Kruse Plaza — Local services in Garrett

Where do I even begin?! I’ll start off with the positives of this venue, because they do deserve some recognition for the beautiful spaces they have. We had our wedding here in August and the bridal suite was absolutely amazing to get ready in. The ballroom has beautiful market lights, open area, and neat bar.

Unfortunately the overall experience my husband and I dealt with the entire planning process was less than ideal and disappointing for the amount we paid. If I knew then the amount of issues I would encounter we would have never booked with them despite the beautiful venue. From the beginning we were handed a large amount of empty promises by Kate. When we booked we were told we would have access to all decor items for no additional cost, but later on when I wanted to use the wood disc centerpieces and lanterns we were told it was extra. The lack of communication from staff was beyond frustrating. For almost every milestone appointment I had to be the one to reach out to schedule. When we did go to the venue for appointments the door was always locked and no one was ever waiting to greet us to unlock it and they seemed unprepared for the meetings. At one point I had reached out to a THREE previous brides to ask about their experience and they all spoke of similar issues. They advertise a “day of coordinator” is included, but i never spoke with any coordinator and only met with Spencer and Kate during planning. The person who was at my rehearsal was a guy i had never met or spoke to before and knew nothing of what my vision was or what i wanted. Thankfully, thanks to recommendation from a previous bride, I hired my own day of coordinator to help ease some fears and I’m so happy i did. On the day of the wedding, I was informed that the person who was supposed to unlock the doors was sick so Spencer would manually disarm and unlock the building remote, but no kruse staff would be at the venue for awhile. Ultimately our wedding was beautiful, but it was not without stress during the planning process-something no bride wants to deal with. I could go into A LOT more specifics, but hope this review serves as a general “buyer beware” to all brides potentially considering this venue for their wedding. Beautiful-but not worth the stress for...

I’ll start first by saying, they don’t have LARGE weddings figured out. If you’re considering this spot for a wedding, I know this is long but please read.

I was honestly shocked at a few things I noticed at this venue during a fairly large wedding this past week.

So, if you’re the owners/operators, here are basics you need to address.

First the older security guy is a sweetheart. Needs a raise

Advise at least a 10-15 minute buffer pre ceremony. People travel to the area and get lost. To close the doors right at 5pm and then shut out traveling family members is BAD taste. This time needs to be built in and the photog should not have to defend family members who might have had trouble finding the venue. It’s simple courtesy and this expectation can be set with the bride and groom from the jump. YOU are the professionals and the B&G are counting on your best judgement. I hardly think the B&G would be happy to hear you shut guests out for being 3 minutes late.

Which is what YOU tried to do.

Makes sense there is going to be a buffer for photos. 100%. But it was nearly two hours before food was even beginning to be served and no one came by to fill waters. If you’re charging for water refills - a super simple service - to B&G ya’ll need to re-evaluate this. It’s hot in the venue in July. Refilling waters as folks are waiting for food should be a no question thing. Hospitality is your business as well.

FOR GOODNESS SAKE SERVE THE BRIDE AND GROOM!! Find out what they’d like to eat and serve them. I was SHOCKED that this wasn’t done. This is basic wedding venue service. On their way back plate full of food they were stopped multiple times by guests. Google the top advice people give B&G for weddings - MAKE SURE YOU EAT. It’s your job they have the best experience.

Buffet set up was WAAAY too limited for the amount of guests. Really? Three chafing dishes for 200+ guests? How much are you charging for this venue? You can afford additional dishes at $50 each. It was nearly 8:00 (5:00 pm ceremony) before everyone got fed. AND MANAGE the line!

This is a great place for a LARGE event. For a wedding, I’d honestly pass until they figure...

Please seriously consider choosing anywhere else to have your wedding/reception. The “pre wedding communication” was absolutely terrible as well as day of execution. I couldn’t get a “6 month planning meeting” as promised until I had to reach out multiple times and was able to finally schedule a couple months after said 6 months until wedding day. I had 1 thing planned prior to day of reception and then the complete opposite was replanned 5 minutes before “event” without approval of bride/groom when it came time to ceremony/reception. I had 2 bridesmaids end up with completely ruined dresses due to auto oil because our reception entrance was “redone” right before because the Kruse employees “thought it was best” for the entrance. All that was returned to as “I’m sorry” after the owner “fixed” the reception entrance and then disappeared. This as well as every other change was brushed off by the venue. I would have rather gotten married at the court house and had a reception in...