In his vows to me, my husband thanked me for not letting him ghost me after a failed first date. And basically, I need to thank Red Ridge (Chris & Bethany) for not letting me ghost them.

I thought the venue was pretty, but too rustic for my tastes. We scheduled a tour of a different venue in Austin (we live in DFW), and since RR had followed up on my initial message, I figured what the heck, we can tack on a stop there as long as we are in town. It was the first venue we stopped at that we were both STOKED about. One stop packages for me, and a bathroom in the groomsuite for him (this was actually a rarity among venues we toured. Ok there was lots of reasons we chose RR but I'd be lying if I said that bathroom wasn't at least one tally mark!! We left the tour and my fiance immediately said "Anything else we see is going to have to really blow our minds to beat that."

Ok, enough about how we met Red Ridge! The planning with them was so smooth and seamless - very consistent responses and they didn't make us feel dumb for asking some very nitty gritty detail questions (we're service industry, we can't help it). They give you a great jumping off point with their preferred vendor list but they do not limit you to just those vendors, or worse CHARGE you to use non preferred vendors (that's a real thing). Whether they say it to all couples or not, they complimented lots of our choices along the way, which I loved. Lots of people will give you their opinions when wedding planning so it was great to have some encouragement from the experts.

OK on to the actual wedding- what a freaking party. We told Red Ridge we wanted a PARTY, and they played a huge role in that. You can't party too hard if you don't have a ride home- Chris hooked us up with a great transportation service. No party without an awesome dj managing our playlist and speedy bartenders- Kylan, Jess and John knocked it out of the park. Not that I ever went to the bar because the badass day of coordinator (another HUGE value with their package) was making sure I always had a drink in hand! Literally letting me drink a cocktail out of her hand in between family photos. What a gem.

We initially thought we wanted a destination wedding so people would get a little vacation too. But, we still wanted a large group so somewhere out of the country was out. Red Ridge ended up being just perfect- enough of a destination that you had to take the weekend off- but not so far that limited the guest list. Just perfect. And I haven't even mentioned how much fun our guests had exploring Smithville and Bastrop. We had people in from Missouri, Iowa, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and fellow Texans and they were all absolutely charmed by Red Ridge and area!

On the actual day of the wedding, my friends and family had more interaction with the RR team but they all said the same thing- those guys really know their stuff! Several members of our wedding party said the rehearsal was the most organized rehearsal they'd ever been to. Chris doesn't want to waste anyone's time and I appreciate his directness with our rowdy crew! He also is very insistent that it's your day and most likely, they can accommodate whatever the couple wants. We loved that they even let us give them a playlist of songs NOT to play at the reception. That's the level of detail you want! The views are spectacular, the packages offer incredible value, and Chris and Beth are amazing. And it def doesn't have to be rustic! ;)

Red Ridge exceeded my expectations. Chris and Bethany did an excellent job and a HUGE shoutout to their coordinator who was extraordinary. I (the bride) and my husband were very well taken care of. My bridal party didn’t have to worry about anything besides showing up. They were on time, and professional. They were organized, and thoughtful. Thank you Red Ridge for an amazing, unforgettable day.

As the FOB, as I was extremely happy with the cost for all that was provided. Chris and his staff made us feel very comfortable and welcomed. I highly recommend them.