It took me a lot of time and thought to review thi...

It took me a lot of time and thought to review this venue. I was not sure where to start. I am not one to complain eor leave a bad review. I dont want to make a scene especially a wedding. My husband and I attended a wedding here a few weeks ago. The small waiting area was not large enough for the guests to wait for the ceremony to start. This led to guest waiting standing in the parking lot. There was a crossing guard was helping guests cross the street to the ceremony by the lake. The traffic that was stopped continuously honked at the guests and yelled profanity at the guard. It was not a welcoming experience. During the ceremony the wedding and ambiance was beautiful. However the fact that the wedding takes place near a busy road, the sounds of cars, trucks and motorcycles made it very hard to hear the ceremony music, vows and speeches. It was constantly interrupted by the sound of traffic. Cocktail hour was held outside (so we thought), guests were not notified that there was a extra room inside the venue that was available to us to enjoy food. There was not enough seats and tables for everyone to sit and eat. You would have thought that one of the wait staff would have notified some guests to move inside where they would be more comfortable. You would never know there was another area unless you went inside to use the bathroom. Since 98% of the wedding was in the outside cocktail area, food was always slow to be replenished, Forks and utensils were often empty with no seating and only 1 bar for over 100 guests. Cocktail hour food featured shrimp with pasta Alfredo (Alfredo was just butter and oil with pre packaged mini shrimp) over cooked seafood paella, and stuffed eggplant that was texture lacking. The cold pasta salads were way over salted and inedible. The mashed potato bar was a nice touch however the server was eatting mashed potatos as he was serving guests. Dinner food was average at best. None of the steaks were cooked correctly to order but I can forgive that. We just traded steaks with other family members at the table until we were all satisfied. By this point my date and I didnt have high hopes for anything decent to eat. The wedding candle centerpieces that were provided by the venue melted within the first hour of the reception that got hot wax all over the table cloth and plates. The desserts were delicious however I would be careful when pouring your milk into your coffee. There was brown stains on the inside of the small pitcher. I hoped it was only stain in the porcelain but I was able to wipe the brown residue with my finger and wipe it off with my napkin. I will never recommend this venue. There are so many other local venues with a similar budget, that will not give you terrible food and dirty plates