Weddingbee boards

Hi All! 

I'm looking to get married next May/June 2012 in Michigan and am wondering if any of you have any ideas for budget friendly venues? What I really would love is a rustic–inspired venue where you can bring your own caterer/alcohol, but I'm open to other suggestions as well! I'll be having between 100-150 depending on where we cut. 

I love the look of barns like Cobblestone (which is all booked for Saturdays! so sad...) I have family coming from out of state so it must be a Saturday wedding or the Sunday of Memorial day Weekend. I live in the tri-city area, but am open to driving a couple hours for the right venue.

Any advice would be great! 

Thanks Mrs.Riddell and Maureen! I'll check them out!

Lauren, It doesn't have to be a barn... but I'm looking to have something a bit more casual I guess (ie. no reception halls) I live in Midland (tri-city: midland-saginaw-bay city area) I think I'm looking for something that has indoor and outdoor capabilities... but if you have any good suggestions for a tent site, I'd be interested in hearing about it also!

Thanks again everyone!

Not sure if you're considering Blue Dress Barn as mentioned above, but if you are, you should know that they do not have air conditioning, and the fans they have are not very powerful.  We attended a wedding there in August, and it was oppressively hot inside.  If you are considering it, I would make sure they have at least twice as many fans as they did last summer.  I felt horrible for the bride, so many people left early because of the heat.

That's a good point... I don't think any of the barns have air conditioning. We are planning for a May/June wedding, so it shouldn't be quite as hot, but fans would be a very valuable thing to invest in if we end up at a barn venue! 

Does anyone know of any lodge–type places in the mid-michigan area that has wood walls or beams so would still feel somewhat rustic?

Or a pretty summer camp that would have a lodge? 

Thanks again for all your help!

oh! yeah, that's beautiful... not exactly what I was thinking, but definitely could work! Ill call to set up a time to look at it. 

thanks! 

I looked into Mill Creek and The Blue Dress Barn. Both are wonderful. I live near them both. They are owned by the same person. The thing that stopped us from booking them was the fact that we couldn't do the food ourselves....Our plan was a potluck type set up. And you have to use Bartenders that are approved by them. So my Friendor who is a Bartender at his own bar couldn't come in and tend bar as a wedding gift and my cousin who is starting out his own Port o pit BBQ business can't test out his abilities. I totally understand where the owners are coming from but still. With the amount that we would've paid to book the place, we couldn't afford thier caterers. So, we settled for a way smaller place. It's not actually a barn. It's called Woodbine Lodge and it's in Riverview Park in St. Joseph Michigan. It's rustic and very affordable. It might not be what you're looking for but just thought I would share for anyone else looking.

we ended up going with a place called misty farms in ann arbor. its beautiful and we got a good deal since were taking the sunday of memorial week. just to let others know looking for a similar thing, youre allowed to bring your own caterer/alcohol and is really beautiful, a great option for those looking at cobblestone. they even have two horses, a pond, chickens, multiple places for a ceremony, a caterer barn and a stunning barn for dancing, check it out. thanks everyone for the tips

this place is highly over looked and very cheap!! the msu tollgate barn! its in novi. just incase anyone else looks for ideas :)