Dahlonega Market Place — Attraction in Dahlonega

I typically do not write negative reviews, but in this instance I feel it is a must. My now husband and I recently got married, and I just want all of the future brides out there to be aware of the potential issues. We saw The Dahlonega Market Place online, and we were immediately impressed. It is beautiful. My fiancé (at the time) and I scheduled a time to visit the venue, which, by the way, is already very difficult to do. However, I know there there are events pretty regularly, so that is a detail we can overlook. We finally got the opportunity to see the venue, and it was pretty though not quite as beautiful as the pictures. There were a few things we did not like. The chairs are cheap, the "bread kitchen" is an absolute disaster, and the overall set up is a bit inconvenient - the bar is in the middle of the venue. To be fair, there are some pros. The location is great and the hardwood floors are a nice touch. This is why I gave 2 stars instead of 1. We thought that all of the flaws could be dealt with. The owner, Chad, explained that The Dahlonega Market Place is a very common venue for wedding ceremonies AND receptions, and that they often do flips from one to the other in very short amounts of time. Great news, I thought, since we wanted no portion of the wedding outside. He gave us a list of vendors, and we said we would talk it over and let him know. The same day, we were so excited and worried that it would be booked that we decided to go ahead and put a deposit down. We did, and though it was not a large deposit, it was money nonetheless. If you know anything about wedding, you know they're expensive, and my now husband and I funded or entire wedding ourselves. He did not have a set amount we had to pay for a deposit, and he did not have a date for the remaining balance to be paid as long as we paid it by the wedding date. And the biggest warning sign of all, there was no contract... Because of previous reviews I had read, I understood that he was, as they say "laid back," and I assumed all of these things were just a product of his personality. I soon came to realize that this was probably not the case. I had some major concerns with ceremony seating. Where would I enter? How would we arrange chairs? You know, the typical bride questions. When I reached out to Chad with my concerns, the only advice he had for me was to check Facebook for pictures. Sadly, there were no pictures with a ceremony set up. This only compounded my stress.

While it's nice that he has a preferred vendor list, it was very frustrating to learn that they were pretty indifferent. He has five preferred caterers, and of those five, one was booked, one wanted to charge $50 per person, and the rest were unresponsive even after multiple emails and phone calls. I was told I would receive a call or an email, and no one would ever follow through. It was incredibly frustrating. Vendors not on his list stated that they were uncomfortable catering because the venue space is on the second floor, and there is no elevator. This seemed to be the biggest flaw of the venue considering our DJ also had concerns with getting his equipment up and down a flight of stairs.

Overall, the space is pretty. It's rustic, and it's in a great area, but please, brides, do your research and know what you want before you book this venue. Even though there was no contract or ANYTHING in writing, we were unable to get our deposit back, and even still, we walked away to have the wedding elsewhere. My stress level decreased immediately when I started working with another venue that TRULY cared about our wedding day. This may be a great space for a reception, but please do not believe Chad when he says you can also pull of a ceremony as well. Oh, did I mention that when we backed out and left him a negative review on The Knot, Chad texted me to let me know he was going to "warn" other vendors not to work with us? Weddings are stressful enough without vendors attempting to sabotage the...

If Zero stars was an option! Please do not use the Dahlonega Marketplace. Chad will find any way possible to keep your deposit even if your event canceled due to a Pandemic by the State of GA, Covid 19. Even if burned down or flooded prior and not safe for your party to enter? He says he will not refund any deposit. We were going to use DMP for our rehearsal Dinner for 60 in April this year. We provided additional dates around the actual wedding venue only to be told it was already booked so we had no choice but to look elsewhere. In an effort to resolve we asked for the deposit to be used towards beer and wine we planned on buying at his other business Gold City Growlers. Though owner of both he states that a deposit at one cannot be applied to the other as they are two separate companies... He is no more than a liar and cheat and thinks giving you 12 months' worth of credit only to be used at the Marketplace is fair. Avoid this person and both his locations at all costs. There are many better...

We hosted a magical rehearsal dinner here in October and it couldn’t have been a more perfect venue! Beautiful, historic, right on the square, full of charm and romance! The Italian lights strung all over, the beautiful bar, the high ceiling and the gorgeous floor made for the perfect backdrop to our party of 110 people! Chad the owner was super accommodating—letting me pop in periodically on a moment’s notice while planning our decorations. He provided tables, chairs, table cloths, sound system (we plugged in a playlist from our iPhone!). This would also be perfect for a wedding and/or reception. One thing to be aware of: no elevator so be aware for guests, caterers, and you if are bringing in...