The McKinney Flour Mill

hstanley1212

I am thinking about having my wedding at the McKinney Flour Mill and was wondering if anyone had any experience with them..  We would be having the ceremony and reception there, so I'm a little concerned about how smoothly everything goes during the "flip" period.. Also, I'm wondering how much room there is during the reception for the dance floor and for people to move around.  If anyone has any experience or advice I'd love to hear it!!  Thanks!!

aeliza06

I was a bridesmad at a wedding here and everything went wonderful. 

We were able to come in early that day and decorate. There were about 175/200 people and there was a lot of room- almost too much room, including a huge dancefloor and a 8 person live band set up on the wall of the entrance doors. The room is beautiful so there is not much you need to do to spruce up the space. 

She didn't have the ceremony there, so I can't give you any info on the flip, but I imagine that it could be easiliy done. The entire area from about the entrance to the bathrooms to the front patio (where the fountain is) wasn't even utilized (just had cocktail tables here and a bar setup in the corner). They used 10 person rounds and had a head table on the wall opposite the entrance. 

The acoustics are wonderful for a live band. 

Have more than one bar if you have drinkers. The space is so large that you need them in opposite corners. 

The space in between the poles with the tulle wrapped around is where they designated their dancefloor. They had the tables scattered surrounding this. There was tons of room for everyone to dance.

It is so beautiful, I think you will love it!

bbybluz77

I was also a bridesmaid at a wedding here, but I wasn't impressed. This may have been to a lack of proper planning, though. I'm sure these are things you could work out if you really love the space. 

The ceremony was set in front of the wall of windows that looks out onto the fountain. They sun beams through those windows during the summer, and the bride's mom and aunt spent most of the wedding day trying to put up curtains to block out some of the sun. It didn't work very well, though, and a lot of the guests had to block their eyes and the sun with their programs. 

The flip was not very seamless. The guests watched the whole breakdown of the ceremony site during cocktail hour. It was a little awkward, but it could be made easier/nicer with some draping to separate the ceremony area from the reception area. 

Probably the biggest issue was the a/c in this space. In order to save money, they do not run the a/c in the main reception area during the week. We had to do the rehearsal in 100 degree heat. They did not turn on the a/c until the morning of the wedding, which was not nearly enough time for that massive space to cool down. The guests complained of the heat all night long. Again, this could be fixed... just don't have a summer wedding. 

And like the previous reviewer mentioned, the space is massive. If you're having a large wedding, it would work well. For a smaller wedding (under 200 people), it looks like you have a few dinky tables set up in a massive space. 

Also, use a caterer that other Mill brides have used and recommend. The kitchen is almost non-existent, so you will need a company that is familiar with the venue and knows how to overcome those obstables. 

Wow, sorry. That was long. I had no idea I had so many opinions on that place.