Jessie S.
Google
Wedding date: November 19, 2022
Although our wedding day was wonderful, I cannot recommend The Vineyard Estates at New Kent as a wedding venue due to coordinator turnover, lack of communication and disrespect from the owners, and lack of organization and knowledge from the coordinators.
In March 2022 I booked New Kent. I loved our coordinator but in July she stopped responding to us. After a time, the owners told us she had decided to “choose a different path.” We got a new coordinator, but as we began talking, many crucial details were wrong: start time, length of the wedding, etc. It was frustrating answering the same questions repeatedly. Because she was new, the owners began to work more closely with us.
During our 6-week walkthrough, we met another woman who would be “assisting” our coordinator. The owners were already pushing back on things, not trusting guests to consume an appropriate amount of alcohol despite us having paid for an open bar, and issues over how long we booked the venue.
You get 5 hours of rental upfront. We added an hour when we booked, then wanted to add another. The owners were adamant they wouldn’t do it due to rules about employees working too long but nowhere in the contract does it specify you cannot add more time. Though they relented, things became worse.
In late October, our second coordinator stopped responding to us. I had to actually ask in an email on November 1 if our second coordinator was still an employee. Answer: no. So, with two weeks to go, we found ourselves with a *third* coordinator. On both occasions, the owners didn’t communicate the coordinator change (quitting) and we started from scratch right before the wedding.
What solidified my opinion, though, was how they handled our final invoice and payment. Three weeks before the wedding we received our invoice. Everything was wrong (credit card fee, fire pit, champagne toast, guest count, beverage count, address). I asked for corrections and received the updates a week later. I wanted to clarify who to make the check out to because of the large payment. I didn’t hear back even though I checked in twice. A few days later the owners told us we had 48 hours to pay, or we’d incur a 10% late fee. They were angry that we did not pay four weeks before the wedding, but we didn’t even get an invoice by their payment “deadline”.
They were incredibly rude and disrespectful to us over email especially when they knew my dad had just passed away a few months earlier. Their “business policies” are manipulative. They were condescending, and it took away our time, energy, and trust.
The rehearsal was a disaster. We arrived at 2 pm to go over decorations. The coordinator didn’t show until 2:40 pm. I emailed at 2:10 and 2:30. I texted the owner. No response. When the coordinator arrived, she didn’t apologize, only said she had to help out at the winery. Awkward and unprofessional. Our families, wedding party, and officiant were all waiting, and we were late for our own rehearsal dinner. She didn’t know what she was doing, and called everyone by the wrong names.
I barely saw her the day of the wedding. A family friend set up decorations for us and the coordinator kept asking her for advice. My mom had to keep stepping out to answer questions instead of being with me. When the procession started, right before I went down the aisle, our flowers fell off the wine barrels but our coordinator didn’t move. My bridesmaids had to insist she run out and pick up the flowers because they blocked our path.
During the reception, the owners refused to allow us to put wine on the table and they only filled water at the start so people had to get up and go outside for water/drinks, which took away from dances/speeches.
If it were April 2022, I would’ve given New Kent five stars but our experience in the end was full of mistreatment and unprofessionalism. I loved my wedding day (see photos) but the stress New Kent heaped upon our families should never have happened.
If you are a bride- or groom-to-be, I recommend looking elsewhere.
