In 2009, I went to a concert at Pontiac's
Crofoot Ballroom to see a musician on whom I had an enormous crush. Three years later, that same musician and I were scouring Metro Detroit for the perfect place to hold our wedding. After viewing a number of locations, ranging from boring banquet halls to even duller country clubs, imagine our excitement to learn that the live music venue from one of our earliest memories together also hosted wedding receptions.
Our wedding at the Crofoot Ballroom was a blast. And for a musician and a downtown development enthusiast, there couldn't have been a better place to get married than a live music venue inside a beautifully renovated historic building.
Nothing makes for a great wedding like finding the perfect venue for each unique couple. Fortunately, Metro Detroit has plenty of unusual locations for gettin' hitched. Beyond the standard reception locations inside hotels and restaurants, the area is flush with venues that are surprising for a number of reasons.
Animal lovers? Check out weddings options at the
Detroit Zoo. Academic aficionados?
Cranbrook hosts weddings in several locations on their historic campus. For jazz lovers,
Cliff Bells could be perfect.
"The thing about Michigan that is so exciting is that the entire [wedding] industry is comprised of small businesses," says Alison Laesser-Keck, owner of Ann Arbor's
Viva La Diva Events. Small businesses, she explains, come with the kind of creativity and talent that can't always be found in markets dominated by corporate wedding vendors. "You also have all these buildings that no one was doing anything with, so people are buying them up and turning them into event spaces."
Though Laesser-Keck says the list of great Metro Detroit wedding venues is longer than anyone could fit in one article, she shares a few of her favorites, from lesser-known venues to well-known locations that are lesser-known for their weddings.
Planterra Conservatory
Whodunit? For lovers of flora, the best answer is the bride and groom, with the wedding rings, in the conservatory.
"It's essentially a greenhouse, but you can have events there," says Laesser-Keck of West Bloomfield's Planterra Conservatory. "They have on-site floral designers. It can be as lush as you want, and you can create a whole garden party in there."
The glass, European-style conservatory can accommodate up to 180 guests, and features such romantic features as a stone gabian archway and Michigan's largest indoor living wall.
"I've been dying to do a wedding there," Laesser-Keck says.
Piquette Plant
For years, lovers who love Michigan history have been tying the knot in the Henry Ford Museum. Another option, says Laesser-Keck, is the actual Piquette Plant in Detroit.
"It's the birthplace of the Model T," she says. "It's basically this big warehouse, so you actually have three floors. You can have your ceremony on the first floor, the cocktail hour on the second floor and the reception on the third."
The historic building also serves as a museum, so guests at Piquette Plant weddings can view a bit of Detroit history. Exclusivity is a draw as well, as the unique venue hosts just eight events per year.
Tollgate Farm
If the betrothed couple are more into fauna than flora, a farm wedding could be the perfect setting. Laesser-Keck is a fan of Tollgate Farm in Novi.
"Tollgate Farm is great because it's sprawling," she says. "It's essentially a blank slate to do whatever you want. You don't necessarily have to have the same round tables or the same caterer and the exact same format. It's wonderful."
The Oakland County farm also has a historic cred, with a 19th-century farmhouse, barns from the 1950s, and 160 acres of pristine farmland. Though the setting is rural, its proximity to hotels makes it a great spot for weddings with out-of-town guests.
Fox Theater
Sure you've been there to see your favorite band or a musical production, but one of Detroit's best-known live performance venues also hosts weddings – tons of them.
"We're actually the only company who has done a wedding at the Fox since they've opened the space to the public," says Laesser-Keck. "It's not for the budget-minded couple."
What the venue lacks in affordability, however, Laesser-Keck says it more than makes up for in pretty much every other way.
"The Fox Theater is hands-down magical," she says. "For cocktail hour, everyone went up to the second floor, and then the reception turned into this amazing, epic dance party."
From its gilded entryway to its grandiose columns and ornate ceilings, the Fox Theater is hard to beat in terms of décor. In fact, says Laesser-Keck, the venue's beauty makes it unique in that it requires virtually no dressing up by event planners. The result is something unforgettable for more than just the bride and groom.
"Our client [who had their wedding at the Fox] just had their one-year anniversary, and we felt like it was our own," Laesser-Keck says.
The list doesn't end there. In fact, with more and more venues just recently adding weddings to their list of services – the Piquette Plant is only in its second year of nuptial hosting – it's constantly growing as well. And since there are as many different tastes in wedding venues as there are couples to be wed, there's no reason to settle for a spot that isn't just as special as the bride and groom themselves.
The newly married Natalie Burg is a freelance writer and Concentrate's Development News Editor. Her last story was, "Different Downtowns, Similar Successes".