Do NOT Recommend
My husband and I decided to tour The Grand Texana in March 2020 right as COVID began to shut things down. We liked the idea of an all-inclusive wedding and with little to no time to look for other venues to tour, we decided we’d go with it.
PROS:
• The grounds are pretty. The tables, chairs, lights, etc. looked good for the ceremony/reception. The women’s bathroom is cute.
• Denise, our day of coordinator, was helpful during the weeks leading up to the wedding, as well as the wedding day. Responsive.
• Food was delicious. We chose BBQ and received many compliments.
• The baker was easy to work with and the cake was pretty.
CONS:
• During the initial tour, my husband and I were not informed of the “no liquor during reception” rule. Stormye, Anne’s granddaughter who used to work at the venue, mentioned “no shots” for the guys while getting ready. It wasn’t until the contract was sent over that we received that information. We told Stormye that we were leaning toward backing out. They agreed to allow us liquor until an hour before send off.
• We asked about doing an ice cream truck at the end of the night. Anne said no. She said she preferred to work with vendors she knew and didn’t know about hooking it up for electricity.
• No rehearsal the night before. Anne said it had to be done the morning of the wedding and that brides and families “love” this aspect. If you agree to a morning rehearsal, you’re not allowed on the grounds until 11:30 AM; therefore, having a rehearsal is nearly impossible while also getting hair and makeup done. Not to mention, the bride couldn’t be part of the rehearsal. Yes, Anne allows you to pay a $300 fee to get onto the grounds an hour early to do the rehearsal at 10:30.
• To piggy back on my previous point, our hair/makeup team, which we found on Anne’s preferred vendor list, said we would need to start no later than 9:30 to ensure we were done in time for pictures with our photographer at 2:30. We offered to pay Anne $300/hr for TWO extra hours so that we could get onto the grounds at 9:30 and use the bridal cottage to get ready. However, Anne said no because the staff “needed to clean” in the morning, even though they did not have an event the evening before. Anne also explained that many bridal parties get ready offsite, which leads me to believe that the time frame hasn’t worked for others either. So instead of using the bridal cottage, I had nine bridesmaids, two moms, and two flower girls getting ready at my house the morning of the wedding. Unnecessary added stress.
• The water did not work in the bridal cottage restroom. While the staff “cleaned” that morning, I am surprised no one became aware that there wasn’t running water. When we notified a staff member, she suggested that it was probably due to pipes freezing during the ice storm — the ice storm that took place in February. Our wedding was in June.
• I expressed concern with a five-hour event to Anne. She kept insisting that couples get tired and want to leave/end their wedding early. She also stated couples rent spaces after the wedding if they want more time. She finally agreed to a six-hour event after I explained how disappointed our families were with her lack of willingness to work with us. When my mom reached out to confirm start and end time of the event for shuttle purposes, Anne responded that events were five hours. Due to prior miscommunication, I had saved and printed emails to bring to the 30-day meeting to show that it had been agreed upon. She said she “forgot”.
• I also reached out to Anne about whether ice was provided. Again, she replied via email that it was, but told us it was not provided at our 30-day meeting. Luckily, I also brought that email to show where she had responded to us previously. She stated that she had said yes because ice was provided for water during dinner, but not for drinks. After seeing my printed email, she provided ice.
• We were also informed at the 30-day meeting that we needed to pick a family member or guest to cut our wedding cake because it was not a service provided by the staff. If you have ever planned an event, you know that is unusual. There is normally a cake cutting fee. However, Anne said that was not an option. The baker thought it was unusual, as well.
• We received an email an evening or two prior to the wedding to explain that there should be minimal drinking while getting ready on the grounds. Very odd thing for an owner to say to a bridal party when our family paid to rent the grounds for the day. This was restated again by Anne to the groomsmen in the morning, saying “emphasis on the word minimal.” My husband was extremely embarrassed. You want your wedding party to feel comfortable as they spend their day celebrating you, not feel like they’re being babysat. Most of the emails regarding the wedding day were a reminder of the many “don’t dos”. The emails also asked us to make our guests aware of the don’t dos… Who is going to reach out to their guests prior to the wedding to tell them all of the things that aren’t allowed? Who would even want to go at that point?!
• Fast forward to the ceremony. There was a gentleman who drove the golf cart. He took the bridal party to the chapel and came back to get my dad and me. I kept asking him if it was time to take us, as we were sitting there for quite a while after everyone was already dropped off. He kept saying no and that staff would radio him. He then got a call which got him flustered. I later found out it was because the parents and bridal party had all already walked down the aisle and they were waiting for just us. We watched our wedding video, and everyone was turned around watching the door for one minute and twenty-eight seconds. Shout out to Third Floor Strings because they looped my entrance song about 3-4 times. Ridiculous.
• I will preface this next point with there was a $1,000 retainer Anne collected in case there was damage to the property. It was also in the contract that more would be collected if needed. With that said, there was a sign stating, “No drinks in the chapel.” However, Denise asked my husband and me what we would like to drink and brought it to us. A few of us witnessed Anne snap at Denise because she put our beers down on her pew, even though they were in a koozie. Anne sat in and/or around the chapel the ENTIRE cocktail hour to dictate what happened in there because her floor isn’t sealed, and she didn’t want anyone to spill. Again, we were babysat. It is a venue. Seal your floor so your guests can enjoy one drink while they wait to take family pictures. Anne asked multiple family members to leave with their drink, but most importantly, she asked our uncle, who has Parkinson’s, to stand outside of the chapel with his soft drink. Anne is the owner. She is not the day of coordinator. She should not have been walking around enforcing rules of the contract with our guests. That is why you collect the retainer. It is embarrassing how many family members and guests left knowing Anne’s name.
• We had a main table for the bridal party, as well as 11 other tables. Despite our seating chart, staff put eight plates at every table. Well, there weren’t eight guests sitting at every table. Therefore, guests decided to move around to other tables for dinner which left one table completely empty and one table with only two guests. I even had a guest say to me, “I’m glad I wasn’t assigned to sit there,” pointing to the empty table. My mother and father in law felt badly for the two guests, whom they had never met before, and decided to eat dinner with them, which meant they didn’t get to sit with their own family.
• We also dealt with undesirable weather the evening of the wedding, as there was a tornado warning in Southern Waller County, thirty miles from The Grand Texana. “The National Weather Service send out wireless alerts when a tornado, flash flooding, evacuation order or other immediate emergency is happening. They're distributed to all phones within a certain radius of the emergency, so you'll receive them for whatever local area you're in.” Our phones did not receive a warning because we were not within the radius. No, a tornado warning in a surrounding area is not her fault and yes, we understand it would call for certain measures to be taken. My complaint is the way it was unprofessionally handled. We started dancing at 8:30 PM and we had the venue until 10:30, as we paid the $300 fee to Anne and $150 to the DJ for the extra hour. We were outside for 15-20 minutes when Denise brought her phone up to me on the dance floor IN FRONT of my guests to show me the radar. She asked what I wanted to do. There had been little to no rain, and I told her I would move the party inside if we absolutely needed to. Not long after, she brought her phone up to me again and I was annoyed because I thought that she could’ve discussed that with one of our four parents at the wedding. Next thing I know, Anne and Denise walked up to Clay and me, again while we were on the dance floor in front of our guests. I will never forget Anne saying, “We’re shutting it down.” That is the first thing she said when she came up to us. I was shocked, but because of my interactions with her throughout the planning process, I wasn’t surprised. She could tell we were upset and asked us to go inside the barn where dinner had been. It was 9:10 PM. She told Clay and me that she “couldn’t hear” what we were saying, even though we were 2-3 feet from her, and she made the DJ turn the music off. Our guests sat outside on the patio for fifteen minutes in silence. She didn’t have the DJ make an announcement. She just turned the music off completely. She told us that everyone needed to leave. We told her that everyone had been drinking and our guests expected to have another hour and twenty minutes before leaving in case they needed to sober up. She didn’t care. She would rather have put our guests at risk on the road instead of giving us the time we paid for. The music turned back on for about twenty more minutes and then we were told all guests needed to come into the barn and be gone by 10 PM. After that interaction, we never saw Anne or Denise. Denise didn’t setup our send off so we didn’t have one. Neither were around to assist us when cleaning up the grounds. They just left. Of course, Anne complained about a bottle not being disposed of correctly. However, my family and I were left to ask the security guard if it looked the way Anne would like it.
Anne never apologized for how she handled anything. Instead, she emailed us explaining how our guests and families were in the wrong for the evening.
Out of 109 guests, I had 50 from out of town/state – Maryland, Florida, West Virginia, North Carolina. I never get to see those family members and friends. Instead of enjoying my time with them, I dealt with Anne. Anne has an idea of what your wedding should be and does not want you to deviate from it. She had to have her hand in every detail every step of the way. She is passive aggressive and there is no doubt in my mind that she will comment on how our “day was beautiful” but then pretend that there are discrepancies in my review.
I cannot stress enough how disappointed I am in myself for not looking at other venues. I strongly suggest you look elsewhere. We live in Texas. Tour one of the other millions of barns in the state.