Addy S. Sent on 10/02/2021
-
Quality of service
1.0 out of 5 rating
-
Average response time
4.0 out of 5 rating
-
Professionalism
1.0 out of 5 rating
-
Value
3.0 out of 5 rating
-
Flexibility
1.0 out of 5 rating
Disappointing Venue
My husband and I got married at 2 Penguins Tap & Grill at the end of September and overall it was a great day because I got to marry my best friend but I was disappointed in the venue. We had been working with one of the event managers (who did an amazing job), he wasn't able to be there on our wedding day and there were loads of miscommunication either between him, my husband, and I or between him and the rest of the 2 Penguins staff. We decided not to get a DJ so he offered access to their AV system (which we paid for) but on the day the manger on site wouldn't let us use it outside so I didn't have anything to walk down the aisle to except a tiny Bluetooth speaker. As my husband was trying to get everything situated with that there were snide comments made by the manager that "most people hire their own DJ" but we thought based on our discussions planning the event that the AV system would still cover both inside and outside audio. I also asked before the event if someone could help us setup the AV, which they assured me they would, but no body helped and it fell on my husband and family.
There was also a lot of drama about how I could down the aisle. We booked the back room/patio area and while we were planning the event, the event coordinator helped us figure out where the aisle would be but we weren't told that there is only one way into that back room (which was the same way as everyone else). My husband and I decided not to do before pictures so I was surprised when they were trying to get walk around in front of my husband and all of the guests before I walk down the aisle (thankfully, after discussion with the manager on duty and the owner they let me walk through the kitchen). I understand this is likely as much on myself for not asking the right questions, but I honestly didn't think I needed to ask if there was a way to get to the aisle without being seen -- I would have thought at least one of the other weddings they've hosted would have had a similar setup.
Throughout setup, the ceremony, and the reception there were a lot of snide comments and my husband was treated terribly before they found out he was the groom.
The icing on the cake (pun intended) was that as we were paying for our bill the manager on duty purposely mislead my husband that the mandatory 21% gratuity that gets added automatically doesn't actually include tips to the staff and is just their hourly rate (both him and I thought they were getting paid waiting wages). Halfway through our honeymoon the event coordinator called to make sure the extra tip we paid on our wedding wasn't an accident and I explained our understanding and he told us that they get paid a comparable wage and don't expect tips like waiting staff (thankfully the event coordinator reversed that charge for us).
Overall the venue was one of the more affordable options we could find and everything worked out but if I had a do-over, I wouldn't have chosen 2 Penguins. If you're interested in getting married at 2 Penguins I'd make sure to ask a lot more questions, get a lot in writing, and would suggest asking if the event coordinator could be there on the day of. I imagine most of our issues were miscommunication but it was still disappointing.
My husband and I got married at 2 Penguins Tap & Grill at the end of September and overall it was a great day because I got to marry my best friend but I was disappointed in the venue. We had been working with one of the event managers (who did an amazing job), he wasn't able to be there on our wedding day and there were loads of miscommunication either between him, my husband, and I or between him and the rest of the 2 Penguins staff. We decided not to get a DJ so he offered access to their AV system (which we paid for) but on the day the manger on site wouldn't let us use it outside so I didn't have anything to walk down the aisle to except a tiny Bluetooth speaker. As my husband was trying to get everything situated with that there were snide comments made by the manager that "most people hire their own DJ" but we thought based on our discussions planning the event that the AV system would still cover both inside and outside audio. I also asked before the event if someone could help us setup the AV, which they assured me they would, but no body helped and it fell on my husband and family.
There was also a lot of drama about how I could down the aisle. We booked the back room/patio area and while we were planning the event, the event coordinator helped us figure out where the aisle would be but we weren't told that there is only one way into that back room (which was the same way as everyone else). My husband and I decided not to do before pictures so I was surprised when they were trying to get walk around in front of my husband and all of the guests before I walk down the aisle (thankfully, after discussion with the manager on duty and the owner they let me walk through the kitchen). I understand this is likely as much on myself for not asking the right questions, but I honestly didn't think I needed to ask if there was a way to get to the aisle without being seen -- I would have thought at least one of the other weddings they've hosted would have had a similar setup.
Throughout setup, the ceremony, and the reception there were a lot of snide comments and my husband was treated terribly before they found out he was the groom.
The icing on the cake (pun intended) was that as we were paying for our bill the manager on duty purposely mislead my husband that the mandatory 21% gratuity that gets added automatically doesn't actually include tips to the staff and is just their hourly rate (both him and I thought they were getting paid waiting wages). Halfway through our honeymoon the event coordinator called to make sure the extra tip we paid on our wedding wasn't an accident and I explained our understanding and he told us that they get paid a comparable wage and don't expect tips like waiting staff (thankfully the event coordinator reversed that charge for us).
Overall the venue was one of the more affordable options we could find and everything worked out but if I had a do-over, I wouldn't have chosen 2 Penguins. If you're interested in getting married at 2 Penguins I'd make sure to ask a lot more questions, get a lot in writing, and would suggest asking if the event coordinator could be there on the day of. I imagine most of our issues were miscommunication but it was still disappointing.
2 Penguins Tap and Grill's reply:
Thank you for your comments Addy. We work hard at what we do and are sorry that we did not meet your expectations.
To clarify:
1. We are a taproom restaurant that is very clear that we do casual wedding events for those folks who are looking for a less formal and very reasonably priced wedding event. We truly do our best to be clear about what we do from the start. We are a no frills wedding location geared to those couples who want a great party in a casual location.
2. Dan, our event planner was sick with Covid and out for 2 weeks. We did our very best to cover his events in the most gracious and professional manner possible and I truly am at a loss as to what happened with the Audio system but will look into it. I can only assume that this was a misunderstanding as we use that system outdoors frequently.
3. I believe that we did the right thing by you in contacting you to ask whether it was your intention to leave the tip that you did rather than saying nothing about it and keeping the money. All of your money was cheerfully refunded. Our event captain recalls the events a bit differently than how you relate it, but that is water under the bridge. As ownership and management we wondered if your husband had misunderstood about the tip and we called you asap to find out. All of our captains recognize that they are paid a very fair wage and if a tip comes in on top of that rate that we will always call the patron to be certain that they intended to tip on top of our built in service fee, as we did in your case.
Readers of this review and our response please hear: We will provide excellent food in ample quantities, we will provide excellent staff and a great fun atmosphere for casual low key wedding receptions and ceremonies if desired. We are not a traditional wedding facility with wedding ceremony coordinators and we will not charge you the same amount as those locations do. That is not who we are and we understand that we fill a very specific market niche.
