Cedar Lake Cellars — Attraction in Foristell

My husband and I got married at Cedar Lake Cellars in September 2021. Overall, the day was magical, but there were some glaring shortcomings from the venue. If you’re thinking of booking this venue, please be aware.

Conflicting music and party. At the exact same time as our outdoor wedding, the venue had 2 outdoor bands booked over at their winery. They didn’t disclose this to us but instead we found out on the day of when we arrived. You could hear the conflicting music over at our space and the venue acted like they had no idea this would be a problem. They acted as if it were such a surprise when we were upset, as if they’ve never encountered this before. There was no chance to remedy the situation because we didn’t find out until 3 hours before the wedding.

Parking. There was no parking reserved for us or our guests and with the massive crowd over at the winery, there wasn’t even a space for me, the bride, or the groom in the parking lot. Our guests had to park in the grass far away and walk over to the venue. This again was not what we were told when we were sold this venue. We were assured guests would have ample parking in the main lot.

Incorrect details. The groom’s name was wrong on signage (John instead of Josh). Tables weren’t set up on the barn roof like we’d discussed. The number of easels requested not provided. Champagne glasses that were supposed to have been filled with sprite for my step kids were empty.

Poor preparation by the venue. When we arrived at 1:00, just 3 hours before the ceremony, we were shocked to see so many things still in disarray. The arbor for the ceremony wasn’t set up and still wasn’t set up by the time the florist arrived. The wedding staff was nowhere to be found. Our day of coordinator wasn’t there yet. I’m not sure what her role was but she didn’t do a whole lot. There was so little communication between us and the venue during the night in general. They also changed the time for one of our vendors to arrive without telling us.

The groom and groomsmen were just left without any soda/water even though we paid for the catering. My now husband had no idea how to get some water and there wasn’t anyone around for him to ask. No one from the venue ever came to check on them or give them any instructions for getting ready for the ceremony.

Despite that fact that we paid for catering in our bridal suite and for the groom and an arm and a leg for the wedding food, we were offered almost no leftovers. They gave us 2 takeaway boxes. I’m a vegetarian and my takeaway box wasn’t even a vegetarian meal. In fact, the vegetarian guests at my wedding, including my sister in my bridal party said they had no idea where the vegetarian food was.

The pork wasn’t like what we tasted. I heard from several guests after the fact that the pork that was served was not pulled pork like what we ordered. It was like boiled pork that was cut in cubes.

I was served red sparkling juice. I was newly pregnant at our wedding and asked for sparkling juice instead of champagne. The venue put red sparkling juice in my glass which gave away the fact that I was pregnant to the guests. We hadn’t told people yet about the pregnancy which made it really awkward.

No security. Non-wedding guests wandered around our space and even asked us if they could have some of our s’mores. We felt very uncomfortable having our wedding gifts out in the open...

I had never been here before until today, but my friends and I were looking for a winery to spend time together and the photos looked nice online. We had booked a reservation for a party of 6, but one ended up not being able to attend last minute. When we arrived, we were asked if we’d like to sit inside or outside; we chose to sit outside and we were sat at a table that could accommodate our party appropriately; however, it was in the sun and the host told us (after she double checked) that we could not open the umbrella on the table because it was too windy. At the time, there was an occasional breeze that blew through every now and then, but it wasn’t that big of a deal; the host was just doing what she had been told and we didn’t want to break the rules and get anyone in trouble. So we asked if we could sit under the shade/inside, but there was really only tables available that could accommodate parties of 4 or less in both places and the host mentioned that we were not allowed to move tables and we would have to split up/sit at two separate tables. We asked if we could just move a chair over to the corner of one of the tables and another host that joined to help quite frankly responded very rudely.

Maybe she was having a bad day, but at this point, the visit was not off to a strong start. We all thought it was strange that I could make a reservation for a party greater than 4 but that there was little-no tables that could accommodate a larger group in their restaurant and nothing was mentioned in the email confirmation/on the website that we could see. It seemed like a nice place in person too, but not high end enough that this request couldn’t be accommodated so I’m curious about the rationale behind this policy. A few of the wine glasses we were provided initially were dirty and it would have been helpful to have descriptions of each wine listed on the menu.

However, our server Jamie was friendly and attentive and the bottle we shared (pomegranate sparkling) and the wine slushies we purchased from the bar after our meal were delicious. Aside from the restaurant which offered soup, salad, sandwiches, and a couple appetizers, there was a BBQ and a burger place to order food which is more than you can say for some wineries.

There was live music and lots of outdoor seating outside of the restaurant. The lake and event spaces were beautiful. Unless you’d like to dine in comfortably with a party greater than four and enjoy food/drinks in the restaraunt area with their current policies, you may...

Beautiful venue with a mix of old and new. The property is very large, but in several buildings and seating areas broken up to give a more intimate and cozy feel.

We visited the Barrel Room that is a newly built, very modern looking post and beam barn with exposed architecture featuring a very large bar. The bar has a variety of wines, bottled and draft beers as well as simple mixed drinks. Food is available, but there is no table service and everything is walk up and self serve. The room has large open doors open to a deck overlooking a large pond with a fountain and gazebo on the water.

On to the food…. The food. Granted the burger stand was the only venue we tried, out of many on the property since the more formal sit down dining room was the only other food venue available. The smoke house was closed and the other sit down dining area was reserved to a group. The burger stand had burgers, brats, fries, nachos and the like. The quality was not even what I would expect at a gas station, yet at very premium prices. I expected at that price point to get a premium burger on a custom made bun served on a warmed plate. Instead I was presented with a burger that was long ago precooked from a frozen patty with a slice of cheese, dry basic bun, wrapped with paper, in a paper tray. A tiny, dismal looking $14 burger that didn’t come close to the quality of a DQ $2 burger. I would be ashamed to serve that even at a kid’s birthday party.

Now the rules. Lots of rules. Attended a birthday get-together and was not allowed to bring in a single balloon (safety issue?). There were no reservations available and it was self seating. Group of eight wanted to put two tables of four together that were literally right next to each other and on wheels. Nope, staff made us return them to their original spot. As the afternoon wore on the sun was over powering. Tried to open the table umbrellas and were told we could not. Signs all about that listed all the “NOs” without any seeming reason or explanation. Staff similarly offered no explanation for the restrictions other than management doesn’t allow that. I felt like a child in a china shop, afraid what I would inadvertently do wrong next.

To the management, I understand that you have a beautiful venue and don’t want it damaged, but be reasonable and don’t make your guests who are paying premium prices feel like children. And the food. That quality of food DOES NOT belong at your venue. Step up the quality and portion size of the food you offer. It isn’t a kid’s...