Other than a few problems with the switching of management, this venue was very helpful and did everything we asked for! They were very helpful through everything, especially on the day of and were there to make sure everything went right and according to plan.

My husband and I celebrated our wedding reception at Terry Bison Ranch in June of 2019. I’ve waited a couple months to write my review so that it can be a clear evaluation and less fueled by emotion.

We had a wonderful reception but with little thanks to TBR. From the beginning, Rica, the event planner, was kind and helpful. She seemed organized and willing to strive to meet our needs and wants. As our day got closer, small things started to go wrong. Now, I understand no wedding planning process will go perfectly, but these errors could have easily been avoided by TBR. For example, I had asked Rica several times if we could rent table skirts from TBR. She replied multiple times, by email and in person, that she believed we could but would double check. At our final meeting two weeks before the event, I asked her again if we could rent table skirts. She then said that the table skirts had been stolen by a catering company earlier that year. With two weeks to go, we were left without any table skirts. Rica could have discovered this information several months earlier when I asked the first time. It wasn’t a huge deal, but it was slightly frustrating and with short notice, purchasing table skirts was much more expensive. There were a few more instances like this, but we were still mostly satisfied with Rica and TBR at this point.

Other things I would mention for future brides considering TBR: they charge regular drink prices at your personal cash/open bar. They do not allow you to buy a set number of bottles of alcohol, so you and your guests are paying 4.25+ for each drink. I expected some sort of discount or the ability to buy bottles at wholesale price. We chose to purchase cases of wine and kegs of beer only because a liquor bill at those prices would have been outrageous. The price for renting the space is very good, which is why we chose this venue. They include tables and chairs in the cost of the room. Linens and additional décor is an added cost. Their price for catering is a bit higher than other local options. We considered their catering service but didn’t use it because the restaurant was closed by the health department a few months before our wedding due to excessive mouse droppings. (https://www.healthspace.com/Clients/WY/CheyenneLaramie/CheyenneLaramie_Web_Live.nsf)

Now we get to the day of our wedding. Set up went smoothly. TBR employees had the tables set up as we had planned and our family was able to get everything done quickly. The cake was delivered during our ceremony, and Rica or another employee agreed to be there and guide the delivers to the right spot. To my knowledge, this went smoothly as well. It looked great when we arrived; however, the ceiling started leaking right next to our cake. When Rica was informed, she said she couldn’t do anything about it and to move the cake if we were that concerned. So we scooted the table away and set a towel beneath the drip…
When my husband and I arrived at the reception, we wanted to take some photos around the ranch. I had asked Rica repeatedly for several months to show us to an open pasture we could use for photos. She kept putting it off, and when we were ready for these pictures, I asked to talk to her. It took awhile to find her, and when we did, she said to make it quick because she had another couple waiting to do their rehearsal. There I was, the bride on that day, being told my questions were not worth her time. I was an easy-to-please bride, but this frustrated me because our event should have been the main focus of that day. She then told us to find any place that said “no trespassing” for our photos. Well, we weren’t going to go tromping around a muddy ranch in our wedding attire poking into spots that may or may not be considered trespassing. So despite my multiple attempts to have a nice spot picked out ahead of time, we settled for a space near the reception with a barn in the background. This wasn’t what I had planned, and I was disappointed.

After dinner, the TBR bartenders began cutting of our guests. Several of these guests had had hardly any alcohol at all. It became a power play by the bartenders to cut off our guests and insult them. The bartenders were not friendly at any point and became confrontational. They were following our guests around, pointing their finger, and yelling that they were to be cut off. Our guests who were “cut off” were upset but certainly didn’t need to be followed and yelled at. It was very unprofessional. The entire TBR staff at the reception, Rica included, acted like our wedding was a burden on them. They told us repeatedly that we were the most drunk party they’d ever hosted and that they would be calling the police to control it. I didn’t drink anything at the reception, and I can guarantee none of our guests were out of control. We were having a good time, but everyone was well behaved and flabbergasted by TBR’s behavior. If TBR and its staff don’t like wedding guests drinking alcohol or hosting weddings in general, they shouldn’t be a wedding venue. The sheriff did show up, and my father missed the wedding party speeches because he had to deal with that situation. The sheriff left soon after because there was no problem he could see.

At our personal open bar, Rica was pouring wine. Later in the evening, my mother went to get a glass of wine and noted there were several bottles still unopened. Less than twenty minutes later, we were “out of wine”. We can’t say for certain whether Rica took the remaining bottles (that we had already paid for) back to the cash bar, but it is the general consensus in our family.

The rest of the night went relatively smoothly. TBR staff kept threatening to have the sheriff wait outside for drunk drivers, but our guests were responsible people and that was never a concern. It was unprofessional behavior by the staff.

All in all, none of our issues were major enough to be a problem on their own; however, the cumulation of many problems encourages me to give TBR a poor review.

The venue is beautiful, but the management and staff need improvement. My husband and I look back fondly on our wedding, but we would never do it again at TBR. I would caution future brides from choosing to host their reception at TBR.