Episode 275: The Ranch at Milo Creek

0:00Best in podcast, the best in town You wanna get up, get ready to get down With this big wide sky And the world will never take If you wanna go home We can take you there To Great Fall Montana Welcome to the greatest damn town in Montana Great Fall, I'm Rebecca Engel I'm Shannon Neuth And we're no damn experts Shannon, I'm just gonna tell you I am still exhausted from Western art week And all I did was walk around by an necklace And visit it with a few folks Wow Yeah, you did a small portion of what our guest

1:00For multiple days in a row West art week is wonderful and exhausting I think especially if you're on the artist side of things And with that we have Tom And Patty joining us today We're so excited that you're here Thank you very much Thank you for being part of our community And thank you for June Western art week That's a tough thing I do nothing I should show up It was a great week It was a great week And so I lured them here under the guys Of their another venture that they have going I was hoping that is really what we got to talk about Yes, so I'm gonna just alert you That we're gonna be talking about drinking later Okay They may not be prepared for it But I know they will be But before we start down that path Can we learn a little bit about Tom and Patty? Tom, I assume you all go by Dean, Tom and Patty Dean Am I? Patty Jolaine

2:00Okay, thank you Patty Jolaine So let's start with Patty Jolaine Tell us who you are What mysteries and wandering paths led you to this point in time? You want me to start that? It's quite a big jump I actually am a physical therapist Oh my goodness And I had been practicing for the last 34 years Various places throughout Great Falls And had some opportunities that presented themselves With some property that we inherited And just really weren't sure what we wanted to do And by that time I had my own private practice It was going really well, I loved it Got to do what I wanted to do the most But this opportunity came up Vicariously through a realtor Because we had thought about selling the property And I inherited my father's property in there The buildings and things like that We just didn't know what we were going to do

3:00So the realtor that came out and looked at it said You need to turn this into a wedding venue Oh and not And you said I love wedding I love weddings I know how to do that But I think everything you do in life It brings you back to where maybe you're supposed to be And I'm a very creative person I've done a lot of different ventures Not just in physical therapy But had organized and done a lot of thing in the medical community A lot of speaking engagements A lot of development of different programs So you know it's not a huge jump to think That I could figure out how to do weddings And to be able to market our place For not just weddings Social gatherings Corporate things Corporate events And being able to manage a lot of different people So I'll interject right here She is the brains of the branch at Milo Creek

4:00Seriously Well that is a lot going on Patty, are you a great-fault girl? I am not I am originally from Dylan But I am a Montana girl My small town Quite a lot of stones throw away But actually the old Columbus hospital recruited me Oh my goodness And it was way before the merger And so that's what brought me to Great Falls I had some family that lived here too So it was an easy jump for me to come right out of college And come here Do you know Jeanine Rapp? Yeah So Jeanine kind of set us up How we got together I was just going to ask Okay Oh, while I was going to ask Are you too married? Because not a lot of people understand What your affiliation might be Because we haven't shared that That's true We are married We are Tom and Patty We are married We are married Okay

5:00So Jeanine brought you two together as husband and wife Or Jeanine and you brought you together To come to Great Falls for this Jeanine used to work at the Columbus hospital Okay And I used to sell advertising to a hospital Oh And we went to what was it? A coach's convention And then I asked you if you wanted to go jitter bugging Right? So that was her claim to fame of Okay That was good And she was my wedding, which is kind of funny She was my wedding coordinator when we got married out at the ranch So we were the first wedding At the ranch At the ranch that we're all year long I'm neither a Greek Yeah Wow So it was kind of cool That was pretty awesome Let's transition to your husband Tom, Tom Dean Who was the star of an episode of Art in America And that's the only thing I know about you other than your art So Tom, tell us your deep dark secrets

6:01My deep dark secrets Great Falls boy Well, Great Falls boy and born and raised here My dad was a children's dentist here in Great Falls, Bob Dean, Dr. Dean And was he your dentist too? He was my dentist And he owned a ranch These are the things I'm facing together as a party In 1971 Oh Turned down the volume of my voice No, it's a short version Oh I'm the long version Patty's the short version All right, so anyway My work history was in sales So my first job out of college was Kamo and Radio And then I went to KPB TV Holy moly And then I went to the Great Falls Tribune And then from there I went to selling commodity products at carpenter paper Which is now downtown where the CTA architects or whatever it is Anyway

7:01And did that and then was promoted to a manager over Missoula So in what year did we move to Missoula? 2000 and 1997 Holy moly Long time ago Yeah, so 1997 moved to Missoula And then I wanted to get back to Great Falls because I like to hunt and fish And love Missoula We both love Missoula, it's a great place We both graduated there, Patty's dad graduated from the U of M And now both of our kids graduated from Missoula So the kids graduated too Yeah Wow That happened fast Two years, right? Yeah, two years Two years But we just, Great Falls just offered a lot more for family and community You know, a little bit smaller than Missoula but just had just a lot more Feel for the kids and we were having our second one then and we just thought This would be a great place to raise a family Yeah

8:01And then It's I've always loved Great Falls because you can be at a fundraiser, you know about this very well Shannon At a fundraiser and you can have a physician and the guy that owns a radiator shop Right? And you both can communicate and have a beer and you know fundraiser for whatever cause you're doing No, it's a great time and like Patty said, I started my artwork in I was going to ask, 22,000 When you started coming from Carwood Yeah, the last job by the actual real job I had was Zimmer Orthopedics as a device rep Okay Okay Is this where you two are hearing orthopedics? I'm hearing physical therapy, is that where you cross paths? No, no, nothing to do with it Okay No, she was just hot Perfect, yeah I mean, I can see it I'll hear this in the track going home Anyway, so I worked for Zimmer Orthopedic from 2006 through 2008

9:05And I just started to go in after surgeries cause you're done by 9, 10 o'clock in the morning So I ended up going to the garage and trying to make something like a fish Cause I loved a fish So long story short, I did that and I got super obsessed with it And like compulsive And so I made this big fish sculpture I used to make just one board And then over the years or months, I'd laminate one, two, three, four so you could get a curve So I was always out in the garage trying to do that So that's forward, I made this big, huge fish sculpture Like three feet long And I had these three big brown trouts on it And they were a full-bodied fish And then I learned how to cut, cat tails out And then I learned how to cut and carve a dragonfly So patty and I were down

10:05I know you're getting tired of this Patty Okay, this is our list, there's first time hearing this That's right So we went down skiing a big sky And I had this little trifold brochure Of one sculpture and it looked like I had a lot of inventory So we went into this gallery called the Painted Pony Gallery And Huntley Lodge It's no longer there So I kind of went in and said, hi, I'm Tom Dean And so would you guys be interested in carrying my fish sculpture And her name was Denise DiMico And she said, sure And I was just, oh my god, patty I got my piece in a gallery So she asked me what I wanted for it And I didn't really think about that process So at first I said it was $4,500 bucks And I am going to tell a story

11:07And so it was, when we go there in December of 2007 In January 28th, February or 2008 In February and then March And she called me and said, hey, I think you need to increase your price And I laughed at her, I thought it was really funny Because I thought $4,500 bucks, which is a lot of money And so just, I can't swear, can I? Okay, just for fun I said, 28.5 And she didn't laugh And I'm like, you serious? You're going to put that on there? She did And within a couple of weeks it sold to a couple from the Yellowstone Club They came into the gallery and bought like half a million dollars For the artwork for the club house Wow And that was the start of my The Creek Carvings Yeah, it was The unusual start though And you never whittled what as a kid?

12:07No, I never did Now my dad was a brilliant artist from painting illustration, acrylic, oil, carving, architecture, music, poetry, you name it He was something else So maybe all those times just watching my dad I don't know So at the age of 45, I left Zimmer And I said, we talked And I said, I'll give myself 10 years to make this art thing successful And I did it very, very rapidly Well, our kids were little They were eight and five And now they're having 24 Somebody with flexible schedules Was per handy Rarely handy We decided we had a talk either Somebody had to back down Go part time or something with their job It's hard when you have kind of money And you made more money than I thought But it was just demanding And so he was a way better Stayed home dad than I ever was

13:07A stay-at-home mom More fun, did a lot more things The kids loved it And so it just, for our family, worked really, really well And we're able to kind of move forward with that Right I'll tell a funny story about Patty This is that So And he's really looking forward to it And she is I really wish we had video today No, it was funny I give her immense credit Because we didn't know how to price the work when we first started I mean, how do you Yeah You don't know anything about it Right So her comment was You're not going to be selling your pieces at the fuzzy Elvis booth on 10th But I think his story about Big Sky is indicative of Quality, it was beautiful piece But sometimes people value things because of the price Not because they love it Right And it was a great testimony of that Something that had been in there for a lot less value

14:09People overlooked it And it depends on what your audience is And then once it moved upward, then it cut their attention It's a real interesting reverse side thinking It really is Yeah Well, and I think the other part of that is Having zero artistic ability I do have some really amazing sign stick figure prints if you'd like them But having no artistic ability I think there's an appreciation for the attention to detail that can be seen And some artwork to go There's absolutely no way if I devoted my life to this for the next 30 years But I'd never be able to come up with something like that And to have that level of appreciation to know what time it takes, what efforts it takes To be able to go I'll spend $30,000 on that, not a big deal It is And you know, it was It's something when you go out on your own

15:10And specifically art is if you don't make anything, you don't Can't sell anything so you don't make any money So, you know, failure was not an option when I started You know, the most three most important persons are Patti, Kellen McKenzie Anybody else? They're for a second But when you get into the art world, it's a really, we're not here to talk about the art world But it's kind of, it's a cruel, it's a tough market You've got to have some thick skin Ooh, I don't like fish So, that's what I thought You don't have to buy it That's right, don't buy it Yeah Which is a great transition into alcohol Let's start there Because I love beer, it is one of my favorite things I'll drink some hard liquor every now and again Or is this coming from The reason this is coming is a path, just go with it Okay It's a twisted windy road Okay, we'll get there But my understanding is that your venue is going to be hosting the Rare Poor

16:15Yes Correct You want to talk about that Is this first open to the public or is this by invitation only? Well, we opened it to the public and we sold out There we go Within the week It's our first sware Where we actually, 10% of the proceeds that we are gathering is this time is going to go to Toby House And so every time we do an event like this, then we'll pick another opportunity for folks that need some help So we're really excited to be able to partner with them on this They were really happy about that This isn't just the one and done Even though the second one isn't necessarily scheduled Correct So let's talk about what it is So we came up with the idea with my column at hand You want to start with tacos and tequila and all that? No We have done other events out there that were fundraisers that were people had already bid on

17:16And there was a whole bunch of them out there and so we combined everybody and did two or three I think big tacos and tequila's fundraisers out there And it was well received and great and fun And so we kind of got together with Mark Capis and Mike Hallahan and said Okay, well, now let's come up with something that's kind of for us But we can still do those events, too, as we move forward So we called it the radar poor because we can change the alcohol that we serve So it could be whiskey one time wine beer to make some people in the room happy Right And do a pairing that way And so that's why we called it that so we can change it We limited it to just 48 seats More so because we don't know what the weather's going to do so we can get that many easily into the barn And not have to worry about the weather and keep everybody happy And kind of bougie this up It's going to be a very high end wine pairing and dinner

18:18That's going to be served But the thing about this community is the support from all of the other chefs in town So Mike is pairing up with Donnie from the sip and dip from Clark and Louise And he's going to be a part of it and help So it's not just one entity of a chef in town But them all coming together like they have for different weddings that we've had out there Is Sandy going to be involved in this? I'm just going to help I think she would probably like to just have someone sit there and give her That's probably true Yeah, to drink and wait on her But and then bringing together their staff and coming out and doing that We have Chuck Fulcher He's going to be out there playing music for us a lot of people in our community love him And just know On April 25th Yeah, and that just kind of a really nice enjoyable relaxing evening And supporting so many other folks in town not just Toby House

19:19But just all of the other great chefs that we have and caterers in town So yeah And this isn't drinks that you can just go to Albert Sensen by the, you know, six bottles And get 20% off No, no Right, no Or hope It's not that No, we partnered, I forgot one more partnership with Guesto this time And or looking at some other opportunities with some others down the road That they'll bring in some wines that no, you don't get it at Albert Sensen They'll pair it with the food that it makes That will be available just at that time if people want more information or can buy it at that time for that But it's a more rare item You aren't going to find it at the bars, you're not going to find it necessarily In the easiest form to get, which makes us a real nice exclusive event Even more so is the venue You haven't been out there yet No, and now I've seen pictures

20:19And I do just want to hang out at the venue Like sit in the front yard or, you know, the porch Have you seen me there? No, you guys need to come out Realize It's not weird Yeah, so we should go back maybe to the fact that this was a property that you were a realtor was like Hey, you should do something with so it was in your family Yes, my dad started on the place He bought 40 acres in 1970 Just across the river from Vaughn And so this is for people who don't live here maybe explain Right, it's where I can find it It's about 20 miles west of Great Falls Do you live there or do you live there? No, this is my dad's permanent residence Oh, okay In 1972 to 1974 He started working on this little house So he brought this house that he bought for 150 bucks That were the house apartments are right now

21:20So did that and then in 1974 For the foundation for the house And it's a four-story log And so I lived there my last two years Junior and senior year of high school on the fourth floor And it's the whole floor all to yourself It's not that That sounds quite... You'll understand what we're saying When you go out there, you'll understand So from 1974 through 1992 Is basically the entire entirety of time that it's from start to finish So there's the big barn or the big log house There's a really beautiful barn Then there's a loft we used to have horses And that's where we've stored And then the final building is this beautiful rock house Out of all sandstone from the property So it's like a piece of artwork And it's more of an Australian, not Australian, Austrian architecture

22:25It's got the little tiny windows that were the sheep barn That kind of thing But it's all from the property All the stone or sheep So the whole initial thing about my dad was He wanted everything to make it look old And so here we are Last year it was 50 years old The property So he hadn't lived out there for the last ten years of his life So things kind of went back to nature Like weeds and trees were down And shingles were blown off And all there was was tar paper Oh my goodness So when we did find out that I was the actual beneficiary We're like, oh crap What are we going to do with this property? We said more things than that If you inherited a lot of work Yes we did That's exactly it So a good high school friend of mine Two years ago asked me if his daughter was getting married And so he asked, called and asked me

23:27He said, hey Tom, did your dad still have that place up by bond? I said, yeah Because while my daughter is getting married And I thought we'd see if we could use that and make a little cow Yeah, no It's not even in the position of being used Because we used to have cagers out there in high school So that's where he remembers Yeah, beer, beer I mean, if you're going to look back on your life fondly I would agree it's probably cagers One of the top 10 members It was fun It was fun So we hurried up and did a lot of work And didn't charge the couple Because we didn't know what we were doing And it was beautiful Absolutely She was a great bride to work with Because she could cure us It was totally good when she came out there And we hadn't done anything So by the time she got married It was, it was in pretty darn good shape But then we still did a lot more after that

24:27And then we decided it worked well And that we would start and see if people responded And great falls supported us fast Very quickly and lots of ideas But again, a lot of support from mentors That were great at figuring out How do we deal with alcohol when you have people out there drinking? How do you insurance? How do you deal with the insurance? How do you set up your contract? All the things That was true But how do you have people who just stay on your deck all day Just staring out of the crib Of your property Exactly And just thinking about other ideas And what we can do with it So we are so fortunate for that Because I would not have been able to figure this stuff out so quickly And been able to turn it around Like we have if it hadn't been for everyone in this community and support No, great falls has been great

25:28Absolutely great So you guys don't live there I love everything about this location I'm showing off pictures There is Rebecca But people can't see that on the radio But I can tell them But then the other There is a primary residence there that you guys aren't living in No People get to stay there What are the parameters of how this venue can be used? What we do for right now is A gift to the bride and groom That they can stay in the house If they are renting it for multiple days The wedding party and whatnot We allow for that And we had thought about doing a VRBO And that kind of situation But it's a really unique house And property that makes that a little bit more difficult And I think Well, the only time really We could do it is in the winter And that's a really hard time out there Is winter because our whole summer is booked

26:28For this next year and we're already going into 2027 Wow But for then If they have it for one day use Then they have the whole use of the house and the property They just don't stay overnight And then allow some dry camping If it's the family Or they're part of the wedding party Just to keep everybody closer to town But that's a nice thing is that they're close to town It doesn't take long It's just 18 miles west of Great Falls Yeah, so that's not a problem And anybody listening to this podcast that wants to get in the business of having You know blackout taxi Because they're not We'd be up for a trolley You know, the party bus Because we don't have that anymore And At least Uber comes out So we know they know where we're at or at least some of those drivers do So that's an opportunity for folks listening Of having something like that But anyways

27:28The weddings If I And let's be clear I'm not actually going to do this Sometimes people hear me say things Like hey, I'm going to do this That doesn't mean I'm actually going to do it If I wanted to launch a yoga retreat Would I be able to rent the venue And then allow people to stay there If I was like a Friday Saturday Sunday How many rooms can I possibly Do I don't know So they're going to come back in Pretty small And you could have four people No, two people No, they'll come back into town and support all of our local hotels But I am honestly shocked To have that big of a I know And there's only two bedrooms Well, he was a bachelor He didn't think about that No, you should see the master There's only two rooms There used to be two kitchens

28:28There only was two bathrooms We made another one So it's a funky layout With just two bedrooms It's an artistic house Is what it is It's all about the artistic look Functionality Was really in the plan back then No, it's really cool It does leverage your community then From that standpoint I mean obviously yoga But just right up my alley Like if there was lodging You could be like sure But we did five corporate retreats Like day Last year So we had that So I can come out and do meetings Or that they did meetings in town And they want to have dinner Out there And showing off to people from out of state That's kind of where they enjoy that It's very typical I mean it looks like a set from the Yellowstone It does And what was really cool

29:28There was two events last year So Netflix was doing a farm to table Documentary And Well, not Netflix Well, there are production crew Then they sell it to Netflix So they came out And So it was a local ranch And they had a big dinner out there Well, these gentlemen were from Ireland And they were a gas They just wanted to Like have that kind of experience And then they were outside And actually Tom and I weren't there for this second time But my daughter was and she goes Well, do you guys want to see the house And he said, well, I guess we can take a look at it And as soon as he went in the house He went, okay, bring the crew in here So they wanted to do the filming Like you're an old faithful It's a 65-foot tall fireplace Well, and we get requests every now Like these are the weird requests Like hey, we're coming to film this person

30:28Talking on this documentary We need a house for them to be able to sit in This would be the place And I always thought Well, they live here, why aren't you doing it there Well, because it's not pretty That's not what they're looking for They need it in a different place Well, that's why Like when I look at the, you know, dark side of the ring The 90s, WWE people And their documentaries They're always on these beautiful rooms And I'm like, that's so weird They don't look like they belong there And now I know We were able to host The Taiwanese Yeah, the delegates that come from Taiwan For the barley So yeah, no wheat We have barley and rice and lentils And that was really cool Which was great They were amazing And just thought it was the most beautiful place And it was really cool It was really cool Everybody's handing out cards Yeah, so that was again just

31:28And that was supporting Montana You know, that they wanted to kind of showcase A place that was very much Montana-ish So not bad in the first year Yeah, okay A friend here of like, no, we'll try art Try this, why not Oh and well Well, that's the other thing we've been talking about for a couple of years Is to have an art event That would be cool Yeah, it would be very, very cool Have you had any Like, surprises Or like, no, it's a weird meeting group Or association Or this is a weird themed wedding Or things like that We had one lady, the funeral No, no, but that's fair That people wanted to have the reception there For their loved ones You know, because they really loved Montana And she wasn't from here Maybe she was here for a bit But her husband was from here And she really wanted to, she was calling from Hawaii But I think

32:30We have an idea of weird friendship We haven't had any weird like, no, we're not doing that So did you retire from physical therapy to do this now Or are you still doing both I don't know if I say I retired I'm reluctant to say that because it makes me sad But I would say that I don't do it anymore You see less patience than you once did That's a career well spent If you're sad to say I'm done, done I'm done Unless this doesn't work And I have to come back, I guess I don't know, but I mean, I kept patience After I closed my private practice I kept some patience That I would go and see their house And you enjoyed that Yeah, it was fine But then I just finally said I can't do it all anymore And I lost my focus And trying to steer one to the other So yeah My mom had total knee replacement surgery And she got to see a physical therapist

33:30And then I got to go home with her And make sure she did her exercises I praise any physical therapist Who can do this because I yelled at her a lot Like every hour on the hour I'm like, all right, let's do your exercises And I'm like, you're not doing them good enough And she's like, you know Carmen's a lot nicer than you are And I'm like, yeah, Carmen ain't here So unless you want Carmen here every day You got me And Carmen is really nice I know who that is But that's what everybody says About it, you know I have friends that are physical therapists And they send their parents Or their husbands to me Because they won't listen to them And vice versa I have to send my family away as well Because turns out after I left They're like, you're doing way too much And I'm like, oh, well, I was misinformed You don't have to be doing this every hour I'm like, I'm waking her up every hour at night And I'm like, come on, get out of bed Yeah, she was happy when I left

34:30That was your goal No, Patty, and I'm I asked too many questions And she's like, you're to be seen Not her I don't want to see you anymore, you need to see my friend Yeah, it's hard to treat your family Yeah, absolutely, that's fair What is the capacity for the venue? Like, what's your sweet spot? Are we talking? 15,000 guests We're going very close to that number For weddings, we really like to stand or 200 If they're going to go over 200 Then I want them to talk to me about it And I kind of have to see What's before and after them Because we're just looking at the land And how hard that is On the land and so many people Yeah 150 is, I'd say, your sweet spot Which I would say almost every wedding is that They say they invited 200 And they get 125 Or know who they are And know how big it is going to be

35:30Because of great falls And so I think the thing that I worry about And it doesn't see my brides do Is weather That I really try to help them get prepared Because the barn only could hold You know, if we have tables in there We can get 78 in there Okay So most of it is going to be some of the barn It will be set up but they're going to have a tent And the dance floor And so it's going to be an indoor outdoor wedding no matter what And so they all think it's just going to be great Weather And they were fortunate last year And it was We had a weird summer But June is always our daisiest summer Month, I guess And so we've partnered with another guy That has a wedding She has wedding Items and stuff you can rent She has tents and stuff And so she comes in and sets up the tent And you know, we can make it work

36:30But I always have that plan B Because I meet with them the week of their wedding And say, okay, we know what the weather is going to do But it looks great Or it's not going to work And we're going to have to really shift And what are we going to do to be able to Have the ceremony and the reception And everybody not be cold or wet And so tables, chairs, decor Do you have all that? Do you partner with this tent? No contractor? Do you have We have 25 round tables So we have the tables and chairs for We have 150 Full, white, full, folding chairs And then we have what, 52 padded chairs And then They are 14-foot benches You can get eight people So it's, you know, how It's all kind of staged When you look at an outdoor wedding It's all kind of wet It just makes it easier, it was too hard Shevron style Shevron style, yes Holland tables out and chairs out

37:30So we're getting older, Rebecca and Shannon And the only thing we want is We provide the venue space You provide your caterers, your linens, your flowers You do all that We're just the venue to have it at Which has been good so far So that, you know, they can go Pick up an older Family member out in the parking lot That's nice, that's the thing Yeah, I know it really is I have a dream of creating a Golf cart brigade So multiple golf carts Along with yoga? No, yoga as much I just use that as a try to be cool But I do see a vision where you've got like 15 golf carts running back and forth Between like conventions in town Or doing a tour of the murals I think there's some That'd be cool Benefit for this golf cart brigade During Western Art Week And a few like the most to show down Out there Well the one thing that we hear It's a little bit more of a challenge

38:30Well the one thing that we hear the most of Is I'm so glad you and Patty did this Because there really isn't There is Because I don't want to hear backlash from anybody But there's not an outdoor venue like that, like this But I think it's just giving more choices And just more choices Exactly And still Because there are some really beautiful places in Greece Still that everybody is That has been doing this forever Still is getting all the weddings that they want I mean because I think we're losing them to Helena Is what was happening Well then we also see some sneak up into that Augusta area Which we still benefit from a little bit But they have to find a bus To get everybody out to some of those areas And Conrad just opened another one of the silos Yeah I think this is their first summer of just trying to Kind of figure it out and stuff too But I think anytime I wasn't a traditional bride I'm sure everybody shocked by this But I think there just comes an opportunity where If you want to have some variety

39:31And the options that are available to you And I think the big thing is Great Falls can be a destination That you would have your wedding at And you can have beautiful venues For that within a close proximity to town Yeah I have a girl this summer She Her mom is from here I don't think she grew up here But she lives in Arizona And she called me And scheduled without Looking at it live And I said are you sure about that That's a nice bride I said well I will promise you that It looks better in person Even though it looks good on the Website and all that But I said it is even more impressive And so she's like no we're going to do it I said all right And then her mom was here for thanksgiving And she thought well maybe I should go out And take a look at it And see if it really is And she was just floored Just loved it

40:31So you know I can see that happening And I can see somebody from It seems like we always have a little connection though Somehow some way There's a connection to great falls But none of her family lives here Or her friends But they're all coming to great falls for the wedding So that's really exciting to see that And the other thing is The house and the property is so rustic That if that's not your vibe This isn't the place I mean Pure and simple Or connection somehow to Montana Or something close to here And so then I've worked with all of you guys here So I have on my website I send them to the state of Montana Like when they're here we're going to go glacier I'm going to go to Yellowstone And then have all the stuff that they can do here in great falls That they can send out I send out like information Of the closer hotels that they can take a look at So that we can really support great falls And the fun things that they can do Like if they do a week long thing

41:31Let's go float on the Missouri Let's do a little hike Let's go to the slew box or whatever So yeah, I can help them try to help their family members And the groom and all of their bridal party Have access to some fun things And come early and stay late You don't have to just show up for that wedding That takes three hours Well I think that's where it's really nice To get more dollars into the economy Because you have those family members that fly in or drive from Elsewhere in Montana And it's no different than Have on a football game in Bozeman or Mizzoula Right It's so easy to fly into great falls It really is It's more expensive I'm reminded of that every time I fly When I show up and just breeze right through And righty to go I'm like I'm so thankful We think it'll be at the plane and be home in 20 minutes Yeah, it's a nice thing. It's a great thing What I have learned in the last week Which I will just hammer home

42:31That if you're booking early for your flights They're all relatively the same price The only time that you are going Oh great falls of so expensive If you're a last minute Lucy And then Other markets have different pricing The more closer to the time you book it is Because they have A lot more empty seats great falls As a destination people want to be at So you don't have the opportunity To be a last minute Lucy and get a cheap rate Because everybody's already booked That's why yeah That's what I know It's unhelpful I know people are still right here Where did you get married? Cortalaine In a chapel No In a yard of a bed and breakfast By the proprietor of that bed and breakfast My husband was convinced Probably sell this to this day That it is only valid

43:31In Idaho if it is valid at all Because he's like I don't think that was real I'm like yeah we got the marriage license It doesn't matter what she said That's your deal We put a ring on it We are legally married in all 50 states And around the world It is legal Yeah But we We'd been together for five years So it was just like Let's get this thing done And there was a lot of negotiations Between myself and my mother on that Because I am the only daughter in the family And I like her Are allowed to come and I will grant you 20 invitations They can go out Two weeks before the event Well that's not going to give a lot of people a lot of time To plan to get there And I'm like Bingo What a small wedding So it was perfect for us I wasn't too elaborate

44:31I was barefoot in a beautiful dress Very good Mother tailored for me that I bought off of eBay So yeah it was great You were rocking it And look at you're just beaming right now 20 years later This is glow Well we've had I think we had two weddings last year That they called me and said Yeah I said I only have weekdays And they said oh that'd be great We want to get married next month And so they pulled it off in a month Because they didn't the same thing Didn't care Had the family and friends that they knew Wanted to be there And put together very quickly A very nice wedding We have some I have a couple of leaders I have like two more openings for weekends But then we'll have to go on the weekdays But those you know short notice ones They if they're They really don't care They don't care For us we

45:31What's really fascinating to watch this last year Is some brides Are incredibly detailed And Quite a few brides No book They're not writing anything down And so patty You don't want to get it in wedding But it's uh They're not writing anything down but then it all works out So I guess you know We're not there we do go And we help get you set up And then we're available if you need us during the day And then we go out sometime during the reception Just to make sure you're going into the evening Methodness is happening or whatever And I can't tell whether they've been planning for two years Or just a month It looks all good to me It might have been different With the setup, with moms And dads and people Getting a little tense and stuff But I do try to I don't try to do any of the planning But I just remind them that This is the biggest day of your life Really

46:31I mean one of them coming And to enjoy investment No matter if you spend a little bit of investment In addition to the fee of the venue I mean they've been planning for an entire year And the dresses And the flower And the food And just buying all the stuff that they have Everything has a wedding market too So we encourage them to Like bring their photographer out if they haven't been there before Because there's so many opportunities for photos That the day of your wedding Is not the time to figure that one out And so that you can get some variety Or they'll do their Announcement photos Out there If they have time for that Whenever they've scheduled and whatnot So that works really well for them And the nice upgrade that we did For the first year Is because we had some The porta-potties We ended up buying one of those Really really nice The fancy and porta-potties

47:31Yeah, the fancy one That is so nice That sounds like a good investment It's a big deal It's a beautiful way to go to the bathroom It is I put a big mirror out You can see how they look and kind of jazz it up And stuff so that was Because who wants to go into the porta-pottie With their wedding dress It's gross I don't want to go into a porta-pottie Ever I'd rather go in the woods than an porta-pottie Yeah, fair Yeah, fair And the other cool thing that we'll have you guys out This spring is So the ranch at Milo Creek So we kept that theme Because my middle name is Milo My grandfather was Milo Ding He was the administrator He was the administrator of The Great Falls Clinic For about 25 years And then he was the administrator at Deaconess And he was a gentleman's gentleman My name is my

48:31Art business, Milo Creek Carvings And then we all kind of sat down What the heck should we call this thing The Ranch at Milo Creek So what's funny about that Haven't found a Milo Creek If you Google Milo Creek But there is a creek at the house that my dad So it pumps water from a pond Up to the top Oh it is It really is a creek Don't give me that look You can name it Milo We did Now there is one So when you have those Those are kind of two caveos They're pretty good Is any of your artwork out there No, it is not Prince are But I don't want to Some of the They're not bad It would be gone The first day Not much gone but probably destroyed Yeah maybe But I would say everyone is

49:31Then so respectful Normal fun happening outside But in the house has been fine And we have a place for the guys To get ready up above in the loft And they love it up there And people just We've just been really blessed But I meet with them a lot I want at least three meetings with them The key is to develop a friendship Business relationship Because then we both are giving each other grace If something has the property That we didn't anticipate They're not going to lose it And as well as If something happens that they need help We're going to mutually We met a lot of great people And have developed great friendships That we would never have met these people Had we not done this So it's kind of keeping Tom and I Young I mean they're all, you know, between 25 and 35 And not to put words in your mouth But it's kind of be nice to see love All the time

50:31Like just wreaking They're like, oh honey I'm so glad we're still together Look at them just starting out And every day gets It is There was a gentleman and I know they won't Give it a way who they are but they'll know who they are If they listen to this But their son Was not able to be at their wedding It was his sister's wedding And so he did a video He didn't do a video But he didn't audio He was supposed to be the best man Because his sister was marrying his best friend And he gave the most beautiful Heartfelt groomsman speech There was not a dry eye in that whole place We were all sobbing I'm sure he has a written down Most beautiful thing of every year And then he didn't have to deliver it live No, just really destroyed Or wasn't he overseas No, he was He was down in Florida or something like that But anyways, so

51:31Getting to experience that Is fun because you know We're at an age where my kids are all Getting that married thing going But we're going to funerals You know, that's where we're at And so not a lot happened in there There's a lot of sad tears And so to see this You're right as a real gift Actually to see the start of it And be there to kind of support these folks too Yeah So yeah That's pretty awesome I would think it'd be really helpful I'm just thinking like as a bride It would be so helpful having you Like intentionally wanting to check in And like watching the weather And watching the logistics Like you're involved That seems very helpful And thank you, Shannon I just can't imagine I just don't want their day Not to be exactly what they wanted Now I don't control the weather But I certainly can try to make it So this would be a really fun

52:31Unforgettable event Not like what you pictured Because when we got married there I don't know what I was thinking I was drinking Bud Light Yeah No, we got married on June 21 And I didn't think anything about weather Nobody said a word to me about weather And it was so cold The whole week of our wedding We were all in rain No, cold And my friend Janine was like What are we going to do? And I'm like I don't know, I mean I think it'll be all right Right And voila on Friday it was 80 degrees Beautiful And barely had like a backup plan I mean I had I think a tent But kind of I just thought Oh I'm going to work out And I think that's what they all think But I know it's not going to And that's why I get with the Gal from Shindigs We talk about okay we got to have our plan Of when this is not going to go How can we line up the tents the way

53:31We're going to need to Her name is Alexia And she owns Shindigs Yeah, it's good to know Well they're great because they come in And they set it up Put it up to take it out Yeah, that's very nice We're currently on one It is Well and it's nice with the wind Because she knows what to do And so it makes it safe So we make people go through her Because you know you and I put an up a tent It's not going to work You know it's going to end up in belt We should be a little taller than you know Of course, right? Yeah One thing we did learn from One wedding was The dad He was the one that organized everything Down to a T I mean he was had a tape measure He was taping all the Tables and exactly how many people could get around And anyway

54:31The best thing he ever did It was our biggest wedding It was like two 53 years Something like that He ordered a delicious caterer on Sunday So when all those kids were Drunken hungover They got a great meal And let me tell you It made night and day for those guys All right, let's get going on here So cleaning it up Yeah, that was easy That was a brilliant idea I think he shared with me He did You know, the music is going to start Here's going to walk I mean he had it I don't know if you got it off the knot or what he did And he was dialed in And it was It's basically at the knot We are on the knot and the wedding wear Yeah, well very cool That's great So big question Do you prefer weddings Meetings Rank them in your favorite order

55:33Weddings pay the bill So we really like that one Events are easier Events are easy because they're just more relaxed And there's less people And don't we don't drink out of these events Well, we do Because then we can stay the night And so then I don't have to worry about it You guys at least get a room We do One of two I have to use the house Because of weddings and I have to do the whole thing And get that already That's probably the most work that it takes But I think they're all kind of fun To do They're all fun in their own way I mean there's There's couples that are definitely a lot more fun When they invite you in And then others are very This is very private And we totally get that We've had a couple people invite us To the whole thing And that's not the point of us being there But then we go there

56:33And they're like, oh hi Tom, why are you here? Because he knows everybody And so then you end up talking to the whole And at any point Do you go, this is my place Right We try to keep focused on the bride And that this is their reception And not about us And we do remind them too I think the one thing we found Is that people want to see the house So I give the bride a code And said, do not let everybody in here Because your stuff's in here And they're You don't want to rip off So that's not what this is for If you want to bring your uncle in Or whatever, that's fine But you guys are busy somewhere And you've invited people that maybe you don't know as well And they're scrambling through the house So that's one thing that they You know, you're right So Well, I really appreciate you coming And sharing your stories That's really nice I can't wait to come to it

57:33And then go sit on the deck every now and again Yeah, bring your little Whatever beer of choice On a nice day I got a lot of options Right up the fire pits And let you sit and enjoy the evening Yeah, it's a great place You're getting your elotement Your Renewal of vows Your funeral Your small family gathering Of family reunion of 10 people Whatever it is Class reunion Well, a lot of people show for that Speaking of that, I want the wedding It's my low-creak I met This guy at that same wedding Where he bought the Sunday food And he goes, are you Tommy Dean And I'm like, yeah Who are you? And he said, I'm Jay And we'll give his last name And I'm like, oh my god, Jay I hadn't seen him since high school And he now lives in Tennessee

58:33And it was his niece that was getting married So that was a lot of fun And now we're reconnected But you do find It's all just one big small town around here It is It is Well, thank you too for this While Patty, we did our first podcast We've officially done our first podcast You guys were pros at it You guys should do the circuit If you need me to make a call into Joe Rogan We will We will We're gonna answer it We'll try call So folks, another reason for you to do stuff here in our town If there wasn't enough already It's a really unique venue I would encourage you to look at it online You will fall in love With the pictures And as Patty said, it's even better in person We'll have a link to that in our show notes Yes, so folks Until we see your bright smiling happy Healthy beautiful faces in our fine city We do hope you're creating amazing memories

59:33With your friends and family Wherever you might be See you soon We are no damn experts And what you need to know about this amazing damn tap Damn, that felt good