Grounds For Sculpture

GFS team had the day running perfectly! They accommodated our large guest list flawlessly and were flexible to our multicultural wedding. We couldn’t have asked for anything more!

ulations and safety precautions, the grounds staff were flexible and helpful. Their recommendations for vendors were worth their weight in gold, their guidance for the rehearsal ceremony and on the day of the event was much appreciated, and the day turned out perfect.

many months later, we reached out to Grounds for Sculpture and Rat's Restaurant who worked together to make our tiny wedding memorable and perfect. We worked primarily with Lauren from Grounds for Sculpture for the ceremony and Kathy from Rat's Restaurant for the reception. Lauren and Kathy were both excellent to work with and responded to my MANY questions via email about all of the small details. They really showed their commitment to creating the wedding of your dreams. On the day of, Lauren & Kathy and their teams of staff and volunteers were friendly, helpful, and made everything go smoothly without any issues. The customer services was phenomenal, the food was delicious, and everything looked better than I imagined it.

wedding ceremony & our wedding party speeches), we were left feeling incredibly dismayed & disappointed with the way our wedding day was prepared & handled by the management staff at Constellation Culinary Group & Rat’s Restaurant. 9 days prior to our wedding day, the Sales Manager whom we've been working with since we booked the venue in Dec. 2020, informed us & our DJ separately on the same day that there’s a no dance mandate. We called her right away since it was the first time we were hearing this. She claimed that she did mention this via email in February (only a month before our wedding). We checked our emails & didn’t find a single trace of this being mentioned. In the original email when we had first inquired, we were told that there was availability for the ceremony, reception, AND dance floor. The no dance mandate was never mentioned prior to us finding out. To say we were upset and blindsided to learn about the no dance mandate 9 days prior to our wedding day is an understatement. She didn’t even offer an apology. Presumably, the call did not end well & we were told to take the time to think of what we wanted to do moving forward. The Sales Manager not only failed to communicate this crucial detail with us but also offered no solution to the mess she created. The fact of the matter is not about us not wanting to abide by CDC guidelines & restrictions that were in place in NJ, but the lack of communication on behalf of Constellation. We would have planned our wedding so differently had we had known from the start. We would have treated this as a post-wedding dinner vs reception. We would have booked a smaller space of the restaurant, reduced our guest count, etc. We wouldn’t have booked a DJ nor would we have needed a 5 hour reception. We would have saved thousands. This disaster left a very sour taste in our mouth. Kathy, the Director of Catering, stepped in and & did her best to alleviate our stress. She did defend the Sales Manager & said that the no dance mandate wasn’t broached in writing by the state as a restriction during the time of our booking. I did my own research & found out that this “no dance mandate” was in place since Summer 2020, which was in writing. She did apologize on behalf of the Sales Manager’s mistakes. The Sales Manager didn’t even offer us an apology & she blatantly avoided us on our wedding day, refusing to make any eye contact. There were so many issues on our wedding day, but to name a few, the staff was rude to some of our guests, the GFS Event Manager for the ceremony complained loud enough about having to light our candles for the ceremony aisle that our guests heard (they even offered to help her), no one followed a schedule, my wife had to flag someone at 9PM to ask to cut the cake as we were nearing the end time of our “reception.” Ultimately, we wanted all of our guests, as well as the staff, to feel safe and comfortable in an environment that followed state restrictions but it was just poorly executed. You would think they would follow up with a call or email after our wedding, especially knowing how much stress & anxiety they’ve caused us leading up to it, but we’ve received nothing. It's one thing if we were the only ones that noticed all the issues, but it's another when your guests notices them too.