I wanted to put together a thorough but concise review of Guyton Ranch for any other couples exploring mountain venues for their special day! I will outline all the pros and cons s...o you can make your own informed decision for what suits you as a couple! We got married on September 21, 2024.
The pros of this venue:
Incredible mountain views, 270 degrees, all around you. This includes 13er's and cool terrain. Far enough from the road to remove most noise and be alone in the dramatic valley.
Perfect mix between the country and the mountain vibe. Ranch style house and barn for your reception. Mountain views, high elevation feel, aspen trees on property.
Onsite housing that sleeps a whole family which can help eliminate booking a separate Airbnb. And 4 nights and 5 days on property which greatly helps with set up/tear down.
Complete flexibility on vendors, location of ceremony/cocktail hour/reception. Plenty of freedom for couples that want that. Loud music, self-serve alcohol, non-traditional vendors or weddings, this is great for!
The cons of this venue:
Lack of communication, coordination, and assistance especially during the planning phase. For example we self toured the venue 3 times with the property owner never being available or cancelling at the last minute. We've actually still never met them. Every time we had a question (and you'll have plenty since it's just a blank slate venue) we had to follow up multiple times to get answers which typically came a week later. Owners badly need to hire a full time manager of the venue/property for communication, it is obvious they are keeping overhead lower but not doing that.
The venue is very basic. Eeverything is self set up so assume all day prior and all day after will be set up and tear down/clean up of the whole property. Some tables and chairs are very old and need to be updated.
Bathrooms, while nice, will be a trailer bathroom. This will cause some difficulty with guests who have trouble climbing a few stairs, cause some lines to form, and change the wedding formality slightly. In addition, it is slightly misleading, but you don't hire your own, they hire royal restrooms for the whole season and park it there and then charge you for its use.
Total price of our venue was misleading. Online we saw $7,500, but our contract ended up being $10,000 since it was "peak season and there is an up charge", but that is not published anywhere. This caused some friction early on in our booking phase.
Other information that can be a pro/con depending on the couple:
The venue is at 9,800 ft which is what gives the amazing views and vibe but keep in mind that increases your change of hourly weather change. We had rain and snow on our day in September which was memorable for sure! And obviously more intoxicated guests as well due to the elevation.
Day of coordinator an absolute must for all the moving parts of this type of unique venue. Sami Jo was a life saver. (720) 485-2887
Will NOT fit 200 people in the reception barn. Outside you have all the space in the world but we squeezed 150 inside the barn with a dance floor and it was perfect but couldn't hold many more.
We found a decent number of vendors willing to drive to the venue from Denver but your options will be more limited than closer venues, and assume a travel fee on every vendor which adds ~10%.