Cescaphe/Curtis Center Weddings!!!! HELP!

That is frustrating! So what are you going to do? Are you going to look at other places? I already have my invites with all that information on them.

I have no idea..... Almost everything is already booked for 2016 anyway. I'm guessing we have to ride it out and hope for the best. I just hate the uncertainty and the fact that cescaphe and the curits center are not getting along. I feel like it could blow up in my face at any moment.

I told cescpahe what the curtis center told me and cescaphe told me not to believe it.... but I just don't know...

My whole reason for choosing to book with cescaphe was because I didnt want to have to stress and I really don't appreciate all of this. We're spending so much money on this wedding, we should at least have the assurance that the venue is going to be there and in look the way we were told it would look when we signed the contract.

Well if anything happens, it will be a huge legal battle, not just between Cescaphe and Curtis Center, but between all the affected couples, too! I really hope it doesn't come to that, and they just figure out a way to keep things going the way they are going. The reason I picked this venue was because we have a guest list that's too big to fit anywhere else, and plus, the Atrium is gorgeous! I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Are you going to any of the Cescaphe University events? I'm hoping they have one at the Curtis Center in the coming months so it gives me a reason to go look at it when its dressed up for an event.

Yea, this could be a serious legal battle if things come to blows... and YES! I plan on going to as many as I can lol. Hopefully they have one at the curtis center!

I'm horrified this is happening to you guys and hope that one side has it wrong! I'm a downtown Philly bride too and I literally cannot imagine what I'd do if the plans were radically changed...we got the first date available 15 months out!

Random thought, but if I were you I'd find out what companies have offices in the CC and then search my LinkedIn network to see if I knew anyone who worked in the building and could give me updates...

@twostep127, thank you for the suggestion! I did a quick search and it looks like Benjamin's Desk and Technical.ly are two businesses that work on the 12th floor. I don't have anyone from either company on my LinkedIn, but I'll keep looking. Where are you getting married? Are you at one of the Cescaphe venues?

We're at the Bellevue! We looked into Cescaphe but the only venues big enough for our guest list were booked through the summer, and we didn't want to wait until fall 2016. I would have LOVED Water Works if it could have fit more than half our guests!

The Bellevue is so beautiful! You will have a gorgeous wedding! Water Works was one of my top choices with the Atrium as the other, but since Cescaphe took over Water Works and reduced the capacity, my group wouldn't fit either!

OMG...I'm on the phone with FH and he found a tweet from the Curtis Center on February 8th...I will copy and paste below:

PhillyCourtWatcher ?@PhillyCtWatcher Feb 8

Curtis Center tenant sues to stop renovation work, claiming it interferes with license to use the Atrium and Dream Garden for wedding events

They were definitely a top contender for me, but those renovation talks during my search turned me completely off. They couldn't give hard dates and seemed super wishy-washy about it. I hope it works out for you!!!

OMG! So they are already sueing them!!! This is a problem...

Love4slife... what are you going to do?

I talked to FH, we emailed our contact at Cescaphe and asked if they could list out the actual renovations and the timeframe for completion and are waiting for a response. We are just going to roll with it, if we cancel, we have no further recourse down the road. I'm just hoping that this lawsuit halts the renovations and nothing happens till 2017!

Ok so my mom talked to Joe Volpe (owner of cescaphe) and we are completely reassured. He said the lawsuit is not whether weddings will happen there or not. His concern is that the curtis center will start renovations on a Monday (i.e., putting up new columns) and only have half of them done by Thursday. So that a wedding on that Friday will still happen but it will look weird with only one wall of columns done. So his lawsuit is to make sure if a renovation is being done during the week it must look acceptable and aesthetically pleasing by the weekend.

My mom asked him what is the whole partnership between cescpahe and the curtis center blows up... He said he will not let any weddings/couples get screwed over. He would make something happen. He said worse case scenario he can make a beautiful wedding happen anywhere and he will not let any bride or groom get screwed over.

I feel way better now. I trust that we will be fine.

Thank you for the update! We scheduled a call with our coordinator so both FH and I could talk to her at the same time, but that is great you got to speak with Joe himself! How did you manage that? Lol. I didn't think he was that easy to get a hold of, but I also never tried. Anyway, I really appreciate the update! It sounds like we don't have too much to worry about. Maybe I'll see you at one of the CEG University events. Good luck with the rest of your planning!!!

I've just been calling a lot with these concerns and they asked me if I wanted to talk to him myself so I said sure.... He was very nice and sincere. He said he would call me in a few weeks with an update on what the judge says. I feel a lot better about the whole situation. I just like knowing what is going on.

That's awesome! That gives me even more faith that they will make sure everything is right. Most owners who know their ass is on the line would never talk to a client, so I'm happy to see he's better than that. If it's not too much trouble, would you mind posting an update if you hear back from him in a few weeks? I'm really curious what the judge will say.

Yes! for sure! I will update on here anytime I hear something new!

Also a bride getting married at Curtis Center this Fall. My family and I were just looped into the situation, and in a slight panic about whether or not we can or should continue to hold the wedding at the Curtis Center.

@Love4sLife have you heard anything recently? I so appreciate any help you can provide!!