Celia Sent on 07/11/2022

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The Perfect Venue

I could not recommend a better wedding venue! My husband and I had our reception in the ballroom of the Graduate Hotel on July 9th. We loved the convenience of us and our guests being able to stay at the hotel before and after the wedding. Rebecca was very communicative and a pleasure to work with during the planning process! The hotel's catering was excellent. Several people told us it was the best food they had ever had at a wedding. It was truly the best day being able to have our wedding in our former college town and to be able to celebrate with the ones we love in such a fun and unique space.

Akua Sent on 06/11/2022

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Book this Venue!!!

The Graduate is the best venue in Athens! Everything you need can be provided by this venue. Macy and Becca were so responsive and accommodating. Our guests still talk about how easy flowing the day. The food was incredible and there was ample space for everyone to dance and mingle!

You won’t regret booking your wedding here. I wish we could do it all over again!!

+2 photos

Kelly Sent on 12/14/2019

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Great food

In town for a wedding. Great food. Macy was helpful & Chef Bethany's food was delicious.

Keristyn Sent on 12/03/2019

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Charming venue

Beautiful boutique hotel with exposed brick yaddayaddayadda- seriously though, SO CHARMING: I was here for a wedding and it was the perfect venue. ALSO, chef Bethany’s food is to die for! I would absolutely recommend, and I will definitely be back :)

Taran Sent on 01/09/2019

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Beautiful & Seamless

We booked our mid-December wedding a full year out, and initially had some issues with responsiveness from our contact. However, that contact was quickly replaced with Lauren Hargrove, who is absolutely AMAZING! She was responsive, kind, professional, and made every decision feel easy. From the gorgeous rooms, to the amazing food, to the overall attentive and gracious staff - everything was seamless. The in-house chef personally attended our tasting to talk us through each dish, and he was just as kind and professional as Lauren. All of our guests also raved about their experience, which meant a lot to us. Would absolutely recommend for any brides/grooms to be!

Laura Sent on 11/19/2015

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It was so nice to have the ceremony and reception at the same venue, and super easy for the guests who stayed in the beautiful hotel rooms. My (now) husband and I stayed at the Hoyt House in the middle of the venue which acted as the perfect central location for the family and wedding part, but also as a private suite on our wedding night. The service was exceptional! I would highly recommend this location to any bride who wants to be close to downtown but still have enough privacy for a fun event filled weekend wedding!

User2329027 Sent on 09/22/2015

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First of all, this type of venue was very appealing to me since we had many out of town guests and loved the idea of having the reception at the same place as the accommodations while maintaining the Athens charm and downtown location. It truly has it all, a spa, a pool, cafe/coffee shop...there are even vintage video game machines and record players in the King suites! I researched several other venues and compared pricing of bringing in caterers, renting tables, tents, etc. and nothing compared to the overall package deal that you could find here, not to mention losing the headache of dealing with all of those other details.

Emily and Jessica were dreams to work with and provided exceptional service. The decisions were quick and easy, allowing me to spend my time and energy focusing on the fun stuff. I was worried when I found out that there would be another wedding happening simultaneously at the Foundry while we were next door in the Foundry Ballroom, but nobody even noticed another wedding. They are certainly professionals and have everything down to a science. The food was delicious, the space looked beautiful and everything was perfect.

All of my out of town guests fell in love with Athens and several people commented that it was the best wedding that they had ever been to. We had so much fun that we kept the party going in the Athena Suite after the reception! I couldn't be happier that I chose Graduate Athens and I think it is by far the best wedding venue in town.

Maurice Sent on 07/30/2015

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The event coordinator, Jessica Blount, was very friendly, patient and very thorough. All of the details were addressed and perfectly executed. The staff at the event performed their duties in the most unobtrusive way. I was thoroughly impressed with the entire operation.

Pamela Sent on 07/28/2015

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We hosted out wedding ceremony at The Graduate in July and it was a fabulous experience! The event coordinator Jessica was always quick to respond to my email and all questions. My fiancé and I got engaged right around the New Years holidays and while many venues were closed, The Graduate was right there to plan with me. They were so flexible even making exceptions to fit my ceremony only needs. The space looked pristine on my event day and all of the staff was friendly! My bridesmaids and I stayed in 2 suites and they were so fun and perfect for our occasion. Even though the hotel was very full with guests for a highschool reunion, the front desk kept them quiet and away from our relaxing stay! I am so glad we used the pavilion for my wedding and would reccomend The Graduate to anyone.

Diane Sent on 06/02/2015

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Was only in town one day to make a selection for a wedding rehearsal dinner for 75 people. I chose The Graduate because there were many options to choose from. The event was held in the Pavillion. It was charming and elegant. Most of my communication before the event was done by phone or email. This could have led to many misunderstandings or miscommunications. None of that happened! I didn't even come by the venue early to double check. The ensue was decorated exactly how I requested. The food was exceptional, and the event staff servers were amazing. It went off completely without a hitch or hiccup. So many people who attended had complimentary things to say. It was my son that was getting married and I wanted everything to be perfect. I was not disappointed in the least! Maybe I just got lucky. But I don't think so. I would recommend The Graduate in Athens to anyone has any type of event. Thanks to the people at The Graduate for helping us plan such a great night!

Robert Sent on 05/26/2015

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So helpful and beautiful facilities! We utilized most of their facilities all weekend and it was a pleasurable experience. Family and friends enjoyed being so close together. The Graduate served as a great "home-base" as our wedding was spread over Athens. I would definitely recommend it for a wedding group.

Meredith Sent on 05/08/2015

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Emily and her staff at Graduate Athens were absolutely AMAZING in helping us plan our big day! They did a fantastic job of coordinating everything, right down to the very smallest of details, and they truly went above and beyond in ensuring that we and our guests were happy and comfortable. We hosted our bridal luncheon and wedding reception here, and everything could not have been more perfect. Everyone at Graduate Athens is so organized and accommodating, which made the entire process very stress-free and enjoyable. All of our guests were raving about The Foundry (f/k/a The Melting Point) and that this was the best wedding they had ever been to, and that is largely in part of all of the incredible efforts by the Graduate Athens team. The food was delicious and the venue could not have looked more beautiful. Additionally, many of our guests also stayed in rooms at the hotel for the weekend and loved their unique vibe. We could not be happier with how everything turned out for our big wedding weekend! Thank you to Emily and the entire Graduate Athens team for making this a weekend to remember!

Harper Sent on 04/15/2015

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We decided on a destination wedding with the intention that our wedding guests would stay at The Graduate. The Graduate's staff was exceptional. Emily Janney helped me plan my wedding reception (which took place in the Foundry Park Ballroom). She was patient, calm, and very organized. This was the PERFECT venue for our wedding reception and wedding weekend. The Graduate shows the true value of southern hospitality at its finest.

User2089666 Sent on 04/07/2015

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Great venue for my son't rehearsal dinner. Everyone was professional, thoughtful, and flexible with me. It was the most beautiful room with white flowers and soft candle light and the food was absolutely delicious!! Everyone commented on how delicious the food was and what a perfect place it was to hold this important event. It could not have been better. Graduate Athens exceeded my expectations. I will always be grateful to Emily and the the wonderful staff!

User1794954 Sent on 03/30/2015

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Having one hotel where 90% of my guests stayed was WONDERFUL. Everyone who stayed there was thrilled that they didn't have to travel far for the ceremony and reception. The staff was so patient with the craziness of the wedding, and when we all managed to misplace our room keys after the reception, they were very quick to get us all new ones. They also let us use their shuttle service far more than I anticipated, and for that I am so grateful. The hotel rooms were cool and clean, and everyone loved the eclectic feel. The reception was setup perfectly, the staff seemed to do a great job, and the bartenders were fun and fast. Overall, my entire wedding was everything I wanted an more. I would definitely recommend it.

Tara Sent on 01/27/2015

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Emily helped my husband and I plan our wedding rehearsal dinner this fall. From start to finish she was responsive, helpful and professional. She worked within in our budget, made great suggestions and helped answer all of my crazy, repetitive, type-A bride questions. She was truly phenomenal and I highly recommend her services as well as The Graduate!

User1996829 Sent on 12/22/2014

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Amazing venue, food, and service! We loved having our wedding at Graduate Athens hotel!

Kaitlin Sent on 12/21/2014

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Graduate Athens is an amazing venue. Emily Janney and Candice Treadway made my wedding reception awesome! Thank you so much for working with me.

Staci Sent on 12/18/2014

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Emily was excellent!! Everything we discussed happened exactly as we discussed down the tiniest detail.

User1493270 Sent on 01/03/2014

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Fantastic service, Professionalism for both ceremony and reception. Food was great and out of town guests loved the accomodations.

Callie Sent on 10/10/2013

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We held our event The NotWedding at The Foundry and The Melting Point and we couldn't have been happier. From the responsive and friendly staff to the gorgeous and unique (and very Athens-y) venues to the delicious catering, we can honestly say that this was one of our best experiences with a venue (and we have worked with many!).

Brandi Sent on 09/24/2013

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This place was my dream wedding. It was beautiful and the staff was very professional

Sarah Sent on 09/24/2013

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It could not have been a more perfect day. They were so accommodating and affordable!

Kaysie Sent on 04/05/2012

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The Foundry Park Inn & Spa was a beautiful place to have our wedding reception! Our guests who needed hotels stayed in the ones on site, and everything was wonderful! I received multiple compliments about the food, hotel rooms, and friendly staff! :)

Emily Sent on 10/28/2010

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We were married at the Foundry Park Inn last Sunday, and we can't say enough good things about the experience. We hosted our ceremony, reception, rehearsal dinner, and most of our out-of-town guests here.

Having everything in a single location really helped create the intimate feel we wanted and gave our family and friends plenty of opportunities to get to know each other. The basic rooms were attractive and clean, and the beds were very comfortable. Our suite was spectacular -- attractive and spacious. The ceremony/reception and rehearsal dinner venues were beautiful inside and out.

The food was fabulous. Having breakfast at the Hoyt House every morning was a real treat and enough to get several Yankees hooked on cheese grits. At the rehearsal dinner, the salad was fresh, the pasta bar was hot and tasty (especially the gorgonzola alfredo), and the grilled chicken was juicy and flavorful. The dessert buffet was even better. I highly recommend the Viennese dessert trio with the scrumptious strawberry petit fours. For the wedding, we opted for a heavy hors d'ouevres reception, and again, we got lots of compliments on the food. The petit filet mignonettes and coconut chicken tenders were the overall winners, but personally, I was blown away by the spanikopita, which were hot, crisp, and not at all greasy.

However, it was the staff that truly made the experience such a pleasurable one. From the front desk to the waiters and waitresses to the cleaning service -- everyone was friendly and helpful and worked hard to make us feel at home. Casey Clark, the wedding sales manager/coordinator is the Foundry's true gem, though. Warm, responsive, and extremely detail-oriented, I truly felt Casey was as invested in my wedding as I was. Not only did she ensure everything was perfect down to the tiniest detail on the Foundry's end, she was full of great advice about other vendors. We wound up using the florist and photographer she recommended, both of whom also greatly exceeded our expectations. Everything (important) was flawless -- due in a large part to Casey's hard work.

I also need to mention how economical the Foundry Park Inn is. I did a ton of research before we booked them, and I can say with total certainty that there is no better value in northeast Georgia. You don't get what you pay for there -- you get a lot more. And you definitely won't be sorry if you choose to book the Foundry Park Inn for your reception, ceremony, rehearsal, or any other special event.

Susie Sent on 11/22/2009

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We just got married at the Foundry on Halloween, and it was fabulous! Casey Gray, our Foundry wedding contact, was super detail-oriented and really took care of us. The venue is beautiful for pictures (inside & out), the spa is great, and our guests are still raving about how great it was - and how wonderful it was to have everything all in one place: the ceremony upstairs, the reception downstairs, a bar (Melting Point) right behind, and a great restaurant (Hoyt House) onsite where we hosted our brunch.

Almost all our guests stayed there at the hotel, and it was so self-contained that it made it easy for all the travelers we had there in Athens. And our photographers loved it, too. Lovely venue, lovely staff - I highly recommend the Foundry for weddings!

Rajal Sent on 08/03/2015

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We held our Rehearsal Dinner at the Graduate on May 2015. Emily did a great job planning everything. She was super helpful. The venue is fantastic. we also had our room block at the location so made it very easy for our guests. This location is very charming and the staff is super friendly. The food for the dinner was very good.

Christy Sent on 05/04/2021

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Great Experience

My son and daughter-in-law had their wedding reception at The Graduate. I also opted to host the rehearsal dinner there as well. The staff was great to work with and very accommodating. It was especially convenient to have our family and friends staying on the property as well. Everything was beautiful and we were very pleased.

Chelsea Sent on 12/28/2016

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Such a fun venue! Perfect spot for a party since everything was in one place (accomodations, ceremony, reception) and close to to downtown Athens. Stayed in the Hoyt house which was super cute and perfect for a home base/getting ready with bridesmaids. Food was awesome and the venue looked stunning after everything was set up. Overall great to work with. The only complaint we had was that we were promised one bartender/75 people and we had 159 guests but they only provided us with one bartender, so people were waiting in a very long line for their drinks which messed with the flow of the wedding a little bit. They also ran out of vodka and limes which was kind of a bummer. Be sure to make sure to be clear on how many bartenders you will need for your guests. Other than that great venue!

Anne Sent on 05/31/2015

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I can't say enough good about our experience with the facility and staff at the Graduate Athens for our son's Rehearsal Dinner. The food was delicious and the staff so accommodating. Emily Janney was wonderful to work with. I felt so confident in her opinions and help throughout the entire process of planning our Rehearsal Dinner from out of town. I have received wonderful feedback from our many guests expressing what a wonderful evening it was!!

Jennifer Sent on 11/02/2011

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From the moment we signed our contract and started planning our reception at the Foundry, Casey and Tom were so responsive and helpful! They have a very thorough planning meeting with you, and go over all of the details you wouldn't even consider and provide great suggestions from experience. Every question and request was handled promptly and accurately. The groomsmen dropped off the box of supplies for the reception and the Foundry's staff transformed the ballroom into something more dramatic and detailed than I had envisioned. The food is always delicious, not at all like a catering hall. And the event staff that night was very professional. They also communicated well with my day-of coordinator. I only took off one star for value. The food and especially the alcohol are a little over-priced for the area and no outside food/beverage is allowed. They were always upfront about the costs, but I felt they were taking advantage of the monopoly they have over their great location. However, they made up for it some by comping our wedding night in one of the king suites, leaving wine and cheese the night before, and champagne and strawberries in our room on wedding night. Overall, it was an excellent experience. I felt like a guest at my own wedding and not many brides can say that. I would absolutely choose this location again.

Dani Sent on 12/17/2020

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Lovely Experience

The event space exactly what we wanted. It was nice to have the Terrace outdoor space and the indoor space for the reception. I loved the brick and iron vibes. We were able to get into the space early on friday for set up and clean up was so easy. They also had most things we need, such as table and chairs, so that made coordination extremely easy. I would definitely recommend this space to all my Athens friends!

Jaime Sent on 01/08/2020

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Thankful our day was at The Graduate!

The Graduate Athens is beautiful with great amenities/options for a reasonable price. The hotel/serving staff were pleasant & attentive. The planning process was easy & they were very accommodating. I do wish there was a go-to person on the day of our event. We had a few issues pop-up (i.e. wrong table linens, food came out too early) & I didn't get to speak with someone. Overall, I'm so glad we celebrated our day at The Graduate. It was a wonderful event & I'm so thankful. *photo credit June Bird Photography

Carrie Sent on 12/25/2014

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During our event, the hotel was undergoing extensive renovations and we had several complications around that (I.e. Things in hotel rooms not working, carpets changing in between the time I saw the venue and my wedding date, people couldn't get into their hotel rooms) this was all very frustrating. After the event we spoke wth Emily about it and she understood completely and refunded part of our money to make up for the inconveniences. All in all, the venue is and always will be one of the most beautiful spots in Athens, the carpets were lovely and I got so many questions about how I found it and decided to get married there. The food was wonderful, and they have two tastings a year if you want to try it.

Megan Sent on 05/15/2009

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We had our ceremony and reception at the Foundry Park Inn. Everything was wonderful! Casey Gray was wonderful to work with and was always quickly responsive to any questions or concerns I had while we were planning up to the day of the wedding. The hotel is in a great location for myself and all of our guests to be able to enjoy all that Athens has to offer while in town. We enjoyed it very much! The only down side would be that sometimes depending on what events are happening, it can get very loud. That wasn't an issue for us, but for planning purposes, I would recommend finding out what other events are happening if you book something here.

User2515222 Sent on 01/23/2016

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The staff is wonderful to work with and they have many different ballrooms, a pavilion, a terrace, and The Foundry that has a big stage for a band to choose from for your ceremony and rec option. It's absolutely beautiful! Highly recommend!

Amanda Sent on 09/29/2009

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My husband and I had our wedding at the Foundry and everything went great as far as planning!!! Casey did an awsome job meeting all my needs and also dealing with me chaning my mind up to the last minute. The only real problem I had was casey was not going to be there the day of my wedding but someone was supposed to be filling in, well we though that person didn't show up. BUT we did find out there was another wedding the same day and close in time, so instead of taking care of both of our needs my needs were just completely forgoten while the other bride had the foundry's full attention. My mother was running around like a chicken with her head cut off the whole day trying to get everything in order when someone else should have been taking care of that.

I will say the food was AMAZING! We had our rehersal dinner and reception there and everyone raved about the food. Also the cake they made for me was beautiful and delicious (i recomend the chocolate with butter cream icing). Overall the day turned out great and it was all little details that only i knew about that went wrong, while our guests thought things went great.

Stephanie Sent on 02/06/2008

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The Foundry Park Inn was a really fun place to have a reception. The ballroom was more ecclectic than most--it had the traditional dance floor, tables, and chairs, but the walls are brick and the celling is vaulted with wooden beams. When you dress it up with white linnens and twinkle lights, it looks AWESOME! You can also open up the doors, and there's a great outside area.
Plus, you can't beat a place in downtown Athens.

They provided the food (which was AWESOME), and they helped with all the reception planning. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a traditional wedding with a little flavor.

Delia Sent on 08/01/2008

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The wedding coordinator did a great job at getting everything I wanted. The place itself is beautiful. The food was ok. The only real bummer was that even though the coordinator and I had discussed allowing my party to stay for an extra hour even after the open bar closed, the day of the wedding the people at the venue told me the dj had to stop playing at the time when the open bar closed. They basically forced my guests to leave even though everyone was having a good time and I had discussed it with the coordinator. I suggest you get everything in writing in advance, that way the day of no one can change anything on you.

Kristin Sent on 04/02/2008

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The Foundry did a great job of setting up the ceremony and reception areas exactly as I wanted them. The staff was helpful. I really enjoyed working with the planner that helped get the wedding organized and she did an amazing job helping me find the chairs I wanted to rent from another vendor as well as the linens. The only problem we had was that they asked us to pick our wine and beer selection, which we did and on the day of the wedding they provided different beer and wine. When asked they said they were unable to get what I had asked for and what they had promised, however did go to a store and get the specific beer my husband wanted since I was adamant about it. So although I was disappointed that I wasn't informed in advance, which would have resolved the issue all together, they did do a great job of trying to make up for the mistake. I would definitely recommend them because the wedding turned out so BEAUTIFUL and that was the only real hitch.

Morgan Sent on 01/20/2015

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Flexibility
4.5 out of 5 rating

I really enjoyed working with Graduate Athens to plan our wedding. I would highly recommend this place and Emily for sure. Emily was always very responsive and very flexible. We hosted our reception and rehearsal dinner at this venue and heard several stories of the waitstaff asking for tips. That was the only thing I was unsatisfied with -- how unprofessional some of the waitstaff seemed to be. Regardless of that, I would recommend this venue to another bride and stress the importance of being detailed on what you want and don't want. It was wonderful not to have to worry about renting chairs, tables, linens, etc. because the venue supplied that. Also, we received lots of compliments on the food we served which was also catered by the venue. Our guests also loved the accommodations of the hotel!

Ashley Sent on 01/10/2010

4 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
4 out of 5 rating
Average response time
3 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
4 out of 5 rating
Value
5 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
4 out of 5 rating

Casey, the wedding sales manager at the Foundry Park was absolutely wonderful. She was really quick to get back to me and accomodated everything we requested. My only complaints would be the service of the staff the day of the wedding. We had to ask them to vacuum the room where we got married because there were leaves all over the floor, and I had to ask 3 times for them to get table stanchions and the tealights they said they would provide. Also, the room the night of our rehearsal was locked and our guests had to wait in the cold while we got the manager on duty to unlock it for us. The planning process was great but the staff that weekend left a little to be desired. I would still have my wedding there in a heartbeat though.

Claire Sent on 08/17/2016

3.5 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
2.5 out of 5 rating
Average response time
4 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
4 out of 5 rating
Value
4 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
3 out of 5 rating

The venue itself is very well set up to host a wedding, and it's really nice that your guests can stay in the hotel right where the reception (and in our case, ceremony) was. Would highly recommend getting the Hoyt House and other suite to get ready in. Complaint comes mostly about the food - it just wasn't good on several counts. Even in the initial tasting, I didn't think it was good. Come to wedding day, we go with a couple different options - paid extra for the carving station and the meat was so dry - I was honestly embarrassed. Chicken was rubbery - how do you mess up chicken? Then both bars ran out of bourbon and Terrapin half way thru the wedding, and the bartenders had no system to communicate or get more. They did apologize and issue a credit for that situation. Those were the main two thing that bothered me. It sucks you have to use their catering - I'm sure every bride out there would be willing to pay more for something 1) better and 2) local to Athens like Marti's at Midday for example.

Sarah Sent on 08/11/2018

2.8 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
3 out of 5 rating
Average response time
2 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
3 out of 5 rating
Value
2 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
4 out of 5 rating

I always envisioned having my wedding at The Foundry, and I'm very glad I did, but it did not come without it's issues. When I first booked the venue, they had a wedding coordinator that was almost impossible to get in touch with. She made things incredibly difficult! But it turns out they fired her, and a different sales manager coordinated our wedding. I think they went above and beyond for us, in order to compensate for the horrible service we had previously received. Supposedly they are planning on hiring a new wedding coordinator soon. My advice is: throughly vet the venue and staff before deciding to book. They are going through a lot of transition, so there's no telling what you'll get.

Edit: We booked the Hoyt House for the wedding party so we could get ready on site. I highly recommend doing this! It's a beautiful house and plenty spacious for both bridesmaids and groomsmen.

Kaitlin Sent on 11/01/2021

2.6 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
3 out of 5 rating
Average response time
1 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
3 out of 5 rating
Value
3 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
3 out of 5 rating

Beautiful venue but STRESSFUL communication

After having to reschedule our wedding a few times due to covid, my husband and I finally decided to have a micro wedding at the Graduate this October. I had been communicating with Macy about booking the venue and securing our date since before Valentine’s Day, but I wasn’t able to get the initial steps completed until May. Macy is the absolute worst at communicating. I have no clue if she has things going on in her personal life, but she would go weeks and weeks before responding to emails and I was literally never able to reach her by phone. I asked if there was anyone else I could speak with, but she said “she is a one-woman team.” Half the time I messaged her, I got an away message stating she would be out of office for x-amount of time. It was extremely stressful trying to plan my wedding in an already stressful time with Macy being my point of contact. All I can say is THANK GOD they hired/appointed Rebecca. She was a literal lifesaver. She and I messaged with each other more in a couple weeks than Macy and I had in 6 months. Rebecca made sure we got every detail figured out beforehand.
My husband and I were also disappointed in our food the day of the wedding. When we had our catering tasting, we were blown away by the BBQ presented to us by the chef. The food we were served at our wedding was NOTHING like what we had agreed on for our wedding. We were supposed to have hors d'oeuvres before dinner, but we had none. The baked beans we had were so hard it didn’t even seem like the beans were cooked. We were supposed to have 5 bbq sauce options but only had 2. The Mac n cheese was the only food I was proud to have my guests eat. Also the wine we sampled at the tasting and ended up choosing were not the wines present the night of. We loved the premium wine we had at the catering tasting, so we were okay spending the extra money to have the premium options, but were so disappointed when they weren’t even the same wines we had drank before.
Overall, as a UGA alum and someone who had been to the Foundry a number of times for shows, I have always loved the Graduate and it was a beautiful venue. However, having to deal with Macy and serving lackluster food to our guests was not worth the stress or money.

Elizabeth Sent on 12/03/2014

2.4 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
2 out of 5 rating
Average response time
4 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
1.5 out of 5 rating
Value
1.5 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
3 out of 5 rating

I booked here because of their high reputation and beautiful location. However, this venue was the only cause of headache and tears in my entire planning process. Everything else went smoothly and if I could have cancelled with them and gone to another location I would have with a smile on my face.

First, management decided to renovate the hotel after we signed a contract and not inform us. This means that the suites were not available to stay in (these were one of the major reasons we booked with them), my guests did not have access to rooms with anything other than double beds and there was construction equipment EVERYWHERE on my wedding day. That means huge dumpsters, random crap, and TOILETS on the sidewalks outside our rooms. We had to ask for barriers to be put up around the pavillion, they were not automatically provided... I guess they thought I wouln't have a problem with the toilets and dumpsters?

Second, they scheduled my rehearsal and rehearsal dinner for the wrong times (about an hour and a half later than we had planned) even though we called to confirm in advance so something like that wouldn't happen.

Third, my husband and I have food allergies. I'm allergic to bell peppers and he's allergic to onions. These allergies were noted on our contracts. At the rehearsal dinner there were bell peppers on the green beans and at the wedding there were onions on the steak. I don't know if the contract was ignored, not passed out, or if they just didn't care.

The whole process with the Foundry was full of misinformation and lead ons. We were told the construction equipment "should" be gone and that it wouldn't interfere, wrong. We were not compensated enough for these issues and if I hadn't had a wedding planner to fix continual problems with them my wedding day would not have been fun. I gave them 5 stars for quality because when they did something right it was well done and their location really is beautiful. My guests also thought the wedding

Allison Sent on 08/12/2018

1.4 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
0.5 out of 5 rating
Average response time
0.5 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
2.5 out of 5 rating
Value
0.5 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
3 out of 5 rating

TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE. The Graduate was awful to work with from beginning to end. I had heard bad things, but loved the location, so decided to book anyway. Bad idea! We would go weeks without hearing from Ashley and John, our contacts. Come a week before the wedding, I was still trying to pin down details of the reception with John--things that should have been decided months before. We would make decisions during meetings and then 2 weeks later at our next meeting, he would ask me the same questions, so clearly he never made notes and filed them away. The worst part was the weekend of the event: (1) John was out of town that weekend, so I had an "on-site point of contact". However, I was never introduced to the contact, never given a phone number or email address. So, when 50 things went wrong during the reception, I had no way of getting in touch with my "on-site point of contact". (2) While my aunts were setting up for the reception 4 hours prior to the event, it was 80 degrees in the room (in June!). They asked several staff about lowering the a/c, but none of the staff knew who to get in touch with about turning down the air. Come time of the reception at 6:30, it was 78 degrees & remained 78 degrees for the night. (3) We were promised that a bus would take the entire bridal party (17 people) from the graduate to the church for ceremony and back. When the bus came to pick us up, it only fit 10. So, the bus had to make two trips each way which cut into our pictures, etc. (4) The bartender was SO rude!!! I had several people ask me where I had found him. My husband's father asked him if he had any water and the bartender replied "Do I look like I have any water?" Unbelievable. It pissed me off to PAY someone to be rude to my guests. (5) Our menu items were wrong and the beer & wine were HOT. (6) I emailed the manager after the reception to let him know of the issues and never got a response, which honestly might explain why their service is all-around SO terrible.

Barbara Sent on 01/02/2017

1.1 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
0.5 out of 5 rating
Average response time
2 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
1 out of 5 rating
Value
1 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
1 out of 5 rating

Our December 10th wedding was a disaster. Cold buffet, not restocked in a timely manner; they provided us one bartender for 160 guests; lines out the door waiting for a drink! Sadly this was not at all what we paid for. Please do NOT have your wedding here...they DO NOT have it together right now. We booked based on previous reputation...clearly a poorly managed property.

Mary Sent on 11/17/2015

1 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
1 out of 5 rating
Average response time
1 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
1 out of 5 rating
Value
1 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
1 out of 5 rating

Horrible hotel. DO NOT use this hotel. Thought I should support local hotels and not chains. Wrong decision. Sink not working . Empty shampoo bottles. Gift bags not given to guests on arrival. Requested call back from manager -never happened.

Kim Sent on 05/25/2018

0.5 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
0.5 out of 5 rating
Average response time
0.5 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
0.5 out of 5 rating
Value
0.5 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
0.5 out of 5 rating

Terrible customer service! Many promises but not met on the day: No shuttle service for bride to wedding, 1 bartender/long lines for service, no staff to dismiss tables to buffet, grooms cake not set out/had to hunt it down while the wedding cake was being cut, Galleria II and ballroom not setup (family had to do it), not responsive, buffet not replenished, minimal refund.... don’t book this venue!

Kim Sent on 05/21/2018

0.5 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
0.5 out of 5 rating
Average response time
0.5 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
0.5 out of 5 rating
Value
0.5 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
0.5 out of 5 rating

Beware! Warning! Danger! This venue did NOT provide the service they promised and that we paid for in advance. This is a huge deal for a once in a lifetime event! Beware, there are no do-overs when it comes to your only daughter getting married. We rented TWO rooms (Galleria II and Ballroom) for my daughter's wedding. Beautiful rooms but service was atrocious!!!! Arrived at 9AM (pre-determined time) and the rooms were dirty, not broken down from previous event, and noone around to help setup! Contacted the office for help... not much of a response said there was noone there to help us. Contacted the office again, talked to someone different, by NOON >1< lovely person came to help us... around 2PM a manager showed up to help. By then, we had called friends to come help. They moved tables around to the pre-determined setup, broke down the old chairs, setup the new chairs, took dirty tablecloths off the tables, emptied trash, etc. etc. etc. Horrible service! Oh, but, it only got worse. The mother of the bride got a total of 15 minutes to get ready that day... shower, hair, dress and makeup... 15 minutes. Waiting with the bride for the shuttle, we called the office.... uh, we didn't know you needed a shuttle (pouring down rain!) - it will be at least 15 minutes!!!!! This was pre-scheduled and it was already 5 minutes after the wedding should have started! So, the wedding party, along with the bride, took off our shoes and huffed it through 3 parking lots in the rain to the wedding. HORRIBLE! The event planner, was there in the breezeway dry... waiting for us. She has since left employment at The Graduate! <== That deserves 1/2 a star! One bartender for 100 people. No employees "releasing" each table for the buffet as promised. So, everyone went at once. By the time the brides' mother and brides' father went through the line, there were empty trays. DO NOT RENT THIS PLACE! BEAUTIFUL VENUE! HORRIBLE SERVICE! Rooms are old and musty... yuk!

Graduate Athens Reviews

Reviews

Graduate Athens