Hawkins Ballroom — Attraction in El Paso

We celebrated our wedding at this venue on November 8th, and while the event itself was beautiful and the venue is stunning, there were several challenges leading up to the big day that added unnecessary stress.

The venue offers an all-inclusive package at a reasonable price, which initially seemed appealing. However, the planning process was fraught with complications. Scheduling the rehearsal was particularly problematic; we were unable to confirm a date until just two weeks before the wedding. This made it very difficult for members of the bridal party who were traveling from out of town, as many had to arrive earlier than planned to ensure they didn’t miss it.

Additionally, we couldn’t finalize important details such as linens and menu selections until a month before the wedding. It was during this limited window that I was informed I needed to contact the designated cake vendor myself—something I would have handled much earlier had I been made aware. The overall lack of timely communication resulted in a last-minute scramble that added significant stress.

Throughout the planning process, I found myself having to speak with multiple people to get answers to my questions. Communication felt disjointed, as I would be referred from one staff member to another without clear resolution, making the entire experience confusing and frustrating.

A few days before the wedding, I requested permission to arrive 30 minutes prior to the scheduled guest arrival time of 6 p.m. to oversee final touches. I was informed that this would cost an additional $350 for 30 minutes, or $700 for an hour. Ultimately, we were allowed entry at 5:45 p.m. at no extra charge, but the inconsistency added to the frustration.

We also included a bartender in our package and were responsible for purchasing all the ingredients for our signature drinks. While this was manageable, multiple guests reported seeing staff members consuming our alcohol, which was unprofessional and likely contributed to us running out sooner than expected.

Overall, while the venue itself is undeniably beautiful and provided a lovely setting for our wedding, the planning process was more stressful than it needed to be. I hope that by sharing this feedback, the venue considers adjustments to their policies and communication practices to ensure a smoother, more client-friendly experience...

This business was Professional up until a week before my wedding. I called them at least once a month. It was just to ask simple questions and the day before my wedding. I don’t know what they had going on. Everything that they were stressed out about, they took out on me and were extremely rude!!! I called Nancy, which happened to be the owner and I asked her if something simple was going to be at my wedding that was already on the contract. She stated that if it wasn’t, it’s too late to change it, and she had an attitude about it. I then called her husband, and he completely went off on me telling me that I was basically annoying and I kept calling which was completely false. Kept telling me that they had a lot going on and they were stressed out. My opinion is if you’re a professional and you own a business, you should never take it out on somebody who puts money in your pocket, especially if the owner comes to you asking if you can accommodate to their needs and have your wedding on a certain day,lol. I honestly would not recommend anybody go to them at all.

I also would like to add that the DJ was not on point at all! He was all in and on point until the wedding happened. The mics kept going out in the middle of speeches and we kept having issues. My coordinator was working with the DJ and was having issues with him as well. She kept having to remind him of simple things. We sent the DJ everything ahead of time and he still managed to screw things up. Thank goodness we already had a DJ there in attendance and he had to take over and saved the music portion of things. When it came to announce certain things like food, drinks,etc. It did not happen on time.. Again thank goodness for the event coordinator!

Again, I would not recommend this place to host a wedding at all. Extremely unprofessional business and rude...

The venue is absolutely gorgeous. However, I assisted my cousin in planning her wedding and saw a lot of the behind the scenes missed opportunities. They did not schedule a rehearsal time / date till 2 weeks before the wedding. With people flying in from out of town it made planning arrivals difficult. Bridal party was not allowed to enter the ballroom till 6 when the ceremony started at 630. When we requested to arrive at least 30 minutes early to set up the final touches and hide the bride before guest arrival. We were told they’d charge her an additional $350. However, they did allow us to enter at 545. 🤷🏽‍♀️ During the reception hour the server the dinner plates and did not inform guests that they were allowed to have additional servings. Therefore a lot of food was taken home and guests left still hungry. During the cake cutting we had guests who were up from their seats and asked for cake from staff. Staff stated there was no more cake yet at the end of the night there was so much cake to take home. Bride and groom provided alcohol and additional ingredients for signature drinks for their guests however staff was seen throughout the night drinking alcohol. To the point that additional alcohol had to be doordashed to accommodate the guests. The space was beautiful but staff didn’t seem like they wanted to be...