Welcome to The Boardwalk
Host your ceremony, cocktail hour, reception, and dancefloor all in one secluded riverfront location.
Getting Ready
Standard Rental is 9am-midnight.
On your wedding day, your venue will be waiting for you. When you arrive at 9am, we will have all of your amenities set and ready. You and your vendors can begin decorating, and you have full private access to the dedicated ready rooms and the full property.
Bride Ready Room - 25’ Geodesic Dome (Opening Spring ‘24)
Brides and bridesmaids have complete private use of this standalone fully-furnished external building. With power, wifi, heat and A/C, vanities, chairs and couches, and full-length mirrors, the bride ready room offers a beautiful and relaxing space for hair and makeup, and ample opportunities for photography while you get ready for your big day. The ambient speaker system plays from the venue-wide integrated audio, or choose your own music while you get ready. Sip on mimosas with a clear view of the riverfront and ceremony site to watch your preparations come together.
Groom Room - Forest Log Cabin
Tucked into the north woods, grooms and groomsmen have their own dedicated space to get ready. Our log cabin groom room has power, wifi, and is fully furnished with chairs, tables, full-length mirrors, and everything the guys need to get ready in the morning. This private building offers a secluded space to relax and put the finishing touches on your suit and tie for the big day. Integrated venue-wide audio, or play your own music.
Guests Arrive
Parking and Dropping Off
Staff parking attendants direct traffic and greet guests as they arrive. Guests can be dropped off by the front door, and parking is available in our 55-spot grass parking lot, as well as 100+ angled parking spaces along our private drive. Loading ramp available for vendors, and special parking considerations are made for bridal party and family, vendors, and large vehicles. To avoid parking headaches, Hotel Shuttle services are also available.
Welcome Tent
(New Construction - May ‘24)
Our staff Hostess will greet your guests as they arrive at our welcome tent and grand entrance. The welcome tent is an opportunity to welcome your guests to your wedding day and make a great first impression. Have your guests sign your guest book, drop off cards and gifts, pick up a program for your ceremony, and become acquainted with the property and the day’s schedule of events. This is also a great place to offer light refreshments, or display seating charts. Work with your venue coordinator to design a welcome experience best suited to your style for your friends and family.
Ceremony
The Meadow - Riverfront Ceremony Site
Our grassy meadow is the perfect backdrop for your riverfront wedding ceremony. Our staff will setup your ceremony chairs in rows with an aisle down the middle. We provide a white arch and a clear podium for you to use and decorate. As the seasons change, the riverfront is clothed in lush green foliage, bursts of wildflowers, and climbing vines. Surrounded by 200+ acres of forest woodlands and farmland, and an additional 200+ acres of untouched forest across the river to the south, our meadow ceremony site is completely secluded from interruptions. We also provide speakers and wireless microphones for your ceremony. These speakers are integrated into the venue-wide audio system, so all of your guests will be able to hear loud and clear. A raised platform for your string quartet or other musicians can be provided, and at different times of the day and season, the meadow is completely shaded by our towering 100+ year-old oaks.
Cocktail Hour
The Courtyard and Boardwalk
As your ceremony convenes, guests can make their way over to the Courtyard and Boardwalk. The bar is now open, and appetizers are served. As our staff begins quietly putting away the ceremony chairs, lawn games are setup near the courtyard and meadow. Some of the games you can choose from include bean-bag toss, giant Jenga, bocce ball, Kubb, and frisbees. Music plays on the ambient speaker system throughout the venue, and formal photos are being lined up by the riverfront. The bar is located inside the air-conditioned lounge, or you can choose to setup your bar outdoors on the courtyard (or both.) Appetizers are served on buffet tables on the courtyard, on the boardwalk, or indoors. Your guests can eat, drink and explore The Boardwalk with all of the vignettes, chandeliers, hanging gardens, and accent features hidden around the property.
Vignettes - Lounge Spaces
The Boardwalk provides lounge “vignettes” in several locations around the venue. These vignettes are comprised of several furniture pieces arranged with accent rugs, lighting, and decorated to match your themes and colors. Our stock of furniture selections is always expanding and changing. Popular vignettes include wicker and rattan furniture on the beach, wooden patio furniture on the Boardwalk, and bespoke collections of living room furniture inside the banquet hall and outdoors under the oak trees by the riverfront. Your venue coordinator will work with you in the months leading up to your wedding to choose selections and themes that match your style, and our staff will carefully curate and place your vignettes around the venue for you.
Tree Chandeliers
The magic of The Boardwalk are the details in place that make your wedding come alive. Hidden high in the towering riverside oaks there are pre-installed hardware and wiring to facilitate custom lighting fixtures. We have several selections of large glass and prism chandeliers that can be hung on the riverbank for your wedding day. These chandeliers accent our vignettes and create stunning photography with the river backdrop completely unique to The Boardwalk. If your theme includes twinkle-lights, paper lanterns, or edison bulbs, anything can be customized to match your style.
Reception
Grassland Reception Tent
(Opening Spring ‘24)
As cocktail hour is winding down, your guests can find their seats in our new 3000 sqft clear-top reception tent. With seating for up to 250 guests, this three-season tent structure provides a beautiful and elegant setting to host your perfect reception dinner with unobstructed views of the riverfront. Tables, chairs, and white tablecloths for all of your guests are included along with buffet tables, cake tables, sweetheart tables, dessert tables, and other selections of easels, chalkboards, and other reception furniture necessities. The floor of the tent is an elegant hardscape stone, the sides are removable, and heating and cool ventilation are generously provided. The Grassland reception tent is a comfortable place to host your reception dinner throughout the summer season, rain or shine, May-October. During dinner, ambient music plays on the speakers, and wireless microphones are provided for speeches and announcements (as part of the venue-wide audio system). Soft ambient lighting fills the tent with a warm and comfortable atmosphere. Add your own style with custom draping and decoration to create a theme and palate all your own.
Indoor Banquet Hall
For receptions up to 120 guests, you may also choose our heated and air-conditioned indoor banquet hall to host your reception dinner. A completely unique custom lighting display of giant feather chandeliers and pendant lights creates a soft and dynamic atmosphere inside the banquet hall. Speakers and wireless microphones are included, as well as projector and AV equipment. Most of our off-season (Nov-April) events are hosted in our banquet hall. During summer outdoor events, the banquet hall is available as air-conditioned lounge space, custom installations, and rainy-day backup locations for ceremonies, cocktail hours, and dancefloors.
Dancefloor
Courtyard - Outdoor
After dinner has been dined and speeches given, it’s time for the dance party to begin. We host our dancefloor outside on the open courtyard under the stars. Your DJ or Live Band has ample power, wifi, and a 40’x40’ stone patio to keep the party going all night. Coming in ‘24 - A pattern of glow bricks light up under your feet while the party goes on. The Boardwalk is outside of city limits, and there are no noise-ordinances or quiet-hours. Music from the dancefloor is integrated into the venue-wide audio system. Throughout the night the music and MC announcements are heard everywhere from the bar to the reception tent in a seamless and balanced audio experience. As golden hour approaches, the last rays of sunlight reflect off the water, and the lights of the dancefloor shine into the tree canopy. At sunset, our staff lights the bonfire on the beach, and we light the glass-top propane fire table on the boardwalk. Serve s’mores by the fire, or have your late-night snacks served under the catering tents next to the dancefloor. Plan your sparkler send-off for the end of the night and head off into the honeymoon. Our staff will stay and clean up - the night is yours.
