THE TROLLEY BARN

at to work with, especially during the early stages of the pandemic. 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!

ith and very accommodating when we had to postpone our wedding due to COVID. The Trolley Barn is a wonderful choice for any event.

d at the venue, and I was able to see how easily the space could 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.

h us on all the different options and ultimately helped us put on 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!

ll covid wedding on our original date, the Trolley Barn opened their 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!

rescheduling!!!!!!!!

answering my repeat questions. They've handled Covid well, and I 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.

me (as specified in the contract), and never sent compensation. They essentially stole time and money from us on a very special night.

ation of our wedding. We tried to find The Trolley Barns appointed 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.

such a great venue that you can dress up or keep as is. The outside 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 space into what you want. Lisa was our main contact through the 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.

ly accommodative and understanding. They allow for BYOB and we had 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 :)

nd the reception inside. For a flat fee you have unlimited use of 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.

beautiful - both inside and out, and the location can't be beat. 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.

e and the patio out back. They do have rules because the building 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.

mmuncating through email so your best bet is to go in office to discuss any matter.

irector Lisa Milko was extraordinarily accommodating to my daughter 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.

olicies and Trolley Barn employee Jim Barker's particularly rude 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.

ting when we needed to add extra hours on at the last minute for our drapery to get hung. Everything turned out beautiful. We had a band and didn't have any sound issues.

ecorations. You can also bring in all your own vendors and alcohol 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!).

, so we didn't even consider anything else when we decided to finally 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!

back was so perfect of our ceremony and required a minimal amount of decor to make it very special.

ery nice and accommodating and the venue is FANTASTIC.

lovely. We had our ceremony outside here in July (even in the Atlanta 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.

decibels during the reception, so if you have a band and 90-100 people in the room don't expect to hear the music. You will definitely loose your deposit. Also, the man across the street doesn't like any noise so be prepared for him to interrupt your wedding and cause a scene. All in all our wedding was wonderful, but it would be very hard for me to recommend this venue to any other couples.

is you can bring in your own catering and alcohol. This was huge for us because we have friends who own a winery in CA and my husband works for a craft beer co. Out of CA, so we got to choose exactly what was served! We were a little worried about the noise in a residential area, because we are a rowdy crowd. But it turned out fine and the band was asked only on e to turn it down a bit. We didn't get all our deposit back, but like I said we were rowdy, so I was expecting it. The space speaks for itself, so check it out!

touch with the Trolley Barn, via phone, and all inquiries/visits must be done during their office hours (10-1 on weekdays and Saturday) which is difficult if you don't live/work within a few miles and have a full-time job that only allows you a one-hour lunch break. When I requested a later time for our caterer walk through, it was denied. Also, beware of the noise regulations and note that they are much more strict than the City of Atlanta regulations that are in place. The TB representative walked around all night with a decibel meter to determine if the band was too loud - which was annoying. Overall, the venue was gorgeous - the pictures turned out great - but I would be advise any future brides to be ready for arguments and set rules before you sign the contract. Also, if you break any of the rules, they will nickel and dime you (random fees that were not listed in the contract) and take the $$ out of your $1,000 security deposit.

terms of vendors. The majority of our friends live intown, so the fact that they could easily get to and from the Trolley Barn without driving was a major plus. Our out of town guests mostly stayed at the Highland Inn, and everyone loved the neighborhood. The rental rate is fairly high, but the fact that we could save money by having BBQ and bringing our own alcohol completely balanced that out. The indoor and outdoor spaces are beautiful, just what we were looking for - we had the ceremony and cocktails outdoors on the patio, and the reception inside. Linda was great to work with and very accommodating as well. Of course, being a historic building you are somewhat limited in terms of decorations, but we were happy with the beauty of the building and grounds themselves!

ric building but worth it! Trolley Barn is a fun and beautiful place!

the reception catered inside. Note that their staff likes clocks more than most, and if they say you have one hour for your rehearsal, they mean 60 minutes, not 61.

ful. There is a built-in bar outside and people told me they loved hanging out in that space. We had draping on the inside on the Barn which really dressed up the place. You must bring in your own catering, but you can provide your own alcohol to which saved us a lot of money. Be aware that there is a sound limit at 90 decibels since it is a historic building, but it didn't affect the dance floor one bit!

ted more.

the possibilities are endless as for decor, the high wooden beams are beautiful and rustic. I only rate one star less because it rained and we couldn't use the patio, they did not have a tent, and it was a last minute problem.