Hacienda sanjose

My husband and I got married in the Hacienda in August this year. The venue was gorgeous however, the one catering company that is unfortunately exclusive to the venue (they don’t tell you this until you book) is an absolute disgrace and a borderline scam. They gave us 7/8 menu options, we opted for the second most expensive which we spent over a year discussing with them during the planning process and even flew from Sydney to do our food tasting. On the wedding day, there was nowhere near enough food for 90 people, some of the dishes we had agreed were not served at all. The only vegetarian (one of my bridesmaids) at the wedding did not get their meal at all. Nothing was labelled for allergies, which was shocking. We had 6 children at the wedding and the ‘chef’ had to go out to buy more food for the children as he didn’t bring enough, despite final numbers being confirmed 8 weeks before the wedding. They charge additional for the staff, we had paid for caterers and bar staff on top. They were extremely understaffed on the day, the same 3 staff that we paid for as “bar staff” were the only staff there. It was uncomfortable to watch them run off their feet all day. I’m lactose intolerant and got served a lactose desert. When I asked for the desert I was supposed to be served I was told there was none left and was given a half arsed fruit bowl. They charged us additional to cut and serve the cake to guests, the cake was fully in tact the next day. The late night snack which we were told would be fresh pizza, was frozen pizza. I watched the staff take the pizzas out of plastic and stick it into the ovens. Due to all of the catering delays, it ate 30 mins into our band time which is incredibly unfair. We had a call with the caterer (Diego) after the wedding and he refused to take any responsibility. We’ve had at length back and forth with our planner at Sunshine weddings the venue owner Karen who also refuses to take any responsibility. When we flew from Sydney to visit the venue for our food tasting and meeting with our suppliers, they had 5-6 months notice and the day we arrived, excited to show our parents the villa, the owner was in residence and refused to let us up to see the bridal suite which was so disappointing. At this stage it was far too late to change the venue but we were so tempted. We had the most amazing day with our friends and family regardless of the catering and the venue itself is gorgeous but there are other beautiful venues around who actually respect the couple, the time, energy and money that goes into planning a wedding. Avoid.