The Barn at Raccoon Creek — Local services in Four Corners States

I was a recent groom at the Barn at Raccoon Creek (08/18/2016). As a wedding videographer myself, I have seen my fair share of Colorado wedding venues (The Pines at Genessee, Bella Sera, Wellshire, Stonebrook Manor, Baldoria, Botanic Gardens, etc). In terms of bang for the buck, we felt the Barn at Raccoon Creek was the best option.

Cosmetics: The venue was recently renovated in the summer of 2015. The barn is gorgeous, and the golf course is immaculate. A new, separate bridal cottage makes for awesome photos of the bride getting ready. The groomsmen have a loft with a foosball table inside the barn that is also a good space for pictures. There is a new concrete aisle in the ceremony location that was just laid in the summer of 2016. It leads to a nice pergola that you can decorate however you wish. There is also a big grassy area strung with lights which we used for cocktail hour and yard games. There are power outlets outside for whatever power you might need.

One aspect that was important to us was a backup plan for the ceremony in case the weather went south. They are able to set up the ceremony inside the barn or in a covered tent area next to the barn in the unfortunate event that it precipitates. Luckily we did not need to take any preventative measures.

There are lots of great places for pictures. Lisa provided us a golf cart closer to sunset, and we went to one of the lakes on the golf course to take personal photos during cocktail hour. There is an old barn, lots of big trees, and many other places for photographs to be taken.

Catering: The food, like all venues, is pretty pricey. For cocktail hour, we hosted cocktail hour with wine, beer, and liquor and did one appetizer. After cocktail hour, we switched it to a cash bar to keep our expenses down. For dinner, we chose to do a set of "action stations" (baked potatoes, top roast, and salad) which ended up being around $18/person. This was much less expensive than most venues we had looked at. We also chose to have a casual dinner in which we encouraged guests to eat outside. On purpose, we did not provide enough seats. We wanted people to mingle and enjoy each other's company, rather than sitting at a specific table. The food was delicious, even though my wife and I only ate a little bit. We had multiple compliments from our guests on the quality of the food.

A few ways to cut on catering costs: Consider actions stations instead of plated meals. It's the same amount of food but is cheaper depending on what you choose. Make and bring your own dessert (the venue told us this was perfectly fine). We made our own fruit skewers for dessert, and then ordered a few mini bundt "cupcakes" from The Bundt Shoppe. Do one appetizer instead of two. I think one was a fine amount. Use a cash bar, or pay for cocktail hour and then switch to a cash bar.

Also, You are allowed to go to three tastings at the venue prior to your wedding. We took full advantage of this, and I recommend you do the same.

Staff: Lisa Brown was our main point of contact. She joined Raccoon Creek right around the time we were booking the venue (September 2015), and was helpful in planning the ceremony details, catering, and reception, along with the financial aspects that accompany them. On the day of the wedding, the staff was considerate and well mannered. I do wish Lisa would have provided a little more assistance in driving the flow of the evening, and at times she was difficult to find. In hindsight, we would have put more emphasis on making someone our "wedding coordinator" for the day-of festivities to ensure we were on schedule with the order of events. Other than that small complaint, the staff was great.

Dislikes: Sparklers are NOT allowed on the premises. We had to use glow sticks instead. I played golf the morning of with my groomsmen, and they only offered us a 30% discount. I gave them a lot of money/business and was expecting a little more "hospitality" in this regard.

Overall, I would rate the venue an 9/10. I wouldn't hesitate to use the...

From the moment we stepped foot onto the grounds at The Barn at Raccoon Creek, I knew it would be our wedding venue! It was the first venue we toured (amazing, right? ) and I was so impressed for so many reasons. My husband and I always wanted an October wedding, outside and the outdoor set up was absolutely stunning. A gorgeous arbor for the bride and groom to stand under, we really envisioned ourselves there on our wedding day. There were gorgeous benches set up for our guests on the day of the wedding and the entire ceremony transformed into the vision we had in our heads for so long. The grounds are meticulously cared for and our guests had a great time playing cornhole on the lawn during cocktail hour. The reception site was also everything we had ever dreamed of. A large, rustic barn with plenty of room for our large wedding of 200, we did not feel cramped and had plenty of room for dancing. My husband and his groomsman played golf at Raccoon Creek the morning of the ceremony and got ready in the groomsman suite. There was plenty of room for the boys, a stocked fridge full of beer, TV’s and a foosball table. The bridal cottage is really where I became sold on this venue. It is absolutely stunning and was such a wonderful space for my bridesmaids and I the day of the wedding. I had 7 bridesmaids, so essentially 8 girls were getting ready in that space all day and not one of us felt cramped or overwhelmed. We each took our turn getting ready with hair and make up and sipped champagne before the ceremony. The bridal cottage was something out of my wildest dreams transformed into reality and it was such a gorgeous space when I made my walk down the isle. The food and set up for the reception was wonderful as well. We went to many tastings for the food and we were so happy with the outcome. Our guests raved about our food and were so happy with the choices made. Everything tasted fresh and kept us satisfied as the night went on. We opted for an open bar and the bartenders were so lovely and worked so hard to ensure our guests’ drinks never ran dry. We even decided to have our rehearsal dinner at the gorgeous new clubhouse at the Raccoon Creek golf course and it was absolutely perfect as well! The food was wonderful, the space we were provided was perfect for our large families and we were able to celebrate outside, playing more yard games. Everything about the Barn was perfect but the icing on the cake was the incredible staff. I cannot say enough incredible things about our planner, Addi Kurronen. She was so incredibly sweet and thoughtful throughout our planning process. Not once did I feel stressed or overwhelmed by decisions we had to make and it was because of her laid-back, fun demeanor. She is a true gem and made the madness of wedding planning so easy. Every step of the way, she was there to offer guidance and support and made the process so enjoyable. My husband and I would choose The Barn at Raccoon Creek a million times over. Our day was so perfect and it was hugely due to our fabulous team at The Barn. We highly recommend this venue for...

1.They do not answer their office phones. 2.Uneducated about the venue. Example: Audri told me their ceremony benches were 2.5 feet high. If I wasn’t paying attention, this really could have messed up our processional décor. 3.No proactive communication. Example: They never informed me they were mailing our security deposit back, so it wasn’t until around the time we should have been receiving it in the mail did I reach out and find out they mailed it to the wrong address. We signed the contract over a year before the wedding…you’d think it would be standard procedure to confirm addresses prior to mailing out checks. 4.Audri is downright unprofessional. 5.Food is subpar. The chef was extremely accommodating to our guests’ picky requests, so I don’t want to ding him too heavily here. However, we went to as many tastings as we could, and the food is bland and seemingly cooked from frozen pre-made items. 6.Poor execution. We paid 100s of extra dollars to have early venue access only to arrive and have another party doing a rehearsal. They proceeded to walk in and out of the bridal cottage as I was getting ready. My bridal party finally had to lock the doors to keep them out. Raccoon Creek never bothered to try to resolve this. Another example: I had my sister-in-law and cousin tasked with setting up all of my welcome table items, centerpieces, etc. (which the venue fully knew), and every step of the way, they were presented with obstacles since the venue had not set up the tables needed to then let us display our items. My stepdad and brother ended up setting the tables up for the reception and for each display table. Pretty sure we paid a coordinator for that. What a waste of money. Also, none of my family members knew about the horrendous experience I’d had up to this point, but they managed to form the exact same opinions. A true testament that this isn’t an...