I have found it very hard to come up with a review about The Winchester Opera House as a venue for my wedding. Let me begin by stating that this will not be a good review for this business. After two months of dwelling on my wedding day, I am still as upset today as I was that day. Absolutely NOTHING went right on my day, and it was 100% the fault of the staff of the Opera House. I will not go into every detail but I will make it very clear, I do not recommend this venue for anyone. I wanted a small 60 person, simple wedding. Wheat and dried flowers for floral and the bird cages and candles provided by the opera house for center pieces, brunch style food and a very traditional ceremony and reception. I was reassured over and over again that my day would be flawless. I asked about every detail, I also asked what components I need to provide and what detail the opera house would take care of. When I was touring the opera house as a possible option for my venue I was told they would have no problem staying with in my $6000 budget. I was not told, that I should lower my expectations and be made to feel less than because of that budget. I asked if the opera house had a projection to play a slideshow during the reception, I told them that if they did not have one, I would provide it, as well as the sound system. I was assured they would have a projector and hat the iHome they had would work perfectly. I was told people used the iHome all the time and there was never a problem. I also asked them to take down the god awful crystal chandeliers hanging in the ballroom, I was told that was no problem, I asked if I need to pay for it to be done, they said no. Ok, so I have planned my wedding along with the coordinator Amberly, who at the time seemed like my soul sister, with her lily planner in tow and a binder dedicated just for me. She was on top of it. So I thought. I show up to Moundale the night before the wedding and it all starts to fall apart, my guest with a service dog was turned away and only after an hour of coaxing and explaining to Vanessa that it was not a pet, and she could not legally turn away a service dog, my friend was allowed to stay the night, feeling guilty and out of place to whole time. The morning of the wedding I was told there was no projector. I asked if there was anyway we could get one because I was told there would be one and a family friend had prepared a very expensive presentation. Vanessa and Amberly then had the nerve to say it would cost me $150 to get a projector. When it was their fault there was not one, and I told them I would provide one if needed, again I was told they owned one, when they did not. My brother in law got to the church 45 minutes before the ceremony and they AC was not turned on. I was a puddle by the end of it and not from happy tears. From sweat, my hair was back to its natural curl by the time it was done. My entrance song you could not hear, and the exit song was wrong. I get to the reception and what do I see. Crystal chandeliers. What else do I see as I walk down the aisle and on the centerpieces of my tables, purple hydrangeas. Thank god I did my own bouquets and boutonnieres, because when I ask for wheat and dried heather, somehow that converts to fake, silk, purple hydrangeas. The iHome was not sufficient sound. You could barely hear the one song that was set on repeat for the entire reception, along with our dance songs. After a mountain of problems and no solution, the wedding was over and I was in tears of frustration and regret. I will never carry good memories of my wedding due to Vanessa and Amberly. After trying to get some sort of compensation I was told I was trying to extort Vanessa and that she would be in contact with her lawyer. She blamed the wedding on Amberly, who was over worked and graduating from college so she was "distracted". What could not be blamed on Amberly was blamed on me. I can assure you, Vanessa is vindictive, manipulative and takes advantage of everyone around her. She is a privileged, spoiled woman who cannot take responsibility for her own company. Amberly is all apart of the show as well, no better than Vanessa. I was made to feel about as small as a mouse for having a budget and then blamed when things did not go right. I would have rather gone to the court house. This review is only the tip of the iceberg of my wedding day. DO NOT BOOK YOUR WEDDING WITH THE WINCHESTER OPERA HOUSE. I have had two other people have bad accounts about this awful place. read more

My daughter's dream wedding was sold to us. What we ended up experiencing was incompetency, rudeness, greed and regret for ever signing the contract. There is a reason it is cheaper to go here than to go to a facility in Lexington and it's not worth the small savings. Positive: Moundale manor is a great (and only) place for pictures Negative: * Had 3 different coordinators. We were sold on using the facilities by the first coordinator because she was amazing and assured us "they would handle everything, you can relax and enjoy your special time". The second coordinator was AWFUL, didn't do anything we were promised and the third was just thrown in at the last minute and we only saw her twice during the event. * Pandemic hit the same month the wedding was supposed to happen. Refund, even with a cancelation fee, wasn't an option. (Note: ALL of the bride's family and many friends live out of state and would have to travel via airplane to the event.) * Ended up having to pay them even more money to have an alternative small family wedding and dinner for 30 later in 2020 so the bride and groom could get married. (No, they wouldn't just deduct the food from the 150 already paid for). * Reception finally happened July 2021, two and 1/2 years after planning the original festivities and signing the contract with the guarantee of 150 people. Only 98 of the original guarantees of 150 were able to come but there was NO budging by ownership on the costs. It did not matter to the owner that a pandemic occurred, that the people couldn't come were the bride's older family members who would have had to fly during the pandemic, the only thing that seemed to matter to the owner was her money. read more

It was exactly as advertised. We attended a Mother's day brunch and the food was great. It was buffet style and I prefer table service, but this was what was advertised. The decor of the historic building was tastefully done. The waitstaff was attentive to the needs of the group, but seemed a bit inexperienced and flustered at times. They needed a second location for servers to draw drinks from or move it from the buffet line as the servers had to dash into the line of patrons from time to time. As you can see I would do a few things differently however, I truly enjoyed the experience and would most definitely visit again for another event. read more

See all

This place gave the worst experience I've ever had at restaurant. Shitty service. The owners were rude and disrespectful. There roaches in the bathroom, so more than likely was in the kitchen. How the health department hasn't shut them down idk. read more

Held my wedding reception here, and I can't say enough about it. The staff went above and beyond to make our wedding week as stress-free as possible, and then made our whole wedding day exactly what we imagined. The staff at our ceremony venue (a different location) was no where to be found the day of our wedding, and one of the event planners at Winchester Opera House drove down and ran the whole ceremony at the last minute! They really saved the day. Great food, great staff, great venue! read more