Stay as far away from the Rochester Wedding Barn as possible!…read more
They only good thing I can say about this place is that the venue is truly beautiful. Our wedding went off without a hitch, but that was mostly because my wife and I are amazing at planning + organization. If I didn't stay on top of these people every day for 10 months, they would have ruined our wedding.
The barn owners have absolutely no idea how to run a business or provide customer service. They are by far the most disorganized and incompetent people I have ever had the displeasure of working with.
They are deceivingly nice on the phone and in person, but impossible to get in touch with when you actually need them. DON'T BE FOOLED. They have absolutely no communication skills whatsoever, so if you want to have your wedding here, be prepared for A LOT of unnecessary stress, phone calls, misleading conversations, hidden fees, missing payments, lousy contracts, and a ton of ridiculous restrictions.
Here is a short list of simple things the owner DJ/Dwayne and his brother David E. managed to screw up:
1) I paid 100% cash upfront and 3 weeks before my wedding, they said the payment went missing and that I was required to provide a receipt. Every time we talked to them we had to give them all our information as if it were the first time we had met.
2) They told us that cocktail tables, mounted industrial fans, and straw bails were included in the barn, as we saw on multiple tours. During our rehearsal 3 days before our wedding, the barn had no fans, straw, or tables, and we were told that was an extra cost.
3) They called us many times leading up to our wedding to confirm all the wrong information. They had no idea who our vendors were and even forgot who WE WERE a few times. They also call rudely late around 9pm - 11pm because the barn is a constant afterthought.
4) They did not provide any toilet paper or trash containers. We literally bought our own toilet paper and had to assign people to walk trash out to the dumpster without getting attacked by their guard dog next door.
5) They cannot do basic math. When I asked for a breakdown of costs for the tables, chairs, and linens, they denied my request. Finally, when they gave me the breakdown, it was incorrect. I only discovered this because I took the time to double check their work. They also don't let you choose your own vendor so they can make a profit!!
6) They provided us with about 8 different phone numbers and we could never reach them on any number. They take A LOT of vacations during their busy season. Every time we DID get a hold of them to confirm a time to meet at the barn they said "just call us on your way over because we might not be there".
7) They wouldn't let us do a sparkler send-off in the drive way because of fire restrictions even though there was a fire pit CLOSER to the barn that was allowed. Thankfully I convinced them to let us do it anyway.
8) No one was ever on the same page. Every time we managed to confirm something, someone else told us it wasn't true. It resulted in a lot of added stress for my wife and I that could have been easily avoided if the 2 clowns running the barn had any common sense or decency.
9) They surprised us with a $150 mandatory insurance policy immediately after we delivered 100% cash payment and signed the contract. David E actually demanded to be paid in cash from his brother while we were sitting right in front of him. It was extremely awkward for everyone. They seem to be money-hungry at every juncture, but provide no actual services.
10) They run a limousine service next door which seems to always be the priority. The barn, myself, and my wife, were always the afterthought, falling through every crack in the place.
Considering the amount of money we paid for what we later discovered to be ONLY the physical space, I IMPLORE you to stay as far away from this place as you possibly can. Go have your wedding in a different barn because these people made every day leading up to our wedding an absolute nightmare.
Everything went perfectly the day of the wedding, but it's hard to forget all the chaos and disorder that preceded our special day. I hope this review saves other couples from the stress and anxiety the barn owners caused my wife and I.