Tate House / Georgia Estate Wedding & Special Events Venue — Attraction in Talking Rock

If you don't have more than $20,000 (and I mean MORE) to spend for your wedding, don't bother.

Tried booking a tour to at a minimum during the month of February 2020 to just walk the venue & see if it was even of our interest for my big day. Couldn't even get past an email conversation which was absolutely frustrating. I emailed then had a family member email them to help set it up for me as they are only about 45 minutes away from the venue & I was only able to take leave for a week to come look at venues. Note, I left out that husband & I are both military because I shouldn't have to say that to get decent service & if they don't treat regular people kindly, then I want NOTHING to do with them. I was sent screenshots of the conversations of the emails from family member & was absolutely livid with this place and how they came across. Still have them to this day if you would ever take the time out of your day to speak about this horrible service you gave, Cindy. Husband & I are both military & so we only have very limited time to be able to travel out of state (California) to see anyone or anything, (especially during Covid). Also note I was trying to visit mid-late February of 2020 and according to Cindy's reply on another review, they book bridal appointments after all Christmas decorations are taken down. They are VERY adamant about you saying your budget first and foremost before even SPEAKING to you about anything else which I understand this is a business, but my budget was absolutely negotiable & no I didn't say it was negotiable in the email because I would have spoken about it if I ever was able to speak with someone over the phone at the very LEAST. I originally dont remember if I put down my budget at all originally until they replied saying they wanted a set number only to just have Cindy turn me down when I said $20,000 (their package on the website is noted at $20,000 so I thought no big deal). Instead of having an over the phone conversation about pricing or any kind of consultation explaining my budget was a problem, instead they dismissed me completely & never told me $20,000 was "too low" even though they have a package in their website for $20,000 that I was interested in. I found out my pricing was too low once I talked with a wedding planner & I was immediately upset because if I would have known that, I could have been more clear in the first place about my budget being negotiable. Yes, the property looks absolutely gorgeous & the pictures are amazing but seems to me, as I read a majority of the reviews before placing my own, this Cindy is very... interesting, to put it nicely.. Notice how this Cindy only really replies to the bad reviews and has an excuse for everything. I hope this Cindy gets replaced by someone who decides to give this place even more justice and handles this business with more grace, especially when it comes to customer service. As for those who had their weddings here & had a great time, I'm really happy for y'all and hope life treats you kind & glad you got an amazing experience here, but unfortunately for some of us, it just sounds like a walking nightmare of a wedding venue if you have Cindy coordinating. Best of luck to those booking this place for their future big days. I truly hope y'all get an amazing experience and are treated with kindness.

All in all, I've never written a bad review in my life, especially when it comes to the world being able to see it, but this Cindy just absolutely boils my blood with the way she handled my situation with the lack of information, short communication, lack of care & misdirection(s). I know you will read this Cindy, so please don't tell me to speak with you if you refuse to have an over the phone conversation with me in the first place. And don't try to dodge my review with whatever claims you have of me not being this "perfect customer" when I hardly got the chance to speak with you. Cindy should absolutely be replaced with someone much more caring, responsive...

I recently had the experience of planning my daughter's wedding at Tate House March 16, 2025, and unfortunately, it was not the pleasant experience we had hoped for. While the venue itself is lovely, with beautiful architecture but management left much to be desired. First and foremost, I had several concerns regarding the food during the Bridal Tasting/ Open House which I brought directly to Kelly, our wedding planner. Both my daughter and her fiancé found the food lacking, and the cake was disappointingly dry. During one of our meetings, the chef had promised us two new dishes would be featured during the tasting, but they were absent. When I expressed my concerns to Kelly, she informed me that the owner had advised against personal tastings and shockingly stated that she would refund all my money. This was particularly disheartening, especially with only three weeks left until the wedding. It felt as if my concerns were met with complete disregard. I kept asking Kelly, how did we get here. I never asked for my money back. So my advice is to not express your concerns because Kelly and owner was quick to cancel our daughter’s wedding.

On the day of the wedding, we encountered significant staffing issues. Kelly had assured us that there would be plenty of staff available to assist, but that was not the case. The lack of support was evident and added unnecessary stress during what should have been a joyful occasion. Kelly herself appeared agitated and flustered, which only compounded the situation.

Moreover, her behavior towards our guests was unacceptable. She was rude and dismissive, and I witnessed her being particularly harsh with my new son in law, insisting they leave the premises in an aggressive manner. This type of treatment is not what you would expect from a wedding venue of this caliber. To make matters worse, the owner was rude to my sister further highlighting a lack of professionalism.

The owner never introduced herself to us. She walked past us several times without even noticing our presence. We discovered that she was the owner because we saw her picture on the website. My sister (bride’s aunt) said before the wedding she had to go to the restroom. The owner said “where are you going go sit down.” Very rude!!

In the wedding industry, hospitality and personal connection are crucial, and we left feeling disappointed by the lack of engagement from the owner.

Despite Kelly's promise to check on us throughout the day, I only saw her once in the bridal cottage. This lack of oversight contributed to delays that made our bridal party late for key moments during the wedding.

On a positive note, Cindy, Kelly's assistant, was a bright spot in our experience. She was friendly, approachable, and genuinely helpful, providing a much-needed contrast to Kelly's demeanor.

Additionally, I had to ask multiple times for the card box to be placed out during the reception—a request that Kelly brushed off, claiming she was too busy. To my disbelief, she had locked it away in a closet during the event.

In conclusion, while Tate House has the potential to be a beautiful venue, the overall management and service fell far short of expectations. The lack of professionalism, poor communication, and disregard for our concerns overshadowed what should have been a joyous occasion. I would advise other couples to carefully consider their options before choosing Tate House for their wedding. A wedding should be a celebration, and I regret that ours was marred by these challenges.

I hope the management takes this feedback to heart, as enhancing the personal touch could significantly improve the overall experience for...

I have never in my life left a bad review. As a business owner myself, I always take bad reviews with a grain of salt. But wow. I desperately wish I had listened to these other brides. Here’s the deal:

The Tate House is a beautiful venue and a fabulous option if you don’t really care about little details or having a special, one of a kind day. They pump out around 75 weddings a year (this is what I was told during a meeting) and most of them look the exact same with a little variance on florals and linens— that’s about it. I ended up terminating our contract 60 days before our wedding and switching venues last second due to the way I was treated and their inability to listen or truly understand my own vision for the day. This is what I wish I had known BEFORE signing a contract and losing $7,000:

• The Tate House has their own vision of what a wedding should look like. If you want anything a little more updated or different from the photos they post online, this is not the place for you. I was told in a meeting “the owners really like every wedding to kinda look the same.” My jaw hit the floor. Throw your pinterest board out the door, because they will not make any real effort to make it happen. • You will be up-charged constantly despite booking a package. Things like napkins, display easels, plate chargers, cake cutting utensils, toasting glasses, etc are not included and add up very quickly. Business is business, it’s just something to be aware of. • You will not get to see your florals until the morning of your wedding. We didn’t even discuss what flowers would be in the bouquet really? Briefly discussed colors and that was it. • If you want a different style than the gold sparkly bedazzled dishes/cake stands/floral stands etc that they provide... good luck. No outside vendors, they won’t rent anything different that’s outside of THEIR vision, and they wouldn’t even let me purchase or provide my own plain white plates. It’s the illusion of choice, and they leave no room for compromise. • I asked for a floral arrangement behind the sweetheart table without white sheers and was told it would “look strange”. I asked for plain white plates and was told “no we do not have those, the China selected is to match the ambiance of the room”. It was a constant “no we can’t do that”. Completely shut down almost any idea I had it seemed. • They could never fully commit to a wedding rehearsal date because “what if a wedding books that day”. Half of my wedding party is flying down from Canada and Alaska and I need some sort of assurance we’ll have time to rehearse? This should be a no-brainer from a venue.

I was beyond ecstatic to work with Tate House because I thought they would take the stress out of planning my wedding and make it fun. Instead, I left every single meeting in tears, frustrated, and unheard. The wedding “we” were planning was their own vision— not my own. The only good thing I can say is the chef we met with was fabulous and willing to work around a ton of allergies. I’m sure they pull off wonderful weddings, but I was unfortunately not a priority, and it was made very clear. Truthfully I feel taken advantage of, I had 2 meetings with these people and they made a “non-refundable” $7K off of us. Just because it’s written in a (terribly one-sided) contract doesn’t mean it’s ethical or just.

I hope this information serves any couples looking at Tate House as a potential venue well. It’s really not intended to be malicious, just our honest experience. Hoping the Tate House can use it and change...