The Laiken on Lake Travis

2026 Bride - WORD TO THE WISE

This review reflects my current and up-to-date experience working with Walters Wedding Estates and their venue, The Laiken. I would not recommend booking this venue at this time to avoid the level of stress and heartache we are currently facing. We booked The Laiken in November 2024, while it was still under construction. At that time, it was being promoted as opening in Spring 2025. When that season arrived, the venue was still unfinished—and Walters Wedding Estates cancelled all Spring 2025 weddings, in some cases just two months before the scheduled dates. We were never directly informed of this delay. We only learned about it through our own professional network, as we also work in the wedding industry. After learning about the situation, I reached out to my assigned planner, who redirected me to the Regional VP. After receiving only surface-level answers, I followed up the same day with more questions—none of which were answered for 30 days. On day 31, a new Regional VP contacted me to inform me that both my planner and the previous VP were no longer with the company. We met on June 27th, where I requested written assurances that: We would be notified promptly of any future construction delays, and We could be released from our contract if the venue was not ready at least six months prior to our November 2026 wedding date. The Regional VP agreed and said their legal team would send documentation the following week. This never happened. When I followed up, I learned that he, too, was no longer with the company. By August 2025, I had yet another new planner, who connected me with the District Operations Manager (DOM). He informed me that the venue’s opening date had again been pushed from October 2025 to January 2026. During that conversation, he assured me that construction was “on track” and promised transparent communication. When I again asked for the assurances in writing, I was told this wasn’t possible because our contract was a “construction contract”—despite the fact that our paperwork is the same standard event contract used for all Walters venues. In October 2025, I reached out to schedule a logistics meeting, only to learn my new planner had already left the company. The next assigned planner arranged a meeting with us, during which we discovered yet another delay—the opening had been moved to March 2026. This was never communicated to us; we only learned about it because we initiated the meeting ourselves. After escalating the issue once more, we were connected with yet another new Regional VP, who initially agreed that the written assurances we requested were reasonable and said she would speak with her superiors. However, when I followed up today, her tone and stance completely changed. I was repeatedly spoken over and told that what I was asking for “legally could not be put in writing”—which is inaccurate, but apparently the stance they’ve decided to take. Despite six different staff turnovers and three separate rejections of our reasonable requests, we are still being told to trust a “verbal confirmation” that the venue will open in March 2026. As both a 2026 bride and a wedding industry professional, I deeply regret booking with Walters Wedding Estates and The Laiken. The lack of transparency, accountability, and consistency has been incredibly disappointing.