Absolutely Do Not Book Your Wedding Here…read more
I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere for your wedding or other special event. Our experience with this venue was incredibly frustrating, especially considering how important our wedding day was to us.
From the very beginning, we experienced unprofessional communication and poor organization. We scheduled an appointment to view the deck for the first time, and no one showed up on time. After waiting 30 minutes, someone finally arrived. During that visit, there was a child running around while the husband was bringing in dirty dishes. It did not give us confidence in the venue.
Unfortunately, our second tour was much of the same. When we called to schedule the walkthrough, the woman on the phone was laughing, which came across as unprofessional. Once again, no one showed up on time, and the manager finally arrived about 15 minutes later. We expressed our concerns about the lack of professionalism, and she assured us that we would be working directly with her from then on. She even mentioned that changes were being made because these issues had been happening. We trusted her and decided to book the venue.
Fast-forward to four days before our wedding, when we were trying to finalize details such as chair covers, table placement, and the schedule. The day before our wedding, i brought up the fact that there was not have enough chair covers for all the chairs. I was then told they did not have enough and would need to order more from Amazon the day before our wedding. This was incredibly stressful when we should have been enjoying the final moments of wedding planning.
However, the biggest issue happened on our actual wedding day.
During our walkthroughs, we had been told that we could park in front of the building and reserve spots for our family. We arrived at the venue after getting married for our reception, only to discover that Oktoberfest was taking place downtown. We had never been informed that this event would be happening. There was a huge food truck parked directly in front of the venue, crowds of people everywhere, and virtually nowhere for our guests or us to park.
Because we had been told parking would be available, we were completely unprepared for the situation. My husband and I were even yelled at by police while trying to figure out what was going on and trying to find a spot! Several guests who had RSVP'd later texted us explaining that they could not attend because of the crowds and lack of parking. We had paid for food for those guests, and more than $500 worth of food went unused.
To be clear, I am not upset that Oktoberfest was happening. I understand that community events take place. My issue is that we were never informed about it, despite the venue knowing our wedding date and assuring us that parking could be arranged. This directly affected our guests' ability to attend a day that we had spent so much time and money planning.
After I expressed my concerns, the manager offered a $200 refund for the chair covers that were not available in the quantities we needed in the first place However, that does not make up for the other problems we experienced or the money we lost because guests could not make it. On top of everything, it took multiple days to receive responses to my concerns, and I still have not received the refund that was offered.
Your wedding day is something you hope to experience once in a lifetime. You spend months planning, paying, and trusting people to help make it special. Instead, we were left dealing with unnecessary stress, poor communication, unexpected crowds, parking problems, and financial losses.
I am sharing our experience because I would hate for another couple to go through something similar. Please ask detailed questions about community events, parking arrangements, staffing, and every last detail before booking this venue. Based on our experience, I would encourage couples to consider other options for their special day.