Grand Targhee Resort Reviews

We got married here in July of 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Suzanne and her team handled the situation expertly and professionally, and worked with us every step of the way. As a result, or wedding was absolutely beautiful. You can't get a better deal on a more beautiful location!

My husband an I chose to elope and do a private ceremony at the summit of Grand Targhee resort. While the resort doesn't usually do elopements or have an elopement package, Rich and his event planning team went out of the way to create an amazing experience for us! The resort helped to build a little package that included lift tickets for the chair lift, as well as a small picnic and Champagne to enjoy at the summit. They even transported it up for us. Given our great experience with a small event such as this, I can only imagine how incredible they would be to work with on a large wedding. The views from the top were incredible and made for the perfect venue for our ceremony and pictures. After the ceremony, we rode the chairlift down and took some photos on the lower portion of the resort. This venue is absolutely beautiful. It was everything we could have hoped for!

Targhee was so easy to work with! They made my wedding weekend a weekend me nor my guests will ever forget!

We had our wedding at Grand Targhee on March 24, 2017 and it was BEYOND what we could have every asked for. When we visited the venue they mentioned that they don't typically do winter weddings, however Sarah Hartman did everything she could to make our hopes for a winter wedding possible. We ended up having the ceremony on the back porch of the Teewinot Lodge with the mountains in the background and renting out the Trap Bar for our reception. The resort has so much character and was the perfect place to host an intimate wedding and a hoppin reception. I was blown away about the hospitality of everyone at Grand Targhee, especially Sarah. They made our day run so smoothly and created the perfect atmosphere for skiing and gathering our loved ones. I couldn't recommend Grand Targhee more and can't imagine having had our wedding anywhere else. There was so much for our guests to do and with lodging and venues so close together, it was easy for everyone to kick back and have a good time. Best weekend of our lives by far!

Where to begin with this breath taking wedding venue. From the first look at the top of the mountain with the Tetons as the back ground to the grassy ceremony Grand Targhee will give you natural beauty for all guest to enjoy and for amazing picture backdrops. If you’re looking for a wedding location all guests can walk home from you’re in luck as they offer an over abundance of lodging. Grand Targhee as a wedding venue include amazing food, experienced bar tenders, and an amazing wedding coordinator. Suzanne, went over any beyond to make sure our wedding weekend was as stress free as possible. From full set up to full clean up, they did it all. Suzanne made sure the Bride, Groom and guests were taken care of the entire time. She helped us follow the wedding timeline to make sure all events were seamless and not missed. Suzanne is very experienced and willing to make anything you desire happen. I couldn’t have picked a more amazing wedding venue and team. Disclaimer- I also had a COVID wedding (8/8/2020) and Suzanne continuously kept us updated with the new policies and regulations Grand Targhee created. They were extremely flexible with any decisions we made from downsizing to proving a full refund if desired. We had a socially distanced ceremony and decreased amount of people at each table. Everything worked out great and no one reported getting covid at our wedding.

Resort was amazing! Spectacular views and SO much to do! Kids loved mountain biking and rock climbing. There were other activities as well that we didn’t get to do that also seemed like fun. The view from the top of the mountains is truly breathtaking. Us and all of our guests were blown away.
Suzanne, our wedding coordinator, was very flexible and easy to work with. She explained everything during the rehearsal and was there for the entire wedding to make sure things went smoothly and we stuck to our timeline.
The wedding really was perfect and beyond anything I could have expected especially since I was planning from out of state. I wouldn’t change anything

Heads Up, this is my ENTIRE experience so I can give a real point of view for future brides.
A 2-star review may be generous... but the review isn’t solely on the coordinator.

If you do not live in a closer vicinity to Grand Targhee Resort, good luck planning your wedding from afar. Stephanie is the Ntl. Sales Manager for Targhee, whom I dealt with in the beginning and partially throughout my experience planning my wedding. She was very accommodating and helpful, even though her job with weddings only goes so far. From that point, you are directed to the Wedding Coordinator, Suzanne. My understanding is that she is a seasonal employee on-site, leading to issues I had with actually getting in touch with her at times to plan. So, I am not sure how often she is actually at Grand Targhee. Mind you, I live over one thousand miles away so I solely rely on my phone and email communication.

A spur-of-the-moment trip we were able to take left us with one day to actually visit our venue (never before seen), and also get our marriage license! Stephanie was able to accommodate us with a private tour showing us the grounds [what we could see because the icicles caused hazardous conditions] we did see where our outdoor ceremony and reception would be, along with the bridal suite and room similar to the “honeymoon suite” (the actual room was unavailable). After our quick turn-around trip it was back to communicating by email and phone. Suzanne had created an interactive word document for an itinerary which seemed like a useful tool. But I was left to fill everything out on my own with no confirmation on anything. I felt like it was a very hands-off way of planning. There were numerous times when she was unresponsive to emails or calls for extended periods of time.

Being a bride and trying to plan a destination wedding by herself, I depended on the help of my wedding coordinator! Stephanie stepped in when she could, but some things she simply did not know because they weren’t her responsibility. As we got closer to the wedding my mother stepped in to help alleviate my stress levels. She also experienced my frustration with trying to communicate with Suzanne. My mother also received an itinerary (like mine) to fill out/and or edit. Now, with certain details that we had discussed in previous emails, I had expected Suzanne to have included those details in the itinerary she sent to my mother. But no, it was empty and my mother tried to fill out everything based off what she knew or thought she knew. I ended up having to tell her to edit things that I had already communicated with Suzanne about, but never received confirmation.

Fast forward to the wedding. Both mine and my fiancé’s families arrive at the resort on the day before the wedding, Sunday, all from California. The resort is hosting a Bluegrass festival which we are aware of. Our mothers (being how mothers can be) called ahead and asked if there was a possibility for an early check in since we just came such a far distance and had a rehearsal in a few hours. Check-in is at 4pm (a little late if you ask me), but one of the rooms was available since it had already been cleaned and checked out of. The rest needed cleaning still, but we’re empty (no worries there). The front desk had told us we could get them as soon as they were ready. Cool.

After we had all checked in, my future mother-in-law and I went to taste wine for the rehearsal dinner bottles. As I was discussing table arrangements with the manager, Suzanne walks in and introduces herself (finally putting a face to the name). We meet and I tell her what is going on there and what I need done for my wedding the next day. She tells me that she can give me the key to the conference room and bridal suite for the decor we plan to use. Great! As a bride, you feel like you are in charge of everyone’s happiness, even if it’s your big day. I part ways with her as she goes to grab the keys, and I go to check on everyone’s room situation. As I got the keys from Suzanne, our room (we chose to stay together) became ready and we had quite a bit to unpack. She felt the need to point out that check-in wasn’t until 4pm and we weren’t supposed to even have them yet and were lucky that they became available for us.

Time was dwindling down and the rehearsal was upon us soon. I told Suzanne my mother wanted to speak with her about some wedding details but unfortunately, I could not go with her; I needed to help my fiancé unload our vehicle still. She seemed annoyed that I would not go with her, but I reassured her my mother could handle herself.

After my mother met with Suzanne, she and I went to the front office to ask when the “honeymoon suite” would be available the next day so they could move the bride and groom’s luggage over. My wedding was at 3:30pm and we were told the room was not available for check-in until 4pm. We had been told that nobody was in the room that night so they did not need to wait for a check out the next morning nor a cleaning. We were not asking to have the room the night before, but the morning of or at least a few hours before the wedding. Our plan was to take photos immediately following the ceremony before the lift closed (leaving no time to move luggage).
We wanted our families (the entire party of thirteen guests) up the lifts for family photos. The man at the desk told us to try and come by in the morning and they would call Suzanne for her approval (Stephanie is the sales manager and handled all previous room arrangements).

The rehearsal and dinner went extremely well and there were no issues. The morning of the wedding myself, and the two mothers went back to the office to see if there was any change on the status of the “honeymoon suite” availability. The same man was behind the counter [I cannot remember his name, only that he was from Tennessee] and he reiterated rather rudely to us that it’s up to Suzanne whether or not we could gain access to the suite. He had to call her because she wouldn’t arrive until noon that day! Knowing the wedding was in the early afternoon, you would think things could get moving a little earlier and accommodate us. Instead I felt like we were being treated as an inconvenience. Her answer was “No”. Some of our family would need to stay down (since there was a set closing time for the lift that we literally set the time of the wedding by) and move our luggage.

Being a bride, you are stressed and excited all at the same time on the day of your wedding. The coordinators job is to take that stress from you. How can she do that when she doesn’t arrive on site till only a few hours until the ceremony begins? She tells us, “this isn’t my first wedding,” when asked questions. How can you possibly decorate how I would want it when you have not even tried to get to know me or simply ask me what vision I have? That is why our families felt like it was up to “US” to decorate how I would like it. And it is a good thing we did because once Suzanne arrived, she was not pleasant to be around.

You would think that a wedding coordinator would have a nice, bubbly personality and give you the impression they love weddings and doing their job. Not the case. She arrived shortly after noon as the flowers were arriving. She barely said a word to me, other than a not genuine compliment on my bridal robe (which she had probably seen hundreds of times since this wasn’t her first wedding as she said). She nearly knocked the flower woman down with table as she tossed it and kicked it into place. Not necessary at all; you could feel the tension in the room radiating off of her. Not the mood a bride wants to feel while getting ready for the biggest day of her life.

From that point I left it in the hands of Suzanne to arrange the deck area tables for the reception dinner. My sister-in-law to be was also on the deck decorating with rope lights. She asked Suzanne her opinion on where they should be placed to look even for photos; the response she received was rude and detached as if it weren’t her problem. Not what you want to hear from your family when they are the ones trying to make your day special.

After the ceremony we all convened in the conference room to sign our license and take quick photos before going up the lift that closed at 5pm. My husband was approached by Suzanne saying that if we didn’t get a move on, the wind would pick up and she would close the lift. No congratulations or anything from her, she only left us with the feeling of being an inconvenience to her.

First off, you cannot predict the weather but the wind was still well under dangerous conditions; Secondly, there are people already up the lift that you cannot leave up there. Though she did say that we would get left on the mountain to walk back down if we finished any time after 5pm. Rude. My husband was very put-off by her comment, and frankly could not believe she said that. Again, we felt like we were not of any importance to her. The lift crews however, were friendly and very welcoming; they made us feel special and accommodated our requests to decorate the chair we rode on.

During the time we all went up the lift for photos, my sister-in-law and her boyfriend stayed downhill to move our luggage across the resort (and up to the fourth floor) to the “honeymoon suite”. There are no carts on site for help so everything is on you. Oh and no elevators (we had two handicapped family members).

Once we returned to the ceremony and deck area for more photos, the tables were all set up and decorated. They looked very nice and Suzanne did a good job with the decor we provided. I had also provided her with a sketch of how I wanted it set up, and she achieved the look. There was no further communication from her once we set serving times and a schedule for cake cutting. I actually do not know when she left the reception (maybe she felt like her job was done and left?)

Later on (around 11pm) my husband and I made it up to our “honeymoon suite”. Now let me remind you that we had come before and had seen a “similar” suite to it. Though the similar room had bunk beds and a small queen up yet another flight of stairs inside. A family cabin is what it was; we thought the “honeymoon suite” would have similar features, but be accommodating for newlyweds like they advertised the room as being for (maybe a king sized bed on the main floor and especially no bunk beds). Nope. It was the EXACT SAME ROOM; it wasn’t just “similar”. It is obvious to us at this point that this is just another family suite that they double as a “honeymoon suite”; there is nothing special about it for newlyweds. To top it off, there were cobwebs/spiderwebs on the screen door to the patio and the shower head was broken.

My husband and I went back to the lodge where our families were staying and told our mothers what our “honeymoon suite” consisted of. Needless to say, they were not happy either. The four of us proceeded to the front office to ask if that was in-fact their “honeymoon suite” and to listen to our concerns. We were all surprised to find out that not only was that the only “honeymoon suite”, but there were not any king-sized beds on the entire property.

After an hour of getting nowhere with a phone call to Suzanne (who I remind you left without a single word) we were simply exhausted. All we wanted to do was get what rest we could and get out of there. The experience we received from her was something that we will never forget, and not in a good way. Your wedding is supposed to be the most important and special day of your life. We left feeling like we were just another job, a hassle for her to have to endure (even though we decorated the entire lawn and conference room). Her comments were unprofessional and unnecessary, not to mention the attitude she constantly exudes. Suzanne has no business being a wedding coordinator. And Grand Targhee Resort is not a wedding destination, it is a ski resort that advertises they have space for weddings.