I was considering this facility for a wedding reception and had talked to Melissa, all seemed great, the photos online looked great. My wedding planner called me and said there were 3 people in line for my date and so Melissa was sending me a contract to sign and invoice for half the cost, and I needed to sign and pay within 24 hours or I would lose the date. I didn't have time to see the venue in person prior to signing. I paid and signed. The first 2 people I told that I had booked that venue told me that they had been to a wedding there and it was not a well kept or updated venue when they saw it. I then went to an open house and saw the space for myself. I had to use the restroom when I first got there and honestly felt like I was using the restroom at a gas station in Belvedere, SD. (No offense - but if you have been there, you know.). I then went out and looked at the venue. The carpet in the bridal suite was loose and all bunched up by the doorway when you walked in. The whole Facility didn't appear to have been updated in years. I only peaked in the kitchen, but it was very small and appeared dirty, which I found odd for an open house. I decided that the location would not work for us. Based on these reasons and several other things I noted at the open house, including staff interactions with other guests and the general disrepair of the building. I found another venue and called Melissa to cancel and ask if there was any possibility of receiving a partial refund of my down payment (half of the full cost of renting venue) if they were able to rebook. Melissa said no, and immediately seemed to become very defensive and aggressively told me that we had a contact that was legally binding. My tone had been kind, polite and not at all aggressive. I then told her that I didn't want to offend her but I wanted to let her know why I felt the venue wouldn't work for us. (As a business owner myself I always want the feedback to know what people are thinking.). As I calmly outlined what I described above, she started yelling over me. Stating amongst other things that the bathrooms were remodeled in 2017 and no one has EVER told them that the venue was anything other than top notch - the other 1 star reviews here contradict that. I finally hung up on her as she had elevated to screaming in my ear. This for me went from, "This is not a venue I would use for a wedding." To not being willing to recommend it for anyone due to the extremely unprofessional response from Melissa. After posting this review on Google - Melissa started sending her "flying monkeys" to attack me - stirring up as much drama as she can - going as far as making up stories about me and such. She has gone beyond unprofessional to absolutely unhinged. read more

There were so many promises made on things for our wedding that were not fulfilled. Building is not well maintained at all. I could go on and on. Just don't recommend this place. Definitely not the "upscale" venue they claim to be. read more

Amazing, professional staff and a beautiful venue! Melissa and her team are phenomenal.

DO NOT HAVE YOUR WEDDING HERE. You and your family deserve to be treaTed better. The owner has no respect for anything but her pockets. The place is extremely dirty ! floors are sticky, not enough garbage cans and had no bags in them. Wouldn't be a problem if the staff was helpful. I feel bad for the employees working in a toxic environment. They honestly seem scared of her. i just found out the lightbulbs in the suites have been out for 5 + months. There was no soap in the women's bathroom. Staff brought out all garbages before 9 pm and before we could get things cleaned up. We requested seating for 120 and there was only 112. When I asked for a couple extra tables I was met with much resistance and was made to feel very inconvenienced by Melissa. We requested champagne in the bride and grooms sweet and was told it wouldn't be a problem. This was not provided. the female bartender wanted to help but was scared she would be yelled at by the owner. read more

Be cautious when dealing with this venue that is in Tea, SD. We had the worst experience and the owner/GM Tony could of cared less. He didn't want to do the right thing when we expressed how unhappy we were with their services that we paid for. Many things went wrong. Photobooth did not print pictures/drapery package were halfway done/bathrooms not stocked with toilet paper and paper towels/broken toilet/rude bartenders/champagne not given as promised etc. Long story short, he decided to hold on to our damage deposit for a couple weeks when he said he would refund it. He kept ignoring us and past brides heard of our encounter and reached out with similar situations so we ended up in court. Let's just say we left happy. Again...proceed with caution when deaing with Tony/Empire Productions/Prairie View Event Hall. read more