Events at Refinery — Local services in Champaign

It has taken me 1 year to finally write this very honest review. When we looked at The Refinery, we loved it, it was like a hidden gem that could accommodate our VERY large wedding. We were thrilled. All the planning meetings went great and I fully entrusted in the staff that they would make our dreams a reality. I organized all my centerpieces and decor and boxed them individually with pictures of how they were supposed to look on the table. I had 0 reservations about it not getting done and being perfect. Then my expectations crashed to the ground the day of my wedding about an hour and a half before guests started to arrive. 2 family friends showed up early to double check to make sure everything was in order and perfect. They walked in and 1 single table was set up and ready out of 40!! The wedding planner was simply just sitting there doing nothing. Thank goodness they arrived because my 2 family friends set up 40 table centerpieces and decorated the entire venue in an hour and a half. The wedding planner left in the middle of it all to “go change”. Unfortunately the nightmare didn’t stop there. After being told in 2 pre-wedding meetings to prepare for a very drinking crowd they didn’t. They ran out of booze countless times during my reception. On top of it all, the toilets backed up and the entire venue smelled of sewage. They didn’t didn’t do something immediately to fix this issue or help resolve it, instead they told guests to use the restroom outside in the parking lot. My family ended up having to get upset for something to happen. When it was all said and done, we got a $250 gift card to Amazon and 2 hours of free beer. For paying over $10,000, it’s not worth all the back and forth, rumors and lies to be spread about your wedding day. I would recommended anywhere but...

My husband and I recently had our wedding reception at Events at Refinery and it couldn't have been more perfect! When we walked into the ballroom I was taken aback at how my vision had come to life. The decorations were beautiful from the drapery and chandeliers all the way down to the little details like the table numbers and charger plates. The room came together flawlessly!

I started working with Chris part way through my planning process and couldn't be happier that he was the coordinator for our big day. His demeanor, friendliness and personality are exactly what you'd want in a coordinator for your wedding (or any event!). I was always greeted with a genuine smile and throughout the planning process he was knowledgeable in giving me just the right suggestions in order to make sure I achieved the goal I had in mind. He is very easy to communicate with, organized and didn't let any detail slip through the cracks. Working with him made the process very fun. He even accommodated us with a last minute request to play a video during a speech! :)

The entire Events at Refinery staff did a great job in making sure that everything went off without a hitch during our reception. Because they take care of the setup and tear down, our day was much less stressful. They did an amazing job ensuring that our reception had the look/feel that we dreamed of - and we received MANY compliments too!

I would recommend Events at Refinery to anyone planning any type of event. They make sure the focus is on you and your needs and wants. Chris and the crew did everything in their power to make sure our wedding day was...

The facility is nice and the gym is well managed.

The events side could use a management overhaul. Having some experience from the employee perspective, I'd avoid supporting this side of the business until some critical changes have been made as there are some serious flaws in how this business is being managed.

Employees on tear-down for events frequently have to work into the late hours of the morning after events for several reasons of which some have been recognized but not corrected:

Missing "friends of management" who are repeated no-shows but are not fired.

Poor or unmotivated hires, which are often employees working for the gym membership only due to the lack of a working system to prevent this behavior.

Untrained and inefficient hires, which are the result of having to hire from placement agencies to fill spots left open by the previous two employee types.

Unenforced or unestablished event policies regarding the actual end time of events.

Schedules shared amongst differing mediums and of different types of communication without consistency as well as frequently changed without notification leading to under-staffing.

In addition to this, management will frequently schedule an employee during pre-established unavailable times after countless times reminding them of availability. This practice appears to be an effort to terminate employees that they don't want anymore (not friends of management) for absence without valid reasoning.

This business could be doing much better given...