Sans Souci of Sea Cliff

I married my wife here May 2015. We had a wedding of approximately 150 people and Sea Cliff Manor accommodated it extremely well. Ian the Maitre D' was confident, calm and a pleasure to be around. My wife had a lot of very unique ideas for our wedding and he was enthusiastic to try and make it all work for us. I would caution anybody who want to have a very large wedding but for a medium to small wedding Sea Cliff Manor is a beautifully charming location. We took our pictures at Morgan Park which is a beautiful location but I would caution anybody from having their pictures on a beach during mid day, the lighting can be very harsh. Luckily we paid out the ass for a photographer and he was able to make it work. (Don't forget to get a permit!) I would recommend Sea Cliff Manor who is looking to have a non conventional small to medium size wedding.

We got married at Sea Cliff Manor back in August 2014 and when I originally booked my wedding I worked with Meryl and about 2 months before my wedding, Ian and James came on the scene. The transition wasn't smooth and it definitely had its hiccups. There was confusion about how much I had paid, details of my cake were lost and Ian even went as far as to try to educate me about tipping.

We finally got everything straightened out before the wedding and got to a nice comfortable relationship with them. I had even over paid and they informed me I would be getting cash back the night of. The wedding was beautiful and cocktail hour ran smoothly. Somehow the schedule got a little rushed but I do understand these things happen. Then after cake, Ian pulled us aside and explained that we wouldn't be getting money back (It was only $200) - he was trying to tell me I had more than I had invited - believe me; I didn't. So I explained that the money back was going to be part of the tip for him and James and that I had added a little more to their card, but that's what I had. Ian then tries to tell me that THIS is why he brought up his tip on the phone. I excused myself as I wanted to enjoy my wedding and not argue with him. I had also asked that Ian make sure that people were signing my guestbook as it wasn't in a properly lit spot and people weren't signing it. He didn't make an announcement and unfortunately only about 5 people signed.

As the wedding winded down and guests began to leave, I came to realize that the welcome table with the seating cards was never changed over to the thank you table with the gifts, so consequently, many of our guests left without favors. Again, you would think no big deal, but I did 90% of the set up for my wedding myself, was obnoxiously organized and had asked Ian to please make sure the table got turned over.

Fast forward to the end of the night, when the Kays bag that held my second wedding band (I had 2 - one for each side of the engagement ring - but only used 1 during the ceremony) was returned to me with no ring in it. Now unfortunately I didn't think about it until the next day seeing as I had just gotten married and was thinking about many other things, but nevertheless the ring was gone.

When questioned, Ian simply said had if he found it, it would have been returned and that he had to trust his staff and it has never turned up since. I had insurance on it but since a safe wasn't broken into and I wasn't held at gun point for it to have been taken, 'it wasn't covered'.

All in all, my wedding was amazing. The location on the water overlooking my hometown, priceless. The quaint, charming house was perfect for us. It was affordable and had a lot to offer. The food was good and drinks were flowing. I could have certainly done without the drama with Ian and really would have liked if more people took favors so I wasn't left with 50 of them taking up space in my guest room. The only not positive things I heard from guests was about the staff. Most of all, I would have liked to have my other diamond ring, but I suppose everything happens for a reason. When I look back at my wedding day, I will always look at it with happiness and joy but will also remember my ring missing...

It was still a great venue and day and I don't think I would change it if I had to do it again, but be on high alert and don't leave valuables in the bridal suite.