Bad venue reviews

ashleycox8604

My fiance and I just put down our deposit for Crystal Gardens in Howell a few weeks ago-we are having both the ceremony and reception there.

I just spoke with a good friend of mine who attended a wedding there this past weekend, his girlfriend was the MOH. He told me the food was TERRIBLE. To the point the groom complained to management that he ordered beef tenderloin, not beef jerky. Both my friend and I have been to this venue for weddings in the past, and the food was great. I'm wondering if this was a one time issue, or if the food has gone down hill since I was last there. We will have a tasting in February, but this still makes me nervous.

Anyone here been there in recent months/have any reviews?? And any advice on what to say next time I talk to my coordinator that this is now a concern that I have?

Thanks!

Meegles4

The problem with reviews, is there will always be good and bad ones. No place is perfect, and that goes for everything, from venues to regular ol' restaurants and hotels.

I think if you've been to weddings there (multiple times) and didn't have bad experiences, then this is probably an isolated thing. Maybe the beef was a bad choice and tends to be easily overcooked or something. Who knows.

I'd just mention it to the catering manager. Let them know you'd heard about a bad experience, and ask the manager's recs for entrees. Ask if the chef has any particular specialties among the choices. For example, our catering manager told us the beef short ribs were more popular than their filet. So we went with that (it helped it was way cheaper, too!).

Also, FWIW, I was less than impressed with the food at our tasting. But our wedding food was phenomenal. Who would've guessed? All you can do is take your own experiences and talk honestly and openly with the catering manager and then hope for the best.

MMRoberts11

I agree with Meegles.
Also, when it comes to food reviews I tend to not take them as much as say helpfulness reviews since everyone has different tastes and preferences.  If you are still worried though I'd talk to them about doing a possible tasting.