We booked the Springville Ranch for our wedding over a year in advance. We booked the day we saw it, it was beautiful and everything we had hoped for. Unfortunately we were not told until almost a year later that they had a special going on for free engagement pictures if you book the day you see The Ranch. By this time we had already paid $250 to have engagement pictures done and asked since they failed to mention the special to us if that money could be allocated elsewhere. This was not allowable. When paying $15,000+ for a wedding I would expect a little more leniency and willingness to work with you. At the Springville Ranch you will get none. Debbie, the woman who runs the ranch for Kathleen, the owner, is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. That said, niceness does not run a successful business. She "lost" our file multiple times, sent us e-mails we could not decipher as they were riddled with typos and grammatical errors that were literally indiscernible, sent us further e-mails with incorrect information, failed to respond to us for weeks until we sent follow-ups, the list goes on and on. (Email example "yes the cc Hildreth are cheater need to know the she so o cam I can let kath n informers.") Every time we spoke things would change, alcohol and drink prices would go up every few months, she wouldn't know what glasses we were using (even though we spoke about it at least 5 times), what table covers were being used, how we wanted the tables set up (we set them up with her and she took pictures as reference), etc etc. We would have to proof her notes because she would have colored napkins written down instead of table cloths or mason jars written down instead of goblets. We paid our wedding off in full 9 months in advance. That left us puzzled as to why we received subsequent bills saying we still owed thousands of dollars. This was again due to Ranch oversight. We would drive over an hour to meet and go over our file and plans multiple times throughout our process because we were so nervous they were going to mess everything up, all to our dismay... Our file would be misplaced and we would spend our meeting going over every single thing we already went over and not accomplishing anything. We were also told that we could stay in the bridal suite the night of our wedding. As the wedding got closer we reconfirmed that we could stay and we were told no we couldn't, that they don't have a license for that. But "maybe for an additional fee" we could work something out. You're right, $15,000 shouldn't cover that! No thanks, I'll go down the street to a hotel!
We had so many countless issues with The Ranch that we communicated to Kathleen the owner we were very concerned with our wedding. She assured us she would be there the day of our wedding to oversee and make sure things went smoothly. We were on the verge of canceling our wedding and this reassured us that things would be fine so we continued with this venue. The day of the wedding Kathleen failed to show. Many other things fell through on our special day, and the expectations were simply not met. We decided to get married on the bridge because the backdrop was a beautiful fountain with a large anchor. This fountain was never turned on and unfortunately we missed out on the beauty and character that it would have added to the setting. The Ranch was supposed to have security directing traffic and telling people where to park as the parking is quite hectic and small. No one was there to assist with parking, and our guests were turning around and leaving because they were unsure if they were at the correct venue. It was quite chaotic. Furthermore, we requested certain alcohol types (I'm a girl and picky) to the open bar that we had completely funded. They failed to have the only beer that I drink and not only the brides but the grooms as well. They didn't get his either! So we were both stuck without our go-to drinks. Our guests later told us that some were being charged throughout the night for their drinks and minors were also never asked for an ID!!! Considering we had to pay $350.00 for security, this should not have happened.
We went to taste testing's at The Ranch and the food was wonderful. We were very excited since you are not allowed to bring in any outside catering, that the food was good. Unfortunately, when cooking for more than 10 couples at the tasting, the food quality drastically diminished. Of course we had to repeat what we wanted for our dinner multiple times because that was misplaced as well, but the night of our wedding the food was incorrect! Thing's we didn't order as well as being dry and tasteless.
Working with this place was a complete nightmare. I would never, EVER recommend them to anyone. Although the grounds are absolutely stunning and the people are nice, it doesn't make up for the amount of stress you will endure dealing with what goes on during the most important and special time of your life. read more