Wedding Venue: Hatchet Ranch

Looking for a rustic, ranch style wedding venue close to Pueblo? Hatchet Ranch may be the perfect spot for your wedding.

Located just 20 minutes outside of Pueblo, Hatchet Ranch is an easily accessible venue location that can hold around 150 guests inside (more if you include the outside).

One big plus for Hatchet Ranch is they allow you to have any caterer you wish and can decorate however you wish. The flexibility here is great as some venues do require you to use their caterers.

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Indoor vs. Outdoor Accommodations

Hatchet Ranch can accommodate up to around 150 guests inside their main barn with room for more people if weather permits and guests are ok with being outside as well. Most ceremonies take place outside the barn and this allows for a quick transition from ceremony to reception. Should weather turn bad, there is always the option to move it inside which does provide some nice flexibility with Colorado’s temperamental weather patterns.

Our Downsides: The inside of the barn can get quite hot in the summer months with lots of guests. They do provide large fans to help with this but the fans do cause a bit of noise which some guests may not appreciate.

Lighting

In most cases the lighting here is pretty great for photos and for guests. The outside is exactly that and there are no problems with there being too much light. During most of the year the sun is facing the main “ceremony” stage outside. This can be really harsh light in the summer months and your ceremony photos may be have half of your faces in the bright sun and the other half in the dark shadows. A good photographer can work around this but the light can also be really blinding for your guests.

Inside lighting for the most part is fine. It is nice orange lighting throughout and when the barn doors are opened this provides a great amount natural light to come in. The getting ready suite for brides is very dark and the light is very orange. Talk to your photographer about their ability to manage light and what they do in situations where the light is more orange and dark environments.

Atmosphere

The Hatchet Ranch provides you with a true Colorado rustic, cowboy, barn experience. The property is easily accessible but far enough off the main interstate that you wont hear the traffic. The small houses and barns on the property give you a feeling that you are in the Wild West. Occasional animals are on the property which add some excitement for kids and guests to get to see horses, chickens, deer and other wildlife.

Staff

The staff at Hatchet Ranch have always been great. We will say, remember that you are providing your own caterers, decorators, coordinators etc… so the staff presence at Hatchet Ranch is minimal as their jobs are more for setting up and tearing down. They are on site should an issue arise and you need their assistance but for the most part all the staff you need for your wedding day will be outside vendors.

Getting Ready

The getting ready suite (usually reserved for the bride) is quite small. If you have a bridal party size of about 6 (including bride) or less, this room should be ok. There is one main mirror to get ready and there is an in room bathroom. Your Photographer needs to be ok shooting in very tight spaces and make sure your photographer is someone you like cause you will be very close to them in this room.

The barn is split into two sections. The back half of the barn is a bar and can be used at the getting ready suite for the other half of the wedding party. There is a pool table and shuffle board for activities but if you are planning on using this space for additional guest access or serving food and drinks it would be mutually shared between guests and the wedding party. In several cases, before the wedding it is blocked off for the wedding party and then is opened to guests after the ceremony. This tends to work really well, giving both sides of the bridal party, space to get ready and hang out.

Accessibility

Accessibility is great at this location. It is easily accessible from Pueblo at only a 20 minute drive south. Wheelchairs tend to do really well here as there are no stairs and only 1 step-up accessing parts of the barn. Everything is contained in a central location so guests with limited mobility will find it accommodating.

Parking

Parking here is no issue at all. Guests are provided a very large parking lot.

Photo Opportunities

The ranch provides you with LOTS of opportunities for photos. The main barn along with the bar area are fun opportunities to get creative for getting ready shots and guest interactions. Outside the barn you are free to roam most of the property and these provide beautiful couples portraits and bridal party/family photos as well.

Conclusion

As of this writing they start around $5000 for a 3 day experience. This allows the couples a chance to set up and decorate the day before and it allows them the opportunity to tear down the following day. When you consider that a lot of other venues require you to be out by midnight this may be a huge plus for you. Also considering the number of guests you can have at this venue that is pretty reasonable as well.

We really enjoy Hatchet Ranch. If you are looking for that Colorado wedding experience you can’t really beat Hatchet Ranch being so close to Pueblo and Colorado Springs.

Things to consider for your photographer - When you are talking with your photographer they should be good at a few things. If getting ready photos are important to you your photographer should be good at low light photography and handling orange light bulbs and mixed lighting when you mix the bulbs with the open door barn natural light shots. Your photographer should be able to handle direct sunlight as an outdoor ceremony during most of the day will be direct sunlight.

Luckily we have shot here many times and we are quite familiar with the layout and everything the ranch can throw at us.

Hatchet Ranch Contact Info
7600 Hatchet Ranch Rd., Pueblo, Colorado 81004
Website
Phone: (719) 501-3396