Michigan Wedding
 

My fiance and I are moving from Chicago to Royal Oak, MI and have a wedding to plan. We are most interested in a rustic wedding/reception. Would love to find a property with a barn, not a terribly polished place that is more banquet hall than charming wood structure, quaint chapel or even a covered bridge in a lovely location. Any suggestions for actual properties or areas/towns we should focus on. Many thanks!

Where is Royal Oak, MI exactly? Can you give me a zip code or general location?

If it is anywhere near Mendon MI (South Central)- they have a WONDERFUL Inn with creek, great room, etc. than is 180 years old. And a church made out of stones from the St. Joe as well.

I'm sure that they would rent it for a Wedding weekend and close the B&B to other guests. I know they have in the past.

By the way, it is extremely rustic, but awesome as well. Very Victorian and huge with a wraparound porch. The grounds have a creeked bridge and are very romantic.

If the area is resonably close and you are interested, they have a nifty new web page: www.mendoncountryinn.com

I live about a half an hour from Royal Oak which is very much yuppy living to the hilt. There wouldn't be too many rustic choices for you there. It's a great town but I can't think of anything within a 15-20 mile radius for what you're looking for. I would suggest maybe calling a wedding coordinator to set up this portion of the wedding for you.

My husband and I had our reception at his parents farm in Canada and I very much liked our rustic and laid back atmosphere. Have fun planning.

I grew up in the Detroit area and moved about 5 years ago to Chicago. Rustic places within a reasonable drive of Royal Oak are rare. To find a really rural area, you'd have to go west beyond Northville or north past Clarkston. Here are some suggestions that may inspire you or help you find what you want.

The chapel at Greenfield Village is small and has always been a popular wedding spot. There's also a covered bridge in the Village but I don't know if they allow weddings there. The chapel gets booked at least a year ahead. Check their website at hfmgv.org.

You also may try looking for something in historic Franklin, MI. It's about 5 miles west of RO on 14 Mile. They have a large park in the center of downtown that may be available for a ceremony. Not sure about a reception site.

For more of a garden setting, many of the historic estates are available. The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores has extensive gardens and sits on Lake St. Clair (fordhouse.org). Cranbrook is in Bloomfield Hills and has gardens, the house and a church (cranbrook.edu).

There are also several sites available at Meadowbrook Hall on Oakland Univ's campus in Rochester. It was the home of John Dodge's widow and has 110 rooms and 1500 acres (meadowbrookhall.org).

I looked up "rustic weddings" for you real quick and came up with this. http://wellersweddings.com/index.htm it's in the 734 area code which would be west of you towards Ann Arbor. I thought it looked very nice.

I live in Royal Oak and wouldn't want to live anywhere else. The house prices are crazy now because we are the "in" place to visit. Even though it's not rustic, I found the small chapel on the grounds of the Henry Ford Village very appealing. Starting mid-spring, it's surrounded by lovely flowers. It's not very big but might be what you're looking for. I wish I could live on the grounds of the Village, it's so beautiful.

thanks for the suggestions. the location doesn't need to be terribly close to royal oak. we are willing to travel 2-3 hours from our home. so, if anyone has additional suggestions, please do send along. thanks again.

royal oak is 48067. i believe it's about 30 minutes from detroit. we don't move until this weekend. glad to see a positive posting about royal oak. we found a quaint home about a 15-20 minute walk from the downtown royal oak. i'm so accustomed to walking everywhere with our dogs so i was glad to see that the downtown area was lively. i'm open to any and all tips, suggestions about the area. thanks again!

I live in Royal Oak and absolutely love it, so welcome to the area! In addition to the chapel at Greenfield Village, I know that you can hold your reception in a restaurant that is only lit by candlelight. There are several locations in the Village for ceremonies and receptions. I don't have any other suggestions, sorry, but theknot.com was helpful to me when I was planning my wedding, so you could ask on the boards there. Pine Knob Mansion & Carriage House are also beautiful & unique, though not exactly rustic! Good luck.