Christine A.
Yelp
We had our wedding here in April, and received our deposit in full in the mail while on our honeymoon. For the price, it was the most bang for our buck.
The whole process for booking went as such: we submitted an application back in late-mid 2016, but were told they would not be booking 2018 until after a Q&A meeting on-site in February 2017. We went to the meeting, hosted by then-ranger in charge of weddings, Zenia. She was very informative and laid down many of the laws. At hearing the rules against excessive drinking and that you can't have more than 5 children in attendance (if it exceeds that, you need to have a hired nanny on staff at your event), couples were dropping out left and right.
What really made us nervous, though, was the fact that if say, Person A had a date picked out and submitted for it, but Person B who had gotten their application in 5 seconds before Person A decides they want to switch to Person A's date then Person B GETS it.
When she had opened for people to turn in their applications, a torrent of couples rushed the front, some still filling them out while in line. When we turned in our paperwork, she circled our day on the calendar and we were off and running. Over the next few weeks, we got a couple calls asking if we could switch to another date since two other couples were dueling for it, but we WERE the ones who had requested that date first, having got our app in the moment the window to book was open, and got our $2,000 deposit in immediately. Plus, we'd already hired some folks and there was no moving it.
We had explored the venue before our official tour with Zenia, so there wasn't really much we got from her that wasn't already answered in the Q&A, the website, and just walking around.
The L.A. River Center has a preferred vendors list and, though it makes sense seeing as these pre-approved businesses know what flies and what doesn't at the venue, a few of them were kind of a pain in the ass to work with or had prices that were insane.
There were quite a few things that sold me on the venue, number one being that we had a fireplace. And not just that. We could build a fire as big as we wanted and it was the rangers' job to put it out, as Zenia worded it. So many things there are just gorgeous.
We had our wedding in the atrium, though apparently most people use the San Fernando Courtyard and lawn. We found that space to be too loud. The 5 Freeway is right there, which you can see, as well as the trainyard, which you can smell AND hear. With the atrium, it was peaceful, there's great acoustics, and my flower girls dropped silk petals (you can't use real petals) from the balcony above us. The San Fernando Courtyard, however, was GREAT for cocktail hour and our photobooth area. The gates there were opened to the Main Courtyard when the reception was ready, so it was good flow.
One thing that can't be guaranteed, no matter the time of year, is when the plants are in bloom. When we came through April of last year, more of the trees and bushes had flowers and the vines over the front gate were green. Well, this year, we'd gone into another drought, so not as much of an explosion of natural color. Oh well.
Another issue was that we were promised an hour of private rehearsal time at the venue. We had a confirmed reservation, but almost everything was locked up. Found a door in the rear that wasn't, so we got to work timing the music and blocking in the atrium. No one came to switch on the lights or ensure our privacy. Unfortunately a meeting was scheduled in the next room, so people kept banging on the front door to be let in rather than walking around the side. We'd have to stop, open the door, and then these complete strangers would barge through our area, giving us looks whilst walking on our runners we'd set up to see if they were the right length, and then go out the back door. Neighborhood kids who wanted to play soccer in our INDOOR space came bursting in then ran back out. Eventually a ranger came in to say people were complaining we were there too long. Since we weren't getting our full hour of rehearsal due to all the interruptions, we'd just kept going (1 1/2 hours.) It was night time anyway, so he just locked up behind us. No clue who was complaining since no one else was going to use the space after us anyway.
We received SO MANY compliments on the venue. I mean, again, for the price, this was a steal. We had a renaissance-themed wedding (yes, we're massive nerds), which went PERFECTLY there. Some places I was checking wanted $15,000 or more JUST FOR THE ROOM. The L.A. River Center has quite a few amenities, and your money is going toward the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority.
