Weddings Grand River Center

Sherri had some great ideas that we hadn’t even thought of and our agreed upon floor plan was set exactly the way we had discussed. The staff there even had some of our rented decorations set up before we even got there. Sherri also worked with us to make sure we could have a wedding we loved in our budget, and I know it’s not for everyone but the Friday wedding deals at the GRC just could not be beat. We brought our flowers from Wisconsin from my mother-in-law’s shop, and when the refrigerator truck broke down on the way she Sherri went back after hours to make sure the flowers made it into the building when they finally arrived. Everyone loved the food and the late night pizza snack we chose was delicious. I received so many compliments about how awesome our wedding was and I would highly recommend a wedding at the Grand River Center!

nt to the GRC, we fell in love immediately. It was a beautiful location right along the river, was attached by sky bridge to a hotel and very close to more, was large enough to accommodate all of our guests, and we could have both reception and ceremony there. When we first met Sherri, she seemed knowledgeable and was very friendly. That didn't last. There was a HUGE mess with us booking it, because clearly they are not very organized with their wait list (you cannot officially book until 15 months out). We booked it and thought ok great, we are good. WRONG. So many things to complain about for the next 15 months. Once we were booked, signed our contract and paid our deposit, Sherri totally lost the friendly attitude. She was rude, condescending, and treated our vision and us like idiots and children. Communications were horrible and our final meeting was awful. She also didn't send information from our final meeting to me, but to my in-laws instead, which she had already been told, communications were to go through my husband and I. She was so rude to me, my husband, in-laws, and mother, and used a tone with us as if she thought she were somehow above us all. She likes to brag about how long she has been doing it, and let me tell you, she isn't that good at it. Sherri is the wedding coordinator, and is who we planned everything with leading up to our wedding, however, the week of our wedding, communication was terrible and VERY LITTLE communication from her, she kept pawning me off on everyone else, who had little idea of what my vision and plans were (however, they were all much nicer than her). Honestly I wish I would have just been able to work with these other people all along. The night before and morning of our wedding, we were missing extra items we had paid to rent, missing tables for set up that were on our floor plan and when I and then my mother requested some tables be moved from behind the ceremony area (they looked terrible), she refused and said they had to be there (but NO they didn't). They also had our ceremony set up wrong and she refused to have it changed to the way our floor plan stated and how WE wanted it. We had already had to pay an extra fee for the ceremony set up and the morning of my wedding instead of enjoying the time with my MY MOM, dad, one of my bridesmaids, and a couple friends moved the ceremony set up to how it was SUPPOSED to be AND moved some big heavy tables away. Sherri was not there right when she said she would be and even though she said doors would be locked to the main event room, they were not. Every time she spoke to my mom, me, my personal attendant that day she was incredibly rude and snotty. Because of her, the week of my wedding was so stressful. I can say my wedding turned out amazing and was beautiful and I loved it, and at the end of the day what is important is that I married my best friend. However, my day did not turn out that way because of Sherri and her "years of expertise." My day was amazing because my mom worked her butt off to make sure things were the way I wanted despite the lack of effort and help and compliance from our venue. When you pay that much money to someone/a venue, you should not have to do that much of the work.

very helping in answering any questions we had along the way, and help our reception run very smoothly. We had many compliments about how beautiful the venue was and how great the food tasted. Would recommend to other couples!

pier and I reccomend them to ANYONE!

they were all very helpful and friendly. The venue is beautiful and a perfect location. Everyone said the food was excellent also. Only thing we were upset about was the money. We were told we had to meet a $7,000 minimum which we did, and then got charged another $1,500 for tax and tip.

on, just our guests hotel block.

nd Harbor Resort and located directly across from the Diamond Jo casino (or guests loved that!) We did have a few bumps in the road with them. We started with one wedding coordinator that worked there and then she had a baby so another girl stepped into her position. A week before the wedding we found out the new girl was moving to a different company, so we had to deal with having to make sure everything we had talked to her about was getting relayed to the newest coordinator. When the day came and the wedding party was all over the place, the new coordinator Mitsy stepped in and made sure everyone was in their places. She was amazing! I would HIGHLY recommend using GRC for your wedding!

ible. Many of my guests did not eat, as their steak was GRAY and cold. It was a complete embarrassment and I feel completely taken advantage of. My chicken was chewy and tasted like airplane food, actually I feel airplane meals are better. I brought this to Katie's attention and she was very nice and asked if I wanted something else. Well, steak was not an option, as my husband was eating gray, fatty steak that looked as if it came from a casino. And what about the other guests who were also served this disgusting food? No one seemed to care or try to do anything about that. The vegetables were straight from a can and the potatoes were instant with some nacho cheese sauce. I will say that our expectations are probably much higher than many, as we live in Chicago and are surrounded by fabulous restaurants. However, I grew up in Iowa and my family still resides in Bellevue and parts of Dubuque, so I have frequented many restaurants in the area. Even the small town, ma and pa restaurants in the area have better quality food. The Grand River Center should be ashamed of themselves for serving this quality of food. I am shocked that none of our guests got sick, probably because they didn't eat. They are clearly taking advantage of their clients because of the atmosphere that they offer. Now the service, or lack of. I specifically asked how many servers there were going to be, as I wanted to make sure that my guests were taken care of. I worked in restaurants for 15 years and use to work many wedding receptions at a 5 star restaurant in chicago. We Always had 4-6 servers and the food was family style. Katie informed me that "staffing is determined by the banquet and beverage manager, based on count and menu. My estimate, would be FIVE servers and one or two bartenders." We had TWO servers for a sit down dinner. Now, how on earth are two servers supposed to deliver the food, take deliver drink orders, and check on guests? It is NOT possible. The two servers were running around frantically. They left the trays of food next to the tables and disappeared to get drinks or whatever. I watched a 10 top wait for 10 minutes until finally my uncle served the food. Do you think it was hot? And what about the last tables served, who waited 30 minutes after we got our food? Where do you suppose their food was sitting? Under a heat lamp, yes. So gross and wrong. If this situation would have happened at my previous restaurant, the wedding coordinator and catering manager would have been assisting. Not here. I could go on and on but will stop here. Bottom line, if you want to sacrifice quality food and service, than maybe this place will work for you. I personally wish I would have chosen a different venue. It was difficult planning a wedding from Chicago. We tasted some food before the wedding and I told Katie that none of it was good. We looked for another venue after the tasting but they were all full. We knew it would not be good but never thought it would be as horrible as it was. My family and I will never recommend The Grand River Center and will be sure to share our negative experience with others in the area. *

! The staff helped set everything in a different way because I wanted it different with no hassle .

, easy access to hotel rooms via skywalk (Grand Harboer Center - also great to work with and even handed out 90 individual gift bags at no extra cost!)

right next to the river makes for some breathtaking pictures.

of weddings.

s perfect, our wedding was in Sept. 2012 and we are still getting compliments on our food. The service was wonderful, and very desecrate when replenishing the cake table. All staff was very friendly. Would highly recommend Grand River for anyone looking to get married in Dubuque. If you have lots of out of town guests its especially great to have such a beautiful, elegant venue with a river view.

that had been dropped off to use at the reception were neglected to be set out by their staff. It was a lovely view, but not worth putting up with incompetent staff.

r my large family in the area. However it was perfect for guests and myself for many more reasons. The wedding coordinators are very detailed and helpful. Our cocktail and reception room looked out onto the river so it was beautiful for our June wedding. The food was delicious. The location was perfect because it showed off Dubuque to my guests from Chicago from the bluffs to the river to the casino, museum, and waterpark.

rious. And, for the quality of the rooms, you couldn't beat the group price. My husband and I stayed in the Whirlpool Suite on the top floor, and it was amazing! The views were awesome and the room was beyond excpetional!

s for a response) but overall very good!

ith! The food was delicious especially the salmon. They totally worked with us and our customized menu options. Very pleased.

wedding coordinator, JoAnn is so easy to work with and goes over every detail with you. She makes sure nothing is forgotten.