We recently held our wedding at Riverdale Manor. It's a stunning venue situated on the Conestoga River. Riverdale provides you with an on-site coordinator and handles all of your catering needs as well. Our guests raved about the food, and in terms of a setting, you really can't ask for a more romantic location. They only ever have one wedding there at a time, so it's not some kind of wedding factory - the property is entirely yours for the 5 hours of your event. Be aware, Riverdale has very strict rules when it comes to the bar - all guests are asked to bring their photo-IDs and they do not allow any straight-alcohol drinks of any kind: no shots, no martinis, nothing on the rocks. But also be aware - your guests likely won't care about this (at least ours didn't). We provided Riverdale with all of our decorations and small details and our coordinator set everything up for us. It was a huge relief to have someone there who could execute what I was envisioning, and Troy did a lovely job. The only complaint my husband and I had was that there wasn't a clear announcement or delivery of dessert. We chose to do cupcakes, but no staff ever passed them out (at this point, everyone was outside dancing in the Pavilion, not inside where we had been eating dinner). We also didn't know that we should have taken the initiative to ask our coordinator to make sure something like that happened, but it would have been nice if the venue could have anticipated that. Many of our guests, as a result, didn't get dessert or know that the coffee bar was open. So if you do hold your wedding here, just make sure your discuss a dessert game-plan with your coordinator. Aside from that, the staff can be a bit short (mostly over email, so it might be a tonal mis-connection), and the load-in process was overly complicated because they had us bring all the alcohol down the main (long and winding) handicap ramp, rather than back the van up to the kitchen door and unload directly from there. read more

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Amazing place. Excellent food. Beautiful scenic location. I was just a guest but still had an amazing time.

The food is awful! Potatoes were over seasoned, stuffed shells dry and no sauce and the meats were so dry even adding gravy prevented me from being able to swallow this horrid food. The chocolate cake was dry but the yellow cake ok. We could have had better food taste from mcdonalds and that says a lot. read more

We recently attended a family wedding at this place. While it is a nice place, the owner is over the top Out of Line and in violation of personal rights and privacy. While the guests were seated, this very overweight woman appeared in front of everyone and bent over showing more than anyone cared to see...it was disgusting! Later, we were informed that while the wedding was taking place, she took it upon herself to tear through all of the wedding parties luggage looking for things she did not approve of. She continued to be arrogant to the guests thinking she had some sort of ultimate right when she did not. She stated she had a contract with the Bride's parents, however, legally, that does not translate to anyone else as she has no right going through personal belongings! She should have been arrested... I'm sure there are other options for a wedding rather than your personal property being violated...find it and don't bother spending your money there! read more

Beautiful wedding venue. My wife and I were just here for a friend's wedding and it was a blast. The indoor-outdoor mix is perfect for a late spring, early fall wedding. Great place for pictures on the lawn or near the river. Even with so much outdoor focus, rain can't effect the gazebo for cocktail hour or dancing as the area is well covered and can even be enclosed during hard rain. Servers were all very friendly. Everything was well maintained. The bride and groom can (may need to) supply the venue with alcohol for the reception which has its upsides. Food was good although I will say you see more options other places. That may have just been our friend's decision, but I would've liked a few more options during cocktail hour. For dinner the filet was pretty well prepared, but I thought the stuffed chicken was the better entree of the two. Tasty. The food offering I enjoyed the most was the dessert. Many good options like cheesecake, German chocolate cake, coconut tart, cookies, apple pie, and a few others. Loved trying a little bit of each. If you're getting married in the area and looking for something simple and elegant, this could be your spot. read more

I attended this venue as a guest of a wedding. While the venue is beautiful and clean, there was much room for improvement. 1). Thank goodness there was a sign at the corner of the main road and down the driveway to direct guests to continue straight to the Manor. The location is set back in the woods, behind a rundown industrial park. While there may be no fix for the neighbors, the driveway leading back to the manor was in major disrepair and made many guests feel as though they were lost. As you continue down the driveway, it felt as though we were continuing back into the industrial area, no landscaping or attempt to hide the hideous neighbors from the parking lot (which is also the front of the Manor, and in need of upkeep). 2). Catering was subpar. The cocktail hour was underwhelming. The horderves passed around were scant (I was only offered food once and this was because I placed myself next to the door were staff were coming from). There was also a table with cheese, crackers, fruit and meatballs. The cheese (only Brie) was way too soft and not kept to temp (his could make people sick! It was a 70 degree day and food was in the sun). Dinner was a major disappointment. The rolls were beyond stale (it was a conversation piece at the table -how embarrassing). The caesar salad was also scant and dressed with some strange mix of caesar and Italian (did they run out of dressing?!?). Finally, the entree was not eaten by a single guest at my table. Both the pork and chicken dishes were overcooked and inedible. Both dished were also smothered in a tasteless thick sauce that further made it dish unappetizing and inedible. 3). The event planner was rude and not willing to accommodate guests. She not once greeted us or looked as if she were enjoying her job. During the dinner, I had conversation with the event planner regarding an entree mistake. It was communicated with her previous that a guest at my table was unable to eat one of the chicken entree as there was a selfish allergy, and the second entree, pork, was off limits for religious reasons. We previously arranged for a chicken entree without the crab, this never happened. When approached regarding the situation, she said "I can't do that". I asked whether there was a single piece of chicken in the kitchen that can be prepared and she said "no" and walked away from me. So, the guest had no dinner! 4). The venue space - gazebo, patio overlooking river, and ballroom were simply done, yet beautiful. I feel you can save your money and find something similar elsewhere. read more

PRO: The venue is very pretty. It's deceiving at first because the drive in makes it look like a dump, which is not what you want when your guests come to your wedding, but we decided we could live with that. The property is very nice. CON: BUT the owner is EXTREMELY difficult to work with. read more

Riverdale Manor was an absolutely beautiful place to get married. From the moment we visited, I knew it was the place! Our guests felt the same way once they saw it. Our coordinator, Troy, was great. The planning process is very easy and they keep you on task as to when you need to provide them information. Their recommended vendor list is great, and of the ones we chose (you're encouraged to use them but you by no means have to) were great as well. The food was great at our tasting, and great at our wedding (from what I hear, I barely ate anything that day). The staff (bartenders, waitstaff) were all friendly and helpful. Being able to provide your own alcohol is an incredibly wonderful perk and saves you a considerable amount of money. Also, unlike literally every other place we looked it, they don't hit you with a 18-22% service charge, which also saves you a considerable amount of money. They are pretty rigid in their rules/procedures, but, that's how they ensure the success of each wedding. If you have very specific ideas of how you want your wedding to be that go against their suggestions/normal way of doing things, it might be a bit of an issue. However, if you're like me, and just want an easy (well, easy as possible for a wedding) beautiful day, I don't think there's a better place in the area. read more

Attempted to look at this place as a wedding venue. We had been coordinating for weeks since we were flying in from out of town and when we show up at the venue (15 minutes late because of traffic, though we did try to call to let them know but no one picked up) and we find the gates locked. We waited, called, and emailed and never heard back. Four days later we finally receive an email stating "they must have missed us." After this service, we did not consider it any further and would not recommend to others. read more

Just attended a wedding at Riverdale Manor. it was fantastic! The food the service and the atmosphere was incredible

My son and daughter in law were recently married at Riverdale Manor. While they are still starry eyed over their big day and think everything was great, some of us with more experience in this area are not. This place was a disappointment. True, the grounds are lovely (but only from the rear of the facility. There is no curb appeal. The approach road and parking lot need paving and a decent landscaper.)but that's about it, customer service and the food left a lot to be desired. 1.) Maureen, the owner, is very domineering and condescending and needs some work in her customer service skills. She comes off very pushy and rude. She needs to remember who is working for who. I never saw her smile once that day. Perhaps she was having a bad day or was tired from three days of weddings back to back. If that's the case, maybe a job away from the public is more suitable for her. I am an event planner so I understand the challenges of her job, it can be like herding wild monkeys at times but that is still no excuse for a nasty disposition. None of her requests ever included a please or thank you, just commands. Being friendly, pleasant and kind goes a long way with people. On the other hand, Maureen's assistant Linda was a sweetheart! She was a breath of fresh air! Always smiling, she came up to us several times throughout the day to see if we needed anything and to ask if everything was okay. She followed through pleasantly with any request. Maureen became a big joke after awhile to almost everyone, the Commondant. Ten minutes after meeting her, even the officiant asked what her problem was! How sad is that? 2.)Chicken Chesapeake was supposed to be chicken with CHUNKS of crab meat. At least it was at the tasting. A handful of people only saw a FLAKE or two of crab. Bait and switch? And everything was lukewarm. Don't even get me started on the crab balls/bites appetizer that was a dollar plus each! They were smaller than a DIME in size. It was a disgrace. The side salad only gave about 4 forkfuls. No announcement about cake for dessert in the vestibule. Unless you went out there, you had no idea there even was dessert. The bar was supposed to run until 9pm. People going to the bar had to wait for glasses because they were already packed away at 8:30pm. Too cheap to pay the minimum wage to the bartender for an extra hour? Staffing schedules shouldn't interfere with the bar being tha same as it was in the first hour. Clean up should have begun at 9pm not before. It looks tacky. 3.)Entering the property from the rutted road through a run down industrial park, the first thing you see is a security guard is in the parking lot and he patrols the grounds and banquet room during your event!. Very concerning. Just how bad is the neighborhood? Check crime statistics for the area. Either way, this security rent a cop was overkill. I can understand protecting your property and investment but this is too overbearing. Spend some money for a closed circuit security camera system and let him watch from a back room and appear where needed IF needed. Not parading through the banquet room, etc.. How is this a warm and welcoming atmosphere for guests? To me, it looks like you are showing contempt for people. I have never attended or worked a wedding in my life that had a security guard patrolling and making his presence known all through the event. The way this was done set a bad tone and sent an even worse message. 4.)Minor, simple requests of Queen Maureen are neither appreciated or fulfilled and you will be curtly dismissed by her. We and the bride's parents had a concern that the cage for the wedding gift cards was placed on a table by the door in the vestibule. We politely requested it to be moved into the banquet room onto the gifts table because it would be unattended during the ceremony and cocktail hour. We were told that it would be moved when she planned to have it moved before dinner because "that's how we do it here." Really?! Power trip much? What was the big deal in moving a simple cage to give us peace of mind? She didn't even care. 5.) Once you sign on with this place, it isn't your wedding anymore, it is Maureen's. I feel that with all of the piece by piece pricing, in the long end, you wind up paying more for less to a company that basically doesn't appreciate your business. Your wedding is just another number to them. You and your guests deserve to be special on your special day. This place doesn't offer that warm feeling. If that specialness of each couples big day has worn off for them, they need to get out of this business and not be such a downer and the root of bad memories for something a family looks forward to for so long. It just kills me to see how hard my son and his wife worked to pay for this wedding and to see how little they got in respect, appreciation for their business and to see how they got ripped off food wise. Keep looking, better places are out there. read more