Susan, the current chapel manager, is so lovely to work with. She is very responsive and timely. The location is beautiful! Such a stunning place for a wedding and full of history. read more

Morning Star Lutheran Chapel - Churches Near Me - Matthews, North Carolina

The people in charge of this beautiful venue are rude, irresponsible, unprofessional, and almost ruined my wedding day. My husband met with Cindy, the woman who was in charge of the facility, two times before the wedding to plan things out and we paid in full at the church, via personal check, months in advance. The day of the wedding Cindy stood us up and we were locked out. She didn't answer any of our calls and it looked like we were going to have to get married in the cemetery outside! While our families waited outside in the 90+ degree heat, my husband drove to the church, tracked down a janitor, and begged him to come back and let us in. The ceremony was delayed 30 minutes and everyone was sweaty for pictures. After the ceremony the janitor chased my husband and I down in the middle of pictures because Cindy had the nerve to call the janitor's phone, ask for my husband, then scream at him for not going through her. (Mind you, she stood us up on the big day and didn't answer our calls.) She actually claimed she didn't know who we were and we had no business being there! I contacted the church to report what happened while we were in the limo and they never got back to me. It was the worst experience. We moved to the area before we got married and were planning on joining Morning Star Lutheran Church, but after this experience I will never go back. I can't believe they didn't have the courtesy to respond to our email and apologize. Some places are really in it for the money and nothing more. read more

Morning Star Lutheran Chapel - The message I sent to the church on the day of our wedding that they never responded to... Real classy, Morning Star Lutheran. - Churches Near Me - Matthews, North Carolina

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The reviews for this chapel are pretty understandable, however I still give them three stars and I'll explain why. My mom was getting remarried and had driven by this chapel hundreds of times over the years. We looked into it and yes communication with Cindy is atrocious! I mean really bad, and she can be rather rude. She rarely responds and you have to practically stalk her to find out if your even booked. Also the day before the wedding we had some rehearsal time at the chapel. A different woman was there and she was also rather rude, and apparently had a poor opinion of Cindy (she was rather vocal about it). We laughed it off and rolled with it, because what are you going to do the day before the wedding. Now, I still give it 3 stars because the venue itself is beautiful. If you like that rustic, colonial, puritan vibe then this place is 100% for you, even with the poor service. The natural light is phenomenal and allows for great pictures. The bonus is the beautiful graveyard and the cute labyrinth. I know a graveyard isn't exactly "wedding" appropriate, but again it's kind of how my family rolls lol. So... yes the staff is stressful and crappy at their jobs, but the venue is amazing anyways. As long as you are aware of the pitfalls and know you will have to micromanage (aka harass) the staff, that should eliminate the stress and your big day will still be beautiful. read more

I really hate to leave a bad review, but any bride interested in this venue needs to know what to expect. The venue itself is beautiful. When the weather is nice, as it was on our wedding day, artificial lighting does not need to be used. I was pleased that our photographer could shoot our ceremony in natural light! The building is old and beautiful. Cindy, the manager, I found to be difficult to work with. She will not answer the office phone for the chapel. The best way to contact her is through the chapel email address; however, expect to wait a few days for an answer! I dialogued via email with Cindy in November 2014, hoping to book the place for our March 2015 wedding. Her husband, Steve, who served as our sound technician, was professional and friendly as he showed us the venue when we visited. I emailed Cindy immediately after visiting and told her I would be sending in my contract immediately, which I posted the next day. My envelope included the check, the contract, and an itemized list of expenses to explain the check amount. We paid to book the place ($400), for the sound technician ($100), and for two extra hours of chapel use ($200). In January, once I had already sent out the invitations, I emailed Cindy about some wedding decor details (a pew count in particular, so I could buy the appropriate number of bows). She chose to inform me that she had never received my check and contract. I frantically tried to contact her via phone and email, desperate to know if my date was still safe. I spent a sleepless night worrying that I would need to start the venue search over again. I did not hear from her until the following evening; she told me my date was safe and she was searching for my contract. The day after, she emailed me to tell me that my envelope had been in the chapel mailbox the whole time. Who doesn't check the mailbox for two months, especially when I had emailed her to say it was coming?!?!? Also, I emailed her multiple times for a pew count. I ended up visiting again and counting for myself. In the end, the ceremony went without a hitch. The chapel was opened on time and Steve did a great job with our sound. After the ceremony, Steve approached my parents for payment. Cindy did not apparently inform her husband that his amount was included in the check (as indicated by my itemized list of expenses included with the check). In conclusion, fellow brides, be aware of the struggles you are likely to face in communicating with Cindy if you choose this beautiful venue. read more

What a beautiful chapel for a wedding. It is exactly what I dreamed of and imagined it would feel like from seeing the photos. The wood floors, lovely acoustics, large windows of natural light. We had our wedding there yesterday and Pastor John was a delight and so helpful and led our small wedding. This Chapel can accommodate larger weddings, but was also perfect for my Micro-wedding. Susan, the chapel manager was so accommodating and easy to contact (apparently the person who was responsible for bad reviews on Yelp in the past, is not there anymore, so i wish the less than 5 star rates would be removed). With Susan's suggestions and contacts I was even able to pull my wedding plans together in just two days! Ed played the piano throughout setting a sweet tone. We were so delighted to have exchanged our vows at The Chapel of Morning Star. read more

I have to agree with the poor ratings. The facility looks amazing . I contacted Cindy and her response takes days to get back . Since our wedding date is less than 3 months away I did not have weeks to wait on her. After placing the last call to her , I read the reviews and my fiancée said to move on as this would add stress to our lives. She never called back and I finally called and left her a courtesy call saying we would not use the chapel. It is really sad because this place is such an asset to the community but needs an administrator that stays on top of things read more

This chapel was the perfect place to have our wedding. It's beautiful from the outside, and the lighting on our wedding day inside was fantastic. I almost cried from joy walking in on the wedding day simply because of how beautiful it looked. We didn't even need decorations hardly, as we only used two alter arrangements from my florist and it was gorgeous. The other plus was the kindness shown to us from the Lutheran church and Cindy. We had mailed a check to them to finish off payment, and the churches mailbox was broken into. My letter that I had enclosed with the check was found in the parking lot with the check stolen. Morning Star Lutheran Church waived the rest of the fee due to bank costs, even though it wasn't their fault in the slightest. I'm so thankful that we chose such a wonderful and special place to get married. The service was intimate and simple which was just what we wanted, and we will always treasure this place. read more