I want to begin this review by stating the the staff at Contigiani's is OUTSTANDING! I had the pleasure of being a part of my best friend's wedding, and the ceremony and reception were held at this venue. The ceremony was held in the side court yard, the rehearsal dinner in the smaller event room, and the reception in the main hall. The whole weekend we were catered to by some truly warm, lovely people. I genuinely felt like they cared about our well being, and were just as happy to be helping us as we were to have chosen this location. The food was INCREDIBLE!!!
The only thing preventing me from giving a full 5 star rating is Bonnie Contigiani, one of the owners. She was an absolute nightmare. Pushy, rude, not a genuine bone in her body, and all around terrible. We used an event planner who helped us every step of the planning process. Through the full year of planning this wedding we never interacted with Mrs. Contigiani once. No phone calls, no emails, no in person meetings, and although she was at the property during the rehearsal dinner, did not come out to interact once. However, the day of the wedding she decided that she was going to step in and dictate every minute of our time. She barged in right from the beginning and immediately cleared half of the bridesmaids out of the room. She then informed us that she would be dressing the bride. This wasn't a question, it was a demand. Let me ask you? Would you feel comfortable being half naked in front of a complete stranger while she put you in your WEDDING GOWN, or would you prefer your Mother, sister, and best friend help you? That's what I thought. Bonnie made sure we knew she did not agree with this but let us dress the bride, "If that's what we really want." She continued to try and barge in repeatedly asking when we would be ready. Complaining that we were making our guests wait, even when we had a full 45 minutes to spare. When I went out to get the rest of the bridal party for a toast 15 minutes before the ceremony started Bonnie approached me and said, "Is she dressed yet?" When I said yes, and informed her we wanted to do a quick toast, she rolled her eyes at me and said, "Well let's GET ON THAT." CLAPPING HER HANDS IN MY FACE WITH EACH CAPITALIZED LETTER! The daughter of the groom was supposed to be escorted to her seat by her uncle, but Bonnie decided we were running late (the bride stepped off at 4:02 for a 4 o'clock wedding so that is completely untrue) and ushered her to a seat in the BACK ROW. During the reception many guests complained about how rude she was while tending bar, and the evening ended with her confronting the bride about how long the party was going. We were told by our coordinator that we had until midnight. When we informed Bonnie of this after she asked the bride when she planned on, "Wraping this up." She said the following, TO THE BRIDE ON HER WEDDING DAY, "These events are only supposed to last for 5 hours so you should have been out of here by 9, but I guess that slipped by the office. You, all your guests, and all your things need to be gone at 11. Not a minute late."
I could go on and on about how incredibly awful she was, but I simply don't want to give her anymore of my time. Overall the wedding was a huge success and I will have find memories of my best friend's special day for many years! It is disappointing that these memories will be scared with the most inexcusable lack of customer service I have ever experienced. If you choose this venue you will not be sorry! Just be sure to request that Bonnie not be present.