OT: any advice on where to get married in Ann Arbor?

Submitted by taistreetsmyhero on

I recently popped the question, and my newly minted mgofiance and I are hoping to get married somewhere in Ann Arbor next May. She already rejected the obvious first choice, so now I'm looking to find the next best thing. Saw a thread from 2010 on here asking the same question, but I'm wondering if anybody has some new or different advice.

We'd prefer an outdoor ceremony, and we're both heathens so the venue won't be a church. We checked out the botanical gardens and the coordinator there basically shot down a May wedding saying that nothing is in bloom by then and it would be a waste. The Arb is beautiful but is a logistically terrible place for a wedding apparently. We checked out the Ann Arbor City Club and were pretty impressed...

So, anybody had or been to some nice Ann Arbor weddings recently?

ItsGreatToBe

May 8th, 2016 at 11:44 AM ^

The Botanical Gardens in May to see what's in bloom. While not everything will be, my guess is you can still find something that works. My wife and I got married there in late August and we had the same worries. I realize May and August are different animals, but maybe worth checking out. We had our reception at the Gandy Dancer. The per-person prices were on par with everything else, including the Union / League. However, our guests were wowed by the service (menu choices for guests made to order, everyone at a table being served simultaneously) and food quality. We also earned so many loyalty points (our guests drank them out of Jager, Jameson, and Oberon) that we were able to eat about 8 meals there for free.

dantheman83

May 8th, 2016 at 11:51 AM ^

I'll second the Ann Arbor Community for Traditional Music and Dance. My wife and I had both the ceremony and reception here. We had to book it at the last minute after our original venue fell through. The woman who runs the place was wonderful and accommodating.

Since its a dance hall, the sound system is pretty good and the floor is great for dancing. Your feet will thank you.

One big advantage to slightly non traditional venues like this: you can bring your own caterer (though they have a kitchen) and booze, which can save a bunch of money.

kehnonymous

May 8th, 2016 at 7:06 PM ^

Friends of mine got married at the U-M Natural History museum and it was quite fantastic - the venue isn't designed for weddings obviously but they made it work.

The Squid

May 8th, 2016 at 10:45 PM ^

I got married in the old Chelsea train station. It's only "in Ann Arbor" in the sense of "in the Ann Arbor area", but it was incredibly cheap to rent the place (we paid like $325 a couple of years ago).

MGoHTX

May 9th, 2016 at 9:19 AM ^

Might be a bit late to the party here, but I got married to my wife at the Ann Arbor City Club in August of '14. It was a great venue, the planner there was very helpful and everything was very nice (and reasonably priced). I can't recommend it enough, we looked all over the city and that was the only place we could make sure our guests had good access to bars without having the wedding at Charley's (that was for the rehersal).

Ratterman

May 9th, 2016 at 11:52 AM ^

I got married in Ann Arbor in 2003.  Ceremony was indoors in a church, so I can't help you there.  We picked Kensington Court for the reception because the food was decent and reasonably priced, and because we had a lot of out-of-town guests who like to drink and who didn't know the area, so having a location near the freeway with lots of hotels within stumbling distance was important.  Whatever you do, make sure to plan an excursion around town to get pictures with your wedding party at the Law Quad, Bo statue, etc.  I think you can also rent out the stadium for an hour for pictures.

 

I did go to an outdoor wedding at Concordia a few years back and thought it was pretty nice.

umazg

May 9th, 2016 at 12:24 PM ^

Anyone mention the new clubhouse at the golf course?  It probably will be pushing the limits of stressing out a bride, as it isn't due to be completed until the spring, but it probably will be a choice place once completed. 

The Mad Hatter

May 9th, 2016 at 12:23 PM ^

Don't get married.  Eventually you'll get divorced and she'll get to keep half your stuff.

Unless she has better stuff than you, in which case I say go for it.

treyanastasio

May 9th, 2016 at 12:56 PM ^

at the AA City Club. It was a really nice venue. Huge shaded back yard for the ceramony, cocktails on the patio, and the reception inside. I would recomend it. 

The only thing is the size of the inside part. My guess is it only seats 150 tops. So if you are looking at more people than that, it may not work. 

True Blue Grit

May 9th, 2016 at 12:57 PM ^

Country Club just west of Ann Arbor and it's very nice.  I'm sure they get a lot of weddings there and undoubtedly could handle an outside ceremony.  The course and area are very pretty, especially in May.  Obviously this time of year you'd want to have an indoor backup plan for the ceremony.  I imagine Barton Hills would be a lot more expensive even if you could even book it.  Good luck and congratulations!

DairyQueen

May 9th, 2016 at 1:15 PM ^

They do weddings by a really nice Barn (renovated for weddings/events of course), right by Buhr Park, the outdoor ice-rink.

I've always seem them done there, and there are like quite a few farm houses connected to it for what seems like the receptions and catering.

Admittedly I don't know much about it, I just see the wedding photographs/brides and grooms walking out of the barn literally every other time I drive by in the summer.

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