The Convention Center exceeded our expectations on almost every count. We had an early summer Sunday brunch wedding with the ceremony and reception on the rooftop. (Note: We hired ...an external day-of coordinator, who liaised with the venue on our behalf from about a month prior to the wedding. Undoubtedly, the coordinator shares credit for a relatively flawless day.)
The food was wonderful and reasonably priced. The catering manager worked with the chef to create a custom menu to our exact specifications, right down to the Stumptown coffee and omelet bar toppings. As foodies, we were frankly a little nervous about having to use the in-house catering, but we couldn’t have been happier with the quality, presentation, or price of the meal. We were a little disappointed that we weren’t allowed to bring in outside pastries, like scones and muffins, but the CC pastries were good and we made up for it with a dessert bar. The actual bar was also stocked to our specifications, including a custom bloody mary and mimosa bar.
We received a promotional discount on top of the non-Saturday price for the venue rental, but even without the discounts, we thought the CC offered a good value considering all the amenities. Actual china, silver, and glassware; uniformed wait staff; tent; tables and (nice-looking) chairs...all of these extras add up at other venues, but the CC is truly all-inclusive. That said, we did opt to upgrade to the “VIP” china and silver for $3.75/person, because their standard china was old-school, heavy-weight, cream-colored...basically not the classy look we were going for. The catering manager did tell us that they were planning to replace the standard china in the near future, so that might be something to inquire about if you’re particular about the table-settings. We also rented linens from an external vendor, because our day-of coordinator told us the CC linens aren’t floor-length – another relatively minor cosmetic upgrade to the standard, all-inclusive amenities.
Our CC event coordinator was friendly, helpful, and professional. He responded to email inquiries promptly and thoroughly, and agreeably met every request we threw at him, including allowing us to leave supplies in his office for our early-morning setup and letting my handicapped mom park in the service lot. The service staff day-of was professional, friendly, and unobtrusive. Thoughtful too: my mom noted that when we returned from family photos in the hot sun, one of the servers was right there with water for her.
Our only real complaint was that communication with the catering manager was a bit of a struggle. It’s probably understandable, considering that she manages all catering for all CC events, but I did find myself wondering why they didn’t have one or more assistants. Also, our emails reportedly ended up in her spam folder most of the time, and thus went unanswered. We learned to work around it by following emails with phone calls. Communication lag aside, she was helpful, flexible, detail-oriented, and accommodating.
Overall, we’re very happy with our decision to go with the CC, and would definitely recommend them to others.
