Outdoor Reception in Ann Arbor Area

meglawless

Hi everyone, my name is Meg and this is the first post I've made on any boards here on The Knot. To be honest, I never saw myself getting married and now I'm starting to feel a bit in over my head! My fiance and I are engaged since last Friday, and we decided to have our wedding this August. Smart, I know. I guess what I need help with is finding a good park or other area for an outdoor ceremony and reception. I can't emphasize how much of an anti-bride I feel like I am. I'm not having a bridal party, I won't be spending any money on flowers, my family and I will be preparing the food ourselves. We basically need a nicer area to set up a large tent, that will allow us to have booze and not kick us out as soon as the sun goes down. Ideally, we are looking in the Ann Arbor area, but anywhere in the Metro Detroit area is up for consideration. Our budget is low, a free park would be perfect, but we are willing to spend a few hundred on the site itself, not counting the tent rental. I looked into some Metro Parks in the area, but I have yet to venture to any of them myself, and their policies on alcohol and closing times aren't usually clear. Looking for suggestions, you ladies seem to know all there is the know about weddings!
Thanks a bunch in advance!

Sue-n-Kevin

Welcome and congrats on your engagement! August is a great time to get married, we were married in August 2011.

I found nearly EVERYTHING for my wedding by googling. Seriously. Google "Public Park weddings Ann Arbor".........you'll get pictures posted by photographers, information for the parks themselves, etc.

There is a park in Beverly Hills MI, called Beverly Hills Park (LOL). It's near Southfield, just west of Southfield Rd, on Beverly Rd, which I think is 13 1/2 Mile Rd. About 2 miles north of I-696. They have a large gazebo with public bathrooms.

Our wedding was at Greenmead Village in Livonia, which is a bit closer to Ann Arbor. It's a city owned park, at I-275 and 8 Mile Rd exit. You can see pictures if you go to my bio below, and click on the photo tab. The info for the village is available via the vendor tab. You can set up a tent, but depending on the size of your guest list, you can use their banquet facility and chapel (which is non-denominational, we had an officiant who didn't use a lot religious language). Both have a max capacity of 100, and for Livonia residents the rental was about $1000. You bring in your own caterer and alcohol. You can look into Joe's Gourmet in Livonia, they are reasonable.

I know you said you want to make your own food, but you might not want to trouble yourselves or your family. The difficulty you will run into is that many rental facilities require licensed caterers or bartenders, and city parks have liquor regulations.

Good luck. I'd recommend checking the post at the top of this board that says "Vendors/reviews/prices", etc, but most of the info there is from catered events.

MMRoberts11

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_michigan-detroit_outdoor-reception-in-ann-arbor-area?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:88Discussion:5b71609c-6b35-4508-8456-2d744a7ab3b9Post:f1beeee0-2089-4024-a55d-3c89f71f4c82">Re: Outdoor Reception in Ann Arbor Area</a>:
[QUOTE]I know you said you want to make your own food, but you might not want to trouble yourselves or your family. The difficulty you will run into is that many rental facilities require licensed caterers or bartenders, and city parks have liquor regulations. Good luck. I'd recommend checking the post at the top of this board that says "Vendors/reviews/prices", etc, but most of the info there is from catered events.
Posted by Sue-n-Kevin[/QUOTE]

First off, welcome to the board!  I found everything in combination of this board and google. 
For cheap parks, your best bet would be likely a campground or state park.  Beyond that, what Sue said, and I quoted above, is correct.