Matthaei Botanical Gardens for Garden Strolls and Conservatory Energy
About the Matthaei Botanical Gardens Wedding Venue
Details of the Grounds
The Gateway Garden at Matthaei Botanical Gardens is an exquisite venue for weddings, boasting 6,000 annuals that bloom from July through September, attracting butterflies and hummingbirds. It features a pavilion that can accommodate up to 150 guests and two beehive-shaped stone fountain pools. The garden is available for ceremonies from the last weekend in June to the end of September with its peak beauty from mid-July to early September and electricity at the pavilion. Moreover, the Auditorium or Conservatory can be utilized as an alternative ceremony location.
Photography Opportunities
On your wedding day, a day of beauty and joy, you will find plenty of stunning photo locations on the property. There are numerous gardens, trails and florals in bloom, as well as a picturesque little pond in front that would be perfect for your sunset photos. Should the weather take a turn for the worse, you can always take refuge in the indoor conservatory, where you can still find the beauty of the outdoors.
Wedding Details
Perennial Garden: This stunning garden features four beds of perennials, boasting a total of 120 varieties of plants, creating a beautiful traditional English cottage garden that provides a vibrant range of colors from May to September. This garden can accommodate up to 150 people and is perfect for a formal ceremony in the center aisle, with a stunning backdrop of constantly changing colors. Power supply and an alternate location are available for events in the event of inclement weather.
Herb Knot Garden: Matthaei Botanical Gardens offers a beautiful outdoor venue for weddings, featuring a vibrant array of annuals and perennials that bloom from July to September. These flowers provide a colorful backdrop and attract butterflies and hummingbirds to the garden, with the focal point being a pavilion flanked by two beehive-shaped stone fountain pools. The Gateway Garden can accommodate up to 150 guests and the peak of the garden's beauty is from mid-July to early September. Additionally, the Auditorium or Conservatory can be used as a backup ceremony location in the event of inclement weather.
Conservatory: The Conservatory is a stunning tropical and temperate garden, perfect for weddings of up to 60 guests. Open to the public from 10 am to 8 pm in the summer and 10 am to 4:30 pm in the winter, the Conservatory is floodlit at night and features exquisite fragrant flowers such as Jasmine or Gardenias depending on the season. With a power supply available, it is ideal for smaller wedding parties.
Willow Pond: Willow Pond Island is an ideal spot to have a wedding ceremony. With its winding pathways, lush plantings, bower seating area, open lawn with stone stage, secret garden with wildflowers and tranquil water, as well as an intimate space for up to 150 guests, it is the perfect picturesque setting for your special day. From late May to mid-October, you can enjoy the beauty of nature as your backdrop. In the event of inclement weather, the Auditorium or Conservatory can serve as a backup.
Arboretum: Nichols Arboretum is the perfect venue for an intimate wedding of up to 100 guests. For larger guest lists, the stunning hillside overlooking the Peony Garden, Main/East valleys, amphitheater, and Dow Prairie overlook provide ample space. Smaller guest lists will be delighted by the Heathdale, School Girls Glen Overlook, and riverfront along the Huron River. Free parking is available in U-M blue lots on Washington Hts. and off Nichols Dr. after 5 pm on weekdays and weekends, and paid parking is available in the P2 parking structure. Weddings only are allowed in the Arboretum, making it the perfect place to make your special day truly unique.
To read more on current rates offered at this venue, be sure to click HERE for current pricing.
Matthaei Botanical Gardens
Matthaei Botanical Gardens is a beautiful outdoor venue for weddings, featuring 6,000 annuals that attract butterflies and hummingbirds to the Gateway Garden pavilion, as well as a 120-variety Perennial Garden, Herb Knot Garden, Conservatory, Willow Pond Island, and Nichols Arboretum. The garden is available from the last weekend in June to the end of September, and the Conservatory is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the summer and 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the winter. Power supply and alternate locations are available in the event of inclement weather.
For more garden-inspired wedding venues, be sure to check out my, “13 Garden Inspired Wedding Venues in Michigan” blog post or click on some featured locations here:
Catchfly Photography is a traditional wedding and adventurous elopement photographer based in Highland, MI. Julie Believes in the little details and in between moments. Nature completely inspires Julie, and she incorporates nature into almost every photo she takes. Julie travels to photograph traditional weddings and intimate elopements in Michigan’s Upper + Lower Peninsula and Colorado.