Windows on The River

jenandsean14 · July 2010

Hello Fellow Knotties,

I think I have searched through EVERY reception site in the city of Cleveland, and I think Windows on the River just might be the place for me. I was wondering if anyone had attended any weddings or had their wedding reception there? Any thoughts? Thanks to all:)

Jen

jenna.linder · July 2010

I haven't attended a wedding there, but I went to a luncheon at Windows. I thought it was very warehouse-y, so it would need a lot of decoration. It's also not in a beautiful part of Cleveland (right by Shooters), and so that would be a drawback to me. However, I'm sure the views of Cleveland at night are excellent. Good luck!

tldh · July 2010

I was at a wedding there last summer. It was nice after a while. We were out on the patio for a cocktail hour while they dismantled the chuppah (?sp) and set up for dinner and dancing. The food was great.

Here is what made it really bad for a wedding site. During the entire wedding, there was another reception or party going on upstairs and nothing to block the incredibly loud noise. Nobody could hear the wedding ceremony.

cdillon22 · July 2010

Hey ladies -

I've been to a wedding & a few luncheon's at windows. Here are the cons & pros-
cons:
- you will HAVE to purchase chair covers. the chairs w/o them are gross.
- the food is so-so, but they can accomodate any type of pallette (we were at a vegan wedding & were pleasantly surprised)
- watch the acoustics in that room, sound tends to bounce around A LOT.

pros:
- the outdoor patio area is awesome! a ton of guests ended up sitting outside with cocktails & snacks towards the end of the evening

K Byte · July 2010

I really wanted to have our reception there but they told me they had a 150 person minimum. Not sure what room/area of the building it was for, but there was no way we were reaching that number. I've seen lots of pictures of it and it looks BEAUTIFUL. Yes it's somewhat warehouse-y but when you decorate it, it's gorgeous! I just found these on our photographers' website, a recent wedding reception at windows if you want to see a bunch of pics. http://www.finestmoments.net/pickpic/gallery/thumbnails.php?gallery_id=177&sub_gallery=reception&page=1

jaylii9Wed199459 · July 2010

I did not have a good experience with Windows on the River.

First, they do have a 150 minimum which was going to be hard to meet for my wedding, but I liked the venue so I talked with the event coordinators at Windows. They were nice enough, but not very helpful. They did not even want to set-up a walk through tour with me. I was told that I could walk through the space on my own during specific hours on a weekend.

Anyways, my FI and I did a walk through of the venue by ourselves a couple of days after I spoke with an event coordinator. We liked the space and decided we wanted to have our wedding there. This was on a Saturday and I called the Windows event coordinator first thing Monday. This same woman who had taken down all of my information a few days prior had no idea who I was or what date I was interested in booking for my wedding. I told her that we would like to put a deposit down on the date I had originally given her. She told me that the room (City View) had been booked already, but I could go ahead with the other room which we did not like.

I let her know that I was upset and her response was that I could book the following Saturday because that was still free. Glad I had my calendar in front of me because she was trying to sell Saturday, September 11th to me! That really ticked me off and I never contacted her again.

Sorry for the long post, but I was really upset by the way Windows treated me. I ultimately felt like this place was a wedding factory that does 4-5 weddings a weekend.

I ended up finding a venue I love (Manakiki Golf Course) and working with Sammy's catering. I am so glad I did not book with Windows.

SarahM2012 · July 2010

Thanks for posting Jay long or not. Windows on the River was a back up place for me and now they're not.

jenandsean14 · July 2010

WOW--thank you to all for the insight. I have to admit though, I am a little disappointed..I think I was hoping to hear RAVE reviews. I am not sure if I will ever hear rave reviews about anywhere.

I am looking for a wedding reception site that is classic and timeless. Cleveland area. Any suggestions?

jaylii9 · July 2010

Sorry about Windows, but I thought honesty would help you the most. I understand because I was also excited about Windows and then disappointed!

I am getting married at Manakiki Golf Course in Willoughby. It's beautiful out there. I highly suggest it!

Sammy's my caterer also has a location in the flats and other venues around town.

We looked at the Wyndham Hotel and really liked it. The Club at Key Center was also lovely.

Maybe start another post with guest number and feel you are going for and you will get a lot of other great suggestions!

pickedflower · July 2010

check out the city club of cleveland - i'm having my wedding there this weekend and have nothing but positive things to say about them so far! the only negative for me was that there is no outdoor area, but we figured in july, people may prefer to be indoors with the AC - http://www.cityclub.org/Default.aspx?TabId=287

some country clubs are nice too - they can be expensive but have a classy feel - avon country club comes to mind

good luck! you will find the right place!

EJH4EVER · July 2010

One more thing about Windows...my law school had an event there, and a LOT of cameras were stolen while people danced. There is no way to know if it was staff or a guest, but I know it was really upsetting for a lot of people.

cmandley82 · July 2010

i have not been to an event at windows, but i did check it out with my mom and fiance. the coordinator was not very helpful and we were told we could walk through on our own if we wanted to check out the site. i really wasn't detoured by the warehouse feel, and actually thought it was pretty cool. what got me was that they were setting up for two weddings the day we went there and there was no one on site except to coordinate the event. if something went wrong on your wedding day, we were told the coordinator would not be there so we would essentially have to scramble. i also found the glassware that was set out for the wedding to be very spotty, and the outdoor area was dirty. the carpet was also buckling in a few major walkways which could cause people to trip. chair covers were also a must.

for what we would have ended up paying at windows, we went across the street to the club at the marriot hotel. for about the same price, we are getting an awesome space in a very nice hotel. the dancefloor is all windows and overlooks the freedom fountain, browns stadium and rock hall. the room minimum was only $3500 when we booked, too. if you contact them, speak to maureen. she is the event coordinator and very nice. we did our tasting and the food was awesome and service was great. the venue is very clean and very nice. it is technically seperate from the marriot hotel, so you have to speak with maureen at the club and not someone from the marriot hotel. i would highly recommend the club.

melissa_sauterer · July 2010

I have my September 2011 wedding booked at Windows, and I have found them to be nothing but helpful. Again, I feel bridal stuff is daunting, and Molly the wedding coordinator has been absoultely wonderful. I liked Windows because it is a unique venue compared to a boring reception hall, no offense. Molly has helped me envision my wedding and has a million ideas and is extremely helpful. She even helped me get excited about wedding dress shopping and recommended a dress shop to the mom's. But what can I say, this is only my experience.

jenandsean14 · July 2010

Melissa-

I ended up booking my wedding at Windows on the River--and we are doing September 10th! When I saw your post I thought your name looked familiar, I saw it on the big calendar in the office! LOL.

We are getting married 9-10-11 in the CityView room and are working with Bobbi. I have to say though, she has not been very helpful.......I emailed her like 6 days ago with questions and have yet to hear back. I was actually thinking about asking if we could work with Molly. I heard so many great things about her.

I would love to hear what you are planning for your big day! We are unsure about pretty much everything else besides the reception venue...:)

Small world!
Jen

tldh · July 2010

After what everyone but Melissa wrote, you're going to have to let us know how your wedding went.

af2005mn · July 2010

Jen,

I have been to about 12 events at Windows on the River and hosted a company christmas party there, the venue is great, the food is good (not bad, but not amazing, their mashed potatoes in the shell are defiantly a recommendation), the problem we had was with the open bar, make sure you book them for extra time, they packed up 15 minutes early and when we asked to keep it open longer they refused, besides that the event we hosted was a hit! Some vendors to recommend are Z Media for pictures, Elegant Ice for Ice Sculptures, (we are still looking for a florist), NM Limo Co. for a limo, Jerry Bruno for your DJ or band, my sister just got married in May and these are some of the vendors that did a great job.

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