Cornerstone Gardens

ating to us. We regret any missteps that have led to your comments. The past few years have been the most challenging years our industry has ever experienced, closer to home- it took a devastating toll on our couples and our team. Having said that, we never wavered in our commitment and passion for executing flawless events for our clients, in spite of the many challenges due to Covid. Empathy for both sides of this story is important for assessing what happened through a clear lens. There are a few factors that took an already stressful situation ( having to cancel or re-book all weddings for 2020 and the first half of 2021 in the midst of a global pandemic) to the next level. The critical restructuring of our catering and venue entities was in process before Covid hit. We were fully committed to honoring all existing contracts in 2020 that were signed under the former ownership. What we were unable to do while striving to be a healthy company was to carry all of the terms of those contracts forward to 2021 and beyond due to Covid. Under the former contracts the company rented and absorbed thousands of dollars’ worth of rentals for each wedding, allowed clients to BYOB and to hire outside caterers. During 2020 and early 2021 we issued close to a million dollars in refunds for events with no hospitality revenue coming in. We made many compromises to soften the changes when re-negotiating the new contracts, yours included. We honored the 2020 venue fee, in fact, in your case we covered the table-top rentals as an exception and your food costs were the same as the original contract (no mention of this in your review), you were no longer permitted to “bring your own booze” but were given the same pricing under the old contracts for your bar package. We also were happy to help you with your special wine requests and said yes to your request for “boozy popsicles” at a summer wedding. That’s on us but you failed to mention that you were fully refunded for them. Our team member was trying very hard to please you but didn’t think through the realistic execution of “boozy popsicles” at an outdoor summer wedding without letting you know that you would need to rent the proper equipment to keep them frozen. That’s on us and we learned a lot from that experience. Our lead houseman was on site at 6AM the day of your event and our catering set up team was on site at the appropriate time. We often use members of our Cornerstone team to help with furniture set up under the guidance of our houseman. We’re proud of our teamwork! It’s your planner’s responsibility to be there to oversee the set-up of her vision for your wedding while directing our catering team on aesthetics where appropriate. You referenced “your point of contact was 6 hours late to load in”. Your rental company “loads in” under the supervision of the person who ordered the rentals (your planner). Staffing in the hospitality industry post-Covid has been brutal. We had less than 30 days to prepare when the go-ahead was given to hold weddings in 2021. This was the biggest challenge for every catering entity and restaurant in the state. What I’m proud of is how hard our team worked to do the best we could to provide the best service possible to our guests. We were definitely short staffed at some weddings- yours included, and under no circumstances was that intentional. It was just a fact of life in 2021. We are taking the time now in the off-season to continue to grow and train our new team to the highest service standards. When referencing the delays in your timeline, weddings take on a life of their own once they start and our team follows the lead of the wedding planner for food and beverage execution/timing. For example, your ceremony started 20 minutes late due to photography and your planner instructed us not to serve food during toasts which caused further delays. We stand ready to take direction from planners as the event progresses-timelines are fluid. I stand behind our company, our team and our commitment to serving our clients and guests on such an important day. When things don’t go as planned, we are motivated to work harder, communicate better and strive for the best results for all. Of the many, many events we executed this past year, it was so rewarding for our team to support the couples in celebrating their love with friends and family...at last. Hopefully, this has provided some context around the issues you raised in your review. We truly wish you the best in your life together. Warmly, Karin