River Creek Lodge Reviews

Let me start by saying I have dreamed of this day since I was a little girl! The setting at River Creek was breathtaking. After visiting many venues we found the one that checked all our boxes. Anna and all the staff really helped make our dream come true. They spent countless hours leading up to our special day and made sure that our day was everything and more. I would hands-down recommend this venue to anyone looking for the PERFECT venue ;)

Brad, his team and the entire Johnson Family at River Creek Lodge are nothing short of incredible! Seriously, having their expertise during such a big time was a huge help and they went above and beyond to make our day absolutely perfect. There are not enough words to explain how they helped make our day, THE BEST DAY! If you're looking for a venue that can be transformed to fit almost any 'look' then look no further than River Creek Lodge.

So far everything has gone well! They have been very laid back with ideas that we have had and encourage us to run with the ideas. We stopped by today andare so glad to see some improvements that have made!

First negative review we have ever given but we feel this is completely true and honest from our experience. We waited 1 month before writing this review to allow some time for recollection, clarity, and collecting comments from our guests.

First the good ... the venue is beautiful for an outdoor wedding and it is rustic and remote. This is why we chose it. We were upsold to the platinum package for a couple of specific reasons that turned out to be very misleading and disappointing. Do not pay for the premium packages, as you will find it is definitely not worth it. Here are the deficiencies with our event:
- Our impression was if it rained we would use the stable for the ceremony... but it turns out the stable leaks badly in many spots directly over where you place decorated formal dining tables, bridal portraits, etc. Many of our things got wet. The response we got was "oh well, it is an old barn and it leaks". Unacceptable for the thousands of dollars you pay to rent a venue.
- There is NO WIFI on the property, and cell service is extremely poor. When you are setting up day before and day of ceremony trying to call/communicate with anyone is terrible for vendors, deliveries, coordinators, and anyone involved with the wedding.
- We were required to rent a bartender through the venue at an extra charge and he was not even able to tap a keg. His sloppy t-shirt appearance was unprofessional
- We had agreed on booking that the venue would provide ice. We were assured there would not be an ice issue. But there was. The answer we got was "they bent over backwards for us to get ice" but come to find out they delivered the ice to the other wedding that was occurring at the same day/time. Poor management.
- Parking attendants were included in our package, however there were two simultaneous weddings with 300+ guests and we never saw more than 2 attendants (usually zero). Clearly understaffed. We had at least 8 people show up and actually sit down at our wedding who were supposed to be at the other wedding. Chaotic and poor management.
- We were upsold to book the lodge for 2 nights, with part of the main attraction being a hot tube for the bridal party and honeymoon stay. Turns out the hot tub was not functional, and full of brackish water, dead mice, and frogs. This was never mentioned when we toured with Anna even though we talked about it with her right there. She just smiled. The girls were very disappointed that evening.
- The breakfast was lacking, to say the least. We could have put them in a Holiday Inn and had better service. We assumed Bed and Breakfast included more than little boxes of cereal and granola bars as your first morning as bride and groom. This is clearly not a destination style package, as we were sold.
- There are several more things we could add (many things noted by our guests that we overlooked), but really the worst thing was the treatment we recieved from the owners Anna and Brad afterwards. We never asked for any compensation back for the deficiencies, but they clearly would not take any responsibility for any issues. Anna was rude and would not agree to speak to us at all after the event until we mentioned we would write reviews.
We would not recommend this venue. Please beware that you are just "renting the space" and do not expect any help from the owners, even if the roof is leaking on your wedding day. They clearly have a lot to learn about customer service.
We feel in the end we didn't receive value for our money. If you are serious about a high end, nice wedding this is not the venue for you.