Martinelli Event Center - A Garre Winery property

My initial review is based on customer service alone...I am working on putting together a Spring Design 'Gala' for my company, and I reached out to Garre Vineyard and Winery. I submitted my event requirements to Garre, and requested a quote. Sonia Beasley, the Sales and Marketing Director, responded back to me within the hour! Price points were clear and concise, making it very easy to digest! Sonia, thank you so much for your time! I look forward to speaking with you again in the near future.

I really enjoyed myself at my wedding. Overall I am glad we picked this venue because we had many less expensive options. I am glad we decided to go with the beauty of the Martinelli Event Center.Venue: I'd like to start by saying that September is a great time of year to enjoy what the Martinelli Center in Gary Winery has to offer. We were able to take professional pictures in the grape fields and we really enjoyed the sunset views.The actual layout of the place is very nice. It looks like an old Italian Villa.I would consider the facility to be very clean and well-kept. There are restrooms available close by and a nice dressing rooms for both the bride and the groom.Food: The food was not bad. We had tri-tip and potatoes with a salad. The food tasted average at best.Customer Service:Maya Angelou said, " you may not remember what someone did or what they said, but you will remember how they made you feel". Working with the staff started off well. They returned emails promptly and provided positive feed back. However there were often discrepancies in their calculations and many times budgets had to be revised. We were told that our original coordinator resigned and we had to wait a few weeks closer to the month of our wedding to speak with the new coordinator. Several times we emailed the establishment to find out when we would be getting a new coordinator and we didn't hear back.When we finally heard back from our new coordinator, we received an email stating that our wedding would be canceled if we didn't call back immediately.This is not the way a bride and groom wants to feel close to their wedding day, however we intended to stay positive and continue to work with the new coordinator.The day of the wedding:The restaurant or catering staff was pleasant and smiled.We had some major concerns with the customer service. Firstly, we purchased a beverage package however the catering staff never made our guests aware that there were any beverages available for free. Many of our guests assumed they had to pay for Beverages and so they did not even go up to get a soda or apple juice.Overall most of our guests said they were waited on nicely and they got their food promptly however we had a handful of people who did not get the vegetarian option meals we paid for.Overall I would say the catering staff worked hard and did a good job. I recommend this venue for weddings.

The courtyard is spacious and new and has a spanish mission/italian piazza feeling to it. It's still a great "blank slate" and the decoration options are wide open though. It's large and can manage a large reception, while retaining a certain sense of intimacy. Visual acoutrements include a tasteful bubbling fountain in the center, archways, grape vines, and his/her getting-ready rooms. The indoor reception room is bright, simple, and a good weather option, but I think most people would prefer to rent the courtyard. This great winery venue. Don't take my word for it; check out this slideshow and judge for yourself: http://www.mauriceramirez.com/AileenDennyAnd another wedding I shot there recently:http://www.mauriceramirezphoto.com/page2214.htm?blog=2722

My husband and I were set on finding a wedding venue with a more rustic feel, and after searching for weeks for the perfect setting found the Martinelli Center nestled in with many of the wineries in Livermore. There is a beautiful outdoor ceremony site with views of the vineyards, a great stone courtyard with fireplace and fountain, and an interior reception space complete with wood beams. Also, tons of free parking for your guests and large, clean restrooms!Lindsay was our coordinator, and we could not be more pleased! Having someone there to quickly get back to me with answers to my countless questions about table sizes and measurements and meal pricing really made planning a wedding a thousand times easier! She even gathered up a few extra wine barrels for use around my reception. On the day of the wedding, I was so impressed by how calm she remained as she easily directed the wedding party to where they needed to be at all times and was even able to move some of my décor from the ceremony site to the reception.The food on the wedding day was great, and the servers were very friendly and attentive. Right after we said our "I do's", we rounded the corner to go sign our marriage license, and they had prepared wine, beer, and champagne for the entire wedding party. Our guests enjoyed the fruit and cheese platters during the cocktail hour and the craft brew was especially enjoyed by the guys.

I was helping decorate for a party there this weekend and the entire staff was AMAZING!!! So helpful, so attentive and really went above and beyond to make sure everything and everyone were ok! The property is beautiful but the staff made the experience amazing

Beautiful wedding venue for my daughter. Allowed a lot of DIY which gave us flexibility of vendor selection (flowers, DJ, photographer, etc), this also allowed us to keep control of our budget. Outdoor wedding with vineyards in background. Indoor reception for sit down buffet dinner and dancing (good food, with chicken & beef). Outdoor courtyard was great for the bar and mingling. Staff and wedding planner (Maria) were all helpful and nice. Couldnt be happier with how it all worked out!

My husband and I had our wedding at Martinelli in November. We fell in love with the venue, first with the courtyard as we loved the string lights and fireplace. We also loved how secluded it was, it was further away from the main road and the ceremony space outside was quieter. The venue itself was beautiful on our day. The staff was great, especially the guy that was in charge of getting up all the tables and plates/flatware/etc.The minus of a star was for some communication issues throughout the process. Suzanne was our go-to person for our wedding. We loved her energy and she made us comfortable in the initial meeting. Once we got closer to our date, there were some communication issues that did cause me some stress, little details I didn't need to be concerned over. For example, we had a few "final meetings", but each time we met to discuss final details, either things hadn't been written down, or not heard, as we had to repeat many things and choices that we had already discussed. Or on our last meeting, when I mentioned the chargers for the tables, she was surprised that I wanted them (we had already confirmed them) and I heard a long story about how they didn't have enough, they'd have to rent them, etc etc. Not a problem a bride wants to have to hear about the week before the wedding. On the wedding day itself, thank goodness my bridesmaids helped take care of little details (guests were arriving and no candles around venue were lit, table at ceremony space was not there and my officiant had to go find one, the sweetheart table was never served wine and I had to rely on guests to bring us a drink, etc). Basically, a lot of details were promised and not exactly followed through, which was frustrating. A week after our honeymoon, I received a call from the venue saying the linen company was calling them since I hadn't paid them (however, I had paid the venue directly for the linens, and the error was on their part, they hadn't paid the linen company). However, most of the details issues were never noticed by the guests and our overall wedding day at Martinelli was beautful. If you do choose to go with this beautiful venue, you need to make sure you double check, then triple check everything so make sure it goes off without a hitch!

My Fiancee and I had an appointment with Lani to tour the facility, get some additional information, etc. We show up for the appointment about 15 minutes early, head over the office, and the door is locked.Appointment time comes, still nobody. Then we see 2 people enter the event room, and start setting up tables and chairs. Give them a few minutes, head over, knock on the doors. The 2 people inside look over at me, turn back away from me, and continue setting up their tables and chairs. WTF?I call the Event Coordinator, Alanna, and she is out of the office, so I leave a message asking her to give me a call to explain what was going on and why nobody had shown up for our appointment. 2 days go by and still no call or email from anybody at the Martinelli Center. I send an email today and get a response saying that she doesn't know why Lani didn't show up but had I called her voicemail and listened to the message I would have known to call Garre's direct line, and not Alanna's line, and that somebody would have rushed over immediately to assist me.Then her supervisor Amy calls me. She said she hasn't had a chance to speak with Lani yet, but apologized for her not showing up. She said the people inside the building I saw were actually clients and not employees. Since when do clients have keys to the building, access the storage closets, and are required to set up their own tables and chairs? She told me the same thing Alanna said in the email - I didn't call the right number and had I done so, someone would have been right over.This is the best part ----- After this conversation, where she basically blames me for Lani not showing up, she asks me if she could set up a new time for us to tour the facility. I told her that that wouldn't be necessary as we have already moved on from their facility and were no longer considering them for our wedding. She asks me "Then what was the point of this phone call?" I tell her "To find out why nobody had the courtesty of calling me to tell me they wouldn't be at my appointment." Her response "Well good luck finding somewhere else." CLICKKKK. I got hung up on. Avoid at all costs. Other reviewers said their communication was horrible and we found out first hand.

We booked Garre's Martinelli Center for our 2008 wedding. Before we paid our deposit, everything was sunshine and roses. Well, months go by and I'm emailing them occassionally about a tasting... didn't you all say there would be one? After all, that's one of the reasons I chose you over Wente?Finally the tasting-- chef's choice tasting so it's not like you get to try everything you want. Half the food was good. The tri-tip, the winery salad, the mahi mahi (salty, but when you add the salsa it's good)... half the food was terrible (chicken skewers, chicken marsala, and the worst crabcakes). And I was concerned because it seemed to be a crap shoot. You had no idea what was going to be good and what wasn't. I expressed my concern to Alanna, my catering manager. Response? Thanks for your input. That's it-- that's all she had to say. So I escalate to the Director of Catering (who is married to the chef or related to him so she gets defensive). Who finally says 'the chef wasn't there that day, so maybe the food quality was off' then says "I've NEVER had a complaint about the food.'Finally, after weeks, and because I mention knowing AT LEAST two other brides were dissatisified with the food (thank you theknot.com Nor Cal Board), they agree to a second tasting. We also had to tell them that they would not get our second deposit without a second tasting. BTW, the other brides attended different first tastings than I did, so I don't think it was an isolated incident, despite what they said.We get the second tasting. The chef, BTW, is a lovely and nice man. His food is slightly overseasoned at times and he's overfond of bacon, but when HE cooked for us, it was good. Only two problems: By that time I was concerned about the service at Garre, and at the second tasting there was bacon everywhere which I had repeatedly reminded them to omit because of our guests religious/dietary restrictions-- Alanna hadn't told the chef. It's hard to know what your food is going to taste of on the 'day of' without the bacon if all you can taste at the tasting is bacon. Ya know? Plus, one of the other Nor Cal brides was supposed to have her second tasting (she and her fiance were there waiting) and her catering manager, Erin, had forgot to tell the chef... so they had to reschedule. None of this instilled us with confidence. But the big clincher was this, when I pressed Garre about the chef being at wedding because the food quality was obviously problematic without him, they couldn't tell me he would be there. Just that he 'over sees all of our events"... like he did the first tasting. I should also mention that the wait staff for the catering events did not appear well trained, doesn't speak english much, and doesn't appear to have much if any experience waiting tables short of delivering the food. They are not the same staff as the cafe staff. At the first tasting a glass broke at our table and it took them about 10 minutes to figure out and discuss what to do. All the while, they couldn't understand me, had to hunt someone down who spoke English... I can't imagine what would happen if one of my guests broke something at the wedding. Disasters happen at weddings, and I had no confidence that the staff could handle them. These are the reasons that 3 months before our wedding (insane stress, trying to find a good unbooked venue 3 months out for 80 people. THANK GOD ours is a Sunday wedding, if was Saturday we'd have been toast)... we cancelled with Garre and booked with Deer Ridge Vineyards, which is catered by Hap's Catering. Full tasting of all our dishes (even side dishes!), trained staff, and the food is very good. Plus the facility is beautiful and the owner Carl, is a gem! There are other choices for weddings in Livermore, explore them.

I really really fell in love with this place. I wanted to have my wedding here. It had everything I wanted:1. Winery wedding2. Spanish Mediterranean Villa type3. FREE Chiavari chairs4. Reasonable rental fees ($3,000 for Sat, $1,600 for Sun - peak season)5. Free heat lamps if needed6. Capacity indoors is 200 with a dance floor7. High Ceilings8. Rectangular shaped ballroomI was ready to convince my dear fiance to trim our guest list to 200 and have it here..but man, the sales manager dropped the ball!!! It was two weeks ago yesterday when we toured the venue with Lindsay, Client Event Specialist, who told me the Sales Manager, Laura would call to follow up with me on Friday (May 22nd). That was 2 weeks ago tomorrow, I haven't heard a peep. Not an email or a phone call. To think I already priced everything out and picked my menu, but talk about unprofessional. If they can't seem to call me just to follow up, imagine if I did book my wedding here?Lindsay is the only reason why this review got 2 stars instead of 1. She was very responsive to my emails and questions. At first, she told us that the date we wanted to view the venue was booked up - all the available appts with the sales manager were taken. Instead of the sales manager, Lindsay squeezed us in and and took us on a tour herself. After the tour, I asked her for available dates in June and July. She gave me tons of available dates.........So I can't believe the sales manager is too busy to call me. Lindsay should get a promotion for being so proactive.So, potential brides beware!!