RLI was the first & only venue we visited before booking our wedding for 4/15/17. I am beyond happy with feedback from guests & my own personal experience.
RLI is a stunning venue & easily sells itself. The food is amazing. The rooms are adora...ble. The unknowns are always THE PEOPLE who manage the process & how they communicate and execute before - during your event is key.
My decision for choosing RLI was person #1, Bill I. Bill sealed the deal for me and definitely didn’t tell me everything I wanted to hear nor did he agree to things he simply couldn’t do. We negotiated hard at the beginning but what truly sold me was his was openness to working with me and he was committed to finding solutions to meet my budget. He didn’t turn me away and he was patient (in the midst of 300 things going on) & gave me the attention I needed during the first crucial conversations. In addition, Bill gave advice on reception/ceremony music & script, food choices, reception/cocktail tips. I was open & appreciated Bill’s expert feedback because they were great & made a huge difference!
I’ll be honest, I was worried that my wishlist/ wedding plan on the actual day would not come to fruition but as I mentioned earlier, the venue sold itself but the people sold me. Person #2, Kacee B. deserves recognition. Kacee spent a lot of time with me to get up to speed on my plan & what was agreed upon (see suggestion re: revising contract). Kacee was efficient & even though we made some slight modifications - she came through with flying colors & did a wonderful job. I appreciated her patience, responsiveness, courtesy & hard work. During the day, I spotted her running around, working her butt off! In my opinion, she went above & beyond. There were others @RLI that deserve kudos (terrible w/names) the waitstaff, cooks, KB's asst, recep staff, housekeeping, maint., bar staff, etc. were all truly impressive & I cannot thank them enough for making our day absolutely perfect.
Helpful Tips!
1. RLI is a one stop shop for weddings, year round & there isn't a real peak/off peak time. Therefore, if you have a tight budget, consider time & day of event & check out the Salon as a location. We had ceremony/cocktail hour (late afternoon) in Barn & Reception in Salon. It was perfection. Approx. 100 guests & perfect size/room!
2. There wasn’t a wedding booked night before or night of our wedding when we initially booked but there was a few months later. For planning purposes, if you want rooms at RLI,they are great) you might want to lock those down early.
3. In retrospect, I would have gotten revised contract w/agreed upon changes (I changed time/room). The sales rep will likely transfer info to day of coord. & this just makes life easier. Plus, I booked a year ahead so there were things I forgot about & trusted would happen. The result might only be some added time to review details again later on. Either way, RLI will do everything they can to capture your wedding vision & understand prior to big day.
4. After party snacks: Order sliders! I still cannot get over how good the sliders were and my guests who stayed are still talking about them!
5. Choose vendors that are experienced with RLI! Your photographer, dj, makeup/hair, flower delivery, etc. I didn’t want to think on wedding day nor did I have time to. I truly appreciated the vendors knowing RLI.