THE TROLLEY BARN

feel confident we have a safe plan in place for our rescheduled wedding in 2 weeks. I requested that we keep all the venue's double doors open to help with air flow, and Lisa let me know they've ordered screen door covers so they can accommodate that without having to worry about bugs and animals coming inside! This team has been easy to work with from the beginning, and I'm really excited to finally see everything come together in such a beautiful (and well-located) space very soon.

mic. We ended up having to postpone a year due to the pandemic, and she was flexible, responsive and supportive in every way. We loved the service and venue and our guests are still raving about how beautiful and special the night was. Highly recommend!

ue to COVID. The Trolley Barn is a wonderful choice for any event.

be transformed into what any bride could want. Lisa at the Trolley Barn was super accommodating and easy to work with. When the pandemic started, she was extremely transparent and supportive as we tried to navigate plans. Speaking with other friends who were also planning weddings, Trolley Barn was definitely the most flexible and easiest to work with. So thankful for Lisa and the team at the Trolley Barn for helping us bring our wedding together during the most challenging and unpredictable time to plan one.

n our dream wedding! The venue is absolutely breathtaking in the spring as well as the summer and would highly recommend to anyone looking for an amazing venue in the city!

heir garden for us to hold our (7 person) ceremony. We were able to get photos in their beautiful spring garden, despite an updated winter wedding date. They made us aware of covid restrictions without pressuring us to hold or move our ceremony. In a time when many weddings are being postponed, it is understandable that vendors may be suffering, but we have never felt that burden transitioned to us by our venue. We have now postponed twice, and Lisa has made changes to our contract seamlessly. The location and beauty of the venue speak for themselves, and I will gladly speak to the kindness and quality of service we have received!

They essentially stole time and money from us on a very special night.

ed Event Manager many times to turn the lights on. The groom spent 30 mins of our 2.5 hr reception trying to get the lights to turn on. We later learned that the Event Mgr spent most of the evening outside talking to the security officer. Guests couldn't locate their children or see even a few feet in front of themselves. It was a mess. Shortly after, all of the house lights were turned on & we began getting goodbyes. We learned that the Event Mgr directed our DJ to announce for everyone to leave. This was at 9pm, an hr earlier then the agreed end time! We were supposed to cut the cake at 9pm, but instead found that all of our guests were being told to “get out”. Since our DJ was told to start packing up, we announced would be cutting the cake. We told the Event Mgr we would pay for more time, despite whatever confusion, as this was a once in a lifetime event that we had already spent thousands on. She said no & continued hassling guests to get out. She also told our caterer to pack up so we didn't have a knife to cut the cake with or forks/plates for guests. Trying to swell back tears, I scooped the cake with my hands. Immediately after, I ran to gather my stuff the get sent-off. The Event Mgr proceeded to follow me & told me to pull my car up to load things in to. Who tells the bride to go pull her car up? Nevertheless, I did. Confused & rushed, the remaining guests helped load into any random vehicle. 4 weeks later & I’m still trying to figure out who has what from the wedding. Few remaining guests did a mock send-off for us. As soon as we drove away, I burst into tears sobbing. Afterwards, we spoke with The Trolley Barn's Director, Lisa Milko. We requested half of the venue fee back as compensation for a horrible ending to our special night. She responded not only denying compensation, but said she was keeping out $1k deposit too because 1. The caterer that we ended up using was not the caterer that we initially intended to use. We told the TB employee we did the walk-through with that we changed vendors. Apparently the staff does not communicate with one another & the customer is penalized for that. 2. The venue was left dirty. This is 100% false. The Event Mgr walked the venue with the caterer & approved all areas. Additionally, the Director sent staged photos from an event that wasn't even ours! I even sent time stamped photos from the photographer showing house lights on at 9pm, & the pitch black courtyard, to which she failed to ever address. We received our deposit back, but that was it. We never received compensation for the time we paid for, or an apology for the Event Mgrs actions. Her response was dismissive & distasteful. I picked this venue because I live locally love to support my community. Unfortunately, my guests and I no longer support the use of the venue. Our vendors confirmed that this is normal behavior for this venue & that they have a reputation for doing things like this. Time that we paid for at Trolley Barn was stolen from us, we along with our guests were treated rudely, & 2500 sf of the venue was dark & unusable. If you are looking to book a venue to host your special night, I urge you to avoid these people, as I wish we had done.

ide garden is beautiful and made our outside Happy Hour the perfect setting for our simplistic romantic theme. I would recommend the Trolley Barn to those brides wanted the downtown wedding but a relaxed feel to their wedding. ALSO - BYOB is a budget helper!

he months and she was always very great and prompt about getting back to us. We had our ceremony outside and came inside for dinner and even though there was thunderstorms forecasted for the whole weekend, we were able to go through with our original plan. They do have a basement that could be used if we needed it, but it is not ideal and we are glad we didn't have to use it. We had about 50 people seated in the upstairs area and this area was a hit for our crowd they all loved being able to look down at the event. Thank you The Trolley Barn for making our day so special.

ad to drop off the liquor along with a lot of other stuff the day prior, and she was totally fine with it. I got my deposit back after the wedding in like one week. The area for the ceremony was also very pretty :)

f tables/chairs/etc. We were able to bring/choose all of our own alcohol, pick our favorite caterer (highly recommend Fox Bros.), and essentially customize everything. The back parking lot is perfect for food trucks (we had Waffle House come in late night). The Trolley Barn staff was very laid back and accommodating. The entire outside is so beautiful for photos and even has a rustic bar. Plenty of parking. Located in beautiful and convenient Inman Park. For a couple wanting to do the wedding and reception in the same place you truly can’t beat it.

. Also, the venue is very handicapped accessible, so this was a plus for us to accommodate some of our guests. However, I feel like the space is expensive for what you get and not the best value. I like that The Trolley Barn only rents to one event per day. However, if your event time exceeds 8 hours (including set-up and breakdown), you have to pay for additional hours. The rental fee also does not include any tables or chairs (except for banquet tables), which just seems ridiculous since the tables are already on site and generally set-up by catering staff. Also, for certain requests, we felt as though the event staff was inflexible and not customer-service focused. Overall, we had a beautiful day, but looking back on our booking process, I'd have hesitation about booking a venue with such inflexible policies.

g is historic and it is located in a neighborhood, but they are not difficult to follow. The noise restriction is the same as Chastain Park and we had no problem still having a rockin' party.

discuss any matter.

ter and son-in-law, I cannot recommend this venue due to the abnormally strict policies and Trolley Barn's employee Jim Barker's particularly rude, disrespectful and discriminatory behavior, while attempting to monitor (a community member hiding behind the role to racially profile) my only daughter's wedding. Since this time, my daughter and son-in-law have resolved this matter and as a result, received a refund for this experience, countless apologies from the Ms. Milko, and notification that they would withhold Mr. Barker's pay for the day. The monetary acknowledgement isn't enough, given Jim Barker is still employed and therefore sends the message that his behavior is acceptable. It's more important, in my opinion, that the public at large be informed. As the Mother of the Bride, I cannot express with more disdain, the treatment, I experienced and as a result ruined what should have been a glorious occasion for me. I have narratives from each vendor that explain what occurred from their perspective, however for this notation, I am limited by word count. My daughter's godmother, wedding planner, photographer and deejay all said they either witnessed Barker disrespecting someone or were directly disrespected during the cleanup or setup process. Please read Lauren L. review (my daughter) or respond here with your email for all narratives. Our deejay, a 54-year-old African American man, stated that he introduced himself to Barker before the event began and was immediately told not to have music blasting. "I said I know the routine 80-90db. He was like right because when you play Drake it can peak past that." Our deejay, who did not break a single venue policy, walked away feeling profiled because of his race. Kay (Wedding Planner) explained to me that at approximately 10:55 that the manager extended an additional 10 minutes for the cleaning crew to finish cleaning. I asked did she confirm that the additional 10 minutes would be at no cost. She said no so I approached the Barker to confirm and clarify. He rudely responded, "You will be charged..." He raised his voice, interrupted me before I could finish speaking, and repeated that the 10 minutes would incur a cost. My first concern was the manner in which he responded. My second concern was the inconsistent messaging he gave throughout the night. He would offer additional time without sharing that it would cost to one person, then state that it would cost to another. In my opinion, it was in an attempt to increase additional costs. Then he continued from 11 o'clock to 11:04 to scream out the exact time to inform the entire group of how many minutes we were over. He would scream, "It's 11:02, you'll be charged... its' 11:03 you'll be charged, it's 11:04 you'll be charged.” Meanwhile the bridal party and guests were frantically ignoring him and cleaning the facility. It's worth noting that the wedding group was not a loud, combative or disruptive group. We did not garner a single complaint from neighbors. Still, Barker talked down to us. I have to warn anyone reading this not to book this venue in support of equitable treatment of all people.

approach while monitoring my event. It’s worth noting that my wedding group was not a loud, combative or disruptive group. We did not garner a single complaint from neighbors. Still, Barker talked down to my mother and bridesmaids and made them feel like they were not wanted on my wedding day. My godmother, wedding planner, photographer and deejay all said they either witnessed Barker disrespecting someone or were directly disrespected during the cleanup or setup process. Our deejay, a 54-year-old African American man, stated that he introduced himself to Barker before the event began and was immediately told not to have music blasting. “I said I know the routine 80-90db. He was like right because when you play Drake it can peak past that.” Our deejay, who did not break a single venue policy, walked away feeling profiled because of his race. Also, we had several guests complain that they couldn’t hear the violinist playing during the outdoor reception due to Barker’s constant urging to play softer. After I noticed the low music inside ruined the dancing environment, I have to say this venue is better suited for funerals than wedding receptions with lots of dancing. What’s most upsetting is that as soon as I got into the car with my new husband, I had nothing but negative experiences to share with him. I now know that is largely because of the venue’s regulations and how they were enforced. I have to warn anyone reading this not to book this venue unless he or she wants to take on a headache.

our drapery to get hung. Everything turned out beautiful. We had a band and didn't have any sound issues.

hol which was extremely helpful with our budgeting. While they are very strict with noise regulations, they have many DJ suggestions for people who have worked in the Trolley Barn and know the stipulations. Overall, we had a great experience with the staff but definitely plan on communicating with them during 10-1 office hours ( a difficulty for some jobs!).

nally tie the knot. The staff are great to work with, and while they do have some guidelines for the venue they ask you to adhere to, it was no problem for us and we had a lovely ceremony and reception. The backyard patio was gorgeous during the golden hours of the evening, and interior of the barn was perfect for our reception (140 guests) with everyone fitting comfortably. If you're getting married in Atlanta, you definitely should check out the Trolley Barn!

t of decor to make it very special.

tlanta heat!) and reception+cocktails indoors. The pricing can add up here, though. Since it's a historical site they have tons of regulations and finding vendors that fit their specifications is difficult. They require you to have a professional wedding planner. The kitchen for prep is a little small and a lot of caterers wouldn't quote us for a plated dinner based on the lack of space. You end up paying to use chairs for the reception and ceremony and for tables so that all adds up quickly too. It was hard for us to do a lot of DIY for the wedding to save money because they wanted insured wedding professionals because the historical value of the place. Other than that, though, pictures were great and it's a great space.