Waldenwoods Wedding Venue Guide

Waldenwoods Wedding and Event Venue in Southeast Michigan

The fall color in the leaves, a peaceful lake, and quiet ambience of Waldenwoods were just right for Avalon and Justin as they spent the day together. This wedding venue is well known in Southeast Michigan for it’s natural beauty and expansive property. Couples hosting their wedding weekends at Waldenwoods have a wonderful experience centered around togetherness and the outdoors.

As a Southeast Michigan wedding photographer who’s worked 70+ weddings, I know what separates the good venues from the great ones. The ones your friends will talk about for years after your wedding day with “Hey remember when we spent the weekend all together for your wedding? That was such a great time”. I’ve worked at so many venues over my years as a wedding photographer, and I’m here to dish all the details about the best venues so you can have your own wedding there.

After all, your dream wedding all starts with where. Before you can even decide on an official date, couples often tour venues first to determine availability before nailing down a date for their wedding. Finding a venue is the first step in the wedding planning process, and it’s important to find one you feel aligned both in style and experience.

About Waldenwoods

Nestled along Old Highway 23 in Howell, this wedding venue is tucked behind a campground actually. As you enter through the gates you’ll see the campground and activities off to the right, but as you wind down the left drive towards the lake you’ll start to see the 3 different wedding pavilions Waldenwoods has on property. Each space has the ability to rent the nearby lodges as well to turn that wedding day into a wedding weekend. The three different pavilions are: Cromaine Hall, Sunshine Cove, and Lakeview Tent.

Cromaine Hall is a year round space with its ability to host ceremonies and receptions inside. This space can host up to 250 guests. Sunshine Cove is located off the side of the lake and can be seen from Cromaine Hall. This space can host up to 150 guests and is only available May through October. Lakeview Tent is located right next to one of the onsite lodges, and is in between the other 2 spaces. Hosting up to 300 guests, this event space is also only available May through October.

My couple, Avalon and Justin, hosted their wedding reception inside Sunshine Cove with the ceremony in the outdoor space right next to it. The photos throughout this post reflect their day at specifically at the Sunshine Cove areas. If you’re curious about my experience at this venue and want to check my availability, you can contact me here!

Don’t let the fact that 3 weddings can happen simultaneously stop you from touring and deciding on Waldenwoods. Having worked here firsthand and experiencing this venue as a wedding venue I can honestly saw everything is so incredibly separated that I didn’t know (as a guest) that there were other weddings happening at the same time. We couldn’t hear anyone but our own celebrations.

Your Waldenwoods Ceremony

Each pavilion offers lakefront ceremony spots for days with beautiful weather. In the event of rain or storms, staff will prepare for ceremonies to be moved inside each respective pavilion. Each space is incredibly peaceful and close to their reception space. All ceremony spaces are handicap accessible, but note it is on grass and could be difficult to maneuver if soggy. Bathrooms specifically at Sunshine Cove were mobile trailers, and required steps to get up to. The trailers themselves are very clean and nice!

Avalon and Justin were married in the ceremony space next to Sunshine Cove. In past experiences, most ceremonies at Waldenwoods take about 20-30 minutes. Justin greeted their guests as they arrived and were seated. Avalon hid inside the reception space behind a moveable wall. She didn’t want guests to spy her before her time to walk down the aisle. It was the perfect way to stay hidden!

With the openness of the venue, my second photographer and I were able to truly capture the ceremony at different angles. If you follow me on Instagram, I have a reel that shows how I captured the beginning of the ceremony. If you’re interested in working together, you can check my availability here.

Reception Areas at Waldenwoods

As the ceremony came to a close, guests of Avalon and Justin’s migrated inside Sunshine Cove for the start of cocktail hour. My couple took the time to greet and hug each guest as they entered the venue, this is known as a receiving line oftentimes. Taking the time to personally greet each guest is a great way to make sure you connect with everyone.

At cocktail hour, guests enjoyed appetizers and drinks while socializing. After about an hour and a half, we migrated into dinner service during the most colorful sunset. We snagged a couple photos after Avalon and Justin were finished eating and then moved into our special dances for the evening. Waldenwoods offers on-site catering and bartending, and the food was pretty good!

For my availability to photograph a Waldenwoods wedding, you can connect with me here.

My Top 3 Tips for Your Waldenwoods Wedding Day

Hire an Outside Planner

Waldenwoods offers what they call a “dedicated event team” and they are not a replacement for a wedding planner. It was my experience that this event team specifically was only onsite to kick off the ceremony and then left to work with the next wedding over. I highly recommend that couples getting married at Waldenwoods hire a wedding planner to ensure their day runs smoothly. There’s so much more to a wedding day than just starting the ceremony on time and fluffing a gown, which is what the Waldenwoods team handled.

Wedding planners often help prior to your wedding day. They draft timelines (which is a service I assist couples with), set up decor, handle tear down of your wedding, fix any last minute issues to pop up, and so much more. I am a big proponent of hiring a wedding planner to ensure you live in the moment on your wedding day without worrying about a thing.

Schedule Extra Portrait Time

Waldenwoods is quite an expansive property meaning there are so many good spots for portraits. Walking or carting around property can take up additional time, so when planning time for your wedding photos you’ll want to schedule more time than you think you’ll need. If you’re working with me, this isn’t something you’ll need to worry about as I handle it for you. It’s one of many services I offer- services which you can check out here!

Hire Out the Lodge

Personal story time: our college friends, Steve & Emma, hosted their wedding day at Waldenwoods and rented out the lodge next to Lakeview Tent (their reception space). All our college friends stayed there the whole weekend. It was so much fun. On our arrival day we could go swimming and kayak in the lake. We ended the night with a bonfire and drinks right outside the lodge. On the wedding day it was nice to walk right outside the lodge and just be in the reception space. Finishing the weekend with a post-wedding breakfast inside, we wrapped up our time with friends before heading home. It was fun, and we talk about the memories we made that weekend all the time.

So I highly recommend booking the lodge to elevate your wedding experience. We spent our whole weekend with friends and it was so worth it. You’re guests will have a similar experience to ours and also talk about it for years!

Waldenwoods Wedding Cost

Weddings at Waldenwoods are known for including catering and bartending in all pavilions on site. All sites also require a 22% service charge (this is standard for many venues) and a 6% sales tax on top of your food and beverage minimums. To estimate this service charge and tax, calculate 22% of the total cost for all guests (listed below) to get a rough estimate on cost! The seasons for weddings are the same for all pavilions as well: peak season is May-October and off-season is November-April.

A breakdown of costs per pavilion is listed below!

Cromaine Hall

This is the year-round pavilion that can hold a maximum of 250 guests. Rental of this pavilion includes:

• 6 hour reception time/hall rental
• Hors d’oeuvres
• Dinner
• Tables, chairs, and linens
• Dedicated event team

Peak Season Pricing

• Friday has guest minimums of 125 guests with cost at $82/guest
• Saturday has guest minimums of 175 guests with cost at $92/guest
• Sunday has guest minimums of 100 guests with cost at $72/guest
• Children, regardless of day, are $29/child

Off Season Pricing

• Friday has guest minimums of 75 guests with cost at $77/guest
• Saturday has guest minimums of 100 guests with cost at $82/guest
• Sunday has guest minimums of 50 guests with cost at $68/guest
• Children, regardless of day, are $29/child

Sunshine Cove

This is a pavilion only available during peak season (May- October) that can hold a maximum of 150 guests. Rental of this pavilion includes:

• 6 hour reception time/hall rental
• Hors d’oeuvres
• Dinner
• Tables, chairs, and linens
• Dedicated event team

Peak Season Pricing

• Friday has guest minimums of 75 guests with cost at $77/guest
• Saturday has guest minimums of 100 guests with cost at $82/guest
• Sunday has guest minimums of 50 guests with cost at $68/guest
• Children, regardless of day, are $29/child

Lakeview Tent

This is a pavilion only available during peak season (May- October) that can hold a maximum of 300 guests. Rental of this pavilion includes:

• 6 hour reception time/hall rental
• Hors d’oeuvres
• Dinner
• Tables, chairs, and linens
• Dedicated event team

Peak Season Pricing

• Friday has guest minimums of 125 guests with cost at $77/guest
• Saturday has guest minimums of 150 guests with cost at $82/guest
• Sunday has guest minimums of 100 guests with cost at $68/guest
• Children, regardless of day, are $29/child

Lodge Pricing

There are 2 lodges available for weekend rentals for weddings. Lodges are not required to book your wedding at Waldenwoods, but are a nice add on if you value a weekend spent with your guests rather than just seeing them a couple hours on your wedding day. Neither lodge has air conditioning, so I highly recommend packing mini fans for yourself if getting married in the summer! Don’t forget to advise your guests of this as well so they can come prepared.

Sunshine Lodge

This lodge is located next to the Sunshine Cove pavilion and is available for guests to book a room. They will need to book this accommodation on their own. Each room averages $135 per night and can fit 2-4 people.

Friendship Lodge

This lodge is located next to Lakeview Tent pavilion and is available for the couple to book on behalf of their guests & wedding party. The cost of the entire lodge is $2,300 per night and includes all 19 bedrooms, common areas, shared bathrooms, and the large fire pit in the backyard. This is the lodge I’ve stayed in before and highly recommend booking if it’s within your budget!

Waldenwoods Venue Details

• Location: 30 minutes north of Ann Arbor
• Address: 2975 N Old US 23, Howell, MI 48855
• Website: waldenwoodsevents.com/weddings
• Capacity: 100-300 guests
• Starting Cost: $68 per guest plus 22% service charge

Not convinced Waldenwoods is the right venue for you? That’s okay, check out this blog post on Michigan Wedding Venues for a list of my top 10!