Guen Reyes, Married on 27/01/2018

Beautiful Venue

I chose the Nikkei Centre as both my ceremony and reception venue because of how gorgeous the venue already is. I found that I did not have to decorate much of the inside because the venue itself was clean and had an air of pride and culture. We had our ceremony in the lobby and I was able to walk down the stairs towards the altar. I found that walking down the stairs allowed all of my guests to see me and I to see them. The reception area was large and it fit our 140 guests, 17 tables, photobooth, bar, DJ area and dance floor comfortably. The venue has a stage but we opted for the raised mini stage to allow our guests to come up to us. The kitchen is very large and was highly praised by our catering team. The venue also had a security guard walking the perimeter to ensure the safety of our guests.

Most importantly the Nikkei Centre allowed my best friend, my dog to be our Ring Bearer. I wrote to the Nikkei Centre requesting for permission and they granted me this wish. I truly am grateful for this.

Karah the venue coordinator was very friendly and easy to communicate with. She answered my questions promptly and ensured that the rehearsal and wedding day went smoothly. The Nikkei Centre's team set up the tables and chairs, which was very helpful.

I have no complaints about this venue. It was worth every penny.

Celia and Alvin, Married on 13/05/2017

We had our wedding ceremony on the lawn and the reception in the lobby area for about 90 guests. The whole experience went without a hitch and the event coordinator was super easy to deal with - almost too nice. The venue itself was super unique and they were extremely open and accommodating to all of our requests (some odd ones in there). Choosing this venue made our wedding actually very stress free because they helped so much coordinating with all of the other vendors. 100% recommendations for Karah and the Nikkei centre staff and venue.

Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre's reply:

Thank you Celia and Alvin. It was such a pleasure hosting your special day at the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre. We look forward to seeing you again! You're Takoyaki stand was fantastic and the entire day was filled with joy and fun. All the best from all of us at Nikkei Centre.

Alex Melotti, Married on 02/08/2015

Lovely staff who were accommodating and highly responsive, despite our event planning falling in the middle of a mat leave. We would definitely recommend Nikkei as a venue to others! The garden area was plus for our guests and the large kitchen and loading area was a big plus for our caterers.

Angela Chong, Married on 13/09/2014

I’m not usually one to type a bad review, but with what my husband and I experienced, I feel a very strong and compelling desire to do so. After a drawn diagram of the rented space (the lobby), we paid the securing deposit. One month later, we were informed that the rented space was smaller, which also opened up the room next door with windows that face into our rented space. We were informed that this may be used by another prospective renter, however, “since we are a wedding couple, they will offer a special rate of half off”. After one week of back and forth email discussions with staff members, including the Executive Director, it seemed that the only way to secure a formal meeting was to mention small claims court for return of the rented deposit, including the securing deposit paid to the caterer. This was eventually sorted; however, our experience moving forward did not change.
With our file being transferred through several staff members, confirmed information was not communicated with each passing person. For the final two months, our file was transferred to a staff member that worked one day a week. It was a common occurrence that questions or issues were continually delayed in our final weeks of wedding preparation.
There were two venue contacts on the wedding day. There were challenges in tracking these contacts when something was needed. The boys were relying on our rented showers to freshen up on a hot day. The shower were not working. Venue staff did not make any attempt to look into the shower, stating there is nothing they could do. Instead, the Day of Coordinator & Best Man got the venue’s shower working. To top off the night, venue staff asked about the return of their corded microphone. I had to ask the Emcee, call the DJ office (as the DJ had already left) and along with several guests, confirmed that we did not use their corded microphone (we used the DJ`s wireless microphone).
This is only a small fraction of our experience.

Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre's reply:

Thank you Angela and Sean,

Thank you for your feedback Angela and Sean, I am now in charge of weddings and am looking at your comments you left for us on wedding wire. It would have been nice if you were able to relay that to me when I asked you on my follow up with you after your wedding. Your response to me is below.

We do aim to ensure that you have the best experience for your day and if we do not know what your requirements are on the day of, such as the use of the showers, then we cannot effectively double check for you to see if they are operational and working without incident. Unfortunately that is an offsite person and we need to call to bring them in for maintenance checks. Once again our sincerest apologies for your discomfort.

We wish you the very best for all future events and thank you for utilizing the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre.

Cut and Paste:

From: angela_s_chong [mailto:angela_s_chong@hotmail.com]
Sent: September 21, 2014 12:10 PM
To: Karen Duffield
Cc: 'S Kajiwara'; 'Roger Lemire'; 'Lauren Kaumi'
Subject: Re: Thank you for your note

Hi Karen,

There was a misunderstanding. I only needed you to contact me if there are any outstanding issues. At this point, we are only waiting on the damage deposit.

Regards,
Angela Chong

Thank you Angela,
Warm regards
Karen Duffield
Rental Coordinator
Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre
6688 Southoaks Crescent, Burnaby BC V5E 4M7
T 604.777.7000 ext. 101 F 604.777.7001
kduffield@nikkeiplace.org

Krystel devera, Married on 27/07/2013

Beautiful venue. The staff were always helpful and very flexible when setting up appointments to view the venue with our crazy work schedule. Great location. Would definitely host another party here again one day!!