2400 On The River — Local services in Ranger

2400 on the River is a breathtaking venue and truly helped my fairy tale vision become reality. The below review is to serve as a CAUTION and BUYER BEWARE to future brides who may encounter Wed 101/Over The Moon Events, Inc. I am posting as a bride whose wedding was on 10/22/16. A contract with Over The Moon Events, Inc. was signed by my father and Denise S. on 9/11/15.

Wed 101 serves as the primary management company for this venue. In order to rent the venue, you must work​ directly with Denise or Jerry (in my experience) via Wed 101. I requested to view the venue and we were able to setup a time to meet Jerry, however we had to drive to their office in Calhoun to "talk numbers with Denise." This was inconvenient but that was our only option according to Jerry. While at the venue, we noticed that the landscaping definitely needed work. When we questioned Jerry about this, his response was "that's not my call - it's up to the owner if he wants to cut the grass or not." After touring the venue for approximately 30 minutes, we followed Jerry 16 miles to the Wed 101 office. We met with Denise and discussed packages at length. My family and I decided to opt out of the inclusive package. I wanted a more personalized wedding and I had vendors in mind already so we rented the venue for 8 hours which came with 100 white garden chairs and 10 tables of any size. Nothing more. At this point, my family and I were satisfied so we put a deposit down to book our date. I STRONGLY encourage you get everything verbally agreed upon written into the contract and read every single word in the contract before signing. PLEASE make sure you know the terms - the contract states that you are allowed 1 hour for rehearsal and 8 hours on wedding day. This does NOT include a final walk through at the venue. That oversight on my part cost an extra $200. The 8 hours on wedding day also doesn't include any additional time for setup and breakdown. Anything left inside the building will become property of Wed 101 as Jerry pompously noted to my Aunt on my wedding day as she was rushing to clean up. I made the mistake of believing that Wed 101 would continue to be pleasant - I was wrong. Throughout the year, Denise nor Jerry were pleasant or easy to work with.

Rehearsal day - we were greeted by Jerry in a wrinkled white t-shirt (very unprofessional). He sat on the bench in the front lobby the entire time. I had asked for the rocking chairs out back to be moved and he refused to touch them. The hedges weren't trimmed, grass right next to the ceremony site was not mowed, leaves hadn't been blown, there was DOG POOP next to the fountain. We addressed these things to Jerry, he shrugged them off and hinted that it wasn't his problem. This was unacceptable for the amount of money we were paying and Wed 101 didn't care in the slightest. As we unloaded flowers from our vehicles, my Reverend casually made a comment to Jerry about how beautiful they were. Jerry made remarks about how his company provides that service and he doesn't understand why we didn't choose to let them do it. Again SO UNPROFESSIONAL.

Wedding Day - Jerry again had wrinkled clothing. He was still perched on the bench in the lobby and didn't have the decency to give up that bench when our 80+ year old grandparents where standing there waiting to walk down the aisle. After the wedding, the bathroom doors out at the pavilion/dance floor were locked before the bride and groom even left. We also got reports from the guests that the parking attendant was sitting with Jerry while his job was to be shuttling guests back and forth to their cars.

In closing, I would not take back my decision to host my wedding at 2400 on the River. What I hope that potential brides will gain from this review is to arm yourselves with facts to know how to handle yourself in the midst of Wed 101 employees. Be on your toes, read the contract twice before signing, and don't expect any measure of kindness or hospitality for a venue that you're about to pay $10,000 for from Wed...

My husband and I got engaged February 2017. We dragged our feet on planning anything for about a year and a half. On a Saturday in October 2018, feeling defeated thus far, we agreed to go to our local coffee shop, bound and determined that we were going to find a venue that day. With my husband's head buried in his phone and mine in my cappuccino, I thought of my non-negotiables: large property; must have some kind of water feature (waterfall, lake, river, etc.); must allow our dog onsite. This led me to do a Google search for "wedding venue with water," which is how I found 2400 on the River. I thumbed through the website's gallery, showed Chris the photos, and we were cautiously impressed. Cautiously impressed because of how many places we had gone to that we were struck with a sense of having been misled. We emailed them right then and there, asking if they were available within the next week for a tour. We left the coffee shop and on the way home, Stephanie had already replied to our inquiry with availability THE NEXT DAY!! We knew what to expect from the pictures, but we never expected to be so blown away! The pictures did not do the venue justice. Stephanie greeted us at the lodge, and she was so informative. Everything had a story behind it. The owner, a local businessman, had a son who wanted to have his wedding at their family property, so they built the lodge and the deck, eventually leading them to all of the other features. The bridal suite was originally located at Disney Europe. It was 1 of 6 and they believe it used to be a ticket booth. It's tucked away at the top of the hill, hidden from anyone so the bride and her girls have the utmost privacy as they get ready. It's guarded by Roman statues pointing any intruders away located just in front of a circular drive around a fountain with gorgeous blooms. The bar in the lodge is an antique salvaged from a saloon in the Old West. It's the only original Old West bar with backing still intact today. The caterer's kitchen windows were salvaged from an old bank. Full suits of armored are assembled and on display up in the Groom Suite, where the men have access to a balcony overlooking the lake with seating. The lamppost behind the gazebo overlooking the lake was from the Champs Elysee in Paris in the early 20th century! After about 2 hours, we said our goodbyes, got in our car, and the first thing we said to each other was, "This is it." We had found our venue. From telling them to send over the contract and the day of the wedding, communication was phenomenal. Every email was answered promptly and thoroughly, and sometimes with follow up questions to make sure we had thought of everything. Stephanie had given me her cell and she would call to make sure we had everything or to follow up on the status of the onsite team and beyond. On our wedding day, a staff member, Tiffany, met with me to help set up the bridal suite and work with any vendors coming onsite as I was getting ready. The girls who did turnover, taking the chairs from the ceremony site to the lodge during cocktail hour, were so sweet and were even helpful to our catering team. Our dog, Dio, was with me getting ready and he ran all over the property, loving every minute on every acre! We would choose 2400 on the River every single time if we had to do this over again. Thank you to everyone at 2400 who had a part in our process! We owe a lot of our happiness in the process...

I chose this venue for my wedding due to its character and charm. Very unique and has so much more potential then what is provided. While the venue itself was amazing, the communication and professionalism left me questioning my decision. It took several days and at least one phone call and 2 emails to receive a tour date. The friend of the owner is the one who schedules and curates the wedding tours. She was very informative and knowledgeable about the venue. She and the owner were both accommodating when I requested a special place for our ceremony. Sounded wonderful and inviting! I told the friend of the owner that night several hours after the tour that I would like to move forward with a contract and date. That week, I did not receive any responses from my texts, emails, and phone calls. I asked my mom to try and contact her that following Saturday one week after the tour. She answered and apologized stating that she had been traveling for work (she relayed to us that she works a full time job and she is just helping her friend out on the weekends to schedule tours). She then sent me an email in response stating to give her one week to get the contract over to me. The week has past and I still yet have had any communication or received the contract. With such a lack of communication or decency for a paying customer, I would not feel comfortable to have my wedding at this location. The amount of stress a wedding comes with is unprecedented and this whole experience with this venue has left me extremely upset and disheartened. Until there is a reliable employee/and or management team in place, I would not...