Shadowbrook Reviews
Reviews
4.8 out of 5 rating
4.8 out of 5 rating
26 Reviews
95% recommend it
Awards
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Gina Sent on 09/22/2017Erika was absolutely wonderful. She took care of everything we needed. I would highly recommend this place. We had an outdoor ceremony and reception. It was beautiful. -
![Colleen and Walt's Wedding]()
Colleen Sent on 06/05/2017Thank you so much Shadowbrook Restaurant for providing the perfect venue for a perfect wedding! Shout out to Stephanie Sanders, without whom none of this would have been as smooth and flawless as it turned out to be!! I would do it all over again tomorrow. :) -
User2304579 Sent on 09/07/2015I am so glad that we chose Shadowbrook as our venue. Not only is it a classic location, it was perfect and even "semi private" meant private due to the fact that we chose the Redwood Room and deck which is pretty separated from the rest of the restaurant. Our guests raved about the food, the servers were very attentive, and Allyson is the BEST. Seriously, they better hope she doesn't quit because she was absolutely wonderful. She went above and beyond to accommodate. Would definitely recommend the Shadowbrook to anyone :) -
User1961890 Sent on 12/10/2014I had the pleasure of working with Allyson Flocker, the event coordinator for my daughter's wedding at the Shadowbrook in Santa Cruz CA. She is so professional and so helpful and made our event so special. My daughter's wedding was Vintage in style and Allyson was very helpful in her suggestions. I would totally recommened her and the Shadowbrook for your event!!! -
![Megan]()
Megan Sent on 06/25/2011We just got married at the Shadowbrook & we absolutely loved everything about our ceremony & reception! Our wedding coordinator Allyson was fabulous & so helpful every step of the way. She's super sweet & friendly & helped make our wedding so special! She recommended our fabulous florist, who made our reception area look amazing for a great price. We got the banquet style menu, which included 2 appetizers, first course, main course & cake for under $45 per person! Our guests got to choose from prime rib, swordfish, chicken, raviolis, & linguini for kids. People were so impressed with the portions & how delish everything was! We also got our cake through Shadowbrook & it was nothing short of amazing! (Buttercream frosting, white cake, fresh strawberries & whipped cream? Yes, please!) This venue might not work for large weddings, but we had 50 people (all of whom fit comfortably in the Greenhouse Room) & it was perfect! The grounds are absolutely breathtaking & everyone couldn't get over how beautiful everything was. This restaurant already had a special place in our hearts (as we got engaged here), & I'm happy to say that now we can add that it was also where we had our dream wedding! -
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Gail Sent on 02/11/2009Donita was wonderful about answering all my questions. She made sure I had all the information I needed to make all the necessary decisions. Because we were planning the wedding long distance she worked with me over email and the phone. She was always quick to respond and did an amazing job. The food at Shadowbrook was excellent! Everyone raved about the cake as well. The room was lovely and my husband and I had great table set up by the fireplace. We got some amazing pictures at the picturesque location. I would highly recommend this venue to anyone planning a small wedding. It was a wonderful spot for our reception and I'm thrilled that we chose them. -
![Amber]()
Amber Sent on 07/11/2010On the day before the wedding we had the mandatory rehearsal. It went alright except for a few points. The first being that during the rehearsal we were approached by the new manager who proceeded to tell me that I needed to get my dog off the premises. My dog was the ring bearer in the wedding and having her there was contingent on the contract we signed. We would never have booked the venue if she couldn't have been there. But Darla took care of it and my poodle was part of my wedding as intended. The second thing that bothered me was that the whole rehearsal was a bit rushed. So rushed in fact that Darla never even told me where I, the bride, was supposed to go once I got there the next morning. I ended up having to call her later that evening. As soon as our hour was up she abruptly cut off the conversation I was having with her to go and talk to her next appointment which had arrived. The one thing that REALLY bothered me was that when I discussed dancing with her she told me that we wouldn't be able to do that because the bar in the lounge would be open during the wedding! I immediately told her that was unacceptable because we paid to reserve the ENTIRE restaurant. I didn't even care if we had time for people to dance but there's no way I'm paying for the whole restaurant to have the bar open to random strangers. Darla ended up looking up our email conversations and recalled that we had, indeed, decided there'd be dancing after lunch but then she had to go confirm with the same manager that this was alright.
The six hours we had reserved the restaurant for originally seemed like plenty of time but in the end felt very rushed. The ceremony was to start at 10am. When I arrived in the limo Darla helped me down the back stairs and into the restaurant so no one would see me early. This was fine except the hand railing caused black marks on my dress before I even walked down the aisle. :( Me and my bridesmaids were then placed in one of the ladies rooms to wait for the ceremony to start. After Darla started the wedding party down the aisle she then rushed me up about four flights of stairs so that I could walk down the path past the lounge window as planned. I have to say, I would much preferred being there in advance because by the time I got up those stairs in my heels and long trained dress my heart was beating so fast and I was breathing so hard that I thought I was going to faint.
The ceremony went great, pictures on the grounds turned out -beautiful-, and we all retired to the Greenhouse and Wine Cellar for lunch. Everyone commented on how absolutely wonderful the food was. The only complaint I have is that it took a LONG time to come out. I understand this can happen when you're feeding a lot of people but I wish I'd had some idea just HOW long (around an hour or so) so that I could have gone to greet my guests while waiting. Instead, by the time lunch was finished my husband and I had time to talk to four tables before we were rushed out for the cake cutting, bouquet/garter toss.
We went with Shadowbrook's baker for our cake. I spent my ideas and pictures to her over email. I even sent a copy of my invitation because I wanted the cake to match. It looked alright. Nothing special. But the cake was REALLY dry. I almost choked on the small piece my husband fed me at the cake cutting. I didn't have anymore after that. Also the cake was never placed out on display until right before the cutting so we barely had time to enjoy it.
Finally, we got our dancing in and right as the reception ended my husband got whisked down to Darla's office to take care of the bill. He was in there for quite a while and I ended up seated outside the restaurant waiting for him a while after all the guests had left. It turned out that Darla had tried to overcharge him for the venue fee by almost a thousand dollars! He argued with her and the contract had to be brought up to prove that he was right. She then told him that he must have gotten a great deal but she had to, again, get manager approval for this 'deal'. Um...the price on our contract is what Shadowbrook's website STILL states is the venue fee.
All in all, it was a beautiful venue, great food, and Darla is a decent coordinator. We got MANY compliments on the wedding. However, I recommend booking the days when you have more time and always keep your contract and correspondence handy!
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