The Wool Factory — Local services in Charlottesville

My husband and I tied the knot at The Wool Factory on June 19, 2024. After reflecting on our experience, we felt compelled to share our feedback.

Choosing The Wool Factory for its industrial ambiance and Broadcloth restaurant space seemed ideal. However, we encountered some challenges with communication and coordination during the walkthrough, rehearsal, and on our wedding day. Reflecting on our wedding experience at The Wool Factory, we have some feedback that we believe would be valuable for both the venue and future visitors.

Despite prior discussions with the onsite planner, Danielle, regarding a temporary holding space for the bridal party, we faced unexpected issues on the actual wedding day. It became clear that there was a misunderstanding about the use of the Main Hall West as a temporary holding area for the bridal party’s processional. This miscommunication, unfortunately, led to a less than ideal start to our ceremony. Members of our bridal party which included seniors were told that the holding space near the exit door of Main Hall West could not be utilized as “the space was not paid for.” This message was delivered by the on-site planner through a third party. It was done in poor taste and even felt a bit spiteful after having rehearsed from the space on two occasions.

We also encountered a shortage of chairs (keeping in mind that we were told that we would have access to 40 bentwood chairs), leading to some guests standing during the ceremony which was unexpected and unacceptable especially given the heat index. The absence of the planner and unexpected space restrictions added to the challenges. Furthermore, external noise from onsite workers disrupted the solemnity of the ceremony.

On a positive note, we were pleased with the exceptional service provided by the Broadcloth Restaurant staff during the reception.

In the spirit of constructive feedback, we would like to advise future visitors to The Wool Factory to carefully review all details of their agreements and thoroughly check their invoices for any potential hidden fees or last-minute upcharges. Written agreements on arrangements could help prevent misunderstandings in the future.

Our overall experience at The Wool Factory was a mix of good and challenging moments. While the venue and food were commendable, there were significant gaps in customer service. We hope this review fosters transparency and encourages improved service standards. The venue and food were commendable, but we believe there is room for improvement in customer service and...

We did a full buyout of the space for a 160 person wedding in May 2025, and I would highly recommend this venue for a wedding! There are many nice picturing-taking spots around the property. We were able to get some more nature focused pictures outside and then moved inside to capture the wonderful industrial feel of the space. We had about 20 tables of 8-9 people and it didn't feel cramped. The food was amazing and almost exactly like what we tried at the tasting. The staff was great during the event. We had to move our ceremony inside and they did the room flip to cocktail hour super quickly! Although it was pricey, we appreciate that the Wool Factory handled everything that had to do the with tables, we did not need to rent plates, napkins, glassware, etc and it was nice to just have all of that tied in with the food and beverage. The only downsides I would mention was that communication was a bit slow (I often had to send a followup email to get a response), the beer options were not given to us until 30 days before, and we had to rent chairs for the tables since they only provided benches. Also they had a strict "no bare feet" on the dance floor, which is totally understandable, but I wish I would have know beforehand so that I could have warned my guests to bring flats in addition to their heels. Overall, it was a beautiful venue and we had an...

This is a review for Selvedge Brewery:

This place felt like it was a "let's agree to disagree" type of design by two very different people. One argued for a fancy and beautiful space that would be great for Happy Hours, After Hours, events and special occasions. It would have a European feel, one that would be inviting yet still elegant. While the other wanted a mediocre pub / dining hall feel with plastic Tupperware, terribly presented food (order the burger for an example), overworked wait staff and a 90-min turn around requirement, which would be repeated to each customer when they arrived (there are much subtler ways of moving your guests along than telling them they only have a limited time to enjoy the experience).

At the end, both of these designers forgot to think about important details such as sound absorbers that would save the space from the noise and the front person from asking "can you hear me?" each time someone checked in, how to make the food and drink ordering system efficient and enjoyable without making it complicated, robotic or confusing, and so on.

Overall, the beer, space and experience feel rushed. There is potential but some soul searching is necessary to salvage...