251-300 guest capacity
This venue can host up to 300 guests
About this vendor
Windows On The River presents a truly exceptional experience - an urban vibe with an air that exudes classic elegance. In the heart of Cleveland's waterfront, Windows On The River is conveniently located in the historic First Energy Powerhouse at Nautica.
Amenities + details
Ceremony Area
Handicap Accessible
Indoor Event Space
Liability Insurance
Outdoor Event Space
Reception Area
Wireless Internet
Covered Outdoors Space
Dressing Room
On-Site Accommodations
Ceremony Types
- Civil Union
- Commitment Ceremony
- Interfaith Ceremony
- Non-Religious Ceremony
- Religious Ceremony
- Second Wedding
Guest Capacity
- Up to 300
Settings
- Ballroom
- Beach
- Waterfront
- Historic Venue
Venue Service Offerings
- Bar & Drinks
- Cakes & Desserts
- Food & Catering
- Planning
- Rentals & Equipment
- Service Staff
Awards and Affiliations
Reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.
4.6
out of 5.0143 reviews
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We had our wedding here in the city view room and highly recommend! The food was fantastic and the staff are very experienced and make sure you’re in good hands!
We had our wedding in the City View Room 11/9/24 and it was absolutely perfect! We worked with Kris to bring our vision to life. We had 175 guests fit comfortably in the room for our ceremony and reception. The food was excellent - we had filet, sea bass (my personal favorite) and eggplant rollatini. Our cocktail hour was held in the Cleveland Aquarium - we highly recommend this unique experience!! Our guests raved about it! You can't beat the views of the city at sunset, and the dance floor was the perfect size to keep the party going all night. Windows has been a wedding venue for many years, and it shows in their professionalism, excellent service, and attention to detail. We would highly recommend Windows on the River to anyone looking for the perfect Cleveland wedding venue!
Above and beyond experience having our wedding there! It was so beautiful.
We worked on & planned our wedding for over a year and the back and forth was so helpful! We appreciated everything and LOVED the food!!
We had great communication throughout the entire process - worked with Kathy. The food was wonderful, service was great, all inclusive package saved a lot of hard work on our end.
Excellent customer service. Great price for the package that we had. Beautiful venue.
This was the perfect venue and we were blown away with everything this venue had to offer!
Windows is a well known wedding venue here in Cleveland but when we decided to check it out I was skeptical on what the service would be like. Let me tell you, their reputation is well deserved and blew my expectations out of the water. Every single staff member is amazing, Bobbi, literally helped my husband and I through the whole process. Do not even get me started on the food, it was the best meal I may have ever had in my life. The food on the night of our 200 person wedding was BETTER then the tasting and we thought the tasting was phenomenal.
We got married on 11/11/23 and it was the wedding of my dreams.
We got married at Windows on the River in the beginning of August, and it was absolutely perfect. We decided to have both our ceremony and reception here. When deciding on a venue, Windows was hard to beat. It was one of the only spaces that seemed to be almost all inclusive as the food and alcohol are included in all of the packages you have to choose from. This was so helpful as it meant we did not have to go through other companies and/or caterers to coordinate this. This seems minor but proved to be a huge stress relief when you're already communicating with so many other vendors!
Throughout the planning process, I worked closely with Bobbi, who also proved to be a huge help in making our day run smoothly. Our communication became much more frequent as our date got closer and closer. Despite my many lists of questions, she was always there to help and was very accommodating. She let me walk the space many times and made sure to take note of the specific way I wanted things set up and where. Although she is not responsible for setting up or tearing down the space, she made sure her team knew how to place tables in certain areas, linens, etc.
Our guests are still raving about the absolute beauty of the space, the food, and how accommodating the staff were the entire night. We absolutely loved this venue and are so glad we chose to have our wedding ceremony and reception here!!!
Our wedding was this past weekend at windows and it was AMAZING. The staff was great, everyone is still raving about the food, and pay the extra to have cocktail hour in the aquarium. Our guests LOVED it. The drinks were great pours they weren’t skimpy at all. I was nervous after seeing some brides struggle communicating with windows but Bobbi always answered any of my questions in a timely manner and was always so helpful. Also the price can’t be beat for being downtown.
We are Seth and Beth Wedding Photography. Recently we photographed a couple at Windows on the River. A big thanks for their expertise in making their day so special. What an incredible venue.
I booked the Cityview room and it was just perfect for us. I did struggle with communication early on with this vendor but read reviews from other brides that stated they experienced the same but it worked out in the end. I want to echo that sentiment. They are a well-oiled machine and I assume just under-staffed while very booked. When the date was approaching, attention shifted to my wedding and they were very prepared and actually made me realize I was underprepared but I was working with Bobbi who was very patient and kind and helped get us there!
The room itself is just industrial beauty perfection. We had the opportunity to set up a day early (perks of a Friday wedding) so I got to meet some of the staff and everyone was so kind. Day of, everything went perfectly. I could tell the staff knew what they were doing and again, everyone was just so nice. I loved having the city in the backdrop and being able to experience the venue both in the daylight and in the evening with all the windows.
I love this venue so much I've already envisioned having an anniversary party there one day!
We used the Bridgeview room at Windows on the River for our September 2022 wedding. What we liked about WOTR was the convenience of having a package that includes everything plates, silverware, food, and alcohol. Since we live in a different state than the one we got married in, this made wedding planning very easy since we didn’t have to find separate vendors. However, throughout the wedding planning process we had to follow up with the event space quite frequently to make sure all the details were correct. Therefore, when WOTR contacted me a week before our wedding to tell me that we owed them additional money I was quite upset. Since we booked our date in April 2021 the room minimum in the banquet contract was changed multiple times by WOTR due to COVID. In the last iteration of our banquet contract they changed it from 150 back to 200 and I didn’t realize it until I got the call one week before the wedding. When I took a second look at the invoice I realized that the original invoice had a lot of errors (i.e., too many chairs, too many adult meals, etc.) that needed to be revised so we didn’t end up owing them as much as originally thought. Overall, it was a great space, especially for large parties, and the food and drink were delicious but we were a bit disappointed in the customer service we received.
We had our wedding in the Bridgeview room on 9/30/22 and it was the best day ever! Leading up to the day, we worked with Bobbi who helped me through the whole process.
The day of the, the room was laid out exactly how we talked about, all of the details we talked about before were completed, and the Windows day of coordinator was very helpful and made the reception run perfectly smoothly!
This venue is amazing. We used the City View Room with our cocktail hour in the Aquarium. Our guests LOVED it!
Also, the food!!! We already knew we would choose the filet and lobster as two of our three dishes, so we used the tasting to pick the third meal choice. We enjoyed all four options at the tasting and had trouble choosing one as our third option. We chose a chicken dish after we were assured that vegetarians and vegans on our guest list could be separately accommodated. All of the food was soooo good and we heard from everyone how much they enjoyed their meals!!! Two hundred people, and not one single complaint! For perspective, 88 orders of the filet, and every last one was a perfect medium rare and fork tender.
The staff was really attentive and accommodating.
The night was truly magical.
For everything, I only have two complaints, and they aren't enough to remove a star from my rating. One, we asked them to cut the entire cake and just send us home with a piece of each layer (each layer was a different flavor of cake and filling), but they sent us home with the entire top layer. We ate some, but threw the rest away. We are not "year old, frozen cake" people. I was too full to eat cake at the reception, so I was a little bummed not to have been able to try the other layers (again, not a big problem, just a little disappointing).
Second, there was so much food that we arranged to skip the ice cream/fruit to be served with the cake, which should have reduced our cost a little. I forgot about this decision when I reviewed and paid the final invoice, and this change had not been made. I was overwhelmed a bit at this point and forgot. I am disappointed that it wasn't addressed, but in fairness to WOTR, I did have the opportunity to notice it and say something. Again, not a huge issue in the grand scheme of things, and not worth a lower rating when everything else was so perfect.
I'd be very careful choosing this venue, their staff are not held accountable for their actions.
We had an amazing wedding at windows on the river in the city view room.
Venue, bartenders, and wait staff was 5/5. Food was 4/5. Communication was 2.5/5 and was our largest hurdle. We worked with Kris for about a year leading up to our wedding. Because she described herself as a “day of coordinator”, we opted to do most of the planning ourselves and rely on Kris to keep things running smoothly day of. The day before my wedding, I was told by a different coordinator at windows that we sent our food selections in incorrectly when they were due 2 weeks prior. It created unnecessary stress the day before the wedding and I had to fix the issue the morning of my wedding while getting ready- not what a bride wants to do. Once we were at windows, our “day of coordinator” was no where to be found and I later saw her sneak out during the reception. After being in contact for a year and meeting in person a few times, a hello would have been nice. My advice to future brides and couples - windows will throw a great party but make sure you have a least 2 contacts to work with should one be out of the office or unreachable, and make sure the day of coordinator role/responsibilities are clearly defined. I would have hired a day of / month of coordinator in hindsight
Marlene C. - had our daughters wedding there July 2022!! It was fantastic!! They were amazing to say the least- Kris and Kathy took such great care of us. They were so accommodating throughout the process. If I called and did not reach them , then they called me back! The food was so amazing, the desserts, the cordials in chocolate cups were unprecedented, the wine and drinks were just perfect !! All the staff was just incredible! helpful , happy, accommodating to our every need. This place gets 5 stars in my book 10 out of 10! All our guests raved about the food and staff and said how amazing it was! I feel so happy and relieved we chose WOTR for a special only daughter , they made her so happy! I would not have changed a thing ! In fact I cannot come up with one thing I did not like ! They are experts at their craft! If you want to WOW your friends and family you should chose WINDOWS ON THE RIVER!
We booked the City View Room for our ceremony and wedding on a Sunday in June. The event coordinator for Windows is extremely busy and sometimes tough to get ahold of. Communicating back and forth, even via email, was sometimes a challenge. The month leading up to our wedding had much better communication and I felt more confident in our event running smoothly. The food at the tasting was amazing, and the same quality was upheld on the night of the wedding. Everyone was raving about the food even weeks after the wedding! We used Wild Flour Bakery, the bakery that is included with Windows’ packages, and the cake was delicious and so pretty! Kris worked with us to flex the bar hours in our package, and I did not hear any negative feedback from our guests, who were also able to enjoy cocktail hour out on the patio. The wait staff were so efficient and kind, as well. Overall, we are very happy with the venue and how everything turned out! Definitely recommend considering Windows for your event, just be forewarned communication does lag in between initial booking and 1-2 months prior to your event. There is no getting ready space, but they do have a small bridal suite for the wedding party to wait away from guests until the ceremony began. We also did get a day-of coordinator to help ensure things ran smoothly.
I had my wedding here on a Friday in June 2022 and absolutely loved it. You cannot beat the views in the City View room. We had both our ceremony and reception on site, with the cocktail hour in the aquarium. I loved that everything was on site and there was no need for travel between locations for our guests. While planning, we worked with Kathy who was very friendly and responsive to any questions that we had.
The ceremony was beautiful in front of the large windows overlooking the river. There is a room that can be used for the bridal party to wait while everyone comes in. It has windows overlooking the City View room from the floor above, so you can watch guests filing in. However, the room is only allowed to be used for waiting- you cannot use it to get ready. It would have been nice to have an on-site area where we could get ready.
The cocktail hour was a $1,250 up charge, but I would say it was worth it!! Our guests are still raving that it was the coolest and most unique cocktail hour that they have been to.
The food at the reception was AMAZING. We had the grouper, chicken Marsala, and prime rib as our options. The portions were large, and the food came out very hot. All guests were probably served within 15-20 minutes of the head table getting their food, which we were very pleased with. We loved that the cake was included in the price. The cake was moist and delicious. We were concerned about noise from Jacobs Pavilion next door as there was a concert going on that night. However, it was not an issue at all and the DJ’s music completely covered up any sound from the concert.
There is a “day of coordinator” that the venue has for your wedding. It wasn’t exactly communicated what the role was of the coordinator. We saw them once before the ceremony where they introduced themselves. They also helped with counting and sealing up the cards that we received. We were hoping the coordinator would have been a little more involved, with more assistance with coordinating and managing the timeline of the evening. I would recommend hiring an outside vendor to help with coordinating the day’s events.
Overall, for the price (especially on a Friday) this venue is definitely worth it. It was everything that I was hoping for and I absolutely loved the views and industrial architecture. It’s definitely a bonus to have the Cleveland Aquarium on the first floor as well. I also liked how much the venue takes care of for you. Not having to hire outside vendors for food, drinks, linens, and the cake were a big plus. We also used the house centerpieces provided by the venue, which were simple but met our needs. If I could do it over, I would definitely choose this venue again.
I loved our venue and felt like we got a lot of bang for our buck! My only complaint is lack of communication leading up to the day (it was hard getting in touch with them) and I wish the manager would have communicated with the DJ and photographer regarding timelines during the reception.
TBD
I loved our wedding at Windows BUT it was really hard to get in touch with them leading up to the wedding. However, closer to the actual date they were responsive and very helpful. I just had to trust that everything would get done correctly, which is hard because I'm a control freak, but it paid off.
The wedding went off PERFECTLY! Everything was set up beautifully and the staff was amazing. The banquet manager did a great job along with all of the servers and bartenders. I got a lot of compliments from our guests and my mom on the staff. At the end of the night, the banquet manager even helped us pack up everything, which was a pleasant surprise. The food was excellent, including the custom vegan option they created. I appreciated them making a dish that wasn't on their normal menu. Our guests raved about the location, food and cake. Overall, very happy with Windows but their communication could be better.
We were so pleased with our daughter’s reception at Windows! It began with cocktail hour in the Cleveland Aquarium which was pretty unique and wonderful. The venue’s City Room has a cool vibe that overlooks the river and much of the city of Cleveland. The food was delicious and well prepared. The wait staff was exceptionally kind and friendly. Communication pre wedding was adequate and got better as we neared closer to the date. Windows and it’s manager we’re very accommodating, storing our set up items pre and post wedding date for a few days. We also liked the packages of all in one pricing—no surprises.
One negative was that we never saw our late night pizza and snack nor had a taste of the wedding cake. Maybe that’s on us for not having them make an announcement that it was available, in the corner by the door. Some of the 215 guests got some, but it was gone VERY quickly and before anyone on the opposite side of the room knew it was there. That one glitch aside, this is a great place to have a wedding, and we highly recommend this venue.
My son's wedding was postponed in 2020, and Windows worked with us all the way, and on 9-26-21 it worked out well. Chris was a fabulous coordinator, kind, helpful and flexible. It was the perfect wedding-the food was abundant and delicious, and the wait staff was amazing and professional. The view was amazing and the patio happy hour just was perfect. Highly recommend Windows!
I switched venues when I post-poned my wedding, and I am glad that I did. Windows on the River have a great team. They are very nice and are more than willing to answer all your questions. The wait staff were extremely friendly, and our guests had great things to say about all of them. The food was also phenomenal.
Windows was a great location to have our wedding everyone has complimented us on the food and reception space.
The only downside is they are not great with communicating with their couples.
We were married at Windows a little over a week ago and I cannot recommend this venue enough!! Especially for those who don't want to deal with a million different vendors Windows includes the food, bar, cake/cake cutting, tables/linens, setup etc... all for a VERY reasonable and fair price given the location and also beautiful space downtown. Everything was flawlessly executed. The staff went above and beyond in terms of the service the day of the wedding and were incredibly nice & professional! Kathy and Kris were both great to work with and were very responsive throughout the whole planning process (and I certainly had a TON of questions!). The food at Windows is unmatched. So many guests mentioned to me that it was the best wedding food they've had. COVID protocols were also followed and the whole event felt very safe. Unfortunately we downsized our wedding guest list out of an abundance of caution by more than half of what we originally were anticipating, and Windows was more than accommodating these changes.
Incredibly upset about how Windows handled our wedding.
1. We paid for an extra hour of bar service and filled out the questionnaire, provided by windows, specifying when the bar should be open/closed (closed during the hour of dinner because we had wine service). Because of COVID, they had to close the bar an hour early. Instead of telling us that, and not billing us for the extra hour of bar service, they decided they would keep our money and just keep the bar open during dinner. On top of that, they didn’t give us a heads up for last call. We just turned around and the bar had disappeared. We had no idea the bar was closing at 10. This was never communicated to us. If there are restrictions due to COVID, that is fine, but that needs to be communicated. And speedily closing the bar without warning is a cheap and classless move on their part to save pennies on alcohol from guests going to the bar for a last drink.
2. Not only could guests not get drinks from the bar for the last hour, they couldn’t even get water. Everyone was thirsty and there was no service staff to be found. Incredibly upsetting.
3. We paid extra to have our cocktail hour on the patio. It was important to us to have photos alone in the venue before the reception began. When we arrived for the photos, everyone was already in the reception area. When I asked the event coordinator why everyone was inside, she said “I can’t make people go outside”. When I spoke with my guests, universally what I heard was that they were never told the patio was even open.
We paid extra for a number of things at this venue, and I don’t mind doing that, but when I feel my money is just being taken from me and I’m getting nothing for it, it is extremely upsetting, especially given how expensive weddings are before adding any extras.
3. Communication leading up to the event was difficult. All communications were done over email and I had to follow up several times on every email to finally just get a partial response. When you’re dealing with so many vendors at once, this causes unnecessary stress. I did not have this issue with any other vendor. On top of these difficulties, the person I had been dealing with the entire year leading up to our wedding, told me the day before the wedding, when we were coming in to set up, that someone we had never met was actually handling the event. This person clearly had no background on the conversations we had with the other coordinator in the time leading up to the event.
4. One of the security guards was a Cleveland police officer who made a terrible scene at the end of the wedding. She threatened to arrest my husband - the groom - 2 times because she took our cooler from our limo which he told her she could not do (he is an attorney so he also knows she cannot arrest him for arguing with her over taking his personal property for no reason. It was completely absurd) and she screamed in our DJs ear at exactly 11:00 to shut off the music. This is not an exaggeration. I heard her from the other side of the room and came over to ask the DJ what happened. It’s not like he was previously asked and he ignored them. She chose that as a first step. Appalling.
Overall it was a horrible experience and I honestly feel like we were taken advantage of and money was taken from us that shouldn’t have been. The only reason we’re giving one star is because the food is fantastic and the venue itself is super cool. Without that, zero stars.
We initially worked with Molly at Windows on the River. She was fabulous! She was so attentive to returning emails and phone calls. This was all pre COVID 19. I was then assigned to work with Kris. I’m unsure if it was because of being understaffed, but Kris was less attentive and would only answer every other email..maybe. It was frustrating, especially having to reschedule my wedding. I must say that the venue is gorgeous and reasonably priced. We had shopped around for other venues but this was the top contender. The food was super delicious and the reception ran so smoothly. I would highly recommend this venue...but ask to work with Molly!
I have been in contact with this wedding venue since April. Due to covid-19, understandably I was unable to view the space. I asked the women I have been in contact with Kris, when she would be available and her response was “check in periodically”. Well, I already had a problem with this because shouldn’t she reach out to ME when she had more information as to when she can show me etc?! Anyway, I have followed up and she had continued to annoy me with her short and chopping responses via email, that I had asked for another person to help... turns out there isn’t anyone else and this lady, from what I was told is their GENERAL MANAGER! She had stopped responding to my initial messages but when I made a whole new inquiry on their website with the SAME information she responded! She tells me in the second inquiry that she is available to show the space the next day but the initial email that she finally responds to she says she is NOT! She was not very accommodating and offered no additional service such as a FaceTime or Virtual tour etc.Eventually, one of my friends was able to view the space on my behalf where she had a 2pm apt scheduled. Kris was no where to be found at 2pm, was rude to my friend when she was finally located and acted as though she didn’t want to nor had the time to show the space! This is a location that was on the top of our list and in the end, we opted to select a different venue. But solely because Kris did not want to accommodate us and work with me as she should with a bride to be. I am HIGHLY disappointed in the lack of professionalism, willingness to help and additional stress this women caused and displayed to me in a time that should be happy and exciting for me as a bride! Additionally, it’s disappointing that the only number available to call never gets answered, I have never once been able to get a hold of anyone including Kris on the phone to try and remedy this situation. I completely 100% understand that we are living a “new normal” and during these current unprecedented and sensitive times things are highly stressful for all. However, I still expect a certain level of customer service and professionalism especially with the expenses that come with the planning of a wedding. Shame on you all Windows on the River!
Windows on the River made the wedding planning process so easy. We planned our wedding from out of state, and Windows takes care of so many aspects, that we had very little to stress about. I worked with Kris and she was wonderful to work with. She helped answer all my questions throughout. We were in the Bridge Room and used the loft for our cocktail hour. We used the house center pieces for the tables and they looked great. Everything went so smoothly and the staff was wonderful to work with throughout the night. I got so many compliments on the great food and beautiful venue. I would highly recommend Windows on the River.
I worked with Kris throughout planning our wedding. She was very responsive and helpful. Through out the planning I felt pretty in the dark like I didnt know what was going on. Our rehersal ended up being a mess because we got kicked out of the room, and had to use another semi-occupied room downstairs. Once the wedding day came, everything was AMAZING. All the employees were so helpful and sweet. They went above and beyond and set up the tables for us because of the party the night before. Without them offering that - I would have been a nervous wreck! The room was beautiful and everyone had a great time. The only couple tips I would leave are - I wish the servers asked the bride and groom if they wanted something to drink during the recession line/cocktail hour. It was impossible to get to the bar to get ourselves a drink without stopping to talk to people. I also wish they would have put a plate of the passed apps on the head table for the bride and groom. We spent an extra $800 on them and didn't even see one or try one, so that was a huge BUMMER! The venue was great overall!! Wouldn't change our choice at all
The venue was beautiful and everyone loved it. Molly responded to my (one million) questions super promptly. I guess the only concern I had was that I had so many questions, and I felt like they were things that should have just been told to me from the beginning and it felt like I was doing a lot of the organizing. The day of, our cocktail hour was on the patio outside of the City View Room and the hors d'oeuvres were inside somewhat tucked away. No one really knew they were there. Food was DELICIOUS though. We had a concert the night of our wedding and we were concerned about how loud it would be, however, once our DJ started playing music you couldn't even tell it was going on next door. Overall, I would recommend it based on the beauty of the facility and the excellent food. The waiters/waitresses/staff were all very friendly (even though they do so many weddings)!
We got the privilege of working with Bobbi and Molly. Both were amazing and so accommodating. Our wedding was beautiful. I couldn’t have been happier. They made my wedding planning almost easy!!!
Bobbi at Windows on the River was so helpful throughout the whole planning process. I planned my wedding from North Carolina and she always got back to me quickly and everything was perfect on our day. The staff at our reception were so great and everyone raved about the food! We loved this venue for both our ceremony and reception.
I can not say enough great things about Windows on the River. Despite the absolutely beautiful setting, the staff was amazing and went above and beyond. The planners put everything out beautifully, worked great with all my vendors and made sure my husband and I had everything we needed. At one point in the night the strap to my dress broke and one of the servers was a seamstress and fixed it. We had the best time and best service. Thank you Windows!
Could not be happier that we choose the City View Room at Windows on the River. I felt the pricing was very reasonable compared to other downtown venues and so many extras were included in our package. The wedding cake was beautiful from Wild Flower Bakery and again was included. The food was delicious (we are still getting praise for it from our guests afterwards), and the servers were professional. Our contact at Windows, Molly, was a dream, very responsive to emails and was quick to get answers to our questions. We would definitely recommend Windows on the River as a wedding venue.
From start to finish Windows on the River was the easiest and most professional staff to work with. Molly Coyne was our coordinator and she was always helpful, available to answer questions and professional. I never worried about any portion of our event that was going to happen at Windows on the River, and the entire staff there lived up to my expectations. The room looked amazing for the ceremony and then in one hour the same room was transformed into the most beautiful wedding reception I've ever seen (although I'm biased, as I picked out the flowers, etc!) Check this venue out, we will not regret your decision to do so!
Windows on the River could not have been any more perfect for my wedding day! We absolutely loved the look of the place and being able to have our cocktail hour in the aquarium sold us on it. If we had to go back and re-do our wedding, we would pick Windows all over again! They were very easy to work with, the staff was excellent day of, I cannot say enough good things about the place. The price was quite great as well for a downtown venue.
Wow wow wow. Windows was the perfect venue for our day. Everything was flawless - from the planning all the way to the finish. The party was great. The food was great!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Many compliments on the food. The coat check was awesome! The cake was great. The cocktails were amazing! And the staff was extremely helpful. If you want a venue that will make your day run smooth and worry free. Windows is the choice.
Savana H.
Very easy to work with and best bang for your buck in downtown Cleveland. My wedding guests raves about how beautiful the venue was and how good the food was.
Had our wedding here on 9/21/18 and it was so beautiful and everything I could have ever imagined. On the more pricy side but worth it due to having mostly everything included and not having to do much of anything for set up or take down, and the price per plate includes some things that would cost a lot otherwise (for example, cake is included and they go through a great bakery). I did feel that the communication throughout the planning process wasn't the greatest - dealt with many people other than my contact person who was at times hard to get ahold of and did not respond well to emails, and I had to go looking for information regarding a lot of next steps such as how to set up the food tasting, seating chart, planning for the day's timeline, rehearsal, etc. (no surprise that the only thing they contacted ME for was payments). I thought it was funny that pretty much EVERYTHING is included in your "per plate" price, EXCEPT for chair covers (and they're not nice chairs that might be okay without covers - they definitely needed something), and the cost to use theirs was $3 per chair. Luckily I found some to buy from someone for under $1 per chair and we can sell them. Another "hidden" cost was the ceremony fee - if you want to have the ceremony set up off to the side (and not on the dance floor) with the pretty window behind you it costs $3 per person. Extra (hefty) fee if you want to use the patio, and if you want to use the patio you have to pay the extra fee for security. It would have been much better if they included the security price in the patio price but I'm sure they do that to make it seem like the patio is cheaper (when in reality you don't have a choice but to have that extra security if you want to use the patio).
I'm not necessarily complaining about all of those things - just want it to be a helpful review. Overall it was an INCREDIBLE venue, so beautiful during the day and at night, and even though the communication during planning wasn't great, I felt that the service on the rehearsal night and night of was impeccable, they were very helpful. Food was amazing and so was the service! Didn't feel too rushed out at the end of the night which was nice.
I think overall with ALL things considered, I'd give it 4/5 stars, mostly taking the one away just because of communication and those silly fees.
We got married on Friday October 12th in the Bridgeview Room. The staff was awesome, the setup and take down was so quick and the venue is just BEAUTIFUL! Fridays and Sundays can be cheaper with the lower priced meal package too! Good luck!
We were very happy with the decision to have our wedding in the City View room at Windows on the River. While we did have to reserve our date what felt like super long in advance (almost 1.5 years!), it makes sense given how popular this venue is. The pricing is very reasonable compared to other similar venues in the Cleveland area. The food was delicious (we are still getting praise for it from our guests afterwards), and the servers were professional. Working with Molly prior to the wedding was great - she was responsive to emails and was quick to get answers to our questions. We would definitely recommend Windows on the River as a wedding venue.
I cannot say enough about this place! Our wedding was September 8, 2018 in the Bridgeview room with about 256 guests. We literally had no issues the day of our wedding! Molly made the planning process so easy and always had an answer to my questions. She was very easy to get a hold of by phone or email. We were able to get into the venue the day before around noon to drop off our accessories. The night of the wedding we were able to leave what didn't fit in the car overnight in the room and could pick it up the next day. Everyone RAVED about our food, the look of the room, the staff and their exceptional service, and their excellent bar selection. You cannot go wrong here! Special thanks to everyone at WOTR for making our wedding perfect!
This venue is everything! I worked with Molly and she kept up with my million questions LOL, it was such a pleasure to meet her! She is SO nice and accommodating. The venue is gorgeous and looks amazing in pictures. The natural light is wonderful and we knew as soon as we saw Windows that it was going to be perfect & it WAS!! :) We were in the City View room and had the patio, our guests loved being able to step outside and loved seeing some of Cleveland from the venue. I 100% would do it all over again at Windows on the River!! Beautiful place :)
OUTSTANDING!!! We were married in the Bridge View Room on 9/1/18 and when I say it was perfect I mean everything was flawless. Molly was so easy to work with and essentially did everything for us. Service and setup was completed without a hitch and the food was delicious. I honestly have zero complaints. Was worth every penny, do not hesitate and book if you're considering WOTR.
Disclaimer: I did not have my wedding here... That being said, there were a few reasons why we decided against WOTR.
1. The communication was horrible and that was our biggest concern. All I wanted was a simple tour of the venue. First off, you can't get an appointment on a weekend. They only have hours Monday through Friday during regular work hours. Which I get it, they are people who need time off too but it was frustrating because I couldn't get time off from work. So, I was never able to go in and speak to an event coordinator. All of our communication was via email or phone. I contacted them multiple times via the Knot's messaging. They responded in the beginning but then out of the blue never responded again. I would wait a couple days and send another message but they never got back to me. I had to email them directly from the email provided on the website and through that they told me my day was available and then I called about a separate question and whoever I spoke to told me that date was taken. (This was minutes after receiving the email AND I was looking for a non-holiday Sunday date over a year in advance so I was a little skeptical that it changed that quickly) So my biggest concern was the lack of and miscommunication from the employees.
2. Smaller issue but still something to consider... parking there is an additional cost. I don't remember if you would pay WOTR directly or a third party but that would be an additional cost to keep in mind for your budget.
3. The area of the venue has its pros and cons. It is right on the river and across from the flats which is super cool! But, my fiance went to see it on a Saturday while they were setting up for a wedding and (it was nice just not for us) and we didn't realize how close it was to a seemingly bad area of Cleveland but that can be expected since it's in the city. We just wanted to keep in mind our guest's safety post-wedding departure.
I am not trying to speak poorly on this place, I just wanted to say why we specifically did not go through with this venue.
I can’t say enough about this venue, and I will recommend Windows on the River to anyone!
After doing plenty of homework, we found that it is by far the best value in Cleveland! (The quote here on TheKnot seems really off, but look at the WOTR wedding packet!) So much is included in your package – cake from Wild Flour Bakery, champagne toast, centerpieces and house linens (if you wish,) all of these things would be add-ons at other venues. No hidden fees – everything that was in the packet is true. Price per person, security, gratuity, and tax all need to be factored in. Not publicized is kid and vendor pricing, which actually helped out a ton.
Communication at the beginning was a little slow, but don’t let that discourage you, it is well worth the wait. I sent plenty of follow up emails to ensure they received my previous emails. (Definitely helpful to compile a list of questions and shooting them all over at once rather than a few at a time!) Also convenient - they have huge carts they’ll let you use to bring in everything… I had planned on using a single dolly which would have taken forever! They let you store stuff in offices which they pulled out for you day of!
Lastly, the day of was amazing. They went above and beyond helping set up your venue with programs, table numbers, party favors, etc. Service and quality of product was also fantastic. I have an uncle who is a head chef at a 5 star establishment and said the food quality and wait staff service was right up there with what he is used to in LA. One small thing, they did try to ask us questions on our meal selection during the toasts. Make sure your place cards with meal selection are in your table then they won’t need to interrupt :)
Again, we were so pleased with our big day and we will continue to rave about WOTR forever!
Seriously. THE. BEST. VENUE. EVER. I can’t say enough great things about Windows. I was impressed with them before the reception but once the reception hit I couldn’t believe how great the whole night went. All the workers came up to us and congratulated us. They went out of their way to make sure we had enough food and drinks all night. The food came out hot! For all guests! Not just my husband and I. And it was spectacular. I’ve received so many compliments on the venue itself. I didn’t even have to spend much money in decor because the venue itself is so beautiful. They didn’t turn down any ideas I had in the planning process and they accommodated all of my needs. I would choose this venue over and over again! Nobody could possibly regret having their reception here.
AMAZING!! We have received endless compliments on the venue, the food, and the entire experience. We loved the renovations completed to the patio connected to the City View Room. We held our cocktail hour on the patio and it was beautiful!
We got married in the City View Room at WOTR. Overall, we had a good time - food was great, room was beautiful, but there were a few things that went amiss during our big day and the coordinator/banquet manager were no where to be found.
Everything turned out beautiful and the service was amazing.
I had trouble selecting the rating because we had good and bad experiences.
The good- great food, great view, great space for a wedding and reception. Working with Molly Coyne during the planning process was also great- she answered all of our questions (and I had a ton of them as we were engaged for 2 years).
The bad- so much confusion with the staff at Windows the weekend of the wedding.
Rehearsal Confusion- We arrived the day before for our rehearsal (we got married at Windows) to be told by security that we were not scheduled for the Bridgeview room for the rehearsal or for our wedding the next day. I was able to sort this out with some additional staff members but only after I demanded to be able to rehearse in the Bridgeview Room (as they were not going to allow us to).
Post Wedding Confusion- We had been told throughout the planning process that after the wedding we would take the items of value home after the wedding and were able to come back the following day to retrieve our centerpieces, signs, etc. At the end of our wedding, Kathleen (the staff member on duty) came up to both me and my family separately and was very annoyed that we were not taking everything home that evening. If I had to take everything home, I would have arranged it with someone. It was a frustrating end to a beautiful day.
All in all we truly had a beautiful day and Windows was perfect for us in so many aspects. But I think it would be helpful if Windows could change their wedding planning model. It would be helpful to Brides to at least meet with their main contact before the wedding weekend. That might have alleviated our issues from the start.
We recently had our wedding ceremony and reception with ~180 guests in the bridge view room and could not say enough nice things about Windows and their staff. The staff is so accommodating with answering questions and working to make the day run smooth. The space was beautiful and does not need much decorating to make it look great in pictures. The food was some of the best wedding food we have had - everyone enjoyed their meals and the INCLUDED Wildflour bakery cake! We would recommend Windows on the River to any couple looking!
I cannot say enough about Windows. We planned our wedding in a year all the way from Minnesota. The all inclusive package makes things easy since you don’t have to work with multiple vendors and you know the cost of everything. Bobbi was our planner and answered questions all the way up until the day of the wedding, she was amazing. Everyone at the reception couldn’t get over how excellent the food and the cake were. We opted to rent the aquarium for cocktail hour, which all the guests LOVED! I had multiple people come up to us and tell us it was the best wedding they had ever been to! Windows is a beautiful place as is so it doesn’t need many decorations and really shows off Cleveland.
We had about 175 guests and held cocktail hour in the Cleveland Aquarium and the reception in the City View Room. Windows was phenomenal to work with! Bobbi has the planning down to a science and answered every question we had. Marci kept the day of running so smoothly and solved every little hiccup before we even heard about it. The bartenders, wait staff, and security was all incredibly professional and kind. The food was great and consistent from guest to guest, the space is stunning, and I'd recommend Windows to anyone as a venue!
They did a great job with all the setup and made sure they were around all night to check in to see if we needed anything. We had a great reception!!
Great time would recommend this place to anyone
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2000 Sycamore, Cleveland, OH
Windows on the River
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