Reviews of Occasions By The Bay in Trenton

​This venue is absolutely amazing! It has beautiful decor and the staff went above and beyond what we expected for our wedding at Occasions by the Bay (OBTB).

We had the ceremony, coc​​ktail hour and reception all in one location which made it super easy. OBTB provided catering, food service, linens and a lot of other decor such as centerpieces, a card box and seating chart sign which was very helpful.

OBTB offered many customizable options and colours for table setups. I got a sneak peek at a graduation party happening the night before our wedding and it was a total transformation from our design.

The ballroom they have is gorgeous, we fell in love with the floor and chandelier and they looked really great in our photos. The gardens were also so well taken care of and were perfect for our ceremony and cocktail hour outside. It is very green though in June so we provided our own potted plants to the steps of the aisle to add colour.

The staff made it so easy and stress free for us. Valerie, the coordinator, is the loveliest person you'll ever meet. She was so attentive to all of our questions and made all of our requests come to life! She always answered promptly and helped us stay organized. The day before, we dropped off our decor and the staff did all the set up. We had a seated dinner; food was delicious and service was smooth. Another favourite perk was that they include a late night shuttle service for guests that don't want to drive and they allow for overnight parking. Major hotels are only 15min away. For everything that was included, our package was very well priced. They did a truly awesome job to make our day flawless and we highly recommend it for hosting any occasion.

The venue is beautiful and so is the decor. However that is where the positivity ends. Our issues began during my rehearsal when I learned the chefs either ignored or were not informed of our chosen selections and planned to serve TWO appetizers containing nuts as main ingredients. Considering it was made very apparent and notated on our paperwork that there was a guest with a severe nut allergy, this was unacceptable. This issue was corrected but had I not been persistent with confirming the menu during our Rehearsal we would not have known until it was too late.

During our reception the bar was frequently left unstaffed with all employees in the kitchen and nowhere to be found. Multiple times guests had to knock on the kitchen door and ask for a bartender or choose to go without.

Our co-ordinator was not present for the rehearsal or wedding. The person left in her place is admittedly not a co-ordinator and hence there were multiple issues due to the lack of organization and communication.

The owner was made aware by employees and contacted by myself and has no desire to apologize or rectify the issue.

I will never recommend them or book with them for any event going forward.