Gardens at Ray Eden

I had the opportunity to check out the Gardens at Ray-Eden as the best man for a wedding being held there. The site is on the outskirts of Louisville off the Gene Snyder. It's a little hard to find since you have to drive through a subdivision to get to the entrance, but once inside it is nicely secluded from the outside world. The Gardens at Ray-Eden are beautiful gardens that can be rented out for special occasions. There were lots of flowers in bloom and the plants and trees are all well cared for. There is a main house that belongs to the owner, and is off limits to guests, but there were bathrooms and a bridal suite attached to the garage, which was very convenient. The owner was very friendly and stopped by several times to make sure that everything was going okay, although I was a little disappointed that his name wasn't Ray Eden. I suspect that weddings are their bread and butter, but I'm certain it they would work for any outdoor special occasion. They also have a large covered pergola, which stood us in very good stead since we had quite a rain shower come through during the ceremony. Although the remote location and subdivision are small negatives, I found the Gardens at Ray-Eden to a be delightful place to hold a wedding or any medium to large outdoor gathering.

Yesterday, I helped decorate and also attended a wedding with about 120 guests at this venue. Everything about the wedding was joyful, fun, and beautiful--except this venue. Overall, the vendors and I did not have a great experience during set up. Some staff were helpful. Some were unfriendly and unwilling to make small changes in order to achieve the bride's vision, going so far as to snap at the photographer that their decor should not be removed or moved. So, I guess you should only book this venue if you love every single piece of artwork in the building when you tour. While I understand the owner's position of wanting to preserve and protect the building, I do think they take it too far. If you know you will be hosting weddings, leave the walls mostly bare so the bride and groom can choose exactly how they want their wedding day to look. This venue is also small and definitely not able to accommodate more than 60-70 people. Do not believe them when they tell you otherwise. Guests were basically sitting in each others laps for the ceremony and trying to navigate through the tables to take a seat for the dinner was near impossible, with a large portion of the tables in the closed upstairs, unable to interact with the bride and groom or other guests. Downstairs, tables were no more than 2 feet away from each other in most places. If you have any guests in wheelchairs, they will have a very difficult time moving around the building. On top of being uncomfortable, I'd also posit that using the upstairs for anything other than a getting ready suite for the bride is borderline unsafe. This building is historical and there is a stair at the top, separated from the rest of the staircase, that is easily missed. I nearly fell down the whole staircase during set up because it is not marked with a sign or high visibility tape. I am not a clumsy person by nature and was able to catch myself but someone is eventually going to get hurt there. As an Oldham county native and business owner myself, I hate writing a negative review of a local small business but I feel that bride's and their families should be informed before spending thousands. The venue and location are gorgeous, there is no doubt about that. But I'd think twice before attending another wedding at this venue. It is more appropriate for grad parties, small corporate events, luncheons, bridal/baby showers, intimate elopements, or birthday parties.

This is definitely an extremely beautiful venue! It's a wonderfully peaceful place with very helpful staff.There are only two issues that I have. It is not very handicapped friendly. I saw many elderly with wheel chairs and walkers struggling to reach the ceremony area then to the pergola for the reception and then to the restrooms. If a person in a wheelchair/walker came to this venue without several people to help them it would be embarrassing.The second issue is the use of so much plastic! Glasses, plates, eating utensils all plastic! I saw so many people trying to cut food with the tacky plastic utensils only to have them break repeatedly.It's a perfect venue for outside events and for the price they definitely should include recyclable and/or reusable glasses, plates, eating utensils, etc.