This review is from a guest's point of view. I attended a friend's wedding at the Vu a little while ago, and on first glance it appeared to be something a little bit different from the usual venues available. It is a purpose built venue for weddings and events, with a couple of luxury log cabins nearby to put up the guests of honour. The area used for the ceremony is called the Water Lily, and it's out in the middle of a large pond connected to land by a footbridge - fantastic view, and quite elegant. The venue also allows helicopters to land if you want to make a big entrance to your event, which the groom's party did to much cheer.
Now, before I start I will state that this wedding was a disaster for reasons unrelated to the venue (one of the gents in the bridal party got into fisticuffs with another guest, which caused the bride so much upset that she retreated to her cabin after the meal)... However, I can't say the guest experience was tip top apart from that, because it was not.
Firstly, guests were being received in the same building that the reception would later be taking place, the idea being that guests could get a drink while awaiting the wedding party's arrival. The bar service was very slow, and before long there was a big queue. I waited for 15 minutes, and still didn't manage to acquire a drink before the ceremony was about to begin. So with a sigh, off I toddled to grab myself a seat.
The ceremony in the Water Lily building was lovely, held in front of the huge window that had a stunning view. From what I could see, the staff had set things out beautifully, but whomever had control of the audio system played the wrong music for the signing of the register, and also for the couple's exit. It was made obvious by the stopping and starting Not a big deal for a guest, but everyone knows how carefully the bride and groom make such choices, so not great for them. Everyone was handed bubbly on their way outside to mingle - there was a full bar in the Water Lily which rendered the receiving of guests in the other building a bit pointless and irksome.
As I'd said, the building that received the guests was also to be the main reception venue, and it should have been ready no longer than 30 minutes after the ceremony was over in the Water Lily building. This was the amount of time quoted to guests by staff. I don't know why but it was not ready and a reason was never given. At first the weather was nice, and the staff were running back and forth to the guests outdoors with canapés while the wedding party had their pictures taken. But the nice, warm weather didn't last, and a thunder storm started rolling in (that nice view allowed us to see it coming at least 20 minutes before it reached us). Even knowing bad weather was on the horizon, the reception venue was not made available. Finally the rain caught us and the venue was still not ready, causing everyone to retreat back into the Water Lily building. Someone appeared in order to serve drinks at the bar, but service was very slow. In fact, it was over two hours after the ceremony before they allowed people into the reception hall.
At dinner the service was spotty at best. I asked the waiter which of the options contained dairy, being lactose intolerant and not wanting to be making offensive smells. He didn't know, disappeared to ask and didn't come back for a long while. It also took him five times to get the order correct (read it back each time he thought he had it). I received my meal some time later - mine arrived while some people at our table were finishing theirs, and other guests at our table were still waiting. Service seemed to be very disorganised. When I asked for my dessert, I requested that the ice cream be left off because I couldn't eat it... it still had ice cream. On top. Partially melted, so there was no escaping the dairy. If I'd had a serious allergy, or if I thought I'd ever see dessert again, I'd have sent it back. On the plus side, the food was well portioned and mightily tasty, and the drinks servers were ever vigilant in their duties. :)
It was about this time that the troubles kicked off, and after a long wait for the bride to re-emerge, my friends and I left. We didn't get to see the party portion of the evening or the cake (eventually) being cut. At the time, we'd already waited for a couple of hours for her to come back from her cabin, and it looked like she wasn't coming back.
This venue could be so amazing, but it is far lacking the service and polish it needs to be considered a top class wedding venue. I don't know if the servers were new, or are only hired for particular things... but whatever it was that caused this (hopefully) blip in service really let it down. As it is, I wouldn't recommend it to any engaged couple - for the price paid it wasn't value for money. I hope they are doing better now and will do in the future. read more
