Blackberry Ridge Expands Luxury Offerings To Serve High-End Clients

By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor

An unassuming stretch of Highway 301 on Sand Mountain seems like an unlikely spot for a wedding venue that caters to high-end clients, but that is exactly where Blackberry Ridge made its home.

The 260-acre venue features multiple wedding sites and accommodation options, and while photos capture the beauty, they can’t capture the scope and ambiance of Blackberry Ridge. You have to step foot on the property to understand the feel of the venue. Even with Highway 301 not far away, the wedding sites are quiet and peaceful. The venue is the kind of place where you wish you could sit for a day or two with absolutely nothing to do but breathe deep and dwell.

Once home to the Big Sandy Golf Course, the property gave Steven and Jackie Shaffer the opportunity to pursue their dream of running a wedding venue. The couple purchased the property in 2021 and hosted the first Blackberry Ridge wedding the following year. Steven is a contractor, and the couple had worked together on residential renovations, so they were confident in their ability to handle the construction work needed to start the venue.

Jackie’s parents joined the team to help run the venue, and in October 2023, the family hired Erika Allen as the venue director. Allen said, “When I came in, it had grown so much that it wasn’t a family job anymore. They needed help.” A year later, Emma Rolley joined as the venue assistant.

Blackberry Ridge seems to have benefited from the post-COVID wedding boom (caused by cancelled and delayed weddings). Rolley said, “The Shaffers got into the industry at the right time because weddings were picking up post-COVID. The Villa was brand new right at that boom.”

Allen added, “Since I joined the team, the venue has doubled. We’re a deceptively large venue run by a deceptively small team.”

The Villa was the first wedding site. The Shaffers took an existing structure and dramatically transformed it to feature getting ready suites for the guys and the girls, a honeymoon suite, an outdoor ceremony area, a patio for cocktail hour, and an indoor reception area that also works for rain plans.

Second, the Shaffers renovated a house off Michaels Road to become The Cottage, thereby adding accommodation options for families and friends.

Next, the venue added Yorkshire Manor, The Conservatory (a second wedding site), and then Cotswold Manor. Both manors imitate the English country estate style. Yorkshire is larger and feels more formal than Cotswold. Cotswold sleeps the same number of guests as Yorkshire, but Rolley described it as a cozier home with more of a cottagecore feel.

With a grander feel than the original Villa, The Conservatory elevated Blackberry Ridge to a luxury venue in earnest. Both sites are stunning, so which one you favor comes down to preference and style. The Conservatory is much larger with more room for guests, and with that grandness comes a higher price tag. (Currently, overall wedding budgets for weddings at The Conservatory start at $80,000, while overall budgets for Villa weddings start at $40,000.)

The Conservatory’s getting ready suites are larger than The Villa’s. As Rolley said, the guys’ suite has a Ralph Lauren feel while the girls’ suite has a “Bridgerton” feel. Both sites boast a number of balconies (perfect for photo ops).

Even aerial photos of The Conservatory don’t capture its true scope and size; you have to walk around to experience it. With an outdoor ceremony area, patio and garden (often used for cocktail hour), indoor ballroom (often used for the cake, buffet, or rain plan for cocktail hour), and indoor glass conservatory (typically used for receptions), the venue has several different ways to use the space.

Rolley said, “A lot of our Conservatory clients want their event to be really unique, so it’s nice to have a couple different options for what they can do.”

The outdoor ceremony site features antique doors from a castle in France that close before a bride makes her entrance and a pillared dome at the opposite end of the aisle for a picture-perfect backdrop behind happy couples.

Most recently, Blackberry Ridge added Blackberry Tower, a fairytale-esque, three-story tower that sleeps up to six. It primarily serves as a honeymoon suite for Conservatory clients.

Next up, the venue is in the process of adding Blackberry Village. The two lakeside cottages, ceremony garden, and event dock will function as a third wedding site with a lake resort feel. Visit blackberryridgega.com for updates on this addition.

Blackberry Ridge is large enough that all sites can host weddings simultaneously without invading one another’s privacy. The 260 acres go a long way in offering space, peace, and quiet so each wedding feels like it’s in its own little world.

Although the first-ever Blackberry Ridge wedding was in 2022, each addition creates more firsts. Rolley said, “As the Shaffers continue to grow the property, there are still first clients: The first client that had the new bar completed. The first client that got to stay in Blackberry Tower.” Eventually, there will be the first Blackberry Village wedding.

Right now, there’s no end goal for additions to the property. The Shaffers listen to feedback from clients and are always willing to continue growing to meet the desires of their clients. So far, they’ve found that clients want lodging. Allen said, “We’re becoming more of a destination venue,” so accommodations are key.

The Conservatory gained a lot of traction and wide reach via TikTok and Instagram, and it’s begun to attract high profile weddings. For example, “People” magazine covered NFL linebacker Bralen Trice’s wedding to Ariana Quinones at the venue this March. Who would have imagined that “People” would include “Trenton, Georgia” in print? The wedding was catered by Dade’s own Lee Cureton, owner of Culinary Creations.

The venue has found that most high profile clients hear about Blackberry Ridge through social media or networking among vendors. These clients especially value privacy, making The Conservatory a great option.

Rolley and Allen explained that the venue is still working to better cater to the luxury market with The Conservatory while The Villa hits the midrange market. Allen said, “There’s a wide range of what people refer to as luxury. For local luxury, both venues are there. Nationwide, I don’t think either venue is there yet if we consider all cities.”

To reach its target market, The Conservatory has stricter policies than The Villa’s, like a more select vendor list and no disposable dishware allowed. Allen and Rolley explained that every little detail—and every photo that hits social media—reflects on the venue itself, rather than the vendor. For example, a catering company could fail to meet expectations (in taste, presentation, service, or otherwise), but the guests won’t remember the catering company; they’ll remember the location. Allen added, “The way the caterer team interacts with the guests is part of the experience.”

Although it takes some work to find vendors they trust, the team has a lot of fun working with these vendors once found. Rolley said, “On the wedding day, we’re all coworkers. We’re all serving the same client.”

Although there are many wedding venues in our area, Blackberry Ridge hasn’t had trouble staying booked. The Sentinel counted nine venues in Dade, two on Lookout Mountain in Walker County, six in Walker County along the eastern foot of Lookout, two near us in Tennessee (excluding Chattanooga), and two in Alabama (excluding Mentone/Hammondville and further south) for a total of at least 21 near Dade. (This excludes places that can host weddings but primarily serve other events or camps.)

Many of these venues fall under the country chic/barn wedding style, so Blackberry Ridge stands out from the crowd, especially The Conservatory.

The Sentinel asked Allen and Rolley if they’ve seen a slowdown in weddings, especially since the COVID delays are over. In the broader industry, Allen and Rolley are hearing from vendors that bookings have slowed down, but Blackberry Ridge is still getting bookings up to two years out.

The team talked about the impact of inflation on wedding budgets. Allen said, “I don’t personally see the scale of weddings going down. We’re still seeing the same average guest counts.” Even though intuitively it seems that people would cut back due to inflation, Blackberry Ridge has seen the opposite. “Budgets are climbing with inflation,” reported Rolley.

Of the venue’s connection to the local economy, the team noted that guests often stay at local vacation rentals. Allen said that they’re happy to make connections with vendors, services, and accommodations that can cater to a luxury market.

“If anyone has luxury accommodations, we’d love to make the connection with them, or if they offer services like taxis or Ubers. We get questions about transportation a lot. If other vendors (excluding catering or bartending) live locally, they’re always welcome to connect with us through our website.”

Rolley added that when touring, potential clients often ask about restaurant recommendations or places for rehearsal dinners, but the team usually recommends Chattanooga for nice restaurants. Some clients order casual takeout from local restaurants, but most Dade County restaurants aren’t geared toward luxury clientele or rehearsal dinners.

For Allen and Rolley, working in the wedding industry brings them a lot of joy because they enjoy being part of other couples’ celebrations.

Allen said, “I’m a lover of love and of marriage, and I think it’s worth celebrating. My Christian beliefs mean that I value marriage that sanctifies, that is a union granted by God, and I want to be able to celebrate that with my couples. I have the skills to support them by organizing details for them, by setting tables, by moving chairs. If I wasn’t at this venue, I’d be with another wedding company serving and using my talents in the same way.”

Rolley agreed with Allen, adding, “My marriage to my husband is the biggest blessing in my life. I love being able to bless other people in the way I’ve been blessed.”

Rolley also enjoys the client interaction. “I love getting to be a part of something that’s joyful. I handle inquiries through tours, and Erika takes over once they’re booked.” She explained that at the tour stage, brides and families typically still enjoy the wedding planning process and haven’t yet been bogged down by decision fatigue and stress.

The biggest challenge that Allen deals with in her job are high expectations and tender emotions. “You never know what challenges somebody’s going through, what stress they’re enduring, what family dynamics they’re struggling with. You learn to take that in stride and not take anything at face value. It’s not just a color choice or silverware choice or linen choice. That flower could be chosen because that was her grandmother’s favorite, but she passed away last year and can’t be at the wedding. Working in the wedding industry, it’s important to always understand that weddings are deeply emotional. That’s a good thing, but it can be a challenge.”

Both women are often asked if they have to deal with “bridezillas,” but their answer is no, they don’t. Allen said, “I think the bridezilla assumption is blown way out of proportion. I never assume that somebody’s behaving negatively towards me because that’s who they are as a person. That’s almost never the case. Brides are making so many decisions, so I always assume that couples have so much on their plate.”

Most often, Allen senses emotional tension from parents. “They’re feeling complex emotions about giving away their child or not having their own parent there or having to focus on way too many things all at once. As much of myself that I can offer them, I will.”

For Rolley, she’s come to appreciate that her job is to help couples along the path of finding their venue, whether that’s Blackberry Ridge or not. “A big challenge in the wedding industry is learning that you can’t be everything for every client. As much as I want every single tour to book with us, the reality is this might not be the venue for them, whether due to budget or location or preference.”

Blackberry Ridge has already made a name for itself as Dade’s premier luxury wedding venue, and it’s on the fast track to gaining more national attention and praise. This is thanks to the Shaffer’s vision and investment, the family’s teamwork, Allen and Rolley’s professionalism and care for their clients, and the maintenance staff’s attention to detail. Add in a team of stellar vendors, and couples can have a true dream wedding right here in Dade County.

If you’re hoping to book with Blackberry Ridge, the team encourages you to schedule a tour through the website. If you’re organizing a small event, the Manor House in particular can host events for up to 50 people. The venue hopes to eventually have micro-wedding options and rehearsal dinner availability. And, if you simply enjoy perusing gorgeous photos, check out the venue’s two Instagram accounts: @blackberryridgega for The Villa and lodgings and @theconservatoryblackerryridge for The Conservatory.