We booked our wedding ceremony and reception with FPC and could hardly be more pleased with how well our special day went. The event staff and coordinators are kind, professional, ...and knowledgeable and will make it feel easy to utilize the conservatory's beautiful spaces in the best possible way. Guests have the ability to fully explore the grounds and all the gorgeous displays within, and there is hardly any reason to purchase extra decorations due to the surrounding arrangements. Professional photos taken onsite will be truly magical.
It is worth noting that this is a fairly cost-prohibitive venue. We had a party of around 80 total, and used the smaller venue spaces to save cost. Despite this, our original estimate was exceeded by some 50%, including a variety of fees that the Conservatory doesn't necessarily "hide", but also does not make obvious up front. If money is not a problem, none of this should matter, as the venue and services you receive are absolutely top-notch. However, if you are on a tight budget, it would be wise to declare your hard spending limit early as you begin coordinating with FPC, just to ensure everyone is on the same page.
One huge benefit of using FPC as a wedding venue is the Day-Of Coordinator they provide. Lauren, our Coordinator, was the most punctual and easily accessible of all of our vendors by a wide margin in the months leading up to the wedding day. On the day itself, she managed every single aspect of the setup, vendor arrangement, bridal party movements, etc, to the point where we did not need to be concerned about a thing. It took a great deal of stress off our minds and allowed us to focus on prepping for the ceremony, and then just enjoying the rest of the evening.
A very small side note, but still worth mentioning, is that this is still a public venue that is operating as-usual on the day of your wedding. The spaces you rent will be private for you and your guests, of course, but any adjoining hallways or the spaces between your get-ready suites and the ceremony/reception areas will have Conservatory guests roaming about as they normally would. Lauren did a good job for us making sure when we needed to use certain travel paths or line ourselves up for entry to our event spaces that the public did not get in our way.
Overall, FPC was a beautiful space and provided extraordinarily professional services. They get a solid 4 stars from us, but a slightly more up-front cost model would easily earn that 5th star in a heartbeat.