Riverside Resort & Conference Centre

The ceremony site was the best part of our wedding, with beautiful river views. Hotel staff were consistently kind and professional, and I understand they work separately from the event centre. We could also decorate several days beforehand and pick up our things the next day without trouble. The reception was a very different story. We had about 93 guests in a room advertised for up to 98, and it became unbearably hot. During planning meetings, the event manager assured us the venue would provide a staffed bar all evening, a water station, and enough food for everyone. We had booked an outside bartender, but were told the venue's in-house bartenders would take care of it, so we changed our plans. The buffet ran out before everyone had eaten. Three tables got no food, and no one was available to answer questions. There was someone initially serving the alcohol we'd brought, but no dedicated bartender throughout the night. Some family members left the celebration to help manage the bar, and the water station wasn't kept filled. When we raised concerns, we heard excuses instead of an acknowledgment that things had gone wrong. I spent part of my wedding looking for staff and trying to sort things out rather than enjoying time with our guests. Two employees did their best to help. A man I later found out was on the maintenance team stepped in with the bar and helped us again the following day. The employee first assigned to the bar was courteous too. Neither was responsible for the problems. We were repeatedly told we would get a detailed contract listing the included services, but it never arrived. We should have insisted on having every promise in a signed contract well ahead of time, and I encourage future couples to do that. The ceremony location has real potential, but based on the event planning, staffing, food service, communication, temperature, and lack of accountability, I can't recommend it for weddings or large events unless these problems are addressed.