‘I was in tears’: Texas bride-to-be drives 4 hours to Trois Estate for wedding venue tour. Then she arrives for her appointment with Vanessa
Finding the perfect wedding venue is supposed to be one of the most exciting and foundational parts of planning your big day.
But for one Texas bride-to-be, what should have been a dream tour turned into a communication nightmare that ended with what many feel was a petty move.
Wedding Venue Tour Gone Wrong
In a viral video with more than 84,000 views, content creator Sophia Milan (@itssophiamilan) shared her frustrating experience trying to book Trois Estate, a Texas wedding venue she’d been eyeing for two years.
Sophia explained that after getting engaged in April, she and her fiancé immediately knew they wanted to get married at Trois Estate, so they reached out and scheduled a tour for May. The venue was about four hours away, so she made sure everything was confirmed—two weeks out, one week out, the morning of, and even when they arrived.
“We pull up into Ghost Town,” Sophia says in the video. “There is absolutely nobody at the front desk, nobody around. We’re calling. We’re walking in random rooms.”
Eventually, they found a staff member in the kitchen who had to call the owner. Rebecca, the owner, came out and apologized for the mishap. The appointment was supposed to be with someone named Vanessa, but she’d apparently forgotten.
Despite the rocky start, Rebecca gave them a full tour and Sophia fell in love with the venue. She was ready to book immediately, but wanted to discuss it with her family first.
Communication breakdown
A few days after the tour, Sophia reached out to Rebecca, saying she was ready to book and even willing to pay in full since she wanted to get married that November. But the response never came.
She waited a couple of days. Then a week. Then two weeks. Nothing.
Finally, she tracked down their Instagram account and sent a direct message explaining the situation. That’s when Vanessa responded via email, apologizing for the delay and telling Sophia she could call anytime before 2:30 p.m.
“So I call, and I call, and I call. Days go by. She does not answer,” Sophia explains. She even sent an email proof that she was calling, but nobody picked up.
When Vanessa finally answered, Sophia expressed her concerns about the poor communication, especially for a venue so far from home. She was hoping for reassurance or an apology, maybe a promise that this wasn’t how they normally operated.
“I literally told her, I was like, this is it for me. Like, this is the only venue that I pictured,” Sophia says. “And do you know what she says in response? She says, ‘Well, we’re definitely not the only venue. There’s other venues you can book.'”
“Bro, I was in tears a little bit because I was like, wait. You don’t even want me to book here?” Sophia recounts.
Her father made a solid point: “If these people are acting like this before they have your money, imagine how they are going to act after they have it.”
Sophia moved on, found a different venue, and pushed her wedding date back a whole year.
The Drama Continues
Sophia thought the saga was over until she saw one of Trois Estate’s videos on her TikTok feed. Someone in the comments asked if they did weddings, and Sophia replied, “I do not recommend.”
The venue ended up blocking her on TikTok and Instagram.
“Y’all really could have just sat there and ate your food,” Sophia says. “But instead, you wanted to block me across all accounts for giving my opinion on a place. So now I’m gonna say my opinion louder.”
In a follow-up video, Sophia shared that the venue didn’t respond to her directly; instead, they responded to another creator about her. The venue claimed Sophia “decided not to move forward because she preferred not to communicate with their office manager” and that she “began leaving negative comments online despite not having hosted an event at the estate.”
The venue wrote that they blocked her “to protect our team and preserve the harmony of our space.”
At the end of their response, the venue announced that “Trois Estate is closing its stores and will not be taking any further bookings.”
“I guess they’re not gonna be in business anymore, which is really sh*tty for everyone that probably booked their venue there and now is not gonna have a venue,” Sophia says. “I don’t know how that’s gonna work out, but I really dodged a bullet for real.”
The venue currently has a 4.3 star rating on Google, but is currently listed as permanently closed, but there is no information about their closure on the website or their Instagram.
@itssophiamilan The saddest part is, I was still very much looking forward to staying there when we go to Fredericksburg & had even reccomended it to friends as a general stay. Like whyyy would yall do that?! ? #wedding #weddinvenue #texas #texaswedding #fredericksburg ♬ original sound – itssophiamilan
Wedding Vendor Red Flags
Sophia’s experience with Trois Estate hits on several major warning signs that wedding experts say couples should never ignore.
According to wedding planning experts interviewed by Brides, these are the biggest red flags to watch for:
- Extremely slow to respond: A few days is understandable during busy season, but weeks of silence signals disorganization
- Forgotten appointments and calls: Missing meetings shows poor time management and lack of reliability
- Big promises with “too good to be true” prices: Vendors who overpromise often underdeliver
- Confusing contracts or surprise fees: Professional vendors provide clear, detailed billing information upfront
- Services that stretch your budget: You shouldn’t have to strain financially to meet a vendor’s minimum
- Mismatched styles: If their portfolio doesn’t reflect your vision, your wedding becomes their “teachable moment”
- Personality clashes: You’ll be working closely with these people—if you don’t get along during planning, it won’t magically improve
Poor communication topped the list. While highly sought-after vendors might take a few days to respond during busy season, waiting weeks, or having calls and emails ignored entirely, signals serious problems.
Forgotten appointments are another serious breach of trust.
“Real excuses aside, general forgetfulness doesn’t exude confidence when spending money with a vendor,” said Laura Ritchie of Grit & Grace. “If you are too busy to manage a calendar invite properly, you either need an assistant or better time management.”
But perhaps the most telling red flag in Sophia’s story was the vendor’s dismissive attitude. Wedding planner Jove Meyer emphasized that the best vendor relationships are built on trust—and when a vendor essentially tells you they don’t care if you book or not, that’s a clear sign to walk away.
Viewers are mad, too
“As a photographer, this is blessing… you don’t want this venue,” a top comment read.
“Vanessa was 100% in the wrong. She was inconsiderate, unprofessional and rude! You should never make a bride feel that way! I’m sorry that happened to you!” a person said.
“It’s giving the good reviews are paid/family friends,” another wrote.
“I tried emailing them three times about a wedding booking and no answer i gave up didn’t know this was a universal experience,” a commenter added.
The Mary Sue reached out to Sophia Milan via Instagram and TikTok direct message and Trois Estate via email and Instagram direct message.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
