Rivermill

We loved our recent wedding at Rivermill and guests were raving too! Once we saw the space, we knew it was the one! We had both our ceremony and reception at Rivermill, which made it very convenient for all involved. If you are looking for a unique space that you can make you own, in a quaint town, this is it! Owners Kevin and Starr were extremely helpful and professional throughout the entire process. On the day of, they helped coordinate all of the details and things went down without hitch! Rivermill staff was on top of things from start to finish! We highly recommend this venue for its original space and helpful/​professional staff. Thanks for helping our vision come to life Rivermill!

I attended a wedding here this past weekend. The wedding itself was great, the bride and groom threw a super fun party. The Rivermill, on the other hand, wasn’t so great in my opinion. A lot of what happens at a wedding is the choice of the bride and groom while planning in regards to the food choices and quantity of food and the bar being open or cash, and I realize that, so my comments are based solely on the Rivermill as a venue and their staff. First, there was valet, which was good because in downtown Dover, parking can be tricky on the weekend. They took our car at the curb and brought it back to us right outside the entrance to the Rivermill which was a nice surprise. The bride and groom chose to get married in the Rivermill which I advise against. It’s just not ceremony friendly and with it being summer, I’d try for an outdoor wedding and use Rivermill’s set up as a backup plan only. It’s just sort of an awkward place to hold a ceremony. The ceremony and the reception area were just divided by a boring curtain that in my opinion resembled a shower curtain. After the ceremony the chairs were folded up and the curtains tied back, but that just left a big empty space which was weird. I imagine the pictures the wedding party took outside are going to be beautiful because it’s on the river and there were plenty of options for photos.
The appetizers were good. They had a mini flatbread, a crabcake (?) and beef skewers. The girls serving them were bored except for one who was pretty friendly. It was cash bar, and there were a ton of beers to choose from, but very limited alcohol selection. No flavored vodka, no Malibu rum. And all the drinks, regardless of what they were, were served in a wine glass. Even the sodas/​martinis/​margaritas. Totally weird and not at all what I’d consider professional. I ordered a glass of wine and a non-​alcoholic beer. First, the bartender didn’t even know they had alcoholic beer (even though it was on display) and for those two drinks the total was $ 12. Whoa! For a glass of house wine and a NA beer!!! That’s super expensive. The bartenders were nice enough and ran a tab for anyone wanting to open one.
Dinner was okay, it was Liberty Lane Catering, provided by Rivermill, and the food was iffy. Just a choice of fish or chicken with green beans (all of which was pretty good) and a HORRIBLE twice backed potato which was barely edible. If they didn’t have the horrid potato, I’d recommend the food because the rest was fine, including the warm rolls and the mixed greens salad. The service was really slow, I felt that it took them a really long time to get the food out. The first tables were dancing by the time the last tables got their food and it wasn’t an overly large wedding. Maybe just over 100 people. At the end of the night the bar closed before the DJ stopped playing. I’ve never once been to a wedding that stopped serving drinks before the end of the party. Not a big deal, we were leaving anyway, but I was really surprised. It took about 10 minutes to settle and close our tab, while we stood there and waited, which I didn’t really understand what was taking so long. One person was adding all of them up and totaling them.
Overall, the industrial feel of the building was pretty cool and it made for a great party with the up lighting and a good DJ, but the staff and the bar issues were enough to dissuade me from ever recommending Rivermill to anyone for a wedding or function. They need some work.

I recently attended a wedding at the Rivermill & it was a gorgeous venue.
The river running behind the venue is pretty for photos.
The space inside is wide open, but for the wedding the reception and wedding area were divided by a curtain.
The waitstaff & bartenders were courteous to all guests. I’d recommend this venue to host an event.