The Olana by Walters Wedding Estates

I want to start this review with full transparency: The Olana offered me an $850 refund in exchange for signing an NDA to prevent me from sharing my experience which is a joke. I feel compelled to warn other brides. I chose The Olana because, as an experienced event planner, I had high expectations. Unfortunately, my experience was deeply disappointing. Before signing our contract, I had multiple conversations with a representative who reassured me that the package I purchased covered everything I needed. She explicitly stated I wouldn’t need to spend more. This was a complete lie. It wasn’t until my first planning meeting that I learned I would need to pay significantly more for things I was promised were included. A few months after signing, The Olana raised their rates on everything we had already contracted for. We were locked in, with no choice but to pay the higher prices or cancel and lose our $25,000 deposit. Which we actually considered. While my ceremony was perfect, The Olana’s execution was riddled with failures: My day-of planner was MIA. She never checked in with me and failed to keep the event on schedule. My grandfather, who has severe medical conditions, was supposed to have a staff member assisting him but they never showed. The staff helped a random guest instead. Tables were set incorrectly. Each was set for 10, with 10 salads pre-plated—even when only 5 or 6 guests were seated. This made it look like half our guests didn’t show. Decor mistakes ruined our dinner ambiance. We paid nearly $1,000 for greenery on chandeliers, only for it to be installed in the wrong room. Transportation was a mess. We confirmed that our grandparents could take the Rolls Royce home since we were taking a party bus. Yet, 30 minutes before the reception ended, the driver interrupted our event and told them they had to leave immediately or he wouldn’t be available. Later, The Olana claimed he was just “letting them know he was ready.” We were deceived about our timeline. Despite multiple conversations about limiting post-ceremony photos, we were lied to and told the kitchen was running late. In reality, we spent an hour longer than planned on photos, making guests wait and causing our dinner to be served cold. Our grand entrance was ruined. Instead of personally bringing us in, the planner had a waitress do it. She led us through the wrong entrance, so guests were facing the opposite direction, and our entrance wasn’t captured on video. A major reception reveal moment was completely botched. I paid for curtains to separate dinner from the reception for a dramatic reveal. They were never closed. Instead, guests watched the reception setup while they ate. When I asked someone to fix it, I was told they couldn’t. Yes, The Olana is stunning. Yes, my photos and video look amazing. But when I see them, I think of everything that went wrong. I think of the months spent planning, only to experience poor execution. My family still talks about how disappointing some moments were. Imagine explaining to your 80-year-old grandmother and 83-year-old grandfather that they missed the end of your wedding because a driver made a mistake and didn't even to own up to it. Now imagine voicing your concerns to your planner, who is horrified, only for The Olana to offer a mere $850 refund—if you sign an NDA. Brides, if you want a venue that values your experience, The Olana is not it. Word count cut many details but I tried to include it all!

I just had my second to last meeting with my Wedding Planer Melissa Austin, she has been my key to an stress-free and incredibly planned out Wedding. Because of her, I have not been stressed out about my Wedding at all! Her expertise leaves me feeling ready and excited! I couldn’t ask for a more perfect Wedding Planner!

WALTERS COMPLETELY LACKS INTEGRITY AS AN ORGANIZATION. The moment anything doesn't align with maximizing their profits, their façade of "we care about you" disappears. If you’re like us, you fell in love with their beautiful venues. We loved it, and decided to do our wedding there. But after signing, everything with Walters/Olana has been nothing short of them taking advantage of us. In the sales process, they said if anything came up, insurance would take care of us, and assured flexibility. But right after we signed the contract, we found out that half of our family couldn't make the date (we just needed to ask our family if they could make the date, but since there was flexibility, we didn’t ask). The bride's brother was also expecting a baby that same weekend, and the groom's grandfather had passed away. They didn’t care. We filed an insurance claim, which was rejected—contrary to what the salesperson promised during the sale. Our coordinator later told us they've never seen insurance cover anything, including death from cancer. Instead of helping us, they offered to move our date up to August, right in the middle of Texas's 100-degree heat, and they said we should be grateful they offered that. But forget their promise earlier. Know why? Because they could lose potential revenue from future bookings. Walters' upper management hid behind the contract, saying, "Sorry, you signed it.” They claimed that changing the date was a cancellation, requiring us to pay over 75% of the contract (about $30K!), plus repaying the ENTIRE purchase price to rebook ($40-$60K!). Communication was terrible. They're severely understaffed, so it is impossible to get a response. They only reply on Mondays and Tuesdays; from Wednesday through Sunday, you're out of luck because they're busy with other weddings. It’s shocking the complete lack of care the organization has for their clients after they sign. What's worse, we've learned that many other couples have had similar experiences. One of our cousins also had to DIY most of their wedding, despite paying $40K for a supposed "all-inclusive" package. Walters has also been sued during COVID for withholding deposits after canceling weddings (check it out, it’s public record). Their "all-inclusive" package is a joke. We thought their $40K package with all we needed, but it was actually going to cost us $60K to not have a bare bones wedding! For example, we received a $750 credit for stationery. We assumed this would cover all our needs—signage, invitations, save-the-dates. In reality, it only covered 150 invitations and nothing else, with each invitations costing $5-$7 each! Had we known the true costs upfront, we would have walked away. After this nightmare, we visited other venues and were shocked by the difference. Other places were transparent, responsive, and genuinely cared about their clients and staff. Walters Wedding Estates and the Olana couldn't be more different. We're now in arbitration, trying to get out of the contract due to the blatant misrepresentations made, assuring us of flexibility and coverage through the insurance we purchased. But when it came between integrity and profit, they chose the latter. If you're considering booking with Walters or any of their venues, don’t. They've been predatory, unresponsive, and impossible to work with. Save yourself the stress, legal battles, and lack of communication. Choose a venue that actually values its clients and has integrity.

DO NOT WORK WITH WALTERS. Our experience with Olana—and the Walters Wedding Estates organization —has been completely predatory. They said insurance would cover anything that came up, and would help us out with the date if it didn’t work. Immediately after we signed, we asked our family if the date worked, and turns out half our family couldn’t make it. In addition, we found out the the bride’s brother having a baby the weekend of the wedding and the groom’s grandfather passing away. They completely and utterly did not care. We filed a claim with insurance, and they didn’t cover it (which the salesperson promised it would, but come to find out after signing, Walter’s wedding coordinator — who was different from the sales person — said that they have never seen anything payout for insurance, including people dying of cancer). Instead, they offered to move the date up to August in the middle of Texas’ 100-degree heat, but refused to move it back to make good on the promise we had from the salesperson. Walters’ upper management simply said, “Sorry, you signed a contract, and we can’t help you.” They said that if we move the date, it’s technically a cancellation, and we have to pay 75%+ of the contract price ($30K!), PLUS however much it is to rebook with them. All they had to do was tell us upfront that they wouldn’t work with us on the date, and we could have asked our family if they could come. Instead, they strung us along with false promises and left us trapped. The management’s entire approach has been to hide behind the contract and say, “Sorry, you signed it.” There was no willingness to help, no understanding, just a complete disregard for us as clients. We’re now in arbitration to get out of the contract because of the blatant misrepresentations they made during the sales process. From day one, they assured us flexibility and coverage through the insurance we purchased, but when real-life events impacted our plans, they left us out to dry. The communication has been abysmal. They are severely understaffed, and we couldn’t get ahold of anyone for weeks at a time. They only respond on Mondays and Tuesdays—Wednesday through Sunday, you’re completely out of luck, because they’re doing other weddings. It took forever to get basic answers, and by the time they finally did respond, it was too late to do anything. What’s worse, we’ve since learned that other couples have had similar experiences. One of our cousins dealt with Walters too and had to DIY most of their wedding while still paying $40K for a supposed “all-inclusive” package. Like us, they were hit with hidden costs that inflated the budget far beyond what was initially agreed upon. Speaking of hidden costs, the “all-inclusive” package they offer is a joke. The credits they provide barely cover anything, leaving us responsible for an additional $20K (on top of $40K) in expenses we didn’t plan for. We visited other venues after this disaster, and the difference was shocking. The other venues were transparent, responsive, and genuinely cared about their clients and staff. Olana and Walters Wedding Estates couldn’t be further from that. If you’re considering Olana or any Walters venue, don’t. They’ve been predatory, unresponsive, and impossible to work with. Save yourself the trouble, lawsuits, lack of communication and care, and choose a venue that actually values their clients.