Kingston Island (Ravens Ait) — Attraction in London

We had booked to have our wedding there in July 2023, and they ended up cancelling on us four weeks before the date because they had been unable to renew their fire safety certificate. I can see from the reviews below that we were not the only people who had this happen to us, and I completely empathise with what they had to deal with.

We had been to see the venue almost a year prior, and decided to move forward in August 2022 as we really liked the place (specifically the marquee and lawns) - it was different to everything else we were looking at and had the kind of relaxed garden party vibe we were going for. Between then and our wedding date, there were numerous issues. On trying to book our registry, the registrar informed me that they hadn't renewed their licence to hold civil ceremonies past May 2023. The (then) event manager told me that this had 'slipped through the net' in between management changes and that this was now all in hand, they just had to do the admin - they continued to give me incorrect information while the kind registrar was giving me the actual updates, and even after they had applied they were unable to secure the licence. By the time the true extent of this problem had become clear to us, a lot of other venue options we had looked at were already booked up. They continued to tell me to wait before making other arrangements for the registry because they were sorting out the problems and re-applying (which after May I did not), and were generally coming off pretty disorganised and cagey. They had told me for months that they had applied for the licence and were simply waiting for it to come through, which turned out not to be true - they hadn't applied until December 2022. Despite several requests for updates after this, they never told me that they failed to secure the licence - again, this was the registrar. In tandem with all of this, they decided a couple of months before the date that the new management didn't want to allow outside catering anymore, despite that being in our contract and our caterer being booked - we eventually resolved this and the event manager told us that everything should be 'smooth sailing' from this point on. More than one back and forth with them throughout this whole saga seemed to suggest that they didn't understand their own terms or even the concept of a contract. Having arranged our registry separately, a month before the date, I was trying to finalise the deliveries of the decorations/favours/cake etc for the reception there and the event manager (the third that took over our event in the space of a few months) was being unresponsive. Eventually I got a call back from someone else at the company who informed me that they had failed a fire safety inspection, and that they were cancelling our event. Very little empathy for the situation, no viable alternative offered, just 'sorry it is what it is' kind of attitude. We later found out that the venue had been made fully aware of the fire safety issues by the London Fire Brigade in September 2022, which was a few weeks after we confirmed our decision to move ahead with them and a couple of months before we signed the contract.

We had to make alternative arrangements in less than four weeks. We were lucky we had very kind vendors and amazing family and friends to help pull it together. We were ultimately forced to pursue legal action to recover the difference in spend, but even worse than the additional costs being incurred was the stress that this caused at what was meant to be a happy and exciting time. We missed out on time with people who came from abroad, had to cancel any pre-wedding get togethers, scramble to find more vendors at the height of wedding season and had to re-organise everything that we had already spent a year planning. The lead up to a wedding is supposed to be fun, and the experience here plus the dishonest attitude from the people running the venue completely ruined it for us. Suffice to say I would never book an event here again after this experience, and would strongly...

DO NOT BOOK YOUR WEDDING HERE!

We originally booked our wedding reception at Ravens Ait (Marquee & Lawns) in September 2022 to be held at the end of May 2023. The communication between us and the venue suggested nothing untoward in the months leading up to the wedding.

We were made aware at 7.30pm on the Thursday before our wedding on the Saturday that following an inspection by the London Fire Brigade (LFB) that afternoon, the venue was issued with a prohibition notice which restricted the number of guests attending events at Ravens Ait to 50 (we were planning to have 90-100 guests) and were faced with the decision to either move the whole wedding or cut our guest list in half.

Whilst they offered us an alternative venue, they made it clear that they were under no obligation to do so (despite having no feasible alternatives with 36 hours’ notice) and that for them to have to make alternative arrangements was a great inconvenience and a significant additional cost. The alternative venue had several restrictions and prohibitions which impacted on the timings of the day and did not make it a substitute for Ravens Ait.

It subsequently became clear that there had been previous enforcement notices issued by the LFB relating to Raven’s Ait in September 2022 which had not been addressed. Ravens Ait had not informed us of any risk to our wedding reception despite having been aware of the LFB notice and we were left with 36 hours to rearrange our wedding reception.

Throughout these events, they displayed poor communication skills and little empathy for the situation we had been put in (through no fault of our own) on what was meant to be our special day; they offered little to no compensation for the disruption and distress caused. After considerable effort we have been offered minimal compensation as a goodwill gesture only.

We have seen that other couples have been put in a similar position due to the issues with the venue and would caution anyone looking at Ravens Ait to think twice before booking any...

We were searching for the perfect venue to celebrate our daughter’s First Holy Communion when we happened to come across Ravens Ait. The moment we discovered that it was a private island located on the River Thames, we were instantly intrigued - and once we saw it in person, we knew it was exactly what we had been looking for. Booking Ravens Ait turned out to be one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.

From our very first enquiry, the staff were professional, responsive, and incredibly supportive. They guided us through every stage of the planning process, offering helpful advice and ensuring all our needs were met. Their dedication and attention to detail helped make the entire day seamless, stress-free, and truly memorable.

The venue itself is absolutely beautiful. Nestled on the Thames, it offers a unique and picturesque setting that impressed all of our guests. The island feels private and exclusive, yet is easily accessible thanks to the efficient and frequent boat service, which ran smoothly throughout the event.

One of our initial concerns was that we were required to order food and drinks through the venue, but we needn’t have worried. The catering exceeded our expectations - the food was fresh, flavourful, and beautifully presented. All of our guests commented on how much they enjoyed the meal.

In addition to the outstanding service and setting, we were pleasantly surprised by how reasonable the pricing was for both the venue hire and catering. For such a unique location and high standard of service, the value for money was exceptional.

Whether you're planning a large wedding, a private party, or a more intimate celebration, we wholeheartedly recommend Ravens Ait. With three stylish event spaces of different sizes, they can accommodate a wide range of functions.

Our daughter’s First Holy Communion was everything we hoped it would be and more - and we have the wonderful team at Ravens Ait to...