Glendoveers — Local services in Town of Penfield

Trying to keep a long story short. Glendoveers Banquet Hall. First off- this place looks beautiful from the outside in. So we booked- on the day of booking we were told " we will have 7 or 8 meetings from now until your wedding." (we had 4- that I had to initiate each time) The female representative of this facility and their coordinator for events was nice and professional mostly but was very beat around the bush with details (acts like they have high standards and that its just policy to give the yes answer to all requests but shes too busy to contact you- so when you reach out she says she was just about to get in touch with you..... Sure you were.) Following the wedding and hearing some disturbing stories from guests who were taken aback (server tapped my guests hand when trying to take a roll from the buffet at the end of eating- employee told him " this food is for our families now and watching employees leave the venue with to- go containers full of our food. Meanwhile no to- go's for Bride and groom) Inappropriate variety and quality of alcohol served on the open bar (smirnoff vodka, and uv cake is not top shelf, short pours) My guest was refused a scotch at 10:15 was told that they were out of scotch. So they did not replenish the "open bar" as a bottle was empty. Champagne toast was supposed to include cranberry - that didn't happen. Bar closed 10 minutes early before dinner (which wasn't supposed to close at all because we paid for 5 hours the lady who was handling the evening addressed ME- the BRIDE at my own wedding to discuss this matter. It was too late to open the bar for dinner. While this was happening- they refused my guests and my father who offered to pay so my poor guests would have a drink. The menu stated above the bar on the television "CALL BAR- which was supposed to say top shelf, and included CORN BREAD" to go along with our BBQ menu- they told us they didn't have any corn bread so they served dinner rolls. Embarrassing. It was discussed the first row of chairs would be sturdy for the ceremony for my immediate family multiple times- they were the white flimsy chairs. Desserts were kept on their plastic circle trays from the bakery- when it was discussed that they would be arranged with height and beautifully displayed. Smore's bar was flat laid on the table as well. Keeping in mind at the bridal show things were wonderfully displayed (basically a bait and switch type event) ALL OVER- when the meeting was scheduled to speak with the owner- the female representative was present on the conference call and my parents and guests were literally called liars. We were told our guests were sloppy drunk and out of hand at they had to "hide" the alcohol which is offensive. I cant recall one person who i thought was drunk at my wedding. I was told that my groomsmen and groom trashed the venue before the ceremony (my husband and the best man were the only ones that are drinking age and they most certainly were not drinking beer before the wedding- and ABSOLUTELY DID NOT trash the establishment with beer before the ceremony) Literally it was offensive to me the amount of lies that the female representative told about the evening that she was present for approximately a half hour of ceremony. I am absolutely sick and offended that my parents spent thousands of dollars for the owner to say " All that I'm admitting to is the missing corn bread and ill send you a check for 325 dollars" My parents knew the conversation was going nowhere so out of principal they ended the conversation accepting the 325 dollars. He called my guests, my parents, my husband and myself liars. In the end he only sent a $300.00 check. So lesson learned. Voice record every meeting that you have with the representative for the events and or LITERALLY write and have her sign on official document- get specific with it. I've never been married before and I apparently trusted that this was an upstanding venue to work with. It's sad- but I was wrong. I can only hope this helps some...

BUYER BEWARE! We experienced a number of disappointments during our daughter's outdoor wedding and reception at Glendoveers this August. We had many examples of promises that were made by Glendoveers personnel, that we did not receive.

For example, wooden chairs were not provided for immediate family during the outdoor wedding, despite being discussed on several occasions with the Glendoveers organizer, who assured they would be provided. Refreshments were to be provided in the bride room, but they were not.

During the reception, specific items requested for the buffet were not served, and food and desserts were not plated and displayed in the professional manner agreed upon.

The "top shelf" open bar did not include the quality or variety of alcohol typically seen as top shelf, i.e. UV Cake Vodka and Smirnoff are NOT top shelf, and there was no Tequila or Southern Comfort, and no variety of scotch. Once a bottle was emptied, it was not replaced for the remainder of the evening. By the end of the night, only 5 or 6 bottles were left on the bar.

MANY guests also complained about short pours of alcohol. We witnessed shots being poured for two seconds or less, versus the typical 4-count shot pour. While the open bar was closed during dinner, guests were not allowed to purchase drinks. The Labatts tab was also down for approximately 30 minutes during the after-dinner open bar

The staff appeared unprofessional, with wrinkled shirts and unkempt hair. The most egregious service issue occurred when the buffet was being taken down; a guest reached toward the roll basket as a server passed by. The server pushed his hand away, saying "these are for our families now." They later witnessed staff carrying to-go containers to their vehicles

The entire bill was required to be paid several days before the event, leaving us little recourse. We wrote a two-page letter to the owner following the event, listing these and other concerns. While the services above are not specifically articulated in the contract, we received verbal assurances throughout the planning process that these items would be provided professionally. However, during a phone conference to discuss the concerns, the owner would only acknowledge the fact that cornbread was not provided as agreed upon. In fact, the staff told several blatant lies during this interchange, in an attempt to find excuses about why the event unfolded as it did. "The customer is always right" is not a philosophy embraced by the owner or staff of Glendoveers.

The owner did agree to reimburse us double the cornbread price, $1.25 x 130 people x 2 = $325. However, we received a check for only $300. So IF THE OWNER DOESN'T KEEP HIS PROMISES, WE CAN SEE WHY THE STAFF DOESN'T FEEL THE NEED TO KEEP THEIRS. While our guests had fun at the event and enjoyed the food, please know to GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING, and RECORD YOUR CONVERSATIONS - otherwise, you will likely be...

My husband and I chose this location for our wedding, and everything came together way better than we ever hoped. We had a themed wedding, medieval fantasy (think Dungeons and Dragons, don't blame my husband, it was my idea lol), and between the lovely fireplace and amazing outdoor scenery, it just worked out perfectly for pictures. In the photos you can see the field out behind the building, the fireplace where we chose for our indoor ceremony (as you can have indoor or outdoor), the cake stand (which is a cute barrel with a glass table on top), how the cake was served, and pretty shot of how the tables looked. I'd include more photos but I don't want to have to ask all the people in them if they mind lol

Shannon was amazing, even though she was busy with her own wedding and honeymoon (congratulations again ;D ) she gave us all the information we needed, answered all our questions, and helped ensure we knew what to expect. It was almost overwhelming with all the different choices they give you, between table cloths and food options, but I really appreciated the thought that went into everything.The food was BEYOND amazing, everyone was happy (yes even my picky grandma lol JUST KIDDING GRANDMA I LOVE YOU)

The dance floor is well placed, near the exit for people like me who have social anxiety and want to slip out unnoticed once in a while and hate dancing lol But there was plenty of room everywhere for all our guests, dancing or not (we had about 80 guests)

The staff were all very courteous, and almost invisible half the time as they cleaned up and ducked around skillfully, they worked so hard so a big thank you to the staff that worked that day, you were amazing!!

All in all, I had multiple people (even a couple staff members) complimenting us for our choices and saying it was the best wedding they've...