Rock Island Lake Club — Attraction in Sparta Township

Prior to our wedding day we were excited to be getting married at a beautiful well maintained rustic venue, with a widespread beer and food selection. Everything about the venue passes the eye test but behind the scenes, the venue is understaffed and unorganized. My wife and I met with two of the event coordinators prior to our wedding day. During that meeting we finalized every detail of our wedding. My wife even created a graphic organizer for the coordinators to utilize to better assist them with properly setting up the venue. We were confident that all of the details surrounding our wedding would be successfully executed. We would later find out that this would not be the case. The day of our wedding had come and we both arrived separately to the venue. My groomsman and I would be spending the day in our suite. The lunch that we paid for was one tray of food that was nowhere near enough to feed the ten members of the wedding party. The gaming controllers inside the suite were unusable because the charger was broken. After lunch nobody came to clean up any of our dirty dishes, glasses, etc when our photographers arrived. We NEVER had a member of RILC team assist us or provide us with any information over the course of the day for our ceremony. There was one bartender who attended bar but that was it. I never even knew who the official maitre d was for our wedding because nobody was attentive to our grooms suite. I figured that the coordinators or maitre d was occupied with the bridal suite but I later found out that was not the case. The coordinators were meeting with other couples and they were nowhere to be found until right before our ceremony. When it was time for our ceremony my groomsman and I made our way outside. As we approached the lake we noticed that about 15 percent of our wedding guests were outdoors. There was a light mist outside so we figured that our guest simply did not want to attend because of the “inclement weather”. We later found out that was not the case. Since there was some mist the guests were not sure where the ceremony was going to be taking place. Only a small handful of guest knew where to go for the ceremony. Other guests were not told what to do. Days following our wedding we had close friends and family so upset about not being able to attend our ceremony because they were not properly instructed on the location of the event. The minutes leading up to our ceremony were described as chaotic and confusing. My wife and I had no idea why the event staff was so confused. We tracked the weather all day and our answer regarding the ceremony location never changed. We were always having it outdoors. During our brief ceremony there were 3 cars that past by even though we were assured that it was a private road and that it would be blocked off during the ceremony. After our disappointing ceremony we went upstairs to our suite where there was one small plate of food (for both of us) and no staff members anywhere to be found. We did not get to sample many items included in our cocktail hour. After greeting guests during cocktail hour we moved on to our reception. We immediately noticed that the salad that was given to our guests was not what we selected. In addition, the uplighting that we reviewed multiple times in our details appointments was incorrect. Lastly, during our ‘sparkler send off’ a member of the staff irresponsibly mishandled the torch lighter and lit another staff members hair on fire. In a panic he maneuvered the torch and nearly burned our bridal party. We addressed all of our concerns with the owner over the course of three phone calls. He was unwilling to work with us regarding issuing any type of a refund for our poorly conducted ceremony. As bad as we felt the service was we still did right by the employees and tipped them. The owner did not do right by us and he did not issue any money back for our mishandled ceremony. Overall RILC is not worth the money. The venue was understaffed, inexperienced, and inattentive. Not...

It’s been a week since our wedding day and my husband and I are still riding high from the amazing time we had. That is all thanks to Rock Island and their impeccable team.

Rock Island was the first venue we looked into a few weeks after we were engaged. We knew the moment we walked in through the front doors and met with Jason that this was the place we were going to be married. The venue is light, airy, and absolutely stunning. The food is phenomenal and plentiful (our guests are still talking about it).

Throughout the planning process we worked with Heather; not only was she poised and professional, but we felt like she became a member of our family. She was communicative and proactive every step of the way. We felt taken care of and important. Rock Island was accommodating and wonderful to work with. They literally brought my wedding day vision to life in a way I never dreamed possible.

I know that every bride thinks their day is perfect, but mine truly was. My dreams literally came true on August 11th. Not only were we so impressed with the professionalism and level of amazing service, but our guests were also. Rock Island has a way of making everyone who is part of your day feel important. We didn’t have to worry about anything during the day of our wedding, which allowed me to be calm and cool the entire day. During our day there were so many staff members who took care of anything and everything we needed. We added the bridal suite package to our wedding which was one of the best decisions we made. My bridesmaids and I got to relax and enjoy each other’s company while also getting our hair and makeup done at the venue. We had an amazing bridal attendant, Tina, who anticipated all of our needs. She made sure that we were fed, had music to listen to, our dresses were steamed and hung up properly, and got us any beverage - alcohol or not - that we wanted. She was a doll and we all absolutely loved her. During our ceremony Jessica was amazing with coordinating all of our details as well as making sure our officiant and ceremony musician had everything they needed. Throughout the day Jason and Mike checked in on us, made sure we had food and beverages and kept us apprised of what would be happening next. And Michael attended to my husband and me during our reception, constantly making sure we both had everything we needed.

While everyone we worked with was absolutely wonderful, I cannot say enough about Jason, our Maitre d’. We had the utmost confidence in him throughout our day. His professionalism and wonderful personality eased my nerves and stress and allowed me to be fully present. I was able to take in our whole day and remember each moment, because I knew he had everything under control.

At the end of the night (after the wedding), they boxed up the top of our cake and all of our ceremony and reception items, washed our toasting flutes, took care of the bouquets that were left behind, and had everything ready for us the day after our wedding to pick up. We didn’t need to worry about anything at all and I believe that allowed us to be present in our day with each other and our guests.

To say thank you is just not enough. Words cannot fully express how grateful we are for our wedding at Rock Island. We would not hesitate to recommend this venue and its team to anyone looking to celebrate the biggest day of...

“Had we not chosen Rock Island for our venue, nothing else for this wedding would have come together. It would not have been perfect. Rock Island started it all.” My husband said this to me the morning after our wedding – he couldn’t have summed up my feelings any better. After getting engaged we booked a tour at Rock Island very last minute. We were in the area, figuring why not, it can’t hurt. Instantly we were greeted with warmth and love. Within 10 minutes of showing up we were joking and laughing with staff as if everyone were old friends reuniting. When we told them about our black tie New Year’s Eve idea as a theme for the wedding everyone was instantly hooked. We signed the contract that day – there was no need to think about it, there was no need to look elsewhere. We had found the spot. Heather. The most amazing planner, coordinator, and person out there. She kept me sane throughout this entire process, worked around my hectic medical school schedule, answered the billion emails I sent regularly and still found it in her heart to laugh, joke, and share stories with us at our meetings. Heather made sure that we knew the timeline to get things done in, she helped schedule meetings, she went above and beyond to create the vision we had for our wedding – she far exceeded our expectations. Heather is the BEST in this business. There is no question. Mike. What can I say about Mike? I’m pretty certain that he is the most genuine person I have ever met. My wedding day was perfect because of Mike. I certainly didn’t have any time to forget to eat because Mike was filling my plate, and glass for that matter! He helped my brother set up his guitar and equipment to play a special song for my father/daughter dance without hesitation. He made sure that not only Rob and I were taken care of but that our guests with severe food allergies knew exactly what they could and couldn’t eat. He found me a fan when I was dying of heat in my puffy dress and laughed with me as I stood outside in the rain to cool down. He went out of his way to find me a rack of lamb for dinner that I had wanted more than anything. All of these things, Mike did without being asked. He just knew. Jack. Before I could finish a sentence to ask for something, Jack was placing it down onto the table. He went out of his way to make sure Rob and I had everything we could ever want, as well as going out of his way to make sure my Mom was well taken care of. Jack even helped us at the end of the night to pack up whatever gifts and cards we had, and made sure we had some pizzas for the road too! The bottom line is that Rock Island started out as just a wedding venue for us, but by the end turned into so much more. I feel like we have become part of the Rock Island family. These are people I want to keep in touch with, people I want to spend more time with in the future, true friends that we can count on. So thank you Heather, Mike, Jack, and the entire rest of the Rock Island Lake Club staff and crew. You gave us the dream we had envisioned and more. We certainly consider you all family now. With love and thanks,...