In search of a venue...

shellymm03

My fiance and I are in search of a venue for our wedding. We live out of state but were born and raised in MI.  We will have lots of out of town guests, many of whom have never been to MI and know nothing more than what they hear on the news or read in the paper. We want to give them the ultimate Michigan experience! The water, the leaves in the fall, great food, great wine, and an all around great time. We are searching for a venue where we can have the wedding ceremony on the water in the fall, with trees around then walk into the reception. We'd prefer a more private location--not a banquet hall or a hotel banquet room. We also want the place to be naturally beautiful so that we aren't trying to dress it up with decorations. We aren't sure if we'll do a sit down dinner or more of a strolling dinner/heavy appetizers so that people aren't stuck at a table waiting for food. There will probably be 125-150 guests, hopefully in October of 2012, budget of around $25k. Think elegant, charming, and simple. Any and all ideas are MOST welcome! we're also open to the entire state of Michigan. Thank you!!

mromo2813

We are doing the Roostertail.  It's in Detroit, not far from Greektown and other popular spots to hang out and be entertained downtown.  Lot's of food and hotels too!

The venue is right on the water!  It's beautiful!  You could have your ceremony outside on the patio or dock, then move right indoors for the reception.  It's mostly windows so you don't have to do much to decorate the room cause you're really paying for the vue.  You can get packages about $99 a person, so that should be in your budget!

TheFutureMrsB81

Shanty Creek in Bellaire is BEAUTIFUL. I have a condo there and it's very pretty. It's about 30 minutes from Traverse city. It has views of Lake bellaire which is beautiful.

rcj2rcd

Welcome to the board and congrats!! Take a look at the venues in the vendor sticky. There are tons of recommendations. Fall weddings in MI are the best! (but I'm a little biased). Maybe look at some country clubs if you're going to an elegant look that will show off our awesome fall colors

sweet_melissa81

meadowbrook, pine knob mansion, cobblestone farm, the castle in charlevoix, addison oaks

Meegles4

Great ideas so far from PPs. If you're not set on doing it in metro Detroit, I'd actually look at other locations like Traverse City or spots on Lake Michigan (Holland, Grand Haven, etc.). The fall colors would be beautiful up north!

cmusmiles85

Lovett Hall (Greenfield Village) in Deaborn. It has a great historic/vintage feel to it (you wouldn't need to decorate). Plus, maybe you guests can either visit the IMAX theatre, museum, or village.

Jashley05

Waldenwoods in Hartland is beautiful! They book really fast though! I knew I wanted our reception there but they were already booked 10 months out. Really though, absolutely gorgeous in the fall.

hippo22

Second Waldenwoods if you want country charm.  It's beautiful in the fall, but very rustic feeling.

Sue-n-Kevin

I'd also recommend you post this on the Grand Rapids board if you haven't already.

Petoskey is fabulous, very quaint "small town" feel, right on the water. I also love Saugatuck, on Lake Michigan, reminds me very much of a "New England touristy town".

Metro Detroit, I recall there are a few halls on the water down river, maybe someone else can help.

There's the Infinity Yacht, so you are ON the water,LOL, Grosse Point War Memorial, Roostertail is supposed to be great as the PP said.

Look into renting the Wintergarten, the glass enclosed first floor area on the river side of the Ren Cen. Not sure if it's rentable, but it's really nice.

I'd also recommend checking out the links on the Knot for Detroit venues....... I was just looking at it this week (even though all my plans are made), and they have a lot of places on there, with links to the vendor's website.

Good luck.

12kWedding

The Henry Ford and Greenfield Village in Dearborn always feel really "Michigan-esque" to me. IDK much about their costs, but you can always call and ask.