Weddings Testimonials

MARIA B

10/14/2023

The room for cocktail hour is a nice inside/outside space, with enough room for guests to spread out, enjoy each other's company, and take in the scenery. It poured on our wedding day, so we weren't able to use the outside ceremony area, but the staff did an incredible job setting up inside -- the extra decorations and touches they added made it feel just as beautiful. If you get married in fall like we did, prepare to be wowed but all of the pumpkins, gourds, mums, and harvest vibes. Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the mountains -- our guests couldn't believe how breathtaking they were as the fog rolled in, and the gentle wisps of foliage sprinkled within. Net/net: Black Bear is affordable in terms of the wedding industry; the food is delicious and bountiful; the scenery is beautiful; and the staff is friendly and helpful. I've been replaying this wonderful day in my head endless since the big day. THANK YOU for everything!

YOLANDA C

12/28/2023

Our Wedding Coordinators were Lee Wild and Silje Rendine they were also excellent to work with . They help us with the food tasting, and gave us a list of different cakes to choose and taste . WOW the cake tasting was also phenomenal. Black Bear also allows you to pick where you want to place the table in your venue . I have no con for Black Bear there all Pros . If I can get married again I would definitely do it at Black Bear at Crystal Springs.

JAMIE M

3/7/2020

We got married at Black Bear Golf Club, part of Crystal Springs Resort. We toured 3 of the whole resorts possible 5 venues, but knew that Black Bear was it. Crystal Springs as a whole was the only venue we looked at and before we left that day, we knew we didn’t need to go anywhere else. The fact that we could get an all-inclusive package, a hotel, and transportation was a no brainer. We loved everything about Black Bear from the gazebo ceremony space, to the open windows throughout the cocktail hour and reception space, and the overall intimacy of it all. We met Julie for the tour and we couldn’t imagine going through the whole process with anyone else. She was amazing, always answering our emails, being willing to follow up with Minerals (the hotel we used), and anything else we threw her way. She was also our coordinator, which originally we were going to be working with Silje, but she went out on maternity leave and we only met her at the food tasting. Which we actually almost missed, but Julie rescheduled another one when a snow/ice storm caused us to not go. Again, she’s amazing! And speaking of food tasting, the FOOD was to die for. We went with three of the four entrees we tried at the tasting, but we truly believe we would’ve been satisfied with any of the choices we would have picked. We still have guests say “those mushroom raviolis were awesome!” We didn’t even get to all of the items I wanted in our cocktail hour because guests were enjoying them so much the kitchen ran out! Kim was our Maitre d’ and she is a rock star! Every time we turned around she was there to see if we needed anything. She made sure we had food from the buffet, drinks always full, and even food and cupcakes to go. She was truly amazing in making sure we were taken care of, even before the reception kicked off and we were just hanging in the bridal suite. Black Bear was the perfect venue for our wedding of almost 150. Julie and Kim provided such a level of service beyond what we could have asked for from start to finish (even when I had to email her days later because we left something behind in the hotel!). Black Bear, Minerals, and any part of Crystal Springs Resort is a place we would highly recommend!

LAUREN M

4/29/2022

Everything was set up meticulously and beautifully. They both made sure to watch me walk down the aisle and held on to both my dress train and veil to make sure they didn’t blow away on a super windy day. We were then introduced to our Maitre’D for the evening, Mike. Mike was our right hand man for the rest of the day. From bringing us plates of food and champagne in the bridal suite for some alone time after the ceremony, to making sure our band had enough time to play, to keeping us laughing all night long, Mike was absolutely phenomenal. I truly feel like Julie, Lee and Mike are now family. We’ve received endless compliments about how beautiful the venue was, how amazing the food was and how much fun every one had. The icing on the cake was how affordable Ballyowen was compared to other venues we inquired about with less than Ballyowen’s top notch service. If you are thinking about booking Ballyowen as your wedding venue, just know that they will completely exceed all of your expectations!

BETH L

7/8/2021

Dana has a real fair for decorating, and she had all the wedding paraphernalia arranged perfectly. From start to finish, I appreciated Dana's reassurance and support. We got even more attention when Kaya arrived on the scene. As personal assistant to the bride, Kaya calmed my daughter's nerves and made sure she had everything she needed. From getting water for the wedding party, to making sure the bride and groom had appetizers, to driving the couple and aged grandparents around in the golf cart, Kaya did it all. Her most wedding-saving task was dealing with the wardrobe malfunction of the bridal gown. The bustle came out, and Kaya literally sat on the floor pinning it back in place. It was so nice not to have to worry about ANYTHING the entire night. Even after the event was over, the staff took down our string lights. I thought for sure they'd be a tangled mess, but they were perfectly wrapped and ready for my niece's wedding. This wedding team knows how to host a stress-free wedding! In addition to the wonderful staff, the venue itself is gorgeous. The ceremony is intimately nestled amongst lovely flowers. The pavilion can best be described as rustic-charming. The father-daughter dance was perfectly set with a twilight backdrop of the mountains. Perfect photos! The hotel offers a one stop fun zone for the entire family. Those who weren't golfing spent the morning by the pool. We also had a rehearsal dinner and brunch at the hotel. Both events were as terrific as the wedding. The food was delicious and plentiful. It was so nice to have so many wonderful events in one place. I can't thank Nicole, Dana, Kaya and all the friendly hotel staff for making our daughter's wedding such a special, memorable event for all! You can't go wrong with this venue!

KASSANDRA L

11/11/2021

She truly did not miss a beat, she knew exactly when we needed her and what we needed, she transported us around on the golf cart to the perfect photo spots and even allowed us to drive it too. If you read this Kaya, just know how much we appreciated you all day. Before wedding day I spoke primarily with Nicole and Dana who were also amazing. Nicole answered my million different questions I had in a very timely manner and had no problem with the amount of times we changed our minds. She was very knowledgeable on all the information needed regarding the wedding, and overall extremely helpful in our planning process. Dana was a gem to work with, she helped create my vision for our ceremony and reception space come alive. We did our final detail meeting with her and even though we forgot to print out the paper, she kindly made no issue of it and helped us fill it out. She was awesome on the day of, decorating and helping with any last questions we had. We are so grateful for the staff here for helping us achieve our perfect day. Other than the staff the whole hotel is worth the booking, from our arrival on Thursday (other than some minor room issues) we were able to greatly enjoy all the resort has to offer. My husband played basketball with his guys while we relaxed in the pool after our rehearsal dinner. The pavilion itself sold us when we did our tour, it is so unique and beautiful, you do not need anything special to make it more beautiful than it already is. I overall give them a 15/10, thank you to all the staff for exceeding our expectations, we cannot wait to visit again on our anniversary!

MEGAN M

7/22/2021

On the day of the wedding, we made the last minute decision to move cocktail hour inside, as the threat of a hurricane blowing in loomed above us. The cocktail hour space was lovely inside, although it got a bit warm and humid inside with all our guests. We were able to take pictures outside and Kaya (the bridal attendant) had clear umbrellas waiting for us in the event the sky opened up. Our guests raved about the food the whole night! We also were able to get shuttles to take guests to the pavilion, which was beautifully decorated by Dana and our florist. Due to international travel restrictions, we still ended up having a smaller wedding of about 65 people but the way the tables were set up around the dance floor the pavilion felt full and not empty which was a big worry of ours. We danced the night away, and even in the hour that it absolutely poured outside the pavilion, our guests had no clue it was even raining. Kaya and Terry made sure that my husband and I always had a drink in our hands and food in our bellies. Everyone happily danced the night away! We also timed it perfectly so when the rain did stop, we were able to sneak outside to play with the sparklers and get some photos outside! Overall it was such a magical evening and it was so worth every minute of stress of replanning a wedding during a pandemic.

LAURA C

12/4/2021

Everyone was where they needed to be for pictures, and no one felt confused as to where they needed to be and when. When we got back to the bridal suite after the reception the room was set up so beautifully with the bouquets, rose pedals and my vail laid across the headboard plus a bottle of champagne waiting for us. A ton of our food was packaged up for us and waiting in our fridge. Not sure many brides can say this but we had absolutely nothing go wrong and it is 100% thanks to Dana and Kaia. Cannot recommend highly enough. 1000000000/10