Ceremony Site
Agora Pavillion Fitchburg: B
We were having a hard time finding a place to have our ceremony when I came across this place. It is actually a big tent set up outside by a prairie that Fitchburg uses for various things such as their farmer's market. We were debating between this and Olbrich Gardens. We chose this place over Olbrich because we would have it the whole day compared to only 3 hrs and it was hundreds cheaper. We did have to rent our own chairs but for our much we paid to rent the place, it was worth it. You did get some buildings in the background when you took pictures in certain spots but the scenery was amazing that it didn't matter. One problem my husband had while trying to set up for the ceremony was trying to figure out a center aisle. They have a cement walkway inside the tent but it makes a circle close to the edge of the tent. The center is full of mulch and has some stones in the very center for looks. We thought about having every other couple go on each side of the cement but decided we wanted to keep it traditional and everyone go through the center. Some girls (including me) had problems with the heels sinking in to the mulch but otherwise it worked out. Totally recommend it for an outside ceremony when looking to save money! (hinkelcl28)
BAY BEACH - A+
We had our ceremony at Bay Beach. We rented a pavilion ($100) and had it for the whole day. With rides being about 50 cents per person we were able to provide tickets to our guests, which they really enjoyed and used. We got some great pictures on the rides! (ottecl)
Immanuel Lutheran Church - Marshfield, WI.
This was my home church, so it was a no brainer on where to have the ceremony. Had some problems with the pastor (because church pastor would be gone), but that was resolved with a childhood pastor. We didn't decorate the church because Easter was the weekend before and we still had Easter Lillies still up. (mrsweber11)
Johnson Park, Racine WI (A)
This is a picnic area in the Johnson Park Golf Course that has a pavillion. It was large enough to hold hundreds of people so we could use the pavillion as our rain backup if we needed to. The place needed some cleaning up the morning of as there had been a party there the night before aparently but they make it clear in the contract that you may have to move picnic tables, trash cans, etc so we were aware. The pics that I have seen were beautiful---the park provides a nice backdrop! Plenty of room for us to have our ceremony there, do pics, have our cocktail hour, and we had a band playing. Everyone raved about the site. (cc7003)
Lake Country Congregational Church; Hartland, WI
FI and I are both Catholic, but neither of us were really interested in getting married in a Catholic church. However, a religious ceremony was still important to us, so we had to find a church that would allow non-members to marry there. I found LCCC in a local wedding magazine, and loved it. Reverend Shelley was amazing to work with, and did a great job during our ceremony. The church was fully decorated for Christmas, so we didn't even have to do anything to decorate. (SwwetCharade)
Monona Terrace Rooftop, Madison=A
Our ceremony was perfect! We had great weather and everything was done without needing our help. Anything that did go wrong, I still don't know about. (samanthajeremy)
O'Donnell Park A
The ceremony took place right outside of the harbor lights room on O'donnel park over looking the art musuem and Lake Michigan. Its a goregous location and comes free with the room rental :) The only slight problem is that the ground is extremely uneven! My bridesmaids were practicing walking in their heels on the grass before the ceremony so they woulnd't fall haha. (navybride11)
Pabst Mansion C
Our contact person for our ceremony ended up changing a few months before our wedding. We were not notified of this, so I spent a good month and a half leaving excessive phone messages on the previous person's voicemail. It would have been nice to have known this. The new director is Tiwana Ward, and she ended up being very nice and helpful. We paid an extra $50 for the attached parking lot and parking attendant. The day of the wedding, Tiwana was not there, but another lady happened to me. Myself and my bridesmaids came to the mansion about 1:30pm (as was previously discussed and then gone over again the night before at the rehearsal). We were told that we could not come in until 4:30pm, which happened to be the start of our ceremony. We had in our contract that we were getting dressed at the mansion and then we would be taking photographs. We were eventually let upstairs, but were not allowed to take photographs before the ceremony unless we were outside. Also, they gave many of our guests grief, and kept telling them that they were not allowed inside the mansion until 4:30pm, and they were not allowed to park in the parking lot that we had rented. Luckily, some of our bridal party members were able to get this situation cleared up, but it did cause a slight hitch in some things. Overall, the staff was very rude to us and our guests, but the setting was gorgeous and worth it! We are still getting compliments on our beautiful ceremony setting! (Jcrew_Shopaholic)
The Polish Center of Wisconsin - B +
Franklin, WI
414-529-2140
www.polishcenterofwisconsin.com
This is a great place for a ceremony if you don't want your wedding in a church or have different religus views. The great hall is beautiful and there is a flower garden behind the building which you can see from the windows. This is also a popular reception site.
We paid $250 - which included the hall and a dressing room for the girls.
My only complaint was that the coordinator during our rehearsal was less than professional (ie running a dishwasher in the bar when we were trying to adjust the music volume (music is behind the bar). He disappeared a lot and we didn't get a lot of focused attention. On the day of we had a different coordinator who didn't even stop by the bridal room to check if everything was ok but my girls found her for anything they needed. We didn't have a complicated ceremony so it wasn't a big deal but just a thought. For the price though...you can't beat it. A non-denominational church was going to charge us $895 to get married which included the officiant (which we paid $100 for separately). (MelissaSavin)
Saint Benedict Catholic Church (Fontana) (A+++++). We are Catholic. But from Dallas. This presented a problem as no Catholic churches in the area permit non-parishioners to be married at their church. (Ridiculous). Not Saint Benedict. Father Dan sees it as a part of ministry to marry people like my husband and I. He was by far one of the most talented and fabulous people I have ever had the opportunity to meet in my life. I mean that truly. He was wonderful in the planning process and made our nuptial mass so special. He organizes the rehearsal dinner and ensure everyone is comfortable before the big day. The church's pianist, Jeff and cantor, Jennifer are so talented with music. It was beautiful. (LegallyRedSooner)
St John the Evangelist Catholic Church - B
I LOVE the church, it is GORGEOUS....my only problem was Maureen, the 'coordinator.' She was not very friendly with me, told my FI that I was unorganized, and would not let us in when we wanted to be there unless we paid her extra. At our rehearsal she was pretty much pushing us out the door. The day went perfectly fine, she was just a real gem. (katieD212)
Saint Sebastian Catholic Church Milwaukee, WI
A++
Over a year of preparation and planning, everyone was really great and helpful in assisting us through the process of planning a Catholic wedding. Julia, the primary marriage contact for the church is incredible, I can't say enough nice things about her. Mike, the liturgical minister is also a wonderful person who was instrumental in helping us prepare for and plan our ceremony. Father Aiken, our officiant was wonderful. Overall, very organized and helpful while being more on the layed back side. We love this church and are so thankful that we found a church where we are comfortable! (alessner)
Sevens Seas Restaurant in Hartland. A
Amanda was awesome to work with. She gave us everything we wanted. When we origanlly looked at this location(we wanted to get marred on the lake) the two options that they have for ceremony we were not sold on so we came up with our own location at the restaurant. when we asked her if we could do it she said no one had ever asked to get married on the grass she immediately went to supervisor and they gave us the go ahead. we were a one of kind wedding there and that is pretty awesome. the day/weather was perfect that day. Reahearsal dinner and space was awesome. a little pricey but well worth being on the lake on a beautiful night! (canaires)