Weddingbee Blog

My latest wedding planning obsession is ceremony and reception decor. I have some ideas that I would like to run by the hive, but I realized that I haven’t blogged about our venue yet! Let’s take a tour so I can get blogging about my decorating obsession.

Mr. Taffy and I did a lot of research on venues in the metro Detroit area. At the end of the day, we chose the University of Michigan Union, a venue that is walking distance from our house! Here is the exterior of the building:

We love the ivy. I took these shots in early September, so I don’t think the leaves will be as lush in May.
The front doors are lovely. I cannot wait to set up a fun shot exiting the building after the ceremony!

The grounds are very pretty and should be a perfect place to take pictures with our family while not taking them too far away from the cocktail hour.

If you look closely, you can see the second floor windows peeking out from the ivy. Those windows are in the Pendleton room, our ceremony location.

This is the interior of the Pendleton room. There will be no tables, and the chairs will be set up in rows for the ceremony. I love the slate floors! I’m not so crazy about the oak paneling, though.

Here is the entrance to the ceremony room. More paneling! I am going to make some banners soon to dress them up.

Right down the hall is our reception location, the Ballroom. We love the windows, chandeliers and wood floors.

A closer look at the building’s original chandeliers:

These are the chairs for both rooms. The Pendleton room chairs are brand new, but the reception chairs are really beat up. Take a look:

I’ve never been crazy about chair covers, but we will be renting some.

While we were taking photos, they started setting up an event. Here is an example of the free tablecloths- they don’t go down very far. We’ll be upgrading those for sure.

We were thrilled to find a venue where we could have our ceremony and reception in one place. The location is also great; there are tons of bars if people would like to continue the party after our reception ends. It is also walking distance to some hotels (and our house, which will definitely not be serving as a hotel). I also love that we pass by the building often; I can even see the flag on top of the building any time I turn down our street! It gives me butterflies when I see it.

Judging by the comments I received when I joined Weddingbee, a lot of you (hello, Michigan alumni!) have been in this building too! Have any of you attended a wedding here?