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November 2025 by Gavin Ratermann
We recently held our wedding at 5Eleven Palafox. The venue itself is beautiful, and the character of the space is truly special. Unfortunately, the staff, specifically the event management, created an unnecessarily stressful and disappointing experience surrounding what should have been one of the best days of our lives.
When we originally booked the venue, the first event manager confirmed that the courtyard would comfortably accommodate our guest count. After a management change, the new manager, Stephanie, expressed concerns on the guests fitting and we discussed moving the ceremony to the side lawn at no extra cost. We agreed to that arrangement.
Months later, we received an email stating that the side lawn would now be an extra $500 because she believed the courtyard would actually work. This price change was never added to any formal invoice. On November 3rd, we received our final invoice marked Paid in Full, with no mention of any outstanding balance, naturally, we assumed everything was squared away.
The real issue began the weekend of the wedding. Five minutes before our rehearsal, Stephanie insisted the $500 was due. My wife said that “now is not the time, but I will take care of it” given the timing. The next day (wedding day) There was no venue representative present at any point to sort this out. Apparently there were 2 morning staff present that we were never introduced to or asked if we needed anything.
Then, 30 minutes before our reception ended, Stephanie demanded payment. She even locked the bridal suite, preventing the bridesmaids from getting their things and told guests that the bride and groom had an unpaid balance, which was unprofessional and humiliating. To top it off, she took a photo of our credit card information without consent. At that point, the $500 was irrelevant, the way the situation was handled overshadowed an otherwise wonderful night.
The venue has beauty and potential, but the management’s lack of professionalism, communication, and respect for the couple on their wedding day is unacceptable. Again, at no point was this about the $500, as this amount in next to nothing in the scheme of wedding planning, but it is simply the principle. Based on our experience, we would not recommend hosting an event here until the staff and policies are significantly improved.
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July 2025 by michael n teri lukers
Our Daughter and Son-In-Laws wedding in this venue, was amazing. The building decor is very modern and detailed. Especially the upstairs Bridal Loft! (which they had just finished at this time). Definitely recommend 5eleven.
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May 2025 by Lulu Chu
5eleven Palafox was the perfect venue for our dream 2025 wedding! Wonderful, easily accessible location in the center of downtown Pensacola.
Stephanie was an amazing venue manager for us and her entire team was so kind and accommodating. She was extremely professional, communicative, and professional through the entire planning process. 5eleven is a pristine venue and has been immaculately restored and maintained. All the facilities feel luxurious and the space is decorated beautifully -- we barely brought in any additional decor because of how lovely the raw space is.
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February 2025 by B.
Do not hire in house bar service RS3. Their manager on site during the ceremony was extremely unprofessional, and left our paid-for satellite bar empty / unattended with no explanation! Their female bartender was awful to my guests and approached me the bride in the middle of the reception to demand additional payment for a bar cap that had already been paid in full prior to the wedding day. The venue is beautiful and I had a good experience with most everything but the RS3 bar service was an absolute disaster.
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January 2025 by Kristen Marcus
5evelen Palafox is a beautiful wedding venue! The garden area was a stunning backdrop for the ceremony and the bridal suite upstairs is spacious with plenty of natural light coming through the windows which makes for beautiful getting ready photos.
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October 2024 by Lenaha Day (Namaste on the Beach)
As an officiant, I enjoyed performing a small ceremony at this venue. The staff was communicative when I contacted them about a few questions I had. The venue is beautiful and a great place to celebrate a wedding!!
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August 2024 by Bodacious Shops
We recommend 5Eleven for all your event needs. Plus, check out our catering options when you book their loft!
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August 2024 by Bubba's Sweet Spot
Such a beautiful event space, from their courtyard to their upstairs loft. Highly recommend for events of all kinds.
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January 2024 by Keith Tullius, II
Nice place for an after wedding party. Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Simmons, Thomas and Hannah.
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December 2023 by John Mascia
After looking at several venues to host the wedding of our son and his fiancé, deciding on 5Elevin at the Bodacious Shops in Pensacola FL was the very best choice!
Isabel was the event planner and she did an amazing job!... every detail was discussed, checked and double checked! The staff at the wedding were professional and attentive. The shops were beautifully decorated for Christmas which was extra special!
The food, drink and accommodations were perfect and everyone had an amazing time! We highly recommend Isabel, her team and the 5Eleven venue for a wedding or other special event.
The 5-Stars are very much deserved!
Regards, John
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September 2023 by Dee & Bo Photography
Every chance we get to photograph a wedding at 5eleven we do a little victory dance! Each space is beautiful and well thought out. The incredible windows and stylish old world design make it almost too easy to create beautiful images for our couples.
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August 2023 by Ashleigh Barraca
Absolutely everything about 5eleven was a great experience for our wedding. The entire space is beautiful inside and out and I love that you can personalize the layout in any way you like (plus having tables and chairs included was great). I loved the bridal loft and the added perk of being able to order breakfast and lunch for delivery and setup so we didn't have to scramble for food while we got ready. Cailin was so helpful and easy to work with. We really appreciated how quickly she responded to our (many!) questions and was proactive in offering solutions for us. We used the in-house bar service which was so easy to set up and reasonably priced. And the location really can't be beat - it's right in downtown but away from all of the bars so we felt we had plenty of privacy even though we were outdoors. Thank you 5eleven for everything!
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August 2023 by Stephanie Kuisell
This venue was absolutely perfect for our May 2022 wedding! I could not have done it without Cailin's support and kindness. She was always ready with an answer to my questions, always kind, and made us feel so comfortable planning with her. The bar supplier had to be changed just a week before and Cailin handled it all for us, making that experience even better than what we originally planned. The bridal suite was perfect and my dad and I had our first look there! My girls and I had plenty of space to get ready morning of, and all of them raved about the food from the chef! When the guys arrived for the ceremony they were able to stay downtown stairs while we continued getting ready and it worked out wonderfully. I stayed in an apartment via airbnb just half a mile down palafox and walked to the venue that morning. It was such a beautiful day! Our ceremony seated 90 guests and the courtyard was more than enough space. It was at 3:30pm and yes, it was warm at 85° but not unbearable and the reception inside was cool enough for dancing later. We wisked away halfway into the reception for couples photos on the top of the parking garage next door and ended the night with an incredible firework experience on the side lawn. Afterwards, my new husband and myself happily walked back down palafox to our neat little apartment while everyone waved at us?
Haha. Can we go back?
We would book 5eleven all over again!
Thank you klewis photography for our perfect photos!
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August 2022 by Sara Cavener
We couldn't have chosen a more perfect venue for our wedding on 4/2/2022. Our guests were blown away with how beautiful everything was. Cailin & Emily were absolute saviors when our DJ (Jason Meyers-New Life Entertainment-real name Justin Colson) failed to show up. They made some phone calls and were able to secure a DJ in less than an hour. We were SO THANKFUL!!!
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August 2022 by Alex Fuqua
Cailin and the ENTIRE crew at 5eleven went above and beyond my expectations to make my wedding absolutely perfect. They know that brides get stressed out and sidetracked and make sure to update their brides throughout the process, reminding us about due dates, last minute details to accommodate weather changes and everything in between. They made the entire process of planning a wedding so easy, so I could actually enjoy it, rather than turn into a bridezilla.
