09/15/2026
PSA: Good morning!! To all those brides with upcoming weddings here and other venues; we cannot stress enough the importance of a wedding planner. This person is invaluable as the liaison between you and your vendors ( photographer, caterer, bartender, DJ, officiant, special music people and bridal party and lastly, your venue). This person makes sure everyone follows a correct timeline to ensure a perfect and worry free ceremony & are all on the same page so to speak
This past weekend, our bride chose her own caterer based out of SC, The drive time alone would have been over 2 hours with food not being heated during this time. There was no wedding planner hired for this wedding against our advice. The bride and caterer worked out all the details, food choices, amounts, when it was to arrive, etc and she chose buffet style so as to not need staff serving over the food. Our job was to supply serving equipment (chafers, drink dispensers, Sterno and serving equipment) which we had ready when the caterer arrived. Sternos were lit immediately, however, the time frame for the food to be delivered and back on heat was not long enough before the reception began to properly heat the food. The caterer failed this bride as they just dropped off the food and ran without any communication with us the venue or the bride. We all thought they had brought hot food, they hadn’t. So, unfortunately cold food was served to her guests. By the time the ceremony was over, the guests were all seated for the reception ready to eat and the caterers food was uncovered, it was then realized that it had actually been delivered cold to the wedding. But it was too late to do anything, everything was in large metal pans and could not be microwaved at the last minute. Of course the bride was angry and she has complained to the caterer who has agreed to some type of refund for her but this is the perfect example of why a wedding planner needs to be hired. A refund doesn’t fix the fact that her guests all got cold food, One person who is on top of everything to make sure the DJ is finished setting up at least 1 hour before the ceremony begins and all their equipment works, the cake arrives at least 1 hour before the event, and to make sure the caterer delivered the correct food to the venue and at proper serving temperatures. Sternos do not cook food, they only hold it at serving temperatures. Unfortunately the guests did not see the caterers because they had long been gone, so guests believed that we (the venue) served them cold food which we did not have any knowledge of any of the details of : the menu, quantities, temperatures, time of delivery etc. All of that was between bride and them. Our only communication was from them asking if we had them 4 chafers and 2 drink dispensers which we explained that we did and it was set up for them. Then crickets, not another word that their food might need to be put in oven at 500° for 20-30 minutes to bring it back up to temp. Nothing. They had already got their money from the bride and left. So please, all future brides, please hire a wedding planner so these types of problems don’t happen at your wedding! And hire a good reputable caterer and listen to the advice of the venue and choose from caterers that have served them well in the past! I requested a business card from this caterer, but they left without giving me one but for sure they will never be allowed to service a wedding here again. Brides think they can handle everything a few days before but in reality on the day of the wedding; the last thing they need is to be worried if everyone and everything is showing up in time. A good wedding planner is a small price to pay for piece of mind on your special day.
