Communication was consistently poor even into after our wedding when we called, emailed, & texted multiple times to coordinator Linda & owner George simply to give feedback on our ...experience:
1. We attempted to go over plans with the coordinator leading up to our wedding, but they didn’t return calls or review details, leading to confusion & chaos on wedding day. Groom & parents had to run around to set up decor themselves. We had confirmed that the venue would do this night before, but they ended up having a dinner banquet in our ballroom instead. Setup on the day of the wedding was haphazard, disorganized, & time-consuming out of bride and groom’s own schedule when we should've been enjoying getting ready with bridal party & family. The setup took literally our entire morning & afternoon: we had to arrange the area ourselves (easels/signs, card box, etc), barely had time for photos since all of it was spent running around doing the venue’s job, & then rushed to start the wedding.
2. On wedding day, we only saw the coordinator twice: bringing snacks for the girls, and signaling me to walk down the isle. Shockingly, she was seen giving a venue tour to 2 other couples on our wedding day instead of helping us!
3. A fishing boat pulled up on the dock right next to our ceremony area before the wedding began. The venue did nothing until my parents intervened and asked the fishermen to dock a little ways down to not interrupt our ceremony. Also, restaurant tables & their open umbrellas were in the way of my isle to walk through, not moved till parents also brought this up.
4. Parking lot next to ceremony area was supposed to be blocked off, but not done. Restaurant guests were going in and out, & I had to wait to go down the isle as a car suddenly came in to park.
5. Groom & his men had no one check in on them or even offer water. They rushed around, literally took turns drinking out the faucet.
6. Complimentary champagne is advertised for bride, groom, and parent table, but not done. All of our glasses were empty.
7. Cake wasn’t served. We paid for a sit-down dinner, but for dessert, they cut our 5-tier cake in the back and quietly brought it out, set it literally in the back of the room where most guests didn’t even see or know it was there. We found out after that most of our cake went to waste as many guests didn’t get cake, including the groom himself!
8. Coordinator didn't coordinate the wedding at all. The timeline we emailed was not followed, adding to our chaos, and ended up missing sunset photos since she was nowhere to be found. We sent 3 emails of questions/details over a week before the wedding. No response. At rehearsal, we inquired about the emails, only to be told they were busy & hadn’t reviewed them.
9. We also emailed final head count/meal choices a week prior to the wedding & waited for the final bill. Again, no response. Coordinator gave us the bill right before our wedding started, & later pulled me out of the photo booth with our guests during our reception just to obtain the remaining balance. Luckily we had brought our check book which I was forced to keep on me all day. Also, bill was not adjusted for guests that cancelled, even when we gave plenty notice. Meals were paid for, but not given to us packed to-go.
10. We were promised the room fee for rehearsal dinner at their restaurant would be waived since we were having our wedding there too. This wasn't honored; a surprise room fee was tacked on the bill.