Beautiful venue and inn
I'm not one to write bad reviews, so this is very hard for me.
My partner and I booked the venue in January 2020 for an estimated 55 guests on 12/11/21. We put down the deposit and we were so excited. Shannon was a delight to work with and was so, so helpful. We were in the VERY beginning stage, and she made us so happy.
Forward to the summer of 2021 - COVID is still in the air, and we're getting closer and closer to our wedding. The catering menu was incredibly challenging to decipher, so I had reached out to Shannon as I wanted to schedule an in person meeting/tasting to go over details. This is when Patti was introduced as the new event manager. I reached out and we planned a meeting.
My partner and I live 2 hours away from the venue, so it's quite a drive. When the date came for the meeting, we were on time, but Patti got the time wrong and was an hour late to the appointment. Also, we found out it wasn't a tasting at all, and she let us try some left over dessert shooters from a previous event. We hired a planner, and that's when a lot of things started to go down. Patti stated that "planners were not allowed as they take care of everything in house". I stated I told Shannon about it previously, so I was able to keep my planner (but like, what? I already hired her and there's so much she was going to do that the venue would not do.)
We talked timeline, special needs as I had a bridesmaid who is wheelchair bound, and I wanted to make sure the day could be totally accessible for her. I requested a hot apple cider bar, as I was getting married in December. We also made it very clear that we (the couple) were paying 100% of the wedding, and that we weren't wealthy, and we had to work very hard for this wedding.
Fast forward to September and October - we gave some estimates of people being invited and forwarded them to Patti to get things set into motion.
On November 24th, we gave (soft) final numbers for Patti as we had gotten our RSVP's back. On December 3rd, I confirmed EVERYTHING as Patti had the estimate for 60 people, rather than our 37 guests, and had the entire timeline for the event wrong, as well as not having the apple cider bar on it. There was nowhere in the contract that the guest count had to be in by a certain time, so I gave as much information as I could when I had.
Fast forward to December 8th (the Wednesday before my wedding) and Patti wanted us to pay for the catering. I was traveling for appointments, so Amanda (our planner) was communicating with Patti (as that's what we hired her to do - work with the vendors for the month before the wedding to take some weight off of our shoulders). While traveling for appointments, Patti informed her that since I didn't giver her enough time for the numbers, I was going to have to pay for the 60 people that I estimated - doubling our budget. I explained that with 3 days to go, there is no way I could get that money to cover the additional amount, and that it wasn't right that I had to pay it as I had kept her in the loop with lower numbers more than a month before the event. My planner had to go above Patti and get in touch with the owner, and they granted paying just for the people attending.
Forward to Friday. We blocked the whole Inn, so only our guests could stay there for the weekend. We did a reservation at the bistro for 25 people, as it was going to be a casual dinner after the rehearsal. We were put in the tavern, which was high tables and bar stools. My friend who is wheelchair bound was on her way to the inn to start the weekend. I explained to Patti that we needed a shorter table for her. Patti asked "if she could get into a bar stool", which she is not able to, and I found that to be an inappropriate question - then, she said that she was able to sit in the dining room - alone. That is also unacceptable. Thankfully, she was able to make it so the party could move into the dining room where we could eat as a group, and everyone could be included. The food and the service was great, and I really appreciate it.
That evening, after the dinner - a friend of mine who had quite a bit to drink went to the bistro and asked if he could have some bread, and was absolutely willing to pay for it. The response he received was "We're a fancy establishment and do not offer bread or sandwiches". He was offered a shrimp cocktail, and with his order, he got a piece of baguette. He was so confused as to why they denied him bread, but he ordered something else and received bread with it.
The day of the wedding. Patti was showing a couple the venue, and my planner was spoken to stating "she is the last planner we will allow for this venue". Patti did not respect my planner at all, and was incredibly hard to work with. When we started the ceremony, things were fine. The drinks were OK, and I had a few people complain that they had multiple drinks made incorrectly. The cider was behind the bar, and it was mixed with alcohol, which is not what we wanted at all. Due to the guest list being shortened, she only had one waitress, and one bartender for a wedding of 37. Patti herself was running out some food as she didn't have enough staff.
When it came to my vendors eating, she forbade them from eating on the main floor, and they were banished to the loft as it was "incredibly inappropriate", but I didn't care at all. The ceremony went off without much of an issue other than those little things. The planner started to break stuff down around 7:30pm for the ending of the wedding at 8pm, which I was absolutely fine with. Patti expressed how unprofessional it was - while her server was clearing all dishes and silverware (even though dessert was still being enjoyed).
Overall, I'm glad we had our wedding there. The night was stunning, and was a steal, as it was $1,000 to rent the venue, with an additional $250 for the ceremony fee. The food was $65 a person. Drinks ranged from $8-$14 a piece. It's unfortunate that Patti is the manager there, as the Inn on Main is just so stunning.
I wouldn't recommend the venue for anyone I know, as it was really a nightmare to deal with. They probably made about $10,000 from my guests and I for the whole weekend. All 14 rooms were booked, and we had the dinner with 25/28 guests the Friday night before, as well as the bar in the wedding. For that amount of money - you'd think that the event manager would want to work with us and make us happy, but she did the opposite. It hurt a lot, but I'm incredibly thankful for Amanda (planner) for helping us navigate, because that problem on the 8th almost made me have a breakdown. I don't regret the wedding, but I certainly will never give the Inn on Main another dollar of mine again, which is a shame. I wish I had better things to say.