My husband and I had both our ceremony and reception at the Salem Waterfront hotel in September 2018. We would recommend the venue to future couples that are looking. Our ceremony... was hosted outside on a beautiful sunny afternoon, right by the water on Pickering Wharf. I had always wanted to get married near the water, and the spot was perfect. There were quite a few spectators from the nearby businesses, but it did not take anything away from our experience. Afterwards, the waterfront was the perfect location for all of our photos. We certainly got lucky with the weather!
The cocktail hour and reception were hosted inside at the Salem Waterfront Hotel. Since we did not have first look photos and opted to take our photos directly after the ceremony, my husband and I did not attend cocktail hour. We did hear from several guests that the temperature was hot in the Compass Room and that they did not open up the doors to the space outside the Compass room right away. Since we had increased our original guest count quite a bit, we should have been more mindful of the cocktail hour space. All of our guests enjoyed the reception. The space was beautiful, and everything stayed on track with timing. We had slightly over 150 guests total, and the room seemed to be just the right size. We received many compliments on the entrees (salmon and chicken madeira) and our ice cream sundae bar. I think there might have been some slight confusion about the vegetarian entree (originally I had thought it was pasta primavera), but I did not hear any negative feedback from guests on their meals. The bartenders were amazing and provided great service all night! We had many guests comment on how much fun they had at the wedding.
The yearlong planning process did have some ups and downs. We originally met with a coordinator named Peri in the Summer of 2017, then worked with another coordinator named Rose for quite a few months, and finally, after Rose left we worked with Lara. We only met Peri once, but Rose and Lara were both friendly and professional. It seemed that some notes did not get passed between the two (table cloths, entree choices, notes about room blocks etc), but eventually everything came together. I believe that Lara ended up offering us some last minute inclusions with our packages to make up for some of the confusion. Lara also was on the phone with me daily leading up to the wedding to make sure all of my last minute stresses, questions and requests were taken care of.
The room accommodations were comfortable. My bridesmaids and I all got ready in the suite that my husband and I were staying in and there was plenty of space for 2 hair dressers, 1 make up artist and our group.
Overall, our wedding was an amazing day that we will never forget! It was great having the getting-ready space, ceremony, reception, and bar after the reception (Regatta Pub) all in one place. There was some stress and confusion along the way, but it all came together. The only advice that I would give would be to always take notes of what is discussed with coordinators and to send follow up emails so that you will have everything written down, in case employees change.