The Celeste Hotel, Orlando, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel

Words can’t describe how amazing this venue is! From the moment we walked in for our first tour, we knew this place stood out from other venues. They made us feel so special throughout the entire wedding process and were so thorough, communicative, and friendly. Lulu, who is in charge of events was beyond incredible to work with. The day of our wedding came around and they handled any mishaps with grace and simply made the day so magical. The catering was excellently crafted (which says a lot as wedding food tends to be overwhelming, we had so many guests compliment how delicious the food was!) and so were the beverages. Everything was just all around amazing and we couldn’t have asked for a better night thanks to the staff at the Celeste!

Phenomenal! That is the only word that we can use to describe the experience we had with Celeste and their staff for our winter wedding reception. By the time we made it to Celeste, we had toured and spoken with what felt like a million venues and their event coordinators; however, everything changed the moment we walked into Celeste. We knew the Aurora had amazing food, but when we saw how the hotel had been decorated for the holidays, we knew something was different, it was like getting a sneak peak of how things would look for our wedding the following December! Then we met with their catering sales manager at that time, Ashley, who made us feel right at home. The experience with Ashley who showed us each space and feature including the lighting ballasts in the ceilings of the ball rooms that changed colors which was perfect for our northern light’s theme for our reception…we knew we had found the place for us! Ashley then sat down and showed us every package, answered all of our questions (we had a lot), and then gave us ideas for our reception which we loved. It was the world class service, food(the restaurant caters the food for your event), and beautiful hotel/ballroom settings that led us to say, the Celeste is the one. Fast forward a few months and we learned of Ashley’s departure from Celeste. We were distraught, Ashley was amazing , how could anyone replace him? Enter Lulu Montilla! The moment we spoke to Lulu, it was like the clouds parted and we were given this amazing force of nature to work with. Lulu assured us that there would be no difference in the process and that she would see to it personally that we had the reception of our dreams! She held that word and held our hand through every meeting, emailed questions, and phone call ( and there were a lot!). Then when we found out the head chef of the Celeste had taken a new opportunity which again caused distress because the food was so amazing, she immediately helped to find a solution. Lulu set up a tasting for the selected menu with the new Chef. The food came out in courses as it would on our big day and each plate was better than the next! We had brought our moms, and they could not stop talking about how great the food was. As we ate and made our selections, Lulu was there again with solutions and suggestions on how to make our vision come to life. She made everything so easy and comfortable and by the time the tasting was over, we knew the food we were going to be serving was still world class! As our big day approached and we had our final walkthrough, Lulu spoke with our coordinator and helped us plan the logistics of the day. She worked with our vendors and made suggestions and even helped us plan our surprise guest entrance! Fast forward to the week of our big day and Lulu helped us add additional guests to our hotel block and effortlessly put out the “big to us fires”. She helped us add a last-minute guest and meal and then it was time for the event! The day before, we checked into our beautiful suite, which was part of the package we booked, and the room was amazing! The day of our reception, Lulu had everything locked in and work with every vendor like she had known them for years. Once our guest arrived for the cocktail hour, they were greeted by an amazing staff and were ushered into an area that had been set up for us. As an added touch, Lulu had asked for and added one of our engagement photos to the screens on the outside of each ballroom to let the guests know they were in the right spot. When we arrived, we were ushered in the back door through the kitchen so that nobody could see us before our grand entrance. It felt like we were living out the scene from Goodfellas where they came in through the kitchen, it was amazing! Lulu had our drinks and hors d’oeuvres waiting for us and was going over all of the details and telling us about how much our guest loved the cocktail hour! After that we made our grand entrance and were blown away by the beauty and elegance of the ballroom at the Celeste when it was all set up. Our cake was on a board/platform that Lulu suggested and allowed us to use, and they even allowed us to use their wall for pretzels for our donuts for our reception. The serving staff and bartender were absolutely amazing and so attentive. Then the food was served, and it was sensational! The salads, the breads, the beef, the chicken, the fish, and our favorite the sweet potato puree with broccolini were all to die for! Our vendors asked us about the food after and told us that it was some of the best food they have ever had and that most vendors’ meals are nowhere near that quality. After the dinner service concluded, Lulu helped our special guest (UCF’s very own Knightro) make his grand entrance into our reception which was such a big help and was the talk of the Knight! The service continued to be amazing with the cake cutting, serving, and bar service. As the evening concluded, the manager asked us how the service was, and we could not say enough great things about the night. But like any great story, there was more. When we got to our room, Lulu had two slices of our cake sent to the room and left us with the most incredibly sweet handwritten card with some additional goodies. That right there was the icing on the cake for us…or so we thought. A few months later, we reached out to Lulu to let her know we were celebrating and would be dining at the Aurora and that we would love to see her. Unfortunately, she was out of the office at this time, and we were unable to see her. That did not stop her from having the same two drinks from our reception sent to our table while dining and sending along congratulations. That right there embodies our experience with Lulu and the Celeste hotel. So do yourself a favor, if you are planning a wedding or any other type of event, reach out or stop in and talk to Lulu and her team you will not be disappointed. The hotel is beautiful, the food is phenomenal, and the staff and service are out of this world. 10 out of 10 that we would book another event here . Thank you, Lulu, and thank you to the wonderful team at the Celeste Hotel.