2GatherMore Elegant Event Venue — Attraction in Auburn Hills

Surprisingly disappointing. Wish our experience had been like all these 5 star ratings. I was the matron-of-honor for my sister's wedding. Went in expecting great service based on the reviews, but would not personally recommend.

The only two positives about 2Gather was that 1) The venue provided a satisfactory blank slate on which my sister was able to bring her wedding vision to life; and 2) we were allowed to come in 45 minutes early on the day of the wedding to finish final preparations.

On the day before the wedding, I arrived at the venue to prepare and set up, I met with Jennifer, Gia, and Lexi. I spoke to them about everything we needed to accomplish and asked if they could help us with some placemats and centerpieces and put them on the tables. All three of them stared at me with blank looks on their faces and then literally slowly turned away from me and started walking away without a word!

I was confused, and immediately flagged them down. I continued, "Okay, ladies, I'm a little bit confused. Can you please clarify the scopes and boundaries of your job here today? What exactly are you supposed to and not supposed to do? Can you help us put the centerpieces on the tables?"

Jennifer replied something along the lines of, "Our job here is to make sure your wedding runs smoothly as possible. We're here to help you bring your vision to life..."

Then Lexi added, "And our only responsibilities here are on the placement of the chairs and tables, and to make sure that the linens are properly ordered and delivered on time. We don't have anything to do with the centerpieces or table settings."

"Okay, thank you for letting me know," I replied. If that's their policy, then I can understand. Why did all three just walk away and act like they didn't hear me speaking to them the first time? Why did I have to flag them down for a proper response? Just walking away without a response the first time I asked for assistance was INCREDIBLY RUDE AND INSULTING.

And if the venue coordinators are just there to just stand around and watch us on prep day without lifting a finger, why have three? One coordinator would have sufficed and it would have looked less rude.

We were also misled about the sound system in the ceremony reception hall. On the day of the wedding, the staff told us they only had a single handheld mic for the officiant to use during the ceremony. We were confused. At the open house a year ago, we were assured that the venue had both hand-held mics and lapel mics for the event. Our officiant searched their audio closet and did indeed find one lapel mic, but it was broken. This is clearly a lack of preparation on the part of the venue. If 2Gather has an event coming up, it should ensure that all parts of the sound system are working and that it has backup mics and backup lapel mics.

If you do decide to have your wedding here, I suggest that you personally request that Lexi and Gia NOT be your day before and day-of coordinators. Jennifer was pleasant. Perhaps everything would have been better if we were working only with her.

Lexi's profile on 2Gather's website says, "Working for 2Gather is a dream come true for me and I am so eager to make all of YOUR event dreams come true, down to the very last detail!..."

Gianna's profile states, "...Events are where I find great joy and I can't wait to assist you in making your most special day absolutely unique to you!"

Where was this eagerness, passion, and joy on my sister's wedding day?! They looked like cops patrolling the streets, not wedding venue coordinators! Multiple family members expressed their opinions specifically about Lexi's stony facial expressions, distant demeanor, and overall lack of enthusiasm to help.

Even the bride was confused. "Lexi was so nice and chill in the emails, so I'm really surprised she's like this in person."

My sister and our guests felt unwelcomed that day. Lexi, perhaps you were having a bad day, but that's no excuse for how you made our guests and my sister feel on her own...

If you want your wedding to be truly unique to you as a couple and full of personal touches, look no further than 2 Gather! We had a wonderful experience for our wedding in March 2022.

Some of the initial reasons we were interested in 2 Gather were the location, cleanliness, and elegant appearance of the venue. The location is tucked away from the main road so you have privacy, yet it is conveniently located near expressways and hotels. The building is beautiful inside and out, and the outdoor spaces are perfect for photos. The interior is classy and neutral. The bride and groom suites are spacious and convenient. As the bride, I appreciated having a separate bathroom for the bridal party. The venue is clean, well-maintained, and updated. These were all important initial priorities for us when choosing a venue! However, the warmth and helpful nature of the 2 Gather team is what really solidified our decision!

From the first phone call with Kim and our first meeting with Jennifer, we felt very welcomed and they showed genuine excitement for our special day. We primarily worked with Jennifer through the planning process and she was amazing! She answered all of my questions and put my mind at ease about any concerns along the way. Lexi was also great and helped with last minute details! When having your wedding at an open-vendor venue, be prepared that it may take a little extra planning since you do have to coordinate so many details…but we felt it was totally worth it! You are able to choose what you both really want for your wedding day! You are not limited to only what a venue offers. The team at 2 Gather will definitely help with recommendations for vendors if needed. 2 Gather also included items that some other open-vendor venues did not, such as tables and chairs, ice, lanterns, and easels.

We appreciated the virtual layout of the ballroom that was provided, as it helped immensely with seating arrangements! Jennifer was creative in helping us maximize the space for our larger wedding. We loved that we had the whole place just for our friends and family, and that everything was so flexible. We loved that our guests were able to mingle around throughout the building during the reception. It felt like a big fancy house party and that is exactly what we were going for! Some groups of guests were at the bar, some at the photo booth, some on the dance floor, some watching a game in the groom’s suite, some gathering around tables…everyone loved it! Our guests complimented us on how awesome the venue was all night! Jennifer checked in on us during the evening, which was really sweet. The whole team worked together to make our day as perfect as possible.

We are so grateful we chose 2 Gather to celebrate with so many of our favorite people on the best day...

My fiancé and I have been looking for that special venue for awhile now. We wanted a venue that was close to walkable towns for our out of town guests, a venue that only holds one wedding a day, a venue with privacy and outdoor, natural space, but more importantly as a couple planning from out of state we needed a TEAM with outstanding communication and dedication. And luckily we found that at 2Gather with Jennifer! Within a few hours of enquiring about the venue we had a FaceTime call scheduled. During this FaceTime call Jennifer made my fiancé and I feel comfortable and heard. She understood what was important to us and made us feel safe and at home even from a distance. She was able to show us the venue utilizing technology in a way that made us feel confident about the space, so much so that we asked to put a date on hold that day. Then Jennifer went one step further and was able to reassure us that the venue could comfortably hold 225 guests with a dance floor through 3D floor plans and videos to give us a better feel of the space without ever having travelled to look at the venue. And that sealed the deal for us! That special venue and TEAM we have been looking for booked all from California utilizing their guest portal we were able to pay and sign the contract. It was so easy. I cannot express how calm we felt during this whole process and it was all because of Jennifer and 2Gather! Thank you Jennifer and we look forward to having our wedding next year!

UPDATE: We had our wedding on May 2024 and it was the most amazing day and it was all thanks to the staff at 2gather! Gianna and Jennifer were life savers. They had amazing communication and kept us on track for planning. Gianna made the whole process stress free and we cannot thank her enough. She took care of us from the beginning. She helped us with table layouts, linen choices, and ceiling arrangements. Even when we made last minute changes she was so understanding and organized. Our wedding was more than perfect and it was everything we imagined and more and it was all because of the dedication and passion these women have for weddings and the couples getting married at their establishment. I would highly recommend 2gather for all events! They will make the process stress free and make your day special! Thank you Gianna and...