Spruce Mountain Events — Attraction in Woodmoor

My response to the venues reply:

All I will say is I did not respond negatively to your offer for couples and I don’t appreciate any slander of my best wishes for everyone. I am simply happy that the money we lost will go towards helping 10 couples hopefully decrease the cost of their special day when everyone is in need.

I sent a private message to you all, and was blocked for it and felt it was time to share my experience. You all will continue to be successful and loved by many. I felt I wanted to share what happened to us and how saddened I was by the outcome.

Not once were we offered to reschedule our date and offer our date to a couple who wanted a more intimate wedding in October that could comply with guidelines.

Original review:

I have waited awhile to write this review because I didn’t want to do it out of anger or frustration.

While Spruce Mountain is a gorgeous venue and captivating from the moment you arrive, I cannot recommend their business.

We booked our Wedding for October of 2020. I don’t need to explain to everyone about Covid, risks, CDC guidelines, restrictions etc that everyone had to endure and figure out last year. I kept close watch on what Spruce Mountain was doing to accommodate their clients during this time. Our wedding would have been around 200 guests, with at least 80% of them traveling from out of state and country. Not only did we feel it irresponsible to try and have a gathering of this size, they wouldn’t have been able to accommodate our guest count due to current restrictions (which means they couldn’t hold up their end of the contract).

I could go on and get sappy about our situation and that we’ve been together for over 20 years so the wedding was to be a true celebration of our love with our friends and family, but I’ll leave those details out for now because they made this strictly business and transactional.

I contacted Spruce Mountain at the end of July, about 9 weeks from our wedding date to see what our options would be for postponement (I was inquiring because in an earlier policy they posted online about government restrictions they said a decision couldn’t be made until 45 days before the event). I was simply told they were “open for business” and I would be canceling our contract with them.

They didn’t stop there, they actually tried to explain that our date was a highly desirable date and they wouldn’t be able to rebook on short notice. I couldn’t believe how insensitive their response was. They didn’t address the pandemic , the safety of others. They told me we would be losing our $5000 deposit. They did offer a 20% discount for a new contract in 2021 (and reminded me it was booking up quickly).

I understand this pandemic was unprecedented and affects all types of businesses.. I am not oblivious to that fact. I am, however still absolutely stunned that such a successful venue wouldn’t work with couples to try and salvage their most special day and deal with each couple on a case by case basis. I wasn’t asking for any money to be refunded, just for a change in our date because of safety for everyone.

All of my other vendors were absolutely amazing and compassionate and probably struggled even more than the venues that charge so much to rent their properties.

As I said before, Spruce Mountain is very pretty and I left the day we chose the venue in tears because I was so happy it would be the place I walked down the aisle to the man I love. However, I also cried many tears in disbelief at the unwillingness to waiver during such a crazy and unsafe time to have large gatherings.

I write this review in hopes that if someone wants to sign a contract with this venue, they know what they are in for. If we had asked to post pone due to a family issue or something out of control but only affected us, I would have been disappointed but understanding of losing our deposit. This was not the case, it was and is a situation where I would hope everyone would work together for the best outcome for everyone involved and for the celebration...

We knew that the venue was absolutely the most important thing when planning a wedding. We knew we wanted an outdoor wedding to enjoy Colorado mountains and scenery, for our mountain theme wedding. We scheduled many tours of other venues, but as soon as we stepped foot on the property, we knew it was the one. Skyler was our tour guide and she was so friendly and helpful in answering all of our questions. This place really has everything together and we really liked that this venue had a lot of things that you don’t need to worry about like chairs and tables (for both ceremony and reception), an area for the caterer to set up, a built in bar, and a dedicated dance floor. The natural chairs they had we thought were so beautiful that we knew we didn’t need any chair covers or chair sashes. We went ahead and put a date on hold right then because we knew that this venue was perfect for us. We chose to hold our wedding at the lower ranch. We chose the mountainside site for our ceremony. This site is up on the hill and overlooks beautiful scenery with mountains in the background. The cocktail hour was in the Colorado Room, which is an indoor/outdoor area that has a lodge feel with a patio for mingling. Our reception was in the Albert’s Lodge, which is absolutely stunning. This has a mountain lodge/cabin feel and there is wood everywhere, and has a large mantle and fireplace. It is a huge space. The dance floor is adjacent and it is outside, with large garage doors adjoining for a partial indoor/outdoor space for the reception as well. We liked that there was designated spaces for everything, but yet everything flowed. The Bridal cottage is so nice! The grooms lounge can be a cigar lounge with the filtration system, and has a pool table. Another reason why we really liked this property is because pictures are super important to us and we knew there would be lots of great opportunities for beautiful pictures. We knew we had to schedule another appointment to bring our families to see it. Our families instantly fell in love with the venue as we did and said they definitely approved. Every single thing about this venue is miles above other venues we toured in terms of beauty and quality. We have had great communication with the venue and every time we have called or emailed Tara, she has responded the same day. Everyone there is completely invested in you and your day, and will do whatever it takes to make that happen. Tara was willing to do whatever it takes to make sure our day was perfect, including things like turning on the fire place even though it was July because we liked it for our theme and ambiance. When we toured the venue, it was hard for us to believe that anyone would have their wedding anywhere else but here! Every single guest we had commented on how this was the prettiest, and nicest venue they have ever been to and made it one of their favorite weddings to attend! Even when we would tell our other vendors that our venue was Spruce Mountain Ranch, they would always tell us that they enjoy working there, that it’s so beautiful, and it’s one of the nicest and highest quality venues they have ever worked with. On the day of, Kyla was our property manager for the day. This venue absolutely made our wedding the most perfect day ever and we can’t thank Skyler, Tara, and Kyla enough for their help leading up to and on the big day. The venue was the highlight of the wedding and we couldn’t be happier with how things turned out. This venue is absolutely perfect in so many ways and has everything we have ever wanted in a venue. To anyone who is looking for a venue that is a mix of indoors and outdoors, with absolutely beautiful scenery, and lots of different spaces to spread out, this venue is for you! I would highly highly highly recommend this venue to any bride of any kind. I can’t say enough good things about this venue and we are so happy that we found this venue and chose it for...

Absolutely a picturesque backdrop for our September wedding. Spruce Mountain Ranch (SMR) is a combination (balance) of comfortable and intimate. SMR venue quickly rose to the very top of our list for our wedding ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception. If you are serious about a place that accommodates your style and personality, SMR is an excellent venue. We selected the Lower Ranch (Albert’s Lodge, Colorado Room, Ames Patio and Grace’s Chapel) for our wedding and it was immaculate and perfect for our guests. You need to do a little work in finding vendors but it is worth the time and energy to create your special wedding. We are in our 50s and confident in our ability to make selections on caterers/beverages, entertainment, and décor; however, an event coordinator is also required for, at minimum, day-of the event and we are happy that we selected one especially as we were planning our wedding during the initial COVID months. The SMR staff is efficient in responding to emails and provided as much information as possible. We planned for more than a year and everything to include the weather, executed to near perfection. The venue staff was ready and prepared with everything to include setup, sanitation stations, and cleanup. Our guests commented about how stunning the location is and how the staff ensured compliance with COVID requirements while allowing guests to feel safe and healthy throughout the day into the evening. We are grateful to Tara and her staff for the many ways that you made our wedding day the most special event...