Windows on the River

everything and LOVED the food!!

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!!!

ed 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!

, 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.

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!

obster 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.

e. 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

g 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!

g 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.

cktail 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.

ish the manager would have communicated with the DJ and photographer regarding timelines during the reception.

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.

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.

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!

estions. The wait staff were extremely friendly, and our guests had great things to say about all of them. The food was also phenomenal.

r couples.

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.

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.

o 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!

n 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!

ss 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.

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

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)!

almost easy!!!

s 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.

ng 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!

luded 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.

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!

d 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.

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.

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.

e cheaper with the lower priced meal package too! Good luck!

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.

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!