The Sanctuary on Penn Claimed

We got married here a few months ago an had a great day, all due to the extra work Lorie put in. I am sad to hear that Scott fired her for personal reasons at the beginning of July. She is what made that place tick. We had heard dicey things about going through their vendors, especially their photography, but we couldn’t pass up such a good deal!! 5 months later, we still do not have even a preview of our photos. We get excuse after excuse and it has been a nightmare even getting in contact with anyone or a phone call returned. If Lorie was still there I would recommend this place, but without her, I cannot. I am also sad to hear that the building is being prepped to be sold in the next two years or so. My only hope is that is stays a wedding hall and not turned into condos!!

They wouldnt give me the time of day when I tried to speak with him about our issues.. It was +90 degrees inside on our wedding day. Beers were still warm during cocktail hour. Toilets overflowed. There was no parking attendant as promised. My family also had to break down tables because there wasn’t enough staff. (We found out later 2 staff members just didn’t show up that day.) Glasses given to guests were dirty. Flip flops and chopsticks for reception weren’t put out during the transition of the room. I, the bride, had to set them out on a table during the reception. They cracked the frame for our guestbook because they just propped it up against a wall for guests to sign and forgot to put out the pens I purchased for it. The speakers were crackling all night and sounded terrible! I have no desire to be in contact ever again. I gave them the chance to make it right and I was ignored. Very unhappy.

This venue was not at all what we were expecting. Hands down the worst wedding I have attended in a very long time. Most all of our family and friends had to leave early from the heat. It was cooler outside than in, forcing guests to seek refuge in the shade out back. At least half of the attendees were gone, including myself immediately after dinner. Silverware at the tables were mismatched and my glass had lipstick marks!We sat with empty glasses and food on our table up until we left. No one bothered to offer us water or clean the table. I feel very sorry for the staff here as me and several other people witnessed the manager yelling at a bar tender. I do not recommend this place. Very disappointed that we drove all the way from IL.

THIS PLACE IS A JOKE! The owner of this place doesn’t even believe in marriage and is OPENLY polyamorous and atheist. If the health department came into the building, it would get shut down. There are leaks all over the place. No one ever washes their hands and there are clear places where there is mold and the walls are chipping. Its also like a SAUNA in there. They will tell you that they have 6 AC units or that its now fixed. Beware, they have said that for 2 years now. Vintage? No, its falling apart. Also, grooms- look out. Scott has been known to hit on bridesmaids and your fiancee is no different. Everyone raves about poor delusional Lori. She is brainwashed by him, She is his puppet. Its pathetic. Anything you say to her will get right back to him. They will good cop/bad cop you until you like one of them when they mess up your wedding day. Most of these reviews that are positive are on every wedding site. So its clear they are forged. Go look, the same ones on all the sites. Negative ones though, go to all of them and read the reviews before you book here. I feel like everyone has the right to know what they are getting into. He will over charge you for food he gets wholesale, and alcohol he gets super cheap. He will then take your money to play with while laughing at the thought of marriage. Good luck.

I attended a wedding here last weekend. It was a nightmare. We were told that there was parking across the street, but ended up having to park several blocks away. They had parking attendants that showed us where to park, which was nice, until our car and several of our friends/families cars were towed. I had to come back later in the evening to pick up friends that had their cars towed! My sister and parents, a long with several close friends of the bride had to leave very early in the night for it was like a sauna in there. Everyone was pretty miserable.I applaud the ones who stuck it out, I was feeling sick from the heat and just couldn’t stay much longer after dinner. I was surprised that considering the temp inside that the food was only luke warm. It was good, but no where near hot. I have been to many weddings and must say this was the worst experience for our family and friends. Most everyone had to leave early and the ones that left later had to walk several blocks downtown to their cars at night and it was scary!! They would have taken a cab if they wouldn’t have been led to believe there was onsite parking.We keep it to ourselves though so we don’t make the bride feel bad because it wasn’t her fault. It seems like the owner of this place really took her for her money and lied to her. She was told the building had great A/C and parking next to the building. None of those things were true and I was compelled to write this so that the couples looking for a venue are aware of these issues.

I can honestly say I had the perfect wedding at the Sanctuary! My husband and I chose the venue because of the beautiful building that is full of character and charm, but through the process we also came to love Lori the coordinator! She is so genuine and caring. She remembers details and truly wants your day to be perfect. The food was absolutely delicious and there was plenty for all of my guests. I would definitely recommend the Sanctuary for other brides looking for a meaningful experience and amazing wedding!

I can honestly say I had the perfect wedding at the Sanctuary! My husband and I chose the venue because of the beautiful building that is full of character and charm, but through the process we also came to love Lori the coordinator! She is so genuine and caring. She remembers details and truly wants your day to be perfect. The food was absolutely delicious and there was plenty for all of my guests. I would definitely recommend the Sanctuary for other brides looking for a meaningful experience and amazing wedding!

I had my wedding here in May of 2013. Overall, I found the staff to be nice, conscientious people. The venue is absolutely breathtaking, and I hardly had to decorate because it was that beautiful. Justin, their chef, is a fantastic cook, was trained in New Orleans, and makes a mean jambalaya. They have a very flexible menu, and we were able to play with whatever we wanted. However, this is a new venue, and they’re still working out the kinks of wedding planning and managing that. They’ve changed staff members several times, and I was passed off from one person to another over a 1 year period. This was frustrating since not everyone transitioned very well. These issues were successfully resolved in the end. Otherwise, I’d give this venue an “Excellent” instead of a “Very Good”.

I was married at the Sanctuary on Penn in October 2013 and would not recommend this space for a wedding under any circumstances. It is highly disorganized and unprofessional and we regret that we had our wedding there. General environment: One of the reasons we booked at the Sanctuary was that it is a gorgeous old building with character. That does not excuse some of the general disrepair of the venue. First off, way back on November 25th, 2012 when I saw the venue for the 1st time, I asked one of the multiple wedding coordinators we dealt with over the year about the air conditioning. It was cold that day and she joked that the AC worked a lot better than the heat. Granted, our wedding day was an unseasonably warm day (low 80s), but the venue was NOT at a comfortable temperature for us or our guests. I can’t imagine how they can book summer weddings in good conscience with the lack of climate control. Had I known that the venue would have been so uncomfortable, I would have booked elsewhere. Additionally, it was a rainy day and the leaking roof was out of control. There were major leaks in the bar room, the main hall and over the steps to the loft (presenting quite a safety hazard). One of our tables full of my older relatives had to physically move their table during dinner to avoid being rained on. This is absolutely ridiculous and very embarrassing. I certainly was not expecting our guests to have to avoid the rain WHILE INSIDE. Food: Where do I begin? First and foremost, the chef did not show up to our event. I literally spoke to the chef the week of the wedding, so imagine my surprise when he was nowhere to be found that day. His mother (!!!) was running the kitchen and no one bothered to tell us until she introduced herself as we were preparing for the ceremony. This is not the kind of information that a bride and groom want to find out from someone they have never met moments before walking down the aisle. We booked a professional, had coordinated the menu and food service with a professional, did a tasting with a professional and that is who we expected to show up the day of the wedding. Frankly, the food was one of the few things that we felt very confident about going into the wedding day, and it turned out to be a total disaster. Issues with the food: -We ordered/ paid for buttled appetizers at the cocktail hour. All apps were set on a table and not passed. -Dinner was cold. -Dinner service was highly disorganized. -We did “family style” dining and a “home cooking” theme. Some dishes were served without serving spoons/ forks/ etc.and then people were waiting quite a long time to get serving utensils delivered…letting food get even colder. -The portions made no sense. People got a vat of greens, but not enough fried chicken to serve the table. -We requested (and the chef agreed to) a squash medley on the menu, but there was not one. -The table that my sister (a bridesmaid) and my cousin and their families were at had chicken ONLY for the better part of the dinner hour. This table had 4 children under the age of 5 (2 of which were the ringbearers and had been there for hours) at it. These were the ONLY children at the wedding and they did not get served until the rest of the room was done eating. Imagine how antsy the poor kids were getting. -At the chef’s suggestion, we provided a count for vegetarian entrees and gave clear direction as to what tables the vegetarians would be at. None of them received their veg entree. This was all so embarrassing as we had been bragging on the food, and then it was a total let down. General Issues: -We paid for top shelf bar and specifically requested Maker’s Mark whisky, which they did not serve at the wedding . -Multiple times we requested that tables be set with a bottle of red wine, a bottle of white wine, wine glasses and water glasses.Tables were set with water glasses and champagne glasses, when we weren’t even planning a champagne toast. This looked ridiculous and caused confusion. I even confirmed with the owner the week of the wedding that tables would be set with wine bottles and glasses, yet this did not happen. -We provided the venue with clear table numbers and guest counts, the number of chairs per table was not correct. There wasn’t even a chair/ place setting for ME until seconds before we reached the table. -I got my pictures back from the photobooth and there are multiple pictures of the staff using it. SO UNPROFESSIONAL. This is only a sampling of our issues and all said, I would not recommend this venue for any couple’s reception. The only things that we were happy with were the ceremony (which was lovely), the bar (in general), and the outside vendors that we used. We still had a ball and had a great day with friends and family but continue to be disappointed in the sloppy execution of our event. I have given the owner multiple chances to work towards a resolution and he has not cooperated.

Comments  The Sanctuary on Penn is SOO beautiful, more beautiful in person. I am taking the time to write this because I am so grateful to them for making my day so personal and special. – The staff was great. When I had problems/questions, I would always receive help in a timely manner. Whenever I stopped in, even without appointments, everyone was more than helpful. – I know there was a wedding the night before, and I was really impressed how great the venue looked that morning when I arrived. The wedding coordinator, Lori, was there to greet us in the morning and went over things with me that she had questions about and fixed things that I saw that I didn’t like. – In between the ceremony and the reception, the changing of the rooms was amazing! My mom and dad had me go in and look to make sure everything was alright before we let guests in and the tables and arrangements looked like a whole new place! – I had discussed with Scott, the owner, my concerns that I had heard from a previous bride, and for the most part I was very happy about all those being addressed. I felt that if a problem/concern arose the day of if I said something to Scott or Lori, the wedding coordinator, it was taken care of. .- The food!!! The food was AMAZING and we have received many compliments on the dinner!!! – Brian and the other bartenders were AMAZING. There was never a line and they were in a great mood all night. –The owner and coordinator just seemed to pop out of nowhere throughout the day and ask what they could do to help. -The building was perfect for what I was looking for. I didn’t want to be in a banquet hall or have the same old boring venue. This place is over a century old and was getting ready to be either turned into condos, or was facing a wrecking ball. The owner saw potential in it and brought the place back to life. It still looks old, original stained glass, mostly original floor, the downstairs bar used to be the old communion rails! It’s distinguished. Everything ran very smooth, and they helped us stay calm on the day. They hooked us up with a very talented Guitarist and DJ- everything is a-la-cart here- you can choose to many, or few of their services, but they have it all available to you. I HIGHLY recommend it if you’re looking for something nontraditional and off of the beaten path!

I just got married here last weekend, though there were some rocky points, everything went off perfectly the night of. After i booked here I read some of these bad reviews and was really nervous. I talked to Scott and the coordinator, and they assured me that everything would be fine. I guess the first year they were still learning and finding what works. I get that. The negative is always heard over the positive. I was given references of brides that had been married here and they all spoke highly. My day couldn’t have gone any better. The wedding coordinator and owner were amazing, as were the staff. The food was the best wedding food our guests had ever had. Everything ran smooth. I am writing this because I am so grateful for a wonderful day. I highly recommended The Sanctuary. They will do anything they can to make your day great.

We were married her in mid-2012. I will start with the positives – there were quite a few! The venue is beautiful, and so unique, so we fell in love with it. The food was honestly the BEST wedding food I’ve ever had, and Chef Justin was so great to work with – amazing! We used one of their vendors as our DJ, Mike Campbell, and he was super professional, kept the dance floor busy, played everyone’s requests, and I got so many compliments on how great he was. Jonna – our wedding planner, was also pretty good at responding, and was very helpful on the day of, but unfortunately, she is not there any more. We did have a couple of different planners along the way – which made the process a little hectic, but we managed. We also used their guitarist, and it was last minute, and he really came through – definitely would recommend him as well. Overall, our day was amazing, and we had a blast in a beautiful venue! Now, as far as some of the negatives. I had some serious issues with their florist, but I will say in the end he came through – was just very difficult to communicate with. I used my own hair dresser and make up artist because I had heard/read stories of the sanctuary’s people not showing up – so I may steer clear. I also didn’t have them do any graphic design stuff, or anything like that – I wanted to have control over that, and since they were very chaotic about a lot of things, I wanted to be in charge. The only other thing I used of theirs was their photography. The photographers were there all day, and I felt got some good pictures. My biggest issue with the photography was the follow up – I never saw one single teaser picture, and had to call and email 20+ times before I got an answer about my pictures. Then when I received my pictures I was missing about half of them. This was one of the most important things to me, so I’m really disappointed in the lack of effort on their part of getting these to us in a timely fashion. The lack of communication and responsiveness was really disappointing. My advice: venue is beautiful – everyone will have fun (the bartenders were also great)and enjoy a really yummy meal, but if you want responsiveness, I would use caution with some of their “vendors.”

All went great! Thank you!!!

Thank you! We had a great time!

What we said mattered most! We got everything done that we wanted. Couldn’t have been happier!

Overall wonderful experience with The Sanctuary on Penn. The staff was very professional, accommodating, and went above and beyond. I can’t recommend this venue enough! My wedding day was perfect!!!

Everything was so fantastic! We loved the food, and I (the bride) didn’t have to worry about a thing. The venue was gorgeous and I love the lighting. Marc and I will remember our special day for the rest of our lives! 🙂

Comments  I attended a wedding here last weekend and in all honesty, can say it was the worst wedding I have ever experienced. Everything-beginning with the ceremony which started a half hour late- was chaotic and disorganized. The cocktail hour was a disaster- long lines-way too few bartenders for the number of guests-very limited places to sit. When we were finally invited into the banquet room to find our assigned table, the tables were so close together-it was impossible to get to your table without tripping over chairs. We did not get served dinner until 8:50- food was cold and very unappetizing. When we left just before 9:30, there were still people waiting to be served and still no dancing. I would advise any future bride to look elsewhere.

Were to begin …. the food was cooked by the owner,the kitchen was a pit omg I also think the owner lives in the Attic .I come to get my things the next day after the event and so much was missing My advice don’t waste your money here ,If you’ve already paid book on a day when its not raining because it literally rains inside the building.they try to get you to book a limo DON’T do it its horrible.  Could not put tru wedding date due to an agreement to get money back from this robbery!

If you enjoy being exploited for your money please contact this place. We were verbally promised that if we put any money into this place before signing a contract we would get it all back except for $1,000 which is the deductible…we were fine with that. However, we decided to not have our wedding here on August 18, 2013 and told them. Next we spoke with the owner and wouldn’t give us our money because they already spent it. If anyone is planning a wedding at the venue the owners or employees didn’t keep their promise. Now were are looking at another venue and hoping that we don’t get taken advantage of. We lost about $4,000 and don’t want anyone to go through what we did.

scott from captured art photography owns this place and he has horrible costumer service. he will never contact you, you ALWAYS have to contact him. he will NEVER remember what he says. You dont get what you paid for. Look up captured art photographies reviews and you will see what i am talking about.

If you like never getting returned phone calls and false promises(i.e. invites, save the dates) Since they say they are all inclusive. Then this is the place for you!! (Try wedding paper diva’s they never let us down) Food great but if your are expecting a caterer, as we were told in the begining, & a few other times, then go elsewhere. But, then again thier “chef” likes to forget meetings and never return calls!! Hey what happened to the rest of our cake!! OOh that’s right you never called back! We only paid $700 for it from an outside source. The cake was to feed 135 guests , we only had 65!! I guess we paid to feed the staff as well as our guests!! If you like the wedding corrdinator leaving the event early then once again this place is for you!! Constant non communications. Not even the so called “Operations Director” / Brandi can be polite or knows whats going on!!P.S. tell your DJ’s to bring thier own equipment. During our grand entrance the speakers blow out!! Hey, thanks again Sanctuary on Penn for the unforgettable wedding memories!!!! Nice building but, that’s all it has going for it!!!

Gorgeous venue and everything on the wedding day went very well. Things leading up to the wedding felt somewhat unorganized, but it did all come together. Our guests were in awe at the beauty of the building and had a wonderful time at the reception! I would definitely recommend this venu.

The Sanctuary on Penn is SOO beautiful, more beautiful in person than photos even. We got engaged only 2 months before our wedding, and the fantastic staff at the Sanctuary helped us plan our wedding; I know we could not have done this elsewhere. The food was AMAZING, the presentation was beautiful and just as we requested it. Everything ran very smooth, and helped us stay calm on the day. They hooked us up with a very talented Guitarist and DJ- everything is a-la-cart here- you can choose to many, or few of their services, but they have it all available to you. Highly recommend it!

I agree with the above comment 100%. For starters, our wedding was in the middle of the summer and the Sanctuary had told us there would be plenty of working AC to fill the place and accommodate our 250 person wedding-lies. On the day of the wedding all of our guests and the elderly people who attende our wedding were sweating and leaving early! Not to mention the “extra” AC in the bridal room was non existent and the normal AC in there kept blowing a fuse so you can imagine myself as a bride and all of my bridesmaids and hairdressers trying to put makeup on and get ready in over 100 degree weather-so fun. The planning leading up to our event was horrible… Our “promised wedding planner” was apparently too busy planning her own wedding as well as everyone else’s to pay attention enough to ours seeing as they didnt confirm and food or ask about any alcoholic drink choices until 5 days before the wedding!!! Our appotizers ran out and the chef broke many promises and lead us ito choosing a skimpy meal so it would be “easier for him”. Our even planner left the event 3 hours early and their promised “free limo” had a nice driver but no AC and it looked like a semi hit it from the outside and someone smeared dirt all over it-I was embarrassed to ride in it on my wedding day. They forgot I light one of the candles on each of the tables on all of the center pieces I hand made-glad I wasted the money. They returned our wedding toasting glasses to us broken. Oh… And our DJ SUCKED so bad they fired him the next day. He worried more about drinking the free beers as not playing all of my requested songs… He had to come ask me what song I wanted to walk out to 5 minutes before I was supposed o walk out!!! So un prepared…so if your looking for a venue that doesn’t care about your big day or answer phone calls or emails because they mysteriously “didnt receive them”… Then yes… The Sanctuary on Penn is for you!

I attended a wedding here recently. It was a nightmare. The cocktail area is way too small for the amount of people they allow. There’s barely standing room. It began raining during the reception and there were SEVERAL leaks in the reception area. They hardly did anything to mask them. They put a black cloth/tarp on the wall and floor by one. They didn’t bother to affix anything to the leak itself. Plus, a bucket probably would’ve been better. It didn’t seem safe to have a large swatch of cloth laying around. There were additional people to show up that weren’t planned for. They were quick to set up an additional table. I’m not sure of the cost to value since it wasn’t my wedding, so I’ll leave it at 5. I’m doing this from the view of someone who was a guest.

Thank you to all staff/team members at The Sanctuary on Penn! Our wedding day was nothing short of perfect. I can’t imagine a better place to have been married. Thank you for making us feel important and our day extraordinary. MUCH LOVE! -Chelsea & Brian

I just got married here last weekend, though there were some rocky points when planning, everything went off perfectly the night of. Jonna, the wedding planner, was amazing, as were the staff. The food was the best wedding food our guests had ever had! Great venue, I highly recommended! They will do anything they can to make your day great.

We got married there in the fall of last year. The church-beautiful. The food-amazing. The best wedding chicken ever! Not even a little bit dry! Working with the people there, although extremely nice, was very frustrating. All inclusive means they offer it. It doesn’t necessarily mean they have a reliable vendor lined up. My suggestion is to check it out with this in mind. They will walk you through the building maybe even go over the “dream sheet” with you but ultimately you are on your own. I would not use there “convenient” vendors because on top of the charge you pay for the service there is a tax (expected) and then a gratuity (not sure how this applies to flowers or stationary, food service maybe) that equals 22%. It is a percentage on the total, so the flat rate for the room is also charged a gratuity. Hmm…? Some of what I have read in other reviews is that they are hard to get a response from. We found this to be true in our case as well. In the time we booked with them (a year prior) they had hired and eventually lost a wedding planner. We never got an email about either occurrence. Even though we eventually met with said wedding planner we didn’t know she left until I finally got so sick of not being answered by email or phone (a few short weeks before the wedding) that I physically went to the sanctuary to find out what the hell was going on. I can not say we were 100% happy with how our wedding went down but let’s face it, no one ever knows but you. And OUR photographer managed to compensate The Sanctuary’s short comings by getting the best of everyone and everything.

We just got married here last weekend. I couldn’t have asked for a better day. It went off without a hitch thanks to the sanctuary team!! Thank you guys so much. There is so much going on behind the scenes that they do to run interference and to make sure everything is going smooth. They really went above and beyond for us. The way the flip the space and run everything is like a well-oiled machine. We booked with them late last year and the process was nice. We would come in and meet with them one every two months or so and go over their planning document. It really helps to keep you organized. I highly recommend this place. It’s not a chain, its family run, and they really care about you. You’re not just a number to them. It’s what I loved the most. Well, that and the food. They have an in house chef that will blow you away. They don’t have preset menus; you literally sit down with them and the chef and create your wedding meal from scratch!! They were telling me about one couple that had cream cheese stuffed dates wrapped in bacon. I am a total foodie and the process is really fun!! I want to personally thank every single person at The Sanctuary on Penn for making my day so special. Love, Alex & Izzy