Seana P.
Yelp
This is for anyone considering having their wedding here. It's very long, but I have a lot to say!
When we were looking for a wedding venue, the Omni made an incredible first impression on us. It's a beautiful and grand space, but there was something very comfortable about it at the same time. That's mainly due to Jano Paredes, our event coordinator. He was so welcoming and genuinely passionate about creating a special event for us. We toured two other venues, Julia Morgan and Webster Hall. While these two venues are undeniably beautiful, there weren't nearly as caring or appreciative of our business as the Omni. They made us feel like family by the end of the experience.
The Omni made the stressful planning process enjoyable (we planned it in about 3 months!) and they were understanding when we had last minute changes and requests. They were also very flexible throughout the wedding planning. They even swapped out some of the beer in their package so they could bring in brands we liked better.
Amanda Maggard is amazing. She managed the hotel room accommodations for all the guests. Many of our guests also commented on how incredible the check-in was. It was rainy that weekend, so the Omni was quick to offer guests complimentary umbrellas. They even gave each guest a free drink voucher at the hotel bar, Monte's! Amanda also made sure I had everything I needed to be comfortable in the Presidential Suite, complete with champagne, ice buckets, and several glasses for my visitors. It's a lovely space to take getting-ready pictures.
I was originally worried the grand ballroom was not going to fit our vision and was torn on using the same space for the ceremony and reception (they have another room available if you'd prefer not to do this), but it was gorgeous! The spaces felt totally unique between the ceremony and the reception. The grand ballroom really provides a blank slate to create something beautiful & it can be difficult to appreciate when it's completely empty. We used the florist/designer they use for the hotel, and he turned the space into an absolute dream. The mezzanine where the cocktail hour was held is beautiful and needs no additional decorations and the dim sum buffet was a huge hit.
Guests loved the reception dinner menu. We went with a plated dinner selection of sea bass, chicken, or oyster mushrooms. The crab soup was delicious and by far the most popular. The passion fruit cheesecake was exceptional, but we also offered our guests a lovely Marjolaine cake slice.
Later that evening, the Presidential suite where I initially got ready was transformed into our honeymoon suite. We were greeted with chocolate covered strawberries, champagne, and two custom Omni robes with our initials embroidered on them (my new initials since I was changing my name). It was so touching that it brought tears to our eyes.
Financial District was the optimal neighborhood to host our wedding. It felt very clean, safe, and picturesque. We had a several family members nervous about coming to San Francisco because of the negative media coverage, but they all fell in love with the city by the end of the weekend.
I know Webster Hall wouldn't have given us the treatment the Omni did (they didn't seem to care if they had our business or not). Julia Morgan was wonderful, but with the Omni, we just had a feeling we'd be in the best possible hands by people who genuinely cared, and we were right. Now, we love the Omni so much that we had Valentine's Day at Monte's two weeks after our wedding and the hotel surprised us with dessert and free drinks, as well as a card signed by their staff congratulating us on our wedding. It's a bar we now frequent because of the quality of service, food/drinks, and of course, our wonderful memories there. The Omni was the absolute best decision of our entire wedding.