Queen Charlotte Rooms as Event Venue: Disappointing Experience.
We recently had our wedding reception at the Queen Charlotte Rooms, and while the atmosphere was overall enjoyable thanks to our enthusiastic guests and a photobooth we provided ourselves, we were disappointed by several key aspects of the service, especially given that we had opted for their most expensive buffet package.
Buffet Quality: We paid for the Diamond buffet package for 74 guests (which included some children under 12 and fewer attendees on the day). Despite this, the buffet was never refilled, and we actually ran out of food , which was extremely embarrassing given that we had fewer people than anticipated.
We also noticed that the meat provided was not "hand-carved" as advertised but rather resembled standard sandwich meat from the supermarket.
Additionally, the salmon canapés, which were supposed to be part of the package, were completely missing. When mentioned, the organiser brushed our concerns off and said "we haven't made salmon canapés for a while". It would be helpful for clients to have an up to date menu on the website to reflect the actual dishes served to avoid disappointment and confusion.
Organisational issues: We were told that the organiser would meet with us prior to the reception to go over the event. However, when we arrived at 7 pm, he was nowhere to be found. Having to search for him for at the critical point when we were ready to cut the cake and do the first dance left us feeling stressed and frustrated. One of the kitchen staff finally called him, and he only appeared shortly after 8:40 pm.
DJ and Music Issues: We had been promised a separate DJ who would take requests from guests throughout the night. Instead, the organiser himself acted as the DJ, after arriving late, which caused us some confusion and had not been previously discussed. In the interim, a random Spotify playlist from a kitchen staff member was playing. This resulted in awkward pauses and abrupt transitions between songs. To make matters worse, despite providing a carefully curated list of songs (including our first dance song), only about 35% of the requested songs were played. One of the most disappointing moments was during our first dance, when instead of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Frankie Valli, a cover version was played, which took away from the special moment.
We also had a Pokémon theme for our wedding and specifically requested the Pokémon theme song to be included, but it wasn't played at all. This was such a shame, as it was a fun part of our theme, and our guests were really looking forward to it.
Technical Issues: There were numerous technical difficulties with the sound system, which caused long and awkward silences during the first hour of our reception.
These issues were incredibly disappointing to me as the bride, and I really wanted to give the feedback to the organiser about these problems and let him know how unhappy I was with the service. In the end, I spoke to the organiser but he ignored most of what was said and nothing came of it, which added to my frustration.
Communication issues:
It was often quite difficult to get in touch with the venue/organiser as often phone calls would go unanswered (at one point a message couldn't even be left on the answering machine as it was full) and emails were also not answered. We ended up having to go directly to the venue in order to communicate with someone.
I would recommend anyone considering this venue to ensure everything is confirmed in writing and managed carefully--because while the space has potential, the organisational shortcomings had a big impact on what should have been a perfect evening. read more
