Bellamauro

My husband and I chose the Bellamauro Reception Hall in Reynoldsville, PA for our wedding reception on July 23, 2011.  I contacted the owner, Sarah Caltagarone, in August of 2010 and booked the hall based on a previous wedding reception that I attended there in November of 2009 (a much cooler time of year).  The food was excellent during my previous experience and that was one of my priorities.

The overall communication process was decent.  My calls were returned in a timely manner.  I sent VERY detailed descriptions of what I wanted so there was little to no room for confusion.  I received a phone call with the final amount due approximately two weeks before the wedding and within an hour, had a check for the full amount made out and delivered.  I did EVERYTHING correct and in a timely manner on my part.

The problems began to occur the week prior to my wedding.  I visited the hall and completed the seating arrangement and it was HOT! I was assured that the air conditioning (both units) would be turned on early on Friday, July 22nd to allow the hall to cool down.  Then my husband received a call from the owner at 4:00pm on Friday, the day of our rehearsal, to see if the DJ could set up that night because he would supposedly let too much cool air out.  I was so annoyed that I was being bothered two hours prior to my rehearsal.  It was way to late to even call the DJ to see if it was even possible to set up that evening.  At this point, I was sick to my stomach that the air would be a problem...boy was it ever. 

My husband tore off after the rehearsal and met the owner of the reception hall and was late for our rehearsal dinner (I wanted to go but they would not let me).  When he arrived there it was still hot and there AC was not turned on yet.  This was at 7:00pm and the hall holds close to 500 people so logic states that it would take time to cool a building of that size.  He reinforced that the only thing that could ruin our wedding would be if the AC did not work properly and was again told the AC would be turned on Friday evening right after he left..  I was furious to be bothered in this manner on the day before my wedding.  Very unprofessional in my opinion.

On the day of the wedding, the AC seemed to work okay and the guests reported that the building was cool when they arrived around 3:30pm.  By the time the wedding party arrived at 5:00pm, it was still relatively cool but that did not last long.  As soon as we arrived and the stage lights were turned on, the AC went off.  I was sweating so badly and the rest of the wedding party was right there with me.   It just kept getting hotter, so my brother in-law, the best man, went to find the owner to tell her about the air.   When he told her, she became defensive and said that the AC was working.  Being accused of lying, he became angry and told her to walk her butt over to the AC vents and feel for herself.   At this point, my guests were fanning themselves and it was obvious that the AC was not working.  I have an aunt who is on oxygen and several older  relatives so this was a huge concern for us.  People left early because of the excessive heat.  RIDICULOUS!

Next we were told that the lights being turned on had kicked a breaker.  The AC was off for close to an hour before it came back on then went off again.  My father, my father in-law, and my brother in-law all went to the owner repeatedly and were all met with poor attitude.  What ever happened to "the customer is always right".  To add insult to injury, we had already paid and extra $100 for Air Conditioning two weeks earlier.  My father's cousin is a professional in the HVAC field, and after examining the Air Conditioning units at the wedding (he was a guest), he informed us that they were were too small to adequately cool the building.  When the AC did work again, I was standing over one of the vents so that I did not pass out.  It went out again! At this point I stormed over to the bar and said it needed fixed NOW!   Luckily a few guests braved the heat and the reception lasted until 11:00pm which was much earlier than we originally thought. 

With all of the supposed "accidental" breaker problems, it was interesting that the Bellamauro already had several high powered fans positioned at the front of the room.  This tells me that this is a constant problem for the building. 

I feel like I was cheated and lied to.  I'm 31 years old, and the one thing I will remember about my reception was the unbearable heat! 

We offered to pay more for air conditioning during the reception.  Heck, we would have thrown in hundreds more to make it cool.   I should have been told about the AC problems prior to the actually booking the building.  I have been told by MANY people that this experience is not unique to me, so I expect that you will be seeing more Angie's List conplaints.