The Confluence

l part of my entire wedding. From a guest’s perspective: everything was amazing. The food was top-notch at every event, from the beautiful and delicious getting-ready room catering to the plated dinner and our rehearsal dinner at Missi’s (they even added gold foil and glitter to the dessert!). The hotel itself is stunning, with a great location, beautiful river views, and a comfortable, stylish atmosphere. The event staff and servers were professional, warm, and attentive. Many of our guests commented on how impressed they were, and we were proud to host everyone here. However, from a couple’s perspective, our experience with The Confluence was riddled with communication issues and oversights that created a lot of unnecessary stress in what should have been an exciting and joyful planning process. Misinformation was given repeatedly throughout the planning period, and it often felt like there was a lack of care or follow-through when it came to honoring our requests or even basic expectations. Some examples: • I asked that our leftover wedding cake would be boxed up for us. Not only was it not boxed up, but it was thrown away—despite guests and family visibly seeing extras at the end of the night. • We purchased a keg specifically for the last hour of dancing after the hosted bar ended. We were told by Mindi, the events coordinator, that it could be moved downstairs to the bar in the lobby afterward for our wedding party. But the night of, the bar manager claimed this was against policy. Mindi either denied ever saying this or the bar manager simply lied when she told us that she called to check with Mindi. • For our rehearsal dinner, we requested a microphone well in advance. When I asked about it that evening, we were hastily handed a small, faulty karaoke mic that didn’t work. We made do, but the lack of follow-through was disappointing. • Just a couple weeks before the wedding, we were told there weren’t enough copper mugs for the Moscow Mule signature drink we had chosen—something that could’ve easily been flagged at our details meeting four months earlier. • After our amazing sales coordinator Megan left, no one told us. I had been working with her on the room blocks. Emails to her went unanswered for weeks until I followed up to find out she was gone. • We were told at our details meeting that the Soirée Suite was complimentary, but we were later billed $250 and told we only had access from 7am to noon. While Mindi did end up giving us half off and allowed earlier access, it was another stressor just weeks before the big day. In the end, we felt like just another transaction to the corporation that owns the venue, rather than a couple being celebrated and cared for. All of our other vendors were absolutely phenomenal, which made the contrast with The Confluence even more noticeable. It’s truly a shame because the potential here is undeniable—the space is gorgeous, the food is incredible, and the service day of is excellent. But the coordination and care leading up to the event simply weren’t there for us. I wish we had a different experience, but I hope this helps future couples make informed decisions.