Clear top tent and park rental

pokey730

Hi ladies,

My fiance and I are planning a wedding for November 15th, 2013. As the date is very important to us, we have forgone our outdoor garden wedding dreams. We were planning on using Cobblestone Farms(and we still might), but after seeing the clear top tents on pintrest, we figured we'd do some research to see what it would run us to rent one, and see if we could find a place where we could set it up.

So I was wondering if any of you had come across a company who rents clear top tents. I've been googling my heart out, but I figured those of you with local knowledge might have some insider info. My FI is from Michigan, and I'm from Boston. We are both in the military, so we are relying heavily on the internet until we move back in a few months.

Further, we're looking for a park like area to set it up should we find one. I love Stoney Creek for the ceremony area, but we are opposed to using Kosch Catering( didn't get a good vibe from our emails with them, and FI's father is paying for catering with a company he works with occasionally as he is a wedding DJ). So basically, all the Huron-Clinton metroparks are out of the running. FI is from Milford, and we intend to move to Ann Arbor once our contracts are up, so anywhere in that general area would be preferred as we will have a lot of OOT guests from my side.

So TIA for any and all suggestions you may have, and I really look forward to getting to know you all!

ETA- nearby restrooms and electricity are a must!

Sue-n-Kevin

Wow, has to be tough to be planning a wedding from far away, AND while serving in the military!

We had our wedding at Greenmead Village in Livonia, at the intersection of 8 Mile Rd and Newburgh. It's a lovely Livonia city park, with a chapel and banquet venue onsite. You can see pictures from our August 2011 wedding here:
http://www.capturedbybrian.com/photos/kevinsuewedding/

They have buildings you can rent, however during our initial planning we were going to set up tents next to the banquet venue, and they had no problem with that. The banquet building has a max capacity of 100, but, if you have more than that, the tent is your option.

They supply chairs & tables and dance floor, that's it. You bring in everything else. My husband was a Livonia resident when we secured it, and at that time I think the hall and chapel were $1000 to rent.........it's more for non-residents, but I'd have to believe they may not have any weddings booked for November, I'd think it's more popular during spring-early fall.

This company has clear top tents, located in Warren:

http://specialeventsrental.com/serclearspan.html

So does this one. I can personally attest to this company, because I've used them for rentals for parties in my home (also seem to be a bit cheaper than Special Events)

http://hotzcatering.com/party-rentals/tents-canopies-frame-pole.html

My recommendation would be to look into this city park, even if you are having more than 100 people. There are several hotels nearby, and it's only about 20-30 minutes from Ann Arbor. You do have to be out of there by midnight, however. You can get a liquor permit from the city of Livonia police department.

You could do a sort of hybrid indoor/outdoor if you need to, having the tent right outside the banquet building (which has a caterer's kitchen by the way, can use the ovens for food maintenance, but can't cook in them.........HUGE fridge and freezer there too). They have nice bathrooms and plent of electrical access.

Here's the contact info for the woman I worked with for our wedding:
lwiacek@ci.livonia.mi.us

Here's a little bit about the park itself:
http://www.ci.livonia.mi.us/tabid/189/Departments/Community%20Resources/Greenmead/NewburgIntersection.aspx

FYI: For alcohol, the best place I know of is Champane's Wine Cellars. They are in Warren on 13 Mile Rd, just west of Van Dyke. We got 24 bottles of wine, including 6 bottles of a wonderful champagne, for $220. Our guests loved it.

Also, this post from another bride recently.........the Metro Park in Harrison Twp is far from Ann Arbor, but this is where she had her wedding, and the pics were gorgeous:

I had my reception at their glasshouse (Thomas Welsh Activity Center and it was beautiful) ad right off the beach. Here is a link to their site:

http://www.metroparks.com/metroparks/parks/rental_details.aspx?ID=9&RID=118

(THe link above says they use Kosch Catering, BUT this bride fought for her own caterer and was able to use them........not sure if they've changed their procedures).

Good luck. I'm sure there are other recommendations.

pokey730

Wow, thank you for all the information! Your wedding was beautiful!

Greenmeade looks like a really nice option, but I don't know if we'll want to rent that place, plus a tent. The cost will end up being so much that we may as well go with Cobblestone. We were planning on keeping it small.
 
A little backstory- we'd actually planned a big huge wedding back where I'm from for this March, postponed it, and now we are planning a much smaller wedding that is more "us". We had some pressure to have this whole big production, and realized that all these people we were going to invite, we couldn't care less if they showed up or not. So we've gone from planning a 200+ wedding, to planning on inviting no more than 70 people of which, we only expect 50-60 will show up.

So as we are trying to keep this laid back and relatively inexpensive, we are looking into parks where we could set up a tent for a nominal fee. I did find Island Park in A2, and their new shelter looks like a pretty spot for a short ceremony with a tent right there, but I don't know much about restroom facilities, or electricity, and it's not like I can take a quick ride there to check it out.

Thanks again Sue for all your input! I was a little worried no one would answer since this board doesn't seem too active these days. I had already found Special Events, and I was already guessing from their website that they would be pretty pricey, but I hadn't found Hotz, and they seem really reasonable. Thanks!

Sue-n-Kevin

OK, I see your points.

FYI: I found everything by googling for my wedding. I just googled "Island Park Ann Arbor Wedding" and this came up (appears to be a wedding planning company):

http://twofootcreative.com/2011/weddings-in-ann-arbor/

Also this: http://www.weddingmapper.com/plan_wedding/0mww23

So people have been married there. Since you are trying to do this long distance, maybe look into the prices of this planning company. I used a DOC (day of coordinator) for my wedding, and it was the best decision I ever made.......and I lived locally! They'll work with whomever you hire, and don't forget to ask if they have a military discount! My husband is a 22 year Air Force vet, and, our DJ had a vet discount! They are based in AA and have wonderful testimonials.  

Also reviews here: http://local.weddingchannel.com/wedding-vendors/TwoFoot-Creative-profile?ProfileId=414538&sid=lbbANpiTxSiap3KVgt12eQ

Good luck.

pokey730

We were definitely planning on using a DOC, as most place we are looking at require same day set up/tear down. I will definitely look into Two Foot and some others.

I guess I'll just need to call some parks and rec departments in A2 and Ypsilanti, and see what I can find out about bathroom facilities and eletricity. I'm pretty opposed to asking guests to use port-a-potties, haha.

We definitely always ask for military discount, we are also Air Force! Fortunately FI's Father is a wedding DJ, and will be letting one of his employees use his equipment, so we'll be paying next to nothing for that!

Thanks for all the tips!

belle fleur

Hi!

I have used Special Events Rental before and they are absolutely fantastic! I've used them for marketing events and even a movie and commercial and everytime the service was great!

In re: to parks, Farmington Hills rents out a location in downtown called the Governor Warner and the grounds are very pretty and will allow a tent. They have restrooms and electricity You bring in your own catering and beverages (though they do not allow alcohol).

Good Luck!