BlueBridge Events Centre — Attraction in Green Lake Township

We held our entire wedding weekend at BlueBridge Events Centre in September of 2017 and we could not have been more pleased! Every aspect of our weekend was amazing. BlueBridge is a one-of-a-kind venue with the nicest, most accommodating and great-to-work-with owners.

First, we held our rehearsal dinner at the Woodside Tent, which is in a wooded area on the southern area of the grounds. It was the perfect place to hold our rehearsal dinner, as our wedding party could just walk over to the tent after the rehearsal, instead of getting into a car and going to another location. It is outdoors, so you are at the mercy of the temperatures, but it is covered and there are space heaters. For our wedding weekend, it was unusually hot for northern Michigan, so being cold was not an issue for us.

The following day our ceremony was held in the Bridge Chapel. It is a picturesque room for a ceremony. It is totally covered from the elements, however, the sides can be opened up to make it an indoor/outdoor type ceremony. It is an air-conditioned room however. We wanted to have the sides open for a more outdoorsy-type ceremony, but didn’t want our guests uncomfortable, so we had the AC going full blast right up until before the ceremony and then once it started they opened the sides. Again, it was unseasonably warm that weekend, so it heated up quick after they opened it up at 4pm during the hottest part of the day.

Our reception was held in the adjoining Bridge Events Centre. The room is a good-sized room. We had 160 guests and it was good for that size of a wedding -but it could have definitely fit more. The room is similar to the chapel where the sides open up to create an indoor/outdoor-type room. Since it was so hot, we had the sides closed during dinner and then after it got dark they opened it up and it was perfect. The patio/garden area is what I think makes the venue so special. Our guests loved it. The grounds have that up-north, rustic feel and are so nice. Everyone loved the grounds; from the bonfire pit, to the little pond, to the lights strung across the garden, to the swing. It is all really nice. That is why maybe I felt like maybe the room could’ve had more people, as for a good part of the night a lot of the guests were congregating in the patio/garden area. The bar is also located on the patio, which is also a big reason why a lot of people were posted up outside (patio bar is pretty sweet too).

Our big weekend went off without a hitch and it was held at a beautiful venue, but what I think really made the difference were the owners. Chris & Stephanie, the current owners, purchased BlueBridge after we had already booked the venue with the former owners in the previous summer. After we received an email from the former owners that they sold the place, we were quite surprised. We feel now like it was really a blessing in disguise. The updates and renovations they did to the bathrooms and the grounds were all awesome. Stephanie did an amazing job with the flowers, décor and graphic designs. She made it so easy coordinating with my wife on all of those things given the distance we had, as we live in the Detroit area. Stephanie was right at the venue to provide immediate feedback on how something might look or if it was even feasible. That alone was worth the cost. The pricing overall was very reasonable and we were very pleased with that. Chris was great to work with as well. He was very responsive, knowledgeable and accommodating. There was one thing however, that they could not accommodate us on. We wanted to bring bottles of wine as part of our wedding favors for our guests, but Chris explained that state law prohibits us from bringing any alcohol onto the premises. It was pretty much the only hiccup we had, but we ended up figuring another way to get the wine out to our guests, so it was all good.

So if you are looking for a great venue, that provides that rustic, “up-north” feel, but without the winery prices and run by great people, do yourself a favor and check...

The decision to choose BlueBridge as our wedding venue was pretty simple. We knew we wanted to be married up north and as close to our dating anniversary as possible which meant we would need to have our wedding indoors during early November. BlueBridge is the singular venue in the Grand Traverse area (and beyond) that completely embraces the up-north feel without being cliche, overly "rustic" ski-lodgy. Polly was immediately receptive to our calls and we reserved our date without ever seeing the space indoors until a couple weeks before our actual wedding. The photos are what ultimately last and everything we could see online was more than compelling enough for us. The planning process was seamless and Polly, Kassidy, Stephanie, Chris and Ray walked us through so many aspects we would have been otherwise clueless about. This review would be an unreadable length if I were to list these points, just know that nothing is too small or too big of an ask when you have this team behind you.

The space was decorated beautifully, I wish I had better words to describe it. I never worried anything would look bad or tacky but when I came out of the bridal suite and saw the table settings, that was probably the closest I came to crying all day. It felt like an autumnal wonderland and I felt so confident and proud for the night we were about to have. If you do your events with BlueBridge, do not pass up the opportunity to work with Stephanie for all your floral designs.

As for coordinating the wedding day, Polly stayed true to her promises that us, our wedding parties and parents wouldn't have to think of a thing and that she would handle everything. She sensed when to move on to the next event and kept the party flowing without a single hiccup to the entertainment. Miraculously, the team even managed to take a photobooth picture when I barely made it in there lol. I treasure every single memento!!

The event space was the perfect backdrop for a timeless, romantic night which is exactly what we wanted and exactly what we got. I couldn't even tell you how many people told us it was the best wedding they've ever been to. The bonfire was a huge hit for our friends that would rather chat, and also a great reprieve for anyone needing to cool off from the dance floor. Even though it was chilly outside, I could tell everyone was comfortable. Any kids in attendance had a blast too, not a single bored face to be found. They loved the swing, hot chocolate and s'mores at the bonfire; some parents even told us they regretted not bringing their kid afterall, saying they would have had a ton of fun.

I hope we get ourselves invited to a BlueBridge wedding one day, it's just a perfect space anyway you look at it. Polly and every member of the team are amazingly warm and make you feel like you're the only couple they're guiding / that matters. Not sure how they do it but we'll be grateful for our entire lives for helping us throw the best party we'll ever have.

We could never say it enough but thank you so, so much to the entire BlueBridge team for the "wedding of the century" as my grandma put it...

Our wedding here at Blue Bridge was a dream come true! The staff, decor, amenities and overall ambiance created an exceptional experience for us and our guests! We looked at 4 other venues before we decided to see what Traverse City had to offer. This was the first getaway city my husband and I traveled to when we first started dating so we thought it might be fun to get married in Traverse City! From the moment we walked in for our tour, both my husband and I had an overwhelming feeling that this is where we were meant to get married! Polly welcomed us with open arms and made us feel like family. We are so grateful to have had Polly as our wedding coordinator as she always was excited to check in, touch base on updates, and just see how we were feeling with the wedding planning process! The greatest piece of advice that Polly reminded us over the almost 2 years of planning our wedding was " The most important piece of your wedding is that you are marrying the love of your life, all the other pieces will come together no matter what happens it will be beautiful" This piece of advice kept us calm and in the moment especially after having to change our plans what seemed like weekly with our wedding happening during the pandemic. One thing stayed consistent and that was all the love and support from the staff at Blue Bridge to help us through these unprecedented times. Chris and Stephanie (the owners) are so involved in helping to plan the big day which sets this venue apart from many others we visited. It is so evident that they are truly passionate about the work that they do! Chris was very helpful with planning the beverages for the bar and was there on site until the end of the night to make sure everything went smoothly. Stephanie has such an eye for detail and design! The venue itself is breathtaking, so minimal extra decor is needed, having a florist on site creates a smooth process for adding in the extra decor for centerpieces and bouquets! Out of the different venues on the property, we chose The Bridge as we loved the indoor/outdoor feel with the modern rustic ambiance. The backgrounds for all our pictures were breathtaking, especially the pictures in the woods with the tall trees! We also loved having a getting ready locations on site along with the Suite for spending the night of the wedding. This venue truly is a one stop shop which made it perfect for us having an out of town wedding! We chose to have our wedding on a Friday to allow for us to have a whole weekend with our guests traveling from out to town and one perk to having a Friday wedding was that we were able to come on Thursday to decorate and have everything ready to go! We can't wait to come back to visit as we have such a special...