Iâm writing this to caution others about our recent wedding at Kivelstadt. Iâve been a wine club member for 3+ years and thought it would be a great place for our wedding, especially knowing the staff. Unfortunately, we experienced a lot of disorganization throughout the process, and Iâm saddened to write this â mainly due to how the owner, Alex, has handled our complaints by deflecting and shifting blame rather than taking accountability.
First, we had agreed in the contract to use one of the venueâs band options. I inquired in late November for our May 25 wedding but didnât get an option until January 23âand it was just a one-man band. With no other options offered, we ended up booking our own DJ.
We also werenât provided a real catering tasting. The owner said spring ingredients werenât available yet, so we got a sample of their current menu in March. However, 90% of what we tried wasnât on the wedding menu. This made the tasting feel more like a formality than something helpful. The spring menu had fairly basic ingredients, so it didnât make sense that they couldnât give us a true tasting.
That same day, we met with the co-owner, Jordan, to go over details. He didnât even know our wedding date when we arrived. We discussed timing, table layout, and the use of the wine cellar as a bridal suite to get ready/hide in prior to the ceremony. He confirmed it would be cleared for us.
A month before the wedding, we had a final call with Alex, who said both Jordan and their event manager Danielle would be onsite and in touch with our day-of coordinator. Despite follow-ups, no connection was made. We luckily met Danielle by chance the day before while dropping off dĂ©cor. She said the wine cellar was supposed to have been cleared months ago. It still wasnât.
On the wedding day, my MOH and brother-in-law arrived at 1 p.m. expecting to decorate reception tables, but nothing was set up. Danielle thought tables were going out during cocktail hour and even asked my sister for a layoutâsomething we had already given to both owners. My MOH missed most of my getting ready time to help with setup. The coordinator also had to do a lot of unexpected organizing, including hiding extra tables that were left near the dance floor, which wouldâve shown up in all the photos. Winery guests were still on-site up through 3 p.m., and setup was still happening at that time, despite a 3 p.m. guest arrival time and 4 p.m. ceremony.
Jordan, who we were told would be onsite, never showed. We were never informed of this change. It felt like we didnât matter.
When I emailed Alex about all of this, he responded with âsorry, butâŠâ statements, denied key points (like guest arrival time), and continued to avoid responsibility. He even claimed our guests arrived at 2 p.m., which both my coordinator, my sister, and their tasting room manager stated guests arrived at 3 pm. Their last tasting guests left just before 3 p.m., which cut into our venue time and setup. It felt like wine tasting revenue was prioritized over our wedding.
The wine cellar situation was also blamed on us, even though weâd brought it up before. On the day of, it was barely usableâjust enough space for me and my MOH to cram next to the door while the rest was cluttered and unusable.
If they had taken ownership and offered even a small gesture (like wine or food for our family), I wouldnât be writing this. But their dismissive response left us with no choice.
That said, the staff and food were amazing, and Danielle truly saved the day. If you choose this venue, I highly recommend making Danielle your main contactâshe was professional, responsive, and helpful.
I hope others have a better experience...
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