has anyone looked into this place: simple gatherings at four oaks manor ga

Re: has anyone looked into this place: simple gatherings at four oaks manor ga

• nolebride08

  

  September 2011 edited December 2011

  We met with the coordinator for this venue and took a tour of it as well.  It was beautiful, the coordinator was so nice and very helpful.  Definitely a great venue if you're looking for a rustic farm-esque venue. 
  Overall, our experience was great, however they were a little too much for our tiny budget.  Also, my main concern was that there wasn't much option for backup plans in case of rain other than tenting the entire backyard, which didn't thrill me. 
  However, I will say, even my photographer recommended this venue and said that every wedding she had ever been to there had been so smooth and wonderful. 
  
  Sorry, that was kinda long.  But I HTH! 

  Can't wait to marry my man! October 28, 2011

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• ButterflyChickadee

  

  November 2011 edited December 2011

  We live literally 1mile from there, and I'm still considering it. The owner Randy West is very nice and his son too, if you talk to them about what you want they are very nice and will try and work with you. The place is beautiful, ceremony area, cute house, great gardens, I just might go for it with them. The only thing is pricing, we do catering my fiance and I and we know vendors and so we really just need a place to get married and bring everyone we know. But if we weren't going that route to save money, I would pick this place to get married. Any more info ask me, if you send them basic info, he replies back soon and with an estimate, and where you can click and change things/options to see what your budget would be. Call him, tell him Amanda and Ned from down the road mentioned you, but they are really nice, he has an adorable husky dog there too. Hope this helps. I love that house. I'm glad it's a wedding venue now. They redid the website and is really nice now too!

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• TooBlueDaisy

  

  November 2011 edited December 2011

  First of all, I loved the buildings and the grounds, from the old farmhouse and rustic smokehouse to the fire pit and kid's tree house. However: Every step of the way we had miscommunication, tension, and anger.  This venue is the beautiful dream of the late mother and wife of the family, we 100% respect this, but felt like that fact was forced in our face over and over, which was painful to my husband who also lost his mother. The family runs the business as sales director, wedding coordinator, and chef who lives on site. The sales director did strive to work with our budget and had what appeared to be itemized pricing. Come to find out later they sell by packages and had offered generous discounts but never let us know that fact: it's hard to be gracious for a discount you are unaware of. The wedding coordinator told me a dozen different ways she was too busy for me with her other brides and young daughter (who comes to work with mom during the week), but she did put together very pretty weddings for her other brides. After a tasting at the venue, we were confidant in the chef's ability to create tasty dishes, however very concerned about everything being hot and served in a timely manner- it took 3 hours to serve the 1 hour long tasting. 

  We had planned to grin and bear it despite our gut feelings, as this was the wedding we and our personal wedding planner had envisioned for the past year, and I had a hard time imagining our wedding in a different landscape. However after my maid of honor posted a review outlining the concrete issues (the baby, the dogs, the busy attitude) we were invited to accept a refund and change our venue. THE WEEK BEFORE OUR WEDDING! (Thankfully this was a blessing in disguise- our wedding was perfect). The lack of communication between the family and lack of professionalism at Four Oaks Manor aka Simple Gatherings continually interfered with our planning and made me lose trust in the service. I greatly appreciate that they canceled our contract and offered the refund, but it makes my sick to imagine what effect this could have had on our wedding day. 

  I do not think you should eliminate this venue from your search, however they did not have the ability to meet my expectations, and after having our wedding with a professional, corporate group I can truly see the gap in venues: from the landscaping to the servers (blue polo's vs. tuxes). Four Oaks Manor aka Simple Gatherings offers a great value for the all inclusive DIY bride, but it was not the place for the wedding we expected.

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• mary2184 member

  

  October 2013

  TooBlueDaisy, it's 2 years later and that place hasn't changed a bit! I got married in March and had a similar experience. Unfortunately, my review is too long to post!
  

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