The Retreat by Wedgewood Weddings — Attraction in Temescal Valley

I am deeply disappointed with Wedgewood.

Wedgewood is very good about SELLING YOU to go with their venue. They make it sound like a one stop shop where they pretty much lead you, remind you, and guide you with the whole wedding planning process. The fact of the matter is, there are a lot of things that you have to do on your own, which is fine but this is false advertising. When you do have questions, they take a long time with getting back to you. I have asked on multiple occasions for them to make me (bride) the primary contact information and they always emailed my husband. On top of that, if they forget to tell security about your appointment with Wedgewood, they take FOREVER to answer the call from security to clear you for entry (Venue is inside a gated community). They also failed or omitted to mention that if you want the reception outside, the doors to the dance floor would have to remain closed (gated community is part of an HOA). This means that the outside reception area and dance floor are separate. Much to my extreme disappointment, the food tasting is done through PAYING for a ticket to attend their wedding faire and lining up with many other guests like cattle to try the food. This information was later revealed to me as well. The cake vendor (Cucamonga Cakery) associated with Wedgewood was the same cold concept. They had preselected pieces of cake cut up and put in Tupperware stacked on top of one another per wedding couple. The cake was lackluster and dry. My husband and I went with the ELITE package, which was supposed to be the best but it just felt real cookie cutter and manufactured. We felt unimportant and just another bride and groom.

The meetings with the MANY different coordinators were not only rushed but also inconsistent the whole time because you got a different person every time. It was like they were not communicating with one another. For example, the details mentioned in the final meeting (with coordinator Jenna) were forgotten in the wedding rehearsal (coordinator Maritza), which was then not executed properly on the day of the wedding (Maritza).

The day of the wedding was a complete let down and I cannot stop tearing up about it. My bridesmaids had to go around fixing all the signs because the coordinator Maritza did a mediocre job. The fireplace mantle was missing a garland that I requested. She was nowhere in sight the whole time, except once she came during the photo-shoot to give me a bottle of water. The whole wedding party took turns to actively look for her. The most revolting part is she told the sister of the groom and her husband that they could not sit in the front two rows RESERVED for family because "they are not family". I specifically reserved the front two rows with them in mind.

The reception was even more of a let down because Maritza left shortly after dinner and was not there to help coordinate the rest of the reception. We almost did not do the father/daughter and mother/son dance and managed to do it at the end of the night when most of the guests left. Alyssa (reception coordinator?) was of NO USE AT ALL. The servers barely poured our guests any drinks, let alone refilled their waters. Some of my guests did not even get water. THE WORST PART is DURING the dinner service. The servers WERE IN LINE FOR OUR FOOD! My guests were not done eating and later complained that there was no food when they went up to get seconds! The venue highly recommended the buffet style dinner service and assured us that our guests will have enough food. When we asked about packing the left overs in the final meeting, the coordinator told us there wouldn’t be any and now we know why, it is because the staff were eating our food.

The photo booth was a COMPLETE DISASTER. It was not only set up late but they did not have ANY PROPS (hats, costumes, boas, sunglasses, etc) that they promised in the meeting. They only had a few signs. On top of that, they got our HASHTAG wrong.

I just cannot stop tearing up about this and may consider taking...

It’s been 9 months since my husband and I tied the knot. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about that special day and the people at The Retreat who made it all possible. When we first met Caitlin, she wowed us with a tour of the place. We could instantly see ourselves getting married there (sometimes I think we said yes simply because of Caitlin and her wonderful connection with probable clients). While we still checked out a few other venues, The Retreat was constantly being compared and we eventually (happily) decided this was the place for us! I wanted an April wedding, but The Retreat had a great deal for January weddings- it would be colder but then again had we had the wedding on my preferred April 25 date, it would have been cancelled due to the pandemic. The process of signing the contract to the day of the wedding went so smoothly; it really was a blessing to have Caitlin taking care of the details. There were plenty of details to decide on, but the Wedgwood binder filled with tips, tricks, dates, and deadlines really kept us on top of our game. When the day finally came, the entire Wedgewood staff was available for our every beck and call. Of course we had Caitlin but in addition, the Captain of the banquet, the Head cook, bartender, and wonderful servers and security worked like a well oiled machine so that everything went along as scheduled. Besides the people, the venue itself is gorgeous and we spent far too long traveling the estate taking pictures EVERYWHERE- They have a beautiful tunnel for these great silhouette shots, tons of landscape and then the actual building lends nicely as a background shot. The food was spectacular though I’ll admit that it wasn’t my focal point (I barely ate my food not for lack of wanting to eat but just being that typical bride who doesn’t have the time). The day went by smoothly and too quickly. I completely forgot about the fact that I had such a great time with my bridesmaids inside our Bride head quarters (they have a groomsmen room too). But this is the point, so many amenities and good things about this venue, the people, and the experience that I truly cannot get it all down on this review. My husband and I will always treasure...

I went here for a wedding this past week and truly enjoyed the atmosphere and the drinks. The wedding was beautiful and nearly every guest enjoyed this venue.

My only gripe - and this is truly my own and no one else's - is that the couple getting married had ordered a special gluten free meal for me due to my Celiac's disease but the kitchen couldn't or wouldn't make the preparations to ensure I could eat anything close to what the other guests were served. Which, by the way, was filet mignon along with an accoutrement of sides. I got a VEGAN meal. Why people think vegan and gluten free go hand-in-hand is beyond me! I'm appreciative that I was even fed but a stuffed pepper with rice, no matter how delicious it was, left me starving! They had an open bar and I indulged a bit before dinner thinking I could eat my way back to sobriety but that was not the case in the slightest. Not only was the stuffed pepper rendered useless for my appetite, it felt like it fueled the alcohol in my system to a new level.

As much as I am grateful I never got sick from anything offered, I really wish I could've eaten something more substantial than a rice stuffed bell pepper. I ended up leaving the wedding before the night was over just so I could find something to eat and ended up at In-N-Out. Not my idea of a high end venue if they cannot accommodate a gluten free meal. Subjecting me to a vegan dish fit for a small child was almost torture whilst sitting next to those eating filet mignon, meat pies, scalloped cheesy potatoes and a wedding cake I couldn't look at. And the appetizer side salad they served everyone barely felt like more than a nibble. I'm not a large person nor do I have the appetite of a bear but this experience fell flat for me and my tummy.

I would NOT recommend this venue for anyone with an actual food allergy unless you plan on eating elsewhere. If you're vegan, more power to you and your...