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| - I have such mixed feeling going 3 stars with this, not because I feel they were a necessarily a 5 star place, but one thing has left such a bad taste that it was tempting to go with 2 stars.
The short version is they can thank the Photo staff for a lower rating.
Background - I am not a newbie to the chapels. This was my 2nd marriage here and I knew what to expect with the protocol of how the chapel experience worked. Armed with that, I knew what I wanted and more importantly what I DIDN'T want and had no problem communicating that. I didn't have an elaborate plan, I just needed their space to accommodate a fairly large group (a big order in the tiny chapels here) and their minister to do the necessary task. My maid of honor and I personally visited so many chapels so we could check out the space as I know the pictures on the websites don't always tell the whole story.
I booked a 730PM wedding for 10/31/15. I had a wedding party of 6 and was estimating 30+ guests. I booked the cheapest package. I was explicit that we would NOT be hanging out for pictures as I had booked a pre-ceremony session with my own photographer at another location. I only needed what they took during the ceremony and would choose at a later time as I am local. I also paid extra to have the dvd/internet video so that our parents on the east coast could view the ceremony the same day. I was assured that this could be loaded within minutes of the end of the ceremony. We discussed the photo/video issue ad nauseum. There was NO misunderstanding on my part. There should have been no question about this aspect of my ceremony for anyone.
We brought in our own flowers and they did allow us to switch out floral for champagne on my package. I also took care of the minister tip before the ceremony because I knew the drill. I didn't want a hand or envelope in my face post-ceremony. I also did not use the limo service as I live here and didn't need it but nothing was offered in its place. I was ok with that.
The chapel - It was very clean. We were allowed to look at both chapels and chose the largest one as we felt it would be more comfortable for our guests and we liked the color scheme. It is definitely accurately represented in the pictures. I was able to bring my own music on a CD and they did play what I requested at the right times.
The staff - Maria booked my package. She was very friendly. I had to call to check the time and spoke to her again. Other than that, I had zero communication to or from the chapel until the day of my wedding. When we arrived, the groom was outside and I handed over the paperwork. No one asked to see an ID and no one asked to see him. I went over the deal about the pictures and video again and was assured it wouldn't be a problem.
The minister - We had Pastor Jamie and I'd give her 5 stars for sure. I asked that she remove an entire passage she normally recites in civil ceremonies and replace it with the guest vows that I wrote. With a big smile she said yes. I have no idea how she did it so seamlessly, but it rolled out just as if it was part of her every day ceremony. Although it was a short ceremony, she did a great job and was very sincere, heartfelt, and kind. Well worth the tip.
The photographer - This is where it gets ugly. After being assured repeatedly he knew what I wanted, he still came to me and said I needed to fill out my order sheet. I said "No, that's not what I planned. Ask the front desk." His attitude was terrible. His whole body language said it all. I also found out that he was rude to the guests prior to the start of the ceremony.
I was handed a ceremony DVD, checked with the desk that I could order pictures later and went on my way. The photos are 'ok'. There's a few good ones, but more bad than good.
The ceremony being uploaded asap... that didn't happen. In fact I had to call the next day and talk to two different people, one of which told me it would take 1-3 days. Funny, I saw other weddings from the same day whose were videos and/or photos were loaded (including one after mine). After being transferred again and pointing that out, they were magically loaded within 30 minutes.
Overall the chapel was functional for what I needed but I would hesitate a full recommendation. Edited to add they fully used the 10 allotted business days to file the marriage certificate.
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