The bottom line: If you're considering the Almaden Golf & Country Club for your next event, I could not recommend it more highly. The venue is solid, the food is consistently great, and the staff members are some of the most accommodating & genuinely delightful folks with whom you'll ever partner. See below for full details! (It's long but hopefully helpful for those who want the info—trust me, AGCC is worth it!)
The Research Phase: We reached out to the Almaden Events team and immediately received a reply from Suzy, the Events Manager at AGCC. Suzy is a gem. I REPEAT: Suzy is a gem! She was incredibly responsive and immediately sent us venue information packets, which included detailed costs per item (e.g. dance floor, projector, linens, wait staff) and was so much more transparent than anything other venues provided us. It quickly became apparent, too, that they were not interested in upcharging us just because we were hosting a wedding event! That was a huge plus and we appreciated having a full picture before committing to an in-person walkthrough.
The Planning: Once we locked in our contract, Suzy was there every step of the way to ensure we had timely answers to our questions and every detail sorted out. Even though we hadn't hired a wedding coordinator, she definitely functioned as one, and took care of so many small details. She even arranged for us to have a meal at the restaurant next door so we could sample some of the food and understand the level of high quality that we could expect on the big day!
The Rehearsal / Set-up: Three days before the big event, we went to the venue to test out the AV setup and make sure everything looked good for the room layout. Suzy and Bodhi (our banquet captain) spent the better part of an hour helping us set up our Nintendo Switch, which (spoiler alert!) we ended up playing during the banquet as our “first game” instead of “first dance” as a couple. (Yay Mario Kart 64!)
They were so committed and enthusiastic throughout the entire process, it completely put our minds at ease and we were not disappointed on event day when they both absolutely nailed setup. We had brought a bunch of snacks as part of our “international snack bar” but didn't have much of a vision for that table, so Suzy very politely asked if we minded her taking charge…and oh my goodness, that lady had a vision! Instead of the cheap paper plates we had brought, we ended up with a gorgeously ceramic-plated bar filled with Pocky, Canadian chips, Scottish shortbread, and a bunch of other Costco snacks that had been dressed up to look like they'd walked up out of a diamond store. We didn't have to worry about a single thing. 10/10!
The Event: The banquet went off incredibly smoothly. At one point, two guests who had apparently intended to come but unsuccessfully submitted their RSVP showed up, meaning we had to accommodate two additional folks at the last minute. The SPEED with which our staff handled this was honestly astonishing! Big smiles, “don't worry, we've got this” from three different staff members—chairs and table settings in place, extra meals ordered. If you hadn't known about the snafu, you would have thought it had all been prepared from the start!
Otherwise, we had such lovely interactions with the wait staff throughout the entire evening, with little requests here and there fielded with the best attitudes I've seen anywhere.
So if you've read until now, you'll understand why we are so excited to recommend AGCC for an upcoming event to anybody who ever asks! Big shoutout to everyone who made this possible: Suzy, Bodhi; Sam the training captain; our servers Leslie, Serena, & Archer; our busser / runner Yasin; Rodrigo for set-up and breakdown; Jordan for event support; and executive chef John Paul Lechtenberg & his whole crew.
Y'all are heroes, you made our wedding banquet the most delightful experience ever, and you 100% deserve this whopper of a glowing review because hot dang, you're one heck of a team!
