River Birch Lodge

gat0618

I am incredibly interested in getting married at the River Birch Lodge in Hartland MI. I have called the only number I could find and the voicemail was full, I have also e-mailled and the website http://www.riverbirchlodge.net/ seems to be down.

If anyone could contact me about the price rang or the phone number they used if they were married here I would really appreciate it. I really would just like the appropriate information about pricing and scheduling a visit.

Thanks so much.

emarston1

I don't have any information but those are two major red flags and I would be extremely cautious going forward.

kd1986

I'm a fan of Shannon Murphy from Mojo in the Morning (channel 95.5) on Facebook, and back in September, she posted a status that said:

"Just found out the place where Andrew and I were supposed to get married in June isn't allowed to have weddings anymore! Ahh! Slight panic. Anyone have suggestions for "cool" places in the area to get hitched?!"

And then a bunch of people commented, and when it came down to it, she was talking about River Birch Lodge.  Obviously I don't know the whole story, but this would be a red flag to me.  She had already booked her wedding, and then they contacted her saying they couldnt have it anymore. 

gat0618

Thanks for the help ladies. I am super bummed but it is better to know now than later.

RunsWithBears

River Birch Lodge can't do weddings anymore?  It's a family's house that they rent out correct?  Seems really strange that they aren't allowed to do weddings now. I wonder what happened...  OP, I would double check to make sure that's really the case.  Since it is a family's house, it could be a situation where they were/are gone for the holidays and are simply overwhelmed with requests.  I've been to 2 weddings there (including one this past August).  It's a really great venue (for smaller weddings) and both were beautiful.  I'm really close with one of the family's that hosted a wedding there and heard only good things about the place.

BrenLovesKevy

Hartland also has another "Hidden Pleasure"....  Waldenwoods Resorts has a beautiful Lodge/Reception called the Cromaine.  They have info online.
Good Luck.  Brenna

db1985

That would be a big red flag to me! We contacted them and I dont remember the exact figure, but the rental fee alone was quite high and did not include any food/catering.  Have you looked at Waldenwood in Hartland?  It has a similar vibe, they were super receptive to our inquiries and had a few packages.

gat0618

Waldenwoods looks beautiful but we are having a small wedding of around 60-80(max) people and there requirements make it so you have to have at least 100 people to get married between May-Oct. I can not meet these requirements but I appreciate the suggestion and if you have any other I am willing to look into them because I am really having a hard time finding somewhere that looking cozy/interimate at a reasonable price.

katybug15

So I called a few months ago at this number (810) 599-6587 and was told $6500 for the day and $8500 for the weekend. I'm really really bummed if it's true they're no longer doing weddings. That was my dream location! I loved the idea of having everything in one place plus having the wedding party stay there. I will have to ask my mom, I think I remember her saying she knows someone who knows the owners.

Elizabeth Robtoy

Hi everyone,

I, too, was interested in having my wedding there. My family, fiance, and I went there to look at the place, and Greg and Laura (the owners) told us that they had problems with their neighbors with issues about parking, music, etc. Basically, they were not booking anymore weddings.They were bummed about it, and yes, like some of you mentioned, it is just owned by the couple, but they have to get everything they do cleared through the township. And right now, the township is not letting them do anymore weddings.

I then also heard about it from Shannon from Mojo in the Morning, which confirmed my suspicions. I THEN got a call from a friend in Hartland who informed me that the property is current on the market, and up for sale. Hope this helps clear up any rumors!

katydid77

We were able to get in touch with them. They can no longer host events - suspect there were complaints by neighbors. She couldn't talk about it, so most likely there's litigation. We too were SO wanting to have the wedding there. Am going to call back and ask her to let us know if things change. Such a beautiful venue!!! We are not giving up just yet!

Mlowe3

We were one of the couples who had our wedding booked at River Birch in June.  We booked a year in advance.  It was 8,000 for the entire weekend.  They called us in January to tell us that they are no longer allowed to do weddings...turns out they were never zoned to do weddings in the first place.  The worst part was that they had an idea about this for months before they told us...we heard from other vendors.  I wouldn't hold my breath for booking it.  We had to throw out our wedding invitations.  We did mangae to get a cancellation for our date at Pine Knob Mansion which is also beautiful.