Swift River Ranch Event Facility

I really wish I could give this venue more than 5 stars!! Everything was absolutely perfect! Heather and Mel did such a fantastic job, I wouldn't have changed a thing!!

The ladies listened to what my vision was and totally made it happen. They were so easy to work with and fun to work with.

THE SWIFT RIVER RANCH WILL RUIN YOUR EVENT DO NOT USE THIS VENUE. THIS VENUE IS NOT WORTH THE PROBLEMS IT WILL CAUSE YOUunless you want to see your bride end up in tears on her big day stay clear of this place. The manager Heather is rude and unprofessional. She completely ruined the last wedding that was held here causing damage to the djs equipment, and lead to the wedding reception leaving the venue early. Heather has no idea what customer service is let alone good customer service. She yelled at bar tenders for taking a break even though the bar was being covered (they where not the bar tenders from the venue so she had no business bossing them around) she started clearing tables at 7pm even though there was guests still sitting at them causing all the guest to have to move up, she would dump drinks that had just been bought and sat down on a table, complained about the grabages becoming to full cause she had to empty them and she didnt want too, she wouldnt allow the caterers to plug on more the two roasters causing the father of the bride to run home to get a generator so the caterers could get the food for the reception done in time for the reception. The bathrooms at the venue where out of order and the smell coming from them was horrible for almost $3,000 to rent the venue for 12 hours one would think having the bathroom operational would be a priority for the owner and manager. My friends entire wedding reception was ruined by Heather. Swift River Ranch should not be rented until they under go a managment change and learn how to treat there customers better. THE SWIFT RIVER RANCH WILL RUIN YOUR EVENT DO NOT USE THIS VENUE. THIS VENUE IS NOT WORTH THE PROBLEMS IT WILL CAUSE YOU

I am writing this letter in regards to our recent experience with Swift River Ranch. After 20 years of service in the wedding industry, I have been met head on with every brides worst nightmare. I was asked to go out to the ranch and take a look around and make some equipment suggestions, act for their new venue. I took my newley engaged daughter with me. After our visit was over, my daughter was in love. We asked about booking, dates pricing etc. We were given a price for three days over labor day weekend. We told her we were interested in booking the venue, but she wanted to bring her fiancé out to see it. I called back, made an appointment for my daughter and her fiancé to return and again see the ranch. They were in love and were given a contract which was brought home to myself. Upon reviewing the contract there were several details left off the contract. I attempted numerous times to contact them for a new contract with the correct details. No answer….. I was able to reach them just before a bridal show. I confirmed that we still wanted that date, they apologized for not getting the revised contract out, but assured us we were down for that date. After a few weeks with no contract, I chose to make notes on the one we had, and sent it in with my deposit. Unknown to us, Another bride asked about the date at the wedding fair, she was told it was available and she handed over payment without contract or receipt. Now that alone would have been bad enough. But wait, there is more. The accepted my contract and cashed my check. So both brides are now blissfully planning lovely weddings for Labor Day weekend at Swift River Ranch. No one bothered to contact either of us. The other bride was worried, unable to contact them for a contract. She left post all over their Facebook page over a long period of time. Fast forward to January. She says something to one of her venders, who call one of my venders, to ask her opinion. As they are talking, they realize they have two different brides, same venue, same date. The anguish begins. it required numerous attempts via many methods, before there was a return call. The basic call was oops, we are a new business as this kind of stuff is bound to happen. Hell no. Not in 20 years has this happened to me. She opted to give the date to the other bride, because her money was there first. I was offered 1 date in November, if not, several dates in 2017. Here I sit with a great letter signed Swift River Ranch, no name, no apology and an offer for dates in 2017 and a check she had to write to me because again, she accepted my contract and cashed my check. Can you say breech of contract? Please beware, be cautious and diligent. This is being ran by one women here in Montana, and her daughter, who lives in California. They crisscross records and files and apparently checks and contracts. Communication is horrific. Voicemail is always full. no answer to email, text or calls. I understand the lure of the facility, but please enter into dealings with your eyes wide open, and it wouldn't hurt to have a plan B. #swiftriverranch #weddingpreview2017 #montanabrides #billingsareaweddingvenues Marcy

It's unfortunate I have to give 1 star on this review.. My option would be 0. This was my first event as a DJ in this venue on Sat. 8/18/18. The night went terrific until the very end! As a DJ, I consider myself a performer, an entertainer to the crowd. As I was in the midst of the last few songs, I got on top of my speakers and danced to the Macarena... A crowd favorite. I've been doing this for 20 plus years. Besides, are you going to yell at Garth Brooks or equivalent to get off their gear?! This evil gal of a "manager" or whoever she was asked me to get off my speakers. I told her this was part of my show. She then screamed at me again and then proceeded to pull the plug on my entire sound system. Thus causing a power surge to my equipment. I have never been treated like this in my 24 years of dj'ing. And this was not the only issue of the night. She was completely rude to the bride and her guests throughout the night telling them that they could not have backup bartenders to relieve the others who were there, keep in mind the family paid that bill and the insurance. Also the insurance for the building. All she was responsible for was keeping her mouth shut and making sure the trash was empty, which she made an issue of that as well. After my incident she disappeared and left her assistant to fend for herself. Apparently she left to call the sheriff for her protection! I told the sheriff that I wanted to file charges against her for distruction of property for my Sound equipment. These people running this venue have no clue what customer service is at all. I have been in business for much longer than they have and my reputation will proceed theirs bar none. They also had many negative reviews on Facebook as well, but they deleted their account this morning. I found that very odd. However, if you type in Swift River Ranch in the Facebook search, some posts will still show and you can read the reviews yourself. Please beware before you spend up to $3,000 on your special day. To see a beautiful bride in tears on her big day is very heart breaking

This is a very beautiful venue! It is fit to serve any size wedding, which was awesome given we had over 300 guests! They were very easy to work with and answered all my questions that I had along the way.

this is a beautiful venue, with such an amazing staff. I am so happy that I chose to get married here, it was breath taking and such an amazing experience. Highly recommended!

Had a great time and the facilities we're perfect.

BEWARE! DO NOT USE THIS VENUE I wish I could give this venue ZERO STARS. For full disclosure, I am using an alternate account because I fear repercussions from the owner Dawn Calderwood. We have not washed our hands of them entirely yet (for reasons you will soon read), so I am trying to warn while remaining discreet. THAT SHOULD BE A WARNING IN AND OF ITSELF. THESE PEOPLE ARE NO PROFESSIONALS. First complaint, Dawn Calderwood and her staff will attend your wedding ceremony, they will eat your food, and they will drink your drinks. She is also known for swiping wedding favors and centerpieces. (check these other reviews!) She yells at guests and tries to manipulate the activities while she is there. They don't stay on the sidelines either. No, expect them to walk right through your first dance to tell the band the song is bad (this didn't happen, but honestly it wouldn't surprise me.) One of her workers, Coy, is pleasant, but nearly impossible to get ahold of. I emailed her at least a dozen times with radio silence. I have used the "contact us" form on the website with nothing back. I have called with, you guessed it, no answer. My fiance and I ended up having to go to the venue and practically knock on doors to get information. After the ceremony, they tried to pin us for cleaning duties that were unreasonable and never mentioned before. We cleaned our mess, and we were good about it, but they wanted us to mop the entire floor of a 500 person holding venue when they have a machine for that! Yes, I understand soda spills and food mess, but the entire floor by hand when we didn't even use it all?! Another thing: they will not honor their contract, and they will try to keep your deposit. You will have to fight tooth and nail to keep what is rightfully yours because they will find little tiny things and try to keep $500 more dollars. I had to get back up because these people are so money hungry and desperate to keep the deposit (you might as well start wiping baseboards while your cleaning). This is beyond unreasonable. We are still worried about our deposit or some more new issues, which is why I remain anonymous. The venue itself is gorgeous, and I think they could have a good thing, but they are running their business to the ground, and I hope word of mouth catches up with them. For a similar look with a much more professional staff, try Camelot, a new venue in the area. GIVE PEOPLE WHO DESERVE IT YOUR BUSINESS, NOT SWIFT RIVER RANCH!