Venue food MAJOR disappointment

We all left in shock. The food was subpar at best especially with my expectations so high because of the reviews. Like what did all of these other people eat that we didn't? Literally everything was room temp or just down right cold. That's a major problem for me. if im being served cold food and I'm paying what are my guest going to get? Frozen food?? We all sampled two types of chicken entrees, both were horrible. all four of us looked at each other like wtf. are these the good ones?! we also had chicken in one of the cocktail stations, that wasn't any good either so basically their chicken is out. we sampled many other things, beef which was eh, fish another eh. I am just so disappointment and I've been in a panic since. there are other things on the menu but now I want to try it because what if they're bad too. I'm going to call the venue this week and try to level with them but I don't want to have my wedding there anymore except I will lose my deposit. FH and I are paying for most of this on our own. the venue alone is going to cost us $15,000 wtf! if I tasted the food before booking I would not have booked this place. I don't know what to do.

btw we aren't picky eaters at all.

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. I would speak with the manager as soon as possible and let them know about your disappointment. Just tell them that it's a lot of money and you want to make sure you get the quality that they are known for. Demand another tasting or worse comes to worse, demand your deposit back.

That's what I'm going to do. Hopefully they will work with me.

I'm sorry, yes I would be very upset since food is a major part of your day. I would definitely ask for a meeting with venue and catering manager immediately so if you need to get out you can. Ask for another tasting with items you want. If they won't do that I would run run run! $3000 is a lot less to lose than $15000 on food!

We picked our caterer first and would not sign without a tasting. We picked our be I then based upon where our caterer had relationships with.

Talk to them. Explain exactly what the problem was (temperature is a good start, but was it too bland? Too salty? Weird texture?) If possible, be specific about what you didn't like in each dish. Ask for a retasting, and if you can choose the dishes this time. AS you make the selection, be specific about WHY you like each dish - "I want to try the filet mignon because I love when my beef is really tender" and so on.

As you taste, talk to the chef and tell them what you are liking and not liking about each dish.

You might do well to stick with their simplest dishes. It's reasonably hard to screw up simple grilled proteins for example, and most places can make a good pasta. It may not be exactly what you dreamed of, but I'd much rather have a good butternut squash ravioli than horrible chicken piccata.

I know you must be really disappointed, but remember that this is why you had a tasting. You can solve the food problems now, to make sure your guests get the best.

Good luck!

Thank you for the advice. I'm going to try to be as specific as possible and see what happens. if not I almost rather just lose my deposit even though $3,000 is a lot of money.

Go through the contract and see if there is anything that they are not living up to. That might be a way to get the deposit back.

Did you bring it up when you were there? I would've instantly let them know the food was cold just like a restaurant.

You need to let them know that you were disappointed and why, nicely but specifically. Ask for another tasting.

As a former caterer, I'd want to know if my food was THAT bad. Every venue can have a bad day,m but you don't want it to be at your wedding.....

I noticed you're in my area; if you want to PM me, I can tell you if I've been there and how it was...

I noticed you're in my area; if you want to PM me, I can tell you if I've been there and how it was...

@katherineH I didn't let them know while I was there because there were other couples there. and she was about to prepare for that evenings wedding. I didn't feel it would be appropriate to talk to her while I was with three other people.

@celia two people I know got married there and they loved it. so yeah maybe it was just a bad day. I don't know.

OMG! Im so sorry to hear this. I have so much anxiety about the food. Many of the venues I have looked at include catering so, that's how I narrowed my choice, by the food reviews.

Hopefully they give another tasting with the foods you actually want. For the amount of money you are spending this would be the right thing to do. Good luck!

@futureMrsPayne taste the food first! please don't make the same mistake I did.

I'm hoping Celia is right and it was just an off day.

FH has two theories. 1- he thinks the food we tasted was left over from the wedding the night before. 2- they put out bad food on purpose so you upgrade your package.

that's pretty much how bad it was.

You should have pulled her aside and had a serious talk then followed up via email to reiterate what was discussed. Her having an evening wedding to prep for is not your problem, she should have scheduled your tasting with a buffer.

Call and talk to the venue ASAP or if possible, go in person. Then follow up with an email. Make it very clear what the issues were and what you expect. Of course be professional but firm.

Contact them asap. I never ever would have booked a venue without tasting. I paid for tastings at places to be sure.

Yes @erin major regret not doing that. I didn't think it was such a big deal because there are literally 100s of reviews and I know two people that got married there. ffuuuhhhkkkk