Unique ambiance part of The Dogwood Barn venue experience

Published 9:38 am Wednesday, January 22, 2025

When Robyn Glisson and her husband designed The Dogwood Barn, they partly built it to ensure their five daughters would have an unforgettable wedding location. Building the barn made sense, given their growing popularity for weddings. Plus, they had five girls who would eventually need a venue when they married. That venue is the centerpiece of G5Ranch, the cattle ranch that the Glissons purchased about 10 years ago.

The Dogwood Barn wedding venue is located at 691 Stembridge Road SE in Milledgeville. The first wedding was held at The Dogwood Barn in 2021 when Glisson’s oldest daughter, Reagan, got married. By 2022, the $1.5 million facility opened to the public, turning the space into a business venture.

There are two wedding packages at The Dogwood Barn, both of which include several different amenities. Both packages feature access to the 7,500-square-foot climate-controlled barn. The barn features chandeliers throughout, a full-service catering kitchen, and a bridal suite with a full bathroom, five makeup stations and a seating area. Additionally, all of the tables and chairs are set up before the bride arrives. A new feature of the packages is the groom’s quarters, which are located not far away from the barn. This is the two-bedroom, two-bathroom Honeymoon Cottage, which is offered to couples as somewhere to stay the night of their wedding. Additional inclusions can be found under the pricing section of The Dogwood Barn’s website, https://thedogwoodbarn.com/.

The wedding ceremony area is outdoors with a gazebo overlooking a 22-acre lake with seating for 300 guests on 50 hand-built 10-foot wood benches with backs.

To book The Dogwood Barn, call or text 912-272-1875 or email thedogwoodbarn@gmail.com to schedule a tour. Contracts require a 25% down payment to reserve the date. The two-day package costs $6,800 while the one-day package is $5,800 and is mostly offered in January and July. Once everything is finalized, customers can book all their vendors. If customers need vendor assistance, Glisson can provide a local vendor list to get them started.

The Barn also hosts events other than weddings, including corporate events, large family reunions and more. The Glissons are fully booked through the end of December 2025 and have seen a tremendous response from people within the community and beyond.

Glisson said they are experiencing their “best year so far” and added that word of mouth has been huge for business. Glisson said Milledgeville is a nice, convenient location for a wedding barn because they are typically in more rural areas as opposed to somewhere with hotels, AirBnBs and retail stores.

Then, there’s the lake and ambiance. Dogwood Barn is located on a true cattle ranch with highland cows that visitors can feed. The lake is fully stocked with fish as well. Glisson is currently building a barn for her rare Valais sheep on the ranch.

“It’s just a special place,” she said.

Glisson said that she enjoys working with the brides the most and knowing that she is part of a huge chapter in their lives. It is important to her that they have a special wedding and wonderful experience because Glisson knows how much their wedding day means to them. Being part of the Milledgeville community has also been special to her and her family. The passion of everyone in the city is in Glisson’s words “infectious.”