My husband and I had our wedding here in March 2022. The Belle was a beautiful venue and we loved having our ceremony outside under the White Pergola. I was a little worried that ...we were unable to do an actual rehearsal at the venue or with a staff member, so we conducted our own rehearsal in one of the conference rooms at Normandy Farm the day before. However, on the day of, for the most part all the staff members were organized and helpful and ultimately the day went very smoothly. I have to give a shout out to one of our maître d's, I believe her name was LIANNA- she was excellent! I met with her at my drop off appointment the day before the wedding and she took extensive notes to make sure that all of my decorations would be recreated as I wanted. On the day of, she was so helpful throughout the reception and made the order of events flow naturally. She was the best. The food was absolutely delicious- from the hors d'oeuvres, to the served dinner, to the wedding cake, and the chocolate fountain/hot chocolate station. We got reasonable pricing and some perks for booking on a Friday in March! The staff helped pack all of our decorations and gifts up at the end of the night. The Belle is at a great location and the property was easily accessible, with beautiful spots for photos.
**ONE NEGATIVE COMMENT: We intentionally spoke to our initial wedding planners from The Belle about being able to have our ceremony outside even though it is not as common for a March wedding. We were told that even though the area wouldn't be planted with flowers until April, that the garden would still be landscaped and available for an outdoor ceremony if the weather allowed. We spoke about it multiple times during the months preceding the wedding, and I confirmed it was Lianna at the drop off appointment the day before the wedding. The morning of our wedding was overcast but dry, and in the high 50s. Our florist was set to hang a floral arrangement on the outside pergola as we were getting ready in our suite. Apparently, the fact that we were having our ceremony outside was not communicated to the entire team (I did not meet the additional staff members until we arrived at The Belle 30 mins before our ceremony). I was already in my dress and taking photos in the hotel room when someone from The Belle called the hotel room to say that "Your florist is here trying to set up an arrangement outside, but your wedding cannot be outside. It is too cold and the chairs are not prepared to be set up." I was shocked and immediately took the phone saying that this had been the plan all along, it was still a beautiful day out, the temperature didn't bother us, and I had confirmed it at the drop-off appointment the day before. I said it needed to happen and they needed to figure it out. When we got over to The Belle, everything was set up perfectly outside like we had anticipated (so I don't know what the issue was). The staff members were holding the guests in the lobby of the building until just before the ceremony started because "it is pretty cold and people are complaining...". Despite being a bit windy, the ceremony took place outside and it went just as we had hoped. Later, the wedding planner named Karen apologized to us for the confusion, and ultimately there was no harm, as everything went well. However, this was a huge unnecessary anxiety trigger for me on the morning of my wedding and it should be something avoided.