I got married in May at Wildscape Ranch in Mansfield, Texas. I had always wanted a barn wedding, so after searching high and low, finding this location was going to make my dream ...come true!
Initial meeting with Chris and Rosana Vaughn was wonderful. They showed us around, told us about their packages, and we discussed cost.
Chris always seems preoccupied. When we talk or email, he never seems to remember what we previously discussed. I would recommend keeping a file on each bride and making detailed notes. I know it is MY most important day and not his, but it would be helpful if he remembered instead of asking the same thing several times. Chris even went so far as to confuse our wedding date…multiple times, even after us reminding him each time.
Get everything in writing! There were multiple times that he would not commit to something in writing. If I asked a specific question in an email, he would completely skip over it instead of answering it.
We had multiple instances of price difference between what was stated at the first meeting and what was quoted later on. Specific pricing for the rehearsal dinner and price per person over 100 people.
At our first meeting I was told that we could set up Friday at rehearsal, finish before the wedding on Saturday, and take down everything on Sunday after the wedding. That changed later on down the road to only Friday and we could not come back on Sunday. Chris led us to believe that it would be an open door for decorating and setting up prior to the wedding.
Our package included free engagement pictures with his wife Rosana. She shot our pictures and they were generally good…but not good enough to justify her asking price of $800 for wedding day photography.
During the rehearsal Chris said he would cut back the tree near the dock as it was hitting our groomsmen in the face…he didn’t, so in all the pictures the groomsmen are ducking or hidden by the branches.
My package also included a complimentary professional DJ. I was not allowed to meet or talk to the DJ prior to the rehearsal. The DJ that showed up at the rehearsal was anything but professional and looked to be more like a high school student. She managed to botch up the music during the wedding ceremony. Nothing major, but definitely not professional.
We met with the wedding day coordinator at the rehearsal. I gave her a detailed list of the events that we would be doing and the approximate times I wanted to do them at (cake cutting, garter toss, etc.). Multiple times during the evening she would come up to me and ask me when I wanted to do something…we would then look at the schedule together, and I would say, ok, we can do this now. Then she would start to gather everyone back into the reception area. With a detailed list, this should have been avoided. Just one more thing that was very unprofessional.
My final thought is that someone working in the wedding industry should maintain a level of tenderness and care when dealing with brides on their most special day. We were assured by Chris and Rosana that they had been doing this for several years and had held dozens of weddings. They also stated that it was a learning process and they were always adjusting to new ways of doing things. I hope that they continue to grow and learn in this process of hosting weddings because their facility is truly beautiful.