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Just attended & helped at the first wedding of the season at catalysts in Sep ‘22. The venue was very pretty, but frustrating enough I felt a review was warranted.
Not finished—The parking lot was not paved so it turned to mud. A nightmare for long dresses & high heels. Construction was visible, along with advertising??
Accessibility issues—The elevator was not working & the ceremony room is up a flight of stairs, so unfortunately a handicap guest had to hop up the stairs on one leg because they could not bring their assistance device.
It was pure luck everyone was able (although with difficulty) to get up the stairs. Imagine if an elderly or disabled loved one had to miss the ceremony because of a nonfunctional elevator! Not only an accessibility issue, but a logistical nightmare—guests had to carry the heavy floral arrangements down the stairs after the ceremony. In addition, there was no automatic door button at the front or back doors making it incredibly inaccessible.
Acoustic issues— I’m in my 20s and have my full hearing but struggled to hear. It was hard to carry conversations—acoustic wise the reception hall was like a gym. When the dance music started, because of the acoustics, the noise level was at an extremely extremely loud level.
Lack of lounge seating & light in cocktail areas—when folks went out the entry to be able to talk there was only 5 seats in the whole entry.
There where also no lights outside, where there were an additional 7 seats. People had to sit in the dark if they wanted a seat outside the reception hall in the evening (once again because of the sound). Not near enough places to sit so it makes for a long evening.
AC issues—A guest who specializes in HVAC had to fix the AC system before the ceremony because no employee was on hand to address the issues—two zones in the ceremony room were set to cool while another was set to heat resulting in a hot space.
Additional small things that added up: -one hand towel in the whole bridal suite for the entire time. -no Kleenex in the building? -the floor was dirty because people were tracking in mud unfortunately. -no trash can in the mens bathroom
Overall, I’d say 2 out of 5 stars. So much incredible potential, the pines are magnificent & the view of the lake is gorgeous. Catalyst by Nature Link could be luxury but without changes it won’t be.
A note: shortly after a blunt & accurate review by another guest was posted earlier this week, 22 positive reviews popped up literally overnight, some by employees & associates.
It does appear Catalyst is review bombing instead of responding to & addressing concerns of a former guest—unfortunate & something to keep in mind.
Leaving 5/5 reviews of a place you are financially compensated by or invested in so lower reviews voicing legitimate concerns are drowned out isn’t...
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We were the 3rd wedding (9/23/22) since they opened and our event could not have gone better!
We were unfortunately confined inside for the entire day due to non stop rain, but the venue is filled with incredible natural light and our photographers loved that. We chose this venue for many reasons, but one big one was the permanent indoor ceremony space. We wanted to be outside but were at the mercy of the weather and didn't want to end up in some weird backup indoor area like what some venues have. The indoor ceremony space at Catalyst is unreal. The 2nd floor room with massive windows overlooking the lake makes you feel like you're up in the pines! The view is outstanding!
During social hour, only a few people could be outside due to rain. There wasn't a lot of coverage, but that's not too big of a deal. It would have been nice if people could reach the outside bar by going out of the lobby doors and not get rained on - but I'm being picky. It was definitely crowded in the lobby as most people were trying to use only one side of the three sided bar (we kept the reception room closed). In hindsight, maybe we should have opened it during social hour to give more access to the bar.
The reception room was comfortable with about 180 guests. I think it might feel cramped at max capacity, but I haven't seen those table layouts in person so take this with a grain of salt. The lighting in here was perfect. The main lights are dimmable on 2 different zones along with the lights in the slated wood. We brought uplights and ended up not being able to use them (not venue related) but the venue lighting was great without them.
The venue staff, especially Olivia, were wonderful. The whole planning process was so much easier due to Olivias responsiveness, attention to detail, and managing our anxiety about construction by keeping us up to date on the schedule - luckily, if you're planning now, you won't have to worry about construction! Olivia also checked in with us a couple times during the event in a way that was not intrusive - this was a nice touch and much appreciated.
While this is a Catalyst review, I have to make a quick note about Liquid Motion Bartending since it is the venues required bar service. They were wonderful to work with. Flexible on planning, responsive, and cranked out 2 specialty cocktails all night. They even let us bring some of our own details like fresh lime juice that we squeezed, orange peels, and dried lime slices for a garnish. They would do it for us if we asked, but we liked doing these details with families and friends.
Thank you to Olivia and the rest of the Catalyst crew for helping us create such a memorable night! I highly suggest this venue for weddings as it is perfect,...
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Update: 1 star added for the really thorough response. Love that you guys are making changes! So much potential in this beautiful venue.
Original review: Not accessible to those with disabilities despite being billed that way. lt looked incredible online, but when we arrived to attend a wedding, the entire parking lot was muddy and the surrounding area was under construction. There was almost no grass at the site aside from astro turf in the outdoor cocktail area, and there were large mud and water filled ditches visible. This meant that inside with only one mat by the front door (none by the back or side doors) water, mud, and dirt was tracked into the venue all day long. It felt like a fall hazard!
The main building was beautiful inside, but not really functional yet. The lovely concrete floors, walls of windows and high flat ceiling meant that it was almost deafeningly loud in the reception room with people talking—we could not have a conversation. This was especially problematic for guests who were hearing impaired. When we left the room to converse, it became obvious there also was not enough lounge seating. There was a couch and 2 chairs for 200 people. Essentially, there just wasn’t a quiet area to sit for elderly people or children. When we went outside to sit, there weren’t any exterior lights in the cocktail area!
To make things worse, it was NOT handicap accessible. The elevator was broken, so mobility limited guests either had to be almost carried up a flight of stairs, or hop up them to even see the ceremony.
It felt like it really didn’t match what I’d seen online when I looked up the venue before attending. The wedding itself was insanely beautiful, and the spaces were definitely large enough for the whole group. I’m sure it will look amazing in indoor pictures. However, it just wasn’t a comfortable space to experience as a guest. While it looked luxury in some areas, it didn’t feel like it as a whole once you were in the space. The space felt like it had been rushed, and designed for aesthetics over functionality.
Edited to add: 24 hours after initially posting my review on 9/19, 20+ 5 star reviews were added within 12 hours. At least two of the reviews are by employees/associates and several are the first and only reviews for the account posting. What are the odds several people within 12 hours loved Catalyst so much that they made an account and posted their first review without being financially invested as an employee or vendor? An extremely disappointing response...
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