Was here for a wedding. The venue is beautiful and everything was so well done. Service was amazing. The cocktail hour was fabulous. There was a buffet plus catered apps. Plenty of staff kept everything flowing. The outdoor tent and the decorations were beautiful. Right on the water with beautiful views. Everything was first class! read more

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Lovely venue with stunning scenery, great food and fantastic service! Attended a wedding today including ceremony, cocktail hour and reception. The ceremony was held in their covered outdoor space which was remarkable! The indoor cocktail hour was great with indoor and outdoor seating and bars and plenty of varied food. Again beautiful views all around and outstanding service. The food was great, drinks were very good. They were not too sweet nor too strong yet not weak. Very well made drinks! The reason for my four stars are the bathrooms. The indoor restroom was located on the lower level with a very very long and steep staircase. With several ladies in heels and mature adults I saw it as a hazard. The reception was held in another room (open air ) but completely covered in a tent which was perfect! it was warm, decorated nicely and did not feel like a tent by by means. The views are absolutely breathtaking! The service was outstanding! The food was very good but my fav were the desserts. They had freshly made crepes and a variety of sweets, cookies, patties etc. read more

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The Quick: extremely impressed by the venue, the food, the wait staff, and overall presentation. This catering company knows what they're doing, and this venue on the water is beautiful. The Details: this is the second event I went to from this catering company in a week, and honestly I was so impressed. The food was delicious, obviously it's all about the cocktail hour, but the seated dinner was great as well. The sushi was the star for me. The bartenders remembered your drink, and would start making it as soon as you walked to the bar... I love that! The Damage: i'm sure they are pricey, because the quality is excellent. I've heard that the best for weddings in the Philly area read more

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Attended a wedding at WW in April '19 and was impressed by atmosphere, food and service. The interior is perfect for this type of occasion with a large main gathering area and a few side rooms as well. The best part was the rear porch overlooking the river and boathouse row, with a beautiful sunset to go with it. The exterior is a little worn, but given the age, not a big deal. I don't recall everything I had to eat but I do remember liking the meal and apps. I'd recommend the venue be given consideration for such an event read more

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Dream wedding venue, my friends and family walked away astonished. I was blown away about how it all came together...! Just perfect. It was a fairytale wedding. The food was beyond amazing, ALL of it. Our service staff were so sweet, attentive, well organized. Dont go anywhere else, the price was not bad at all, if you go anywhere else, the same old cheesy food, and apps, if you want quality food, service, and atmosphere, go to CESAPHE waterworks.! Also, use beautiful blooms for the decor.... they have one package, so you get EVERYTHING! read more

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I was so excited to ring in the New Years at this new Cescaphe venue. I am always impressed at the pictures that I see on social media of the parties they throw. Last year, I witnessed the class, attention to detail and meticulous organization of the New Year party at the Downtown Club. Sadly, I have to say that compared to the party of last year this one did NOT stand up to the standards. Details on why this party was A-OK: First, pricing of the ticket for this year was pretty high. Maybe that was due to the fact that they could not fit that many people as they did last year at The Downtown Club. Second, food was good but, again, not over the top. The last issue with this party was the venue itself. Not impressed at all. Inappropriate for a winter party. They had done two extensions on the both sides. On one side it was a bar, a small area of food and few seats for people to sit and chat. On the other tent extension, there was the main place where to grab food and there were many more tables to sit. However, they weren't enough once more and more people started to walk in. I remember grabbing this piece of meat (do not recall the name of the dish) and by the time that my turn came to grab more food and then a seat, my stuff was cold. On top of that, it was too cold to just sit and eat. Though, there was a heater, it didn't really help me or any other lady. I had an open shoulder dress. The main room was beautiful and carefully decorated for the Golden Age of Hollywood theme. Other than that this party was just okay. I believe that if one is looking for a small venue for their wedding in the city, this one should be good. And make sure it's nice and warm. read more

Water Works Presented By Cescaphe Event Group - Main hall - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Having our wedding here will truly go down as one of the biggest regrets of my life. The event coordinator Gary was responsible for ruining most of what went wrong in the months leading up to the wedding and on our wedding day. He was difficult to work with, was very arrogant, tried to plan our wedding how he would want it done instead of how we asked, was unfamiliar with the terms of our contract throughout planning, and was just generally unprofessional. He repeatedly rescheduled our tasting (and tried to have us do our tasting a few days before the wedding), never wrote down the desserts that we chose at the tasting so we had to pick them from memory months later and picked different ones as a result, and changed the cake company they were contracted with after we had already sampled the first bakery. Worst of all, he wasn't available for our rehearsal. Two months before the rehearsal, he claimed that another couple lost their child and therefore they would be flying in for one day for their tasting... coincidentally on the day of our rehearsal. A very sad story (if it's even true) but still have no idea how that results in their tasting being scheduled the same day as our rehearsal TWO MONTHS LATER. So his assistant (very nice girl) handled our rehearsal but did not seem to know what she was doing... Fast forward to the wedding, and somehow the bridesmaids and bride end up walking down the aisle IN DEAD SILENCE, no music. Afterward, we asked Gary, THE EVENT COORDINATOR, what happened and he said it wasn't his responsibility. Our DJ told us that water works staff told him not to play music because we had a singer, which is true but we explained during rehearsal that the singer would be singing two songs after everyone was at the altar, not during the procession. And it gets worse... 1.We found out after the wedding that Gary had moved guests around on our seating chart after it was finalized, 2.We told Gary to serve guests dinner while we took photos before dinner started... 45 minutes later, Gary still had not served anyone food. Luckily our parents told him then that he needed to serve dinner as we had instructed him to do, 3.We were supposed to have signature drinks but they didn't make any, 4. Their "security" didn't prevent anyone from walking through the area THAT WE HAD RENTED outside of the restaurant. We even saw the security guard taking photos under our altar outside as strangers wandered through the property. This venue is nothing but a money pit and definitely NOT WORTH the minimum ~$25k that is required to host a wedding there. Go somewhere, ANYWHERE else, seriously. I'd give this place negative 1 million stars if I could. 2017 Update... Apparently Gary doesn't work there anymore. But Sarah F does. She's so awesome. Ask for her. read more

I've attended two weddings here in the past year, a large event that was held indoors and outdoors and an intimate winter wedding held in the Pump House only. Absolutely stunning location! The Philadelphia skyline in one direction, The Art Museum in another and Boat House Row all night long. Cescaphe presents interesting food, prepared especially well and the bar produces just about any cocktail a guest can imagine. The food is amazing! Appetizers include lobster tail, sushi and a nod to the location, mini cheese steaks and french fries. Desserts are impressive and include Banana Foster as well as waffles and ice cream. You truly cannot find a better presentation or selection of quality, well prepared food served in a unsurpassed location. A memorable wedding for the bride but even more so for her guests! Bravo. read more

I attended my cousin's wedding here recently. I've been to many weddings and I'd have to say, I was worried because my cousin and his wife only had 3 months to plan. I thought it would be hectic and disorganized. However, I'm so glad they chose this venue ... the photo ops were beautiful and the food was DELICIOUS. My uncle had his wedding at the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay paying $$$$ and I thought their food was good, but I'd even have to say the food provided at Water Works was better. Hors d'ouvres included buffet of oysters, clams, crab legs, crab cakes, lobsters, sushi, etc. Everyone thought the main course wouldn't be as good so we all stuffed ourselves. Well...we all wished we hadn't, because the main course was delicious too. I got the rack of lamb, very well seasoned and perfectly medium rare. My husband's filet mignon was solid. My mom's chilean sea bass was the best tasting dish ... very light, buttery, and flavorful. Then a dessert bar was setup ... a bananas foster bar, funnel cake bar, fondue bar, little cups of banana cream pie, chocolate pudding, chocolate molten cake, alcoholic coffee bar... wow I wish I wasn't in a dress so I could stuff myself silly. The bar serving alcohol also did a fantastic job ... I had a lychee martini and it was so good, I ended up getting 2 more over the course of the night. The view of the water was beautiful and there was a little fire pit outside that provided enough warmth for us to stay out and watch the sunset. I'd love to come to another event here if I didn't live so far away... read more

I attended a wedding at Water Works recently as a guest and wanted to provide feedback to any couples thinking about getting married here. This is my third Cescaphe wedding (each at a different one of their venues) and they each seemed like highly impersonal events that lacked management. The staff at the Water Works wedding just didn't seem to care about the details. There were probably 200 guests at this wedding. The ceremony was interrupted by staff conversations - half the guests turned around in their seats and the officiant literally had to pause until they stopped talking. Our water glasses were left empty for the entire evening, even after asking two different servers to refill. The plates were chipped. The buffet stations had massive lines that seemed to never move and there were no staff present to serve at the stations to expedite the lines. The bathrooms closest to the reception tent are accessible to the public and are basically a bunch of portapotties in a truck. They were disgusting and smelled awful all evening. All of these points seem like they stem from a lack of management and staff that are generally unconcerned about the guest experience. At all of the Cescaphe events I've been to, the food during cocktail hour is quantity over quality. They put out a large spread, but everything is mediocre. The seated dinner food was also disappointing. The first course, a salad, was composed of wilted greens, a few almonds, a tiny sprinkle of goat cheese and four slivers of beet. The second course was too small and overcooked. We finished both and were still hungry. The last thing to point out about Water Works is that it really isn't private. The public and anyone walking by can walk through the event area, use the bathrooms, etc. read more