall
We held our wedding reception at the Wooly, and it was perfect due to its location downtown and the inclusion of a full bar and attached kitchen. We received compliments all night about how good the food was, which is integral to a memorable wedding. The space itself was large enough to host people who were seated, people hovering and chatting around the bar, and people who were tearing up the dance floor. Bailey and Bri were so helpful throughout the process, answering any of the million questions and requests I had, and were so attentive up until past our wedding day. We couldn't have picked a better venue. -
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![Kelcie]()
Kelcie Sent on 07/06/2019Wonderful Reception!
Overall, The Wooly provided a wonderful reception for our wedding! The guests had a great time and the venue is funky and unique. There were a few hiccups along the way and the day of, but it didn’t affect us and our guests too much. I recommend reconfirming every single little detail and communicating constantly to be sure everything is what you hope for and planned. Not much is included with the rental of the venue. Linens were a huge cost that was added to the price of the venue, as well as catering (obviously), which was provided by The Top restaurant next door. We also chose to rent chairs from another company because we didn’t love the look of their chairs with the covers, which also needed to be rented. The price of the venue itself is so reasonable that it was still very budget-friendly, just be sure to keep those added costs in mind. We absolutely LOVED our reception, there were just things that could have gone a bit more smoothly in terms of communication. -
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