The Bissell Tree House at John Ball Zoo — Attraction in Grand Rapids

I am SO grateful that I was able to have my wedding reception in this space. It is absolutely stunning and provided us with exactly the vibe that we wanted. It has a beautiful outdoors feel to it, has massive windows with a lot of natural light, and the wood walls are beautiful. I really loved that it had two separate outdoor deck areas for guests who wanted to be outdoors or to socialize without having to yell over loud music. The view of downtown Grand Rapids is AMAZING. We received several comments about how beautiful and unique our reception venue was. The funicular was a huge hit and really gave the guests a fun and unique experience. We also got some stunning photos at the zoo (waterfall pictures, plenty of natural greenery, etc.). Overall, I couldn’t imagine anything better. It was the PERFECT venue for us and my wedding was an absolute dream. The only thing to keep in mind is that the venue works for small to mid-sized weddings. If you have a large guest count, you’ll (sadly!) have to look elsewhere. The alcohol package was through the zoo as well and I am very happy with those services – our guests had a great time. Our coordinator, Darci, was wonderful. It was also very helpful for our guests to have plenty of free parking....

A little over a year ago I suggested the Bissell Tree House as a reception venue to my sister for her wedding. I love the John Ball Zoo organization and the Bissell Tree house is stunning. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that she would end up feeling embarrassed and taken advantage of. A month before the wedding there was trouble regarding the alcohol pricing. After thinking that everything had been ironed out, also know as forking out more money. We were expecting that the event would go smoothly. Instead the drinks were subpar, very very weak, people were getting "cut off" two hours into the reception, and were refused a last call announcement. Now mind you the contract states "no last call will be made." Don't let this confuse you because this does not mean that last call will not be made by the bar, it means that the father of the bride, the bride and groom, the masters of ceremony, the DJ, and the wedding party will all be refused from making a last call announcement too. At the end of the night my sister and her husband felt embarrassed by the entire situation. It's a shame that such a beautiful location would use such blatantly misleading verbiage and embarrass the bride and groom on their...

My husband and I attended a wedding at the Bissell Tree House in May of 2022, and before we were even engaged I said to him that I wanted us to get married there. This location is so stunning at any time of the year, but during our October 12, 2024 wedding, it couldn't have been more perfect. We had an absolutely gorgeous day and the venue was surrounded by fall colors and just a gorgeous ambience. Hilariously it started raining just as our ceremony was about to start, but because of the overhand of the roof above the ceremony location, no one got wet and we got to have a magical ceremony while the rain was coming down around us. The team is very helpful and worked with our vendors so well. Many of our guests complimented how organized and kind the staff were. Do yourself a favor and get married at the Bissell Tree House, you...