The Montana Wedding Venue
The Ranch is a full service venue situated on the banks of the East Rosebud River in the center of “The Last Best Place”, just 45 minutes west of Billings. Our venue options are unparalleled anywhere, not just here in Montana. Our venue slogan “No Place, SPEAKS ‘Montana’ like The Ranch!” comes from this fact. The Ranch includes a Log Lodge, Rustic Barn, Historic Bridge, East Rosebud River Frontage, Ponds, groomed and landscaped acreage all around the lodge/barn/river frontage/ponds/outdoor fire pits in a Quaking Aspen and Cottonwood river bottom setting in the shadow of the Beartooth/Absaroka mountain range, the highest in Montana. Generally, ‘Country Elegance’ comes to mind when you see The Ranch in person. Because of our unparalleled options for every facet of your wedding celebration be it the rehearsal, meet & greet pre-event, ceremony, cocktail hour, or reception no two weddings are exactly the same. Unique combinations of the various aspects of The Ranch, combined with the flare and character of each wedding couple, come together for a truly unique wedding celebration.
The Log LodgeVery large hand hewn, custom scribed logs ranging in diameter from 12” to 32” were chosen for the 5000 sqft lodge. The lodge has 5 bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms, cathedral ceiling Great Room, large family/game/tv room, 2 large river rock fireplaces, numerous decks, and outdoor patios. The lodge is the perfect ‘getting ready’ facility for the wedding party, large enough for the ladies and the men to have their separate, if desired, areas to relax and prepare for the wedding celebration.
The master/bridal suite has a plush king bed, large bathroom with double shower and jetted Jacuzzi tub, large walk-in closet, and a private deck overlooking the back patio, river’s edge, and pond. The master deck has hosted a live band with dancing on the patio below, DJ, string quartet, and the Wedding Party for dinner with the reception guest below. |
Rustic BarnOur most popular wedding reception location, the barn is 40’x40’ with a concrete floor and smooth wood finish dance floor, the interior is lined with weathered barn wood and festive string lights zigzag across the ceiling. There are two interior rooms used for food/catering staging in the barn. The front of the barn has a 12’x46’ raised balcony used for accessing the 14’x40’ loft in the barn. The exterior is rough cut board and baton style with natural wood stain.
The Barn at Quaking Aspen Ranch is an excellent reception/dance hall complete with a stage. We have had live bands, DJ’s, string quartets, square dance calling, you name it, play for our reception groups. We have customized the barn character in many ways. One popular characteristic is for many of our receptions at The Barn we extend the seating capacity and ambiance with our light canopy in many different configurations and décor ideas to meet the unique character envisioned by the wedding party. |
River BridgeThe classic high-cage truss was built on-site in 1907 across the Stillwater River about 5 miles north of The Ranch. Having endured nearly a century of traffic from horse drawn wagons and cattle drives to modern ranch traffic semi-truck loads, in 2001 the Montana DOT replaced the historic old bridge with a new concert structure designed for heavier loads. With the replacement built the DOT put the historic bridge up for adoption and The Ranch took on the challenge of moving the classic old structure right through the town of Absarokee, raising phone and power line all along the way until it reached its new home across the East Rosebud River running through The Ranch. We have hosted wedding ceremonies, rehearsal dinners(image above), dances, and many photo ops on the Historic Bridge. When the bridge is used at night for an event we line both handrails down the length of each side with bistro lights and then zigzag them back and forth overhead…. The Historic Bridge, lit up at night, is a spectacular site!
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River, Ponds, Grounds, and Over Night Options...
Ponds
Water is a common feature at The Ranch. Besides the river frontage, we also have two ponds. One is larger than the other, both have outdoor fire pits. Our larger and newest pond is complete with a 12’x20’dock. Our ponds are high on the list of preferred venue locations at The Ranch and another preferred photo opportunity location. Groomed Grounds All the acreage surrounding the Lodge, the Barn, and the Ponds are landscaped, groomed lawn dotted with Quaking Aspen and Cottonwood trees. There are numerous locations, vignettes if you will, we have hosted wedding ceremonies, receptions, and cocktail hours all across our groomed grounds. Our designs have enclosed areas of Aspen trees with hanging votive candles, mason jars with candles, bistro lights, burlap, etc to gain the unique characteristic the wedding party was seeking. |
A River Runs Through It…
We spoke of the East Rosebud River in describing the Historic Bridge under which the river flows. Just on the downstream edge of the bridge the river flows up very close to The Lodge, just across the backyard. The river’s edge along the backyard is one of our more popular wedding ceremony sites. On-Site and Alternate Overnight Lodging The lodge has the Master Suite and four Queen Suites with a sleeping capacity of approximately 10-23 in beds, large enough for most wedding parties. The grounds around the lodge/barn/ponds have many electrical outlets available throughout the acreage for use by venue activities and/or RV campers. In addition, The Ranch can accommodate additional wedding guests in several quality guest home/cabins all within a couple minutes of The Ranch for those interested in that type of lodging. The guest home/cabins sleep 6-12 depending on the cabin. The Ranch also facilitates shuttle service and excellent group rates for hotel accommodations in Absarokee, Red Lodge, and Columbus for guests desiring an overnight hotel room. |