Winery Road Forest venue review

We had an amazing wedding at Winery Road on the 7th of Jan 2022, the venue is absolutely beautiful and it is a day I will never forget. I do feel that there are some things that the venue management can improve on. When I did a tour of the venue with Lize and my wedding coordinator various things were promised in person (which made me and the wedding coordinator very excited to work with them and my coordinator was looking forward to a working relationship with them) but in reality never happened. For example, they have a policy that all take downs and removal of items must be collected by the coordinators and service providers the night of the wedding. The coordinator said it will be costly to expect flowers and décor companies to come collect their items at midnight but that if we pack everything up she and the flower company (My Pretty Vintage) will collect first thing in the morning. She said that because our coordinator is a trusted and well respected supplier that they are fine with that. I understood the wording of the contract which states "WRF herewith acknowledges that all décor/ personalized items, which was removed on the evening of the wedding from the function hall, will be collected the next day by the client’s wedding coordinator. " meant that we could pack up and tidy everything the night of the wedding but the vendors could collect the items the next morning. The week of our wedding I discovered that this was not allowed, the flower and decor company had to come collect on the very same night. Because they had to pay staff to come at midnight we had to pay an additional R2000. I begged the managers and they said no. My wedding coordinator and décor company said this was unheard of in the industry and I felt this to be very strict.

We were also surprised to learn that no ice buckets were placed on the tables for the white wine even though it was a 30 degree evening. I was surprised as this is bar/waiter service 101, being a venue in the Winelands I would think this was standard. Some guests asked for ice buckets but this was not provided. If this was because we brought our own wine in it would have been nice to be told in advance. I also do not think this is the coordinators responsibility to ensure as it is up to the waiters and bar staff to ensure drinks service runs smoothly.

I was also told that a curtain of fairy lights get hung up behind the bridal table. I paid for and organized our décor company to add greenery to the lights. Even though the décor looked beautiful it was important to me to have that backdrop and I was disappointed to learn that they couldn't do it because Winery Road did not string up the fairy lights for us.

Please also note then even though curfew is over, the wedding venue shuts down at 11.30 sharp.

Its a lovely venue and rare to find a place that has a forest, a beautiful dam and a stunning dancefloor under the stars but if I could go back and do it all again I would choose a venue that sticks to their verbal agreements and works better with suppliers. Having said that I did find the venue far more affordable then most wine farms in the area and it's a lovely and relaxed space.