The Historic Palestine Event Center — Attraction in Palestine

Our daughter got married at the Historic in December 2023. The venue was just what we were looking for. We only had a few bumps throughout the process. We needed a halfway spot for both sides of the family. The information that we learned upon our first visit helped us make the decisions easily. This is where we wanted to hold our daughter's wedding. The Historic Palestine Event Center's package deal and the price were great. There was a staff change during our process that caused a bit of confusion. At our first meeting, we were given a wedding pamphlet with prices. Throughout the process, things changed. -We planned our seating around what we were told would be a dance floor. At the final meeting, we were told the 3 large rugs could be moved to show a dance floor. On the day of rehearsal, we were told it would be a hazard if the 3 large rugs were moved. I am not sure what we would have done if the rugs had not matched the wedding colors..... -The package included daycare but on the day of the wedding, it was not carried out. Yes, we had a few crying children during the ceremony but it didn't stop us. -We were told the chapel had 150 chairs set up during our first meeting but could hold up to 200. When asked to add to the 120 chairs that we counted during the rehearsal, we were told the guests would need to carry their chairs across the street to the venue after the wedding ended so they would have seating for the reception. -We asked about hangers in the bridal suite and were told they had broken but would be replaced. They were not replaced. I was able to grab some wreath hooks to use over the mirror and bathroom door. We had 1 bride, 7 bridesmaids, and 2 mothers with dresses. Note the bridal suite was huge and photo-worthy. -We did have some miscommunications when meeting. We contacted the new staff member and the original staff member during our commute to the venue for our final meeting. We received a reply stating it was scheduled for the following day. Mind you, we have a 1.5 commute to the venue. We had made the meeting with the original staff member and it was confirmed and the meeting was held. -The night of the rehearsal, the venue was empty. We called to see when someone would let us in to begin decorating..... we had to be let in remotely due to no staff member in attendance. -Looking back on the wedding prices on the pamphlet - I am not 100% sure it matched up with what we paid.

The wedding was beautiful, the reception was great and nobody attending knew any of the struggles that took place. A great night was had by all. Memories were made.

I just wanted to note if anyone is looking to book the Historic: the package offers so much. The venue and chapel are beautiful. The food was good, the DJ was good, and the bartender was also good. They all helped our daughter and son-in-law's night become a night to remember.

The only things we needed to arrange were the flowers, cake, officiant, and photographer. If you do not book with Arabella's Floral Design on Perry Street you are missing out on the sweetest mom-and-daughter establishment. They stayed in communication with me throughout the process. They also helped us with their amazing cake friend as well as the nicest officiant. They are highly recommended! The local hairdresser was fabulous as well! Stop by and see Mallory Hudson at A little of the top. We have an amazing photographer and she travels look her up - Ropes and Roses...

I am writing this review as the groom, who had to watch my wife cry through the planning process of our wedding because of this venue. It's incredibly disappointing to see what is supposed to be one of the greatest days of your life, get dampened by issues with a venue you had already put thousands of dollars into.

General overview of what happened: Our venue was changed halfway through planning, conveniently after we had reached our 6 months till the day mark. We were not warned about this and it was framed as a "surprise," which granted, it surely was, but not one you would want after putting in so much money into a space you had initially signed on for.

-This new chapel was completely unfinished and as of August 3rd (a little over 2 months before our date) was covered in childish graffiti, had almost every window busted out, and loose construction materials all over the outside of the space. On the day of the wedding, some of this was cleaned up but multiple windows were still out, or hardly fixed.

-Staff was a revolving door as our original contact who we signed on with, decided to walk away from the business with no word or anything given to us, then our day of coordinator (who was very nice and I do not blame them at all for getting away from this group) left 3 weeks before our date and was replaced by someone who was not well equipped to handle the task at hand. This led to an issue where things kept needing to be reexplained to multiple people, as it's clear that communication is not a priority amongst the staff of this organization. For example we were told things weren't going to be offered to us that were advertised on the event center's own website.

-We had to chase down information regarding the process of construction for our venue, as the organization was cagey about what they were willing to communicate with people who had already put in so much money. The least we could ask for was some amount of accountability taken by the venue, but we were treated like the issue through this entire process. Just shut up and don't worry about it, was the general vibe. That is completely unacceptable and not something that any bride/groom needs to go through leading up to their big day.

-it is incredibly sad, as a groom to hear your wife say that she isn't excited for your wedding at all, and struggle to find motivation to handle planning business for the wedding, because the place you chose to host it, is ruining the process. Our day-of was fun, and me and my wife are doing well, but even now I find myself having a hard time looking back on the good, when so much of the process is associated with bad memories due to this venue's issues.

I do not recommend this venue to anyone. When we found it we thought everything would be nice, easy, and affordable. However the owner and his team made sure that we were proven wrong, and challenged constantly through this process. We were constantly handed false promises and fake reassurance that things we were promised would be delivered on, seemingly just for the sake of getting us...

I was very honored to be a bridesmaid at "The Historic", a hometown wedding with our family. I arrived at the venue and met Lauren and Andrea, these are the go to gals! I had 1 job that day, to make sure that the bride was calm and happy and ready to marry the love of her life. I just have to say the bridal suite and private balcony is GORGEOUS!!! These ladies made that job easy for me to accomplish. I owe you bridal suite walkie talkies Lauren ;) The venue and chapel were absolutely gorgeous and perfect for this wedding. Venue is very upscale and chic, the flow is very fun for entertaining and visiting guests. If you're wanting an East Texas wedding, you've found it...