Brooklyn Arts Center — Local services in Wilmington

I toured a handful of venues in downtown Wilmington before make my last stop at the Annex and Brooklyn Art Center. As soon as I met Rich and saw the Annex, I knew that I had hit the jackpot. None of the other venues that I had seen brought forth the emotional connection and sentiment that I felt as I walked through the space. The Annex is a beautiful venue- it is an old Sunday schoolhouse that has been restored, with all of its historic charm still present. I will say that the main reason that I booked the Annex was because of Rich. His kindness, passion, and confidence was reassuring to us, as we were slightly lost with the whole wedding planning process. He took the time to not only explain the venue, but to give us tips and help us envision how our wedding day would be and the planning process. I did not receive that same treatment from most of the other venues that I visited. He gave us a list of his preferred vendors and it is evident that he built strong relationships with them. While speaking with my vendors while planning, all of them had great things to say about Rich and the Annex. We felt comfortable knowing how sure he was that our wedding day would be the best day ever and would run smoothly, and he was right. The whole day was perfect—he worked with my wedding planner to run the day smoothly. He has created a bridal suite that includes a kitchen for use up until the caterer arrives. He has a whole system in place for how it will be organized, and knows what layouts look best, etc. Most importantly though, he is so thoughtful and cares about his brides. I had to reschedule my wedding due to Hurricane Florence (my wedding was scheduled for the weekend after it hit), which I anticipated, given the amount of damage that Wilmington had. Rich called me promptly after he got to the venue and saw how much damage they had. He gave me a list of all of the new dates available for 2019, and with the help of my wedding planner, I was able to rebook for January with all of my vendors. Rich was kind, patient, and encouraging through the whole process. As I previously mentioned, our wedding day was perfect and I don’t think I could have found a...

The Brooklyn Arts Center is seriously one of a kind wedding venue. I fell in love with the venue immediately after touring it because of the historic feel and how beautifully they preserved the entire space. There are so many unique picture spots and our photos turned out stunning thanks to all the exposed brick, gorgeous picture window upstairs, and all the natural greenery outside. My favorite moment from our wedding day was getting married underneath the big window on the main level, another main reason we picked this venue! Our family is still talking about how unique the venue was! The staff was absolutely amazing the day of our wedding, they made sure I always had a drink in my hand and truly cared about us having the best day ever. Charyl was so great to deal with, she was very informative and always answered my emails right away. The bartenders the night of the wedding were such professionals, I was nervous about only having one bar because my family can drink, but everyone told us it was the best bar at a wedding they’ve experienced and the bartenders were so quick. I also got ready with my bridesmaids in the manse and it was such an adorable spot to get ready and take pictures, and it was perfect for when me and the bridal party just needed a minute to relax during the day. We flipped the inside church for our ceremony and reception and it worked out perfect. The courtyard was used for our cocktail hour and it was so nice to relax outside and have everyone enjoy the North Carolina weather! We had around 125 guests and everyone fit perfectly downstairs on the main level for the reception, we even put some cocktail tables upstairs for people to venture upstairs to the balcony. There was PLENTY of space for everyone on the dance floor and the stage was awesome, me and my bridal party made sure to get up there for a song which was so much fun. I wouldn’t change a thing from our wedding day and highly recommend choosing the Brooklyn Arts Center for a unique...

Don’t book this place.

The Annex has the charm and unique details that many people will look for in a wedding venue, but I would caution any bride to not book this venue. The manager, Rich, does a really good job of selling the venue to a bride and will tell her that he truly cares about all of his brides. However, this initial pleasantness disappeared when our wedding had to be cancelled due to Hurricane Florence two weeks before our wedding. The venue was damaged because of weather but the manager and owner were negligent in preparing for the storm. Since the venue could no longer supply the contracted date, we asked for a refund and this is when Rich, without missing a beat, quickly turned against one of “his brides”. The manager refused to refund our money.

You would think that a venue with historic stained-glass windows would board up their windows but they did not. As a result, several stained-glass windows were broken and two huge windows were blown in. Rain was blown in through the broken windows saturating the drywall in the stairwell. After the storm they neglected to immediately cut out the saturated drywall and run the AC at full blast to reduce humidity and thus likelihood of mold growth. The Annex had power almost immediately after the storm.

We contracted and paid for a date. They could not supply that date. It doesn’t matter that storm damage prevented the event from occurring. They should have refunded our money. This business has no empathy. They wouldn’t even give us a partial refund. No bride and groom should ever have to experience this.

The manager did offer a wedding date in February but as you may know, a wedding has many moving parts. More than 70% of our guests were from out of town and several international. We fortunately found another venue and moved up our wedding by one day. The new venue was very gracious and our wedding was beautiful despite having the Brooklyn Arts Center effectively treat us as their...