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The Ritz-Carlton, Dearborn is one of the classier joints around Southeast Michigan. According to what I've heard (a price quote my brother received in early 2007) the basic price per person at the Ritz is around $150 per person. I wouldn't be surprised if it's more. The Ritz can easily accommodate 400 guests.

I've attended two or three weddings at the Ritz and, although nice, weddings at the Ritz aren't particularly memorable as a guest. I readily confuse memories of the Ritz with the Troy Marriott. Being on the host end of the wedding however is probably easier because service at the Ritz is impeccable. Having been to a buffet-style Indian wedding and a regular plated-dinner wedding I can say that the food at all stages are great. I think the Indian buffet food comes from your choice of approved caterers while regular food comes from the hotel.

I've seen two memorable food items at the Ritz. First was the martini bar where the server poured through an ice luge to chill the drink. Second was the Coldstone Creamery-style ice cream bar. If you don't know what that Coldstone Creamery is, think of a Dairy Queen flurry but a server uses spatulas to fold your choice of toppings (M&Ms, cookie crumbs, etc.) into ice cream on a chilled stone slab. The stone slab reduces melting.

I'm sure options and extras add up fast but if you want a high-class hotel wedding reception in the metro Detroit area the Ritz fill fit the bill.

According to its website Cranbrook allows photography but you must arrange it through one of their approved photographers or approved in writing by the Cranbrook administrators. I think Cranbrook would be a great place to have wedding photos or engagement photos.

Cranbrook Photography

It wouldn't be so special for me personally because I went to middle school and high school there. I never felt a great loyalty towards the school and I know if I do anything there, Cranbrook boosters will be hitting me up for money for the rest of my life. In fact, they already do hit me up for money all the time.

Cranbrook has beautiful grounds and I have heard they do opulent weddings. If the weddings are anything like the events we had during school I would say yes, that is the case. I am sure they have draconian policies and restrictions. Why I went to school at Cranbrook for middle school and high school (6-12). They are highly protective of the grounds and the building interiors. Don't count on being able to pee in the bushes.

http://www.cranbrook.edu/about/venue/

Meadow Brook Hall in Rochester Hills allows photography on their grounds. They have some fairly stringent guidelines on what you cannot do. For example, you are not allowed to go inside the buildings at all. Not even to use the bathroom.

If you want full details, download the PDF I received from the Meadow Brook offices.

Meadow Brook Photo Shoot Guidelines

• $250 for 2.5 hours. Wedding or engagement photos.
• $1,250 for 4 hours.
• $2,500 for 8 hours.

The Henry Ford Museum or Greenfield Village in Dearborn would be super cool places to have a wedding because everybody has been to a hotel wedding. When do you get to go to a museum for a wedding? It would have been especially cool because many of our out of town guests have not been to Michigan more than once or twice, if ever. It would be wedding and vacation entertainment rolled into one convenient package!

You could have the gathering at the museum, Greenfield Village or Lovett Hall. After doing a quick cost comparison for the museum average cost would have roughly the same per person (~$120/pp) including some of the additional fees such as admission ($10-20/pp) for admission into the museum. This would include premium drinks, appetizer setups, dessert, and mid-range entrees. They have interesting museum and Michigan-specific twists like afterglow Coney Dog Bar or Faygo Float Station. Coney Dogs are chili dogs named after the numerous Coney Island restaurants in Southeast Michigan. I don't know why they are all called Coney Islands. Faygo is a Detroit-based soft drink company. Their more unique flavors are Red-pop or Rock and Rye.

I hoped we could figure out a way to do our wedding here but it fell short in a few aspects. First, it is not a hotel. I know our friends would be doing some drinking. I think being at the museum would jeopardize general public safety afterwards because they would either have to drive to a hotel or drive back home. At least having the wedding in a hotel would stop a few of the people from driving. Second, since it is a museum there is less time flexibility. Third, they do not list a vegetarian option in their menus. I know we will have a fair amount of vegetarian guests.

If you're looking for a place to take wedding photos it might be tricky but I would consider taking photos here.

Links:

• Weddings at the Henry Ford
  • Greenfield Village
  • Lovett Hall
  • Menus
  • Desserts & Afterglow
• Faygo: Website // Wikipedia
• Coney Island: Wikipedia and some favorites
  • National Coney Island
  • Senate Coney Island

This is a huge list of banquet halls and other facilities as presented by a local DJ in the Southeastern Michigan area. It is a great starting resource just to know what is out there.

http://www.madmanmike.com/halls_banquet_facilities.html

Meadowbrook is a beautiful historic mansion in Rochester Hills, MI. They can accommodate large weddings in their facilities. I personally have not been to a Meadowbrook wedding but I hear that it is very nice.

We hope to go to Meadowbrook for wedding day photography because it is about 15-20 minutes from the Troy Marriott and should have exceptional scenery. I hope there isn't another wedding over there to prevent us from taking pictures.

Be wary of their catering restrictions if you want ethnic cuisine at your wedding. Meadowbrook does not allow outside caterers. My parents went to an Indian wedding at Meadowbrook that had bad Indian food (curry, vegetarian dishes, etc.) because it was prepared by the in-house Meadowbrook staff who made the dishes from recipes given to them. Without the proper training or familiarity with a cuisine, how could they expect to replicate authentic Indian food? I'm sure they do a great job with more familiar Western cuisines like Italian or French.

We are going to have our wedding at Troy Marriott because the Marriott can handle a fairly large wedding. It meets our criteria. We need a venue that could host about 300-350 people because my parents want to invite a lot of friends and colleagues in addition to our already large family.

For large weddings around Dearborn, Michigan you might also consider these venues.

• Ritz-Carlton, Dearborn
• Hyatt Regency, Dearborn
• Dearborn Inn, Dearborn
• The Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn

Resources:

• Marriott Detroit Troy