The Venue
The Wellesley Boutique Hotel is an absolutely beautiful venue. I can't fault it for presentation. It was an excellent background for our event, the food was delicious (even though it wasn't what we expected), and the service was friendly, if a bit ditzy (particularly one of the receptionists, who happily handed out extra room keys, and the event manager, who repeatedly gave us incorrect information). I was very disappointed in their handling of our feedback, too - I made sure that I wrote politely and clearly, and would have expected an apology, at the very least.
Lessons learnt:
Even if information is given to you, in writing, by staff of your venue, make sure that you talk through the whole lot again in person before committing it to print yourself.
Make sure that the chef knows that the set menu will be circulated to guests and printed on menus, so it must be adhered to.
If something is important to you, such as the shape of the tables, make sure hat you ask to talk about it with the maitre d' as well as the event coordinator, especially if they are new.
Sleep in the room, or at least try out the bed, before you stay somewhere on an important night when sleep is going to be elusive anyway. The miserably uncomfortable bed was so soft that I couldn't sleep on it - I had to lie down the join in the middle (it was made up of two twin beds pushed together).
If the plumbing doesn't work (the flush in my room didn't work, so we all had to walk all the way down the hall to go to the loo), stand firm on demanding a reduction in charge for the room, even if the receptionist claims that it works - no one else was able to get it to flush.
Even if you think you already did all of these things (we certainly thought we had been clear about our requirements), expect things to go wrong, and plan accordingly.
That being said, yes, we had some issues with communication, and with the rooms themselves, but overall, I still recommend the venue for weddings - especially as the chef role has now been given to a personal acquaintance, and we know he's good.
Lessons learnt:
Even if information is given to you, in writing, by staff of your venue, make sure that you talk through the whole lot again in person before committing it to print yourself.
Make sure that the chef knows that the set menu will be circulated to guests and printed on menus, so it must be adhered to.
If something is important to you, such as the shape of the tables, make sure hat you ask to talk about it with the maitre d' as well as the event coordinator, especially if they are new.
Sleep in the room, or at least try out the bed, before you stay somewhere on an important night when sleep is going to be elusive anyway. The miserably uncomfortable bed was so soft that I couldn't sleep on it - I had to lie down the join in the middle (it was made up of two twin beds pushed together).
If the plumbing doesn't work (the flush in my room didn't work, so we all had to walk all the way down the hall to go to the loo), stand firm on demanding a reduction in charge for the room, even if the receptionist claims that it works - no one else was able to get it to flush.
Even if you think you already did all of these things (we certainly thought we had been clear about our requirements), expect things to go wrong, and plan accordingly.
That being said, yes, we had some issues with communication, and with the rooms themselves, but overall, I still recommend the venue for weddings - especially as the chef role has now been given to a personal acquaintance, and we know he's good.
Tea Duelling
While the wedding party continued to have photos taken, our guests were taken to the Wellesley, plied with delicious canapes, and taught Tea Duelling by Capital! Steampunk.
While our guests were being entertained, George and I nipped upstairs smartly for me to change into my reception outfit, then we were whisked outside for a quick round of photos before being formally introduced as Mr & Mrs Drayer for the very first time!
Speeches ensued. There was delicious food, and then more speeches. The temperatures continued hot, and the ambience continued warm. It was a lovely evening.
After the speeches, we encouraged people to post their toasts, cut the cake, awkwardly waltzed around until we couldn't cope any more, then people danced for a bit, I threw my bouquet, Katherine caught it, people grabbed wedding favours - and we could finally collapse!