Gather Walnut Creek — Local services in Walnut Creek

Review of event at Gather Walnut Creek on March 17, 2024

Overall, this facility is a good find; however, it’s important to highlight issues we experienced to make your event as hassle-free as possible:

COORDINATOR Upon arrival, the assigned coordinator for the event preempted with a statement stating she’s not staff, and she was volunteered or was volunteering for the event. Though she tried to be helpful, her inexperience and unfamiliarity became evident. Also, she mentioned she needs a hard stop for clean-up at 4:00 PM and premises need to be vacated at 4:30 PM. She started discussing this at 2:30 PM in an event that started at 1:00 PM. She alluded to this throughout the rest of the event. LESSON: Ask for a staff who can coordinate confidently, anticipate problems, and make you feel welcome, rather than rushed.

CLEAN-UP Prior to the event, we were informed clean up fee includes discarding items attendees are willing to part with. Unfortunately, this was not the case, as the coordinator mentioned everything not part of the table, tablecloth, chairs, counter tops, and building, for that matter, need to be removed/cleaned. We had to pop the balloons, sweep the floor, flatten boxes and take them outside. This situation was stressful due to the 30-minute cleanup allotment. The coordinator mentioned she’s by herself, and cannot clean up on her own. The proprietor offered $100 off for a future event (the best they can offer). They added they do not profit off of the cleanup fee, and it goes to the city’s waste management. LESSON: Please see below.

CONTRACT It was convenient most of the transactions were completed by email and through the internet. They also gave the opportunity to do a walk-through of the facility. However, it is crucial to have a hardcopy of the contract, or at the very least a pdf version of it. For example, we were verbally informed what the cleaning fee covers. Since the agreements were web-based, it was hard to track the complete list of stipulations, agreements, and expectations from both parties. We brought up the issue of the cleaning fee, since we technically cleaned up after ourselves. The proprietor blamed the “confusion” of the coordinator (please see clean-up above). Unfortunately for us, there’s no hardcopy of the contract to consult or reference about the aforementioned. LESSON: Ask for a hardcopy of the contract to monitor compliance from both parties.

FACILITY The facility is bright and has clean lines; the perfect size for small, intimate gatherings. To note, the ice box only produces one full load per event. The fans may or may not be working, according to the coordinator. It was a warm day, and, thankfully, the fans were working; however, we did not know if there was an air conditioning system (again, lack of knowledge from the coordinator). There is a covered kitchen/staging area close to the restroom, and it was convenient, because you can do things inside privately away from the event (dressing up/changing, storing boxes and supplies, and others). You have to bring your own matches/lighters if you need to light up chafing fuel to keep food items hot and light candles. LESSON: Bring all supplies needed for your event. Never assume it will be available or made available.

PROPS We rented three wooden panels as backdrop of the makeshift stage at the opposite end of the entrance area. We were informed the panel will have the preferred title of our event or a preferred quote/byline. When we got to the facility, the three panels were covered in black, as requested, but there’s nothing else on it. Needless to say, the panels remained empty, and renting them, unfortunately, was an unnecessary expense. The proprietor did not offer a refund for this. LESSON: Verify with facility your expectations from them and confirm expectations will be met.

We hope you’ll find this review helpful. We know how stressful staging an event can be, so learn from our experience to make your event spectacular and as stress-free...

We are still on Cloud 9 with our experience at Gather! What started as a surprise from my fiancé turned into the most magical wedding day, all thanks to the incredible team at Gather. On October 25th, my fiancé took me to Gather as a surprise, and I had no idea we'd be planning our wedding in just a matter of weeks! Miguel had been in touch with Lissi prior to this, but our first in-person meeting was with Ashlyn, who welcomed us with open arms and showed us this charming blank canvas venue. The moment I stepped in, my mind started racing with endless possibilities for how to transform the space. We decided to elope and sent out our invite to our guests on 11/1/2024, and just a couple of weeks later, we hosted an intimate wedding celebration for 54 guests on 11/17/2024. It was incredible how everything fell into place so quickly. Lissi was a huge part of that — she recommended an amazing florist and decorator who truly brought my vision to life. We chose the Gold Collection package, which was a great package for our event, though we did upgrade to accommodate our larger guest list.

Throughout the process, we had several Zoom calls & an in-person meeting with Lissi, Maritza, the florist, and the decorator to fine-tune our ideas. One of my main goals was to create an elegant, formal atmosphere with some unique touches. I wanted sheer fabric with lights hanging from the ceiling, and Maritza made that dream a reality. The space was on the smaller side but perfect for our celebration. It started as a bright, elegant area for the ceremony and was transformed into a romantic, candlelit reception. The transition from airy and light to warm and intimate was exactly what we wanted for our special day.

Our package also included a professional photographer, but we had no idea who we would be working with until we met David Sachs — and wow, what a photographer! David’s professionalism and attention to detail were exceptional... our guests loved his enthusiasm! He made sure to capture every moment, and his creativity shone through in the stunning photos he took. One highlight was our group photo with everyone throwing rose petals in the air, which David made sure turned out beautifully. We also requested a videographer, and David brought in Emiliano, who was wonderful to work with. While we haven’t seen the final video yet, we have no doubt it will be just as breathtaking as the photos.

Although the short timeline presented some challenges, the Gather team came through with a spirit of collaboration, fostering mutual understanding and great teamwork.

If you're looking for a venue that feels personal and intimate, Gather is the place. Our wedding was what we imagined and more, and we truly can’t thank the Gather team enough for making it all come together & helped bring our vision to life in such a short time to plan!

Highly...

I highly recommend Gather Walnut Creek for your next event space needs! We booked the space on March 22 for a baby shower with 48 guests. Our situation: we wanted an intimate space nearby to celebrate my daughter’s baby shower. For 40+ lunch guests plus space for a few games, it would be overwhelming to have it in our home. We ruled out restaurant banquet space because of lack of space for socializing and party games. Plus, we wanted to include our 2 family doodles in the celebration. We considered community spaces, but those were too big for our needs. So, we found Gather Walnut Creek via Google search and were really pleased with the location, aesthetics, flexibility, and services they provided. we appreciated the helpfulness and response times of Lissi and David, through our preferred method of communication ie texts and emails. Maritza & Aryanna assisted during the event and they were awesome! electronic payment was very easy start with space rental, then DIY, or add on services as needed we opted to add on table linen and formal place settings to start with a very clean elegant design. I highly recommend doing this! we opted to provide our own decorations engaging our close family and friends we opted to use a catering service that we were familiar with and had used previously from home parties we opted to bring our own nonalcoholic drink mixes in drink dispensers and carafes. In retrospect, I would add on bar services to accomplish the tasks with less effort *we used the lounge area as alternate space to relax indoors, and the patio area for guests who arrived early as the event was getting near, we asked Lizzie for a couple more add ons to make the preparation easier. It takes away stress!

Finally, we received multiple compliments about the party and space, and everyone enjoyed the time spent at Gather...