The Holden Arboretum — Attraction in Kirtland

Making our final payment was a nightmare. By this point we had not heard from the wedding coordinator for 4 months, and neither her or her assistant replied to emails sent to sign the credit card auth. form. We had to reach out to the Director of Guest Experience and the previous wedding coordinator in order to not receive a late payment penalty.

We were assured my bridal party would have access to the entire Thayer building, where the bridal suite is located. This was not true. Members of the public peeked through the glass, ignored the “closed for a private event” sign and just walked in, and banged on the door when we eventually had to lock it. Holden staff members also read the private event sign, tried the door and upon realizing it was locked, decided to just pull out their keys and open it anyway. After locking the door, Holden staff decided that they’d just open the door downstairs where the bathrooms were so members of the public could get in that way. All of our personal belongings were in this building for any member of the public to steal. But that didn’t matter to Holden. A Holden staff member came to the bridal suite informing us that we cannot lock the door, as they have closed the main bathrooms and were directed every single member of the public to the bridal suite I paid for to use those bathrooms. Myself and my 7 bridesmaids were made to change inside of a building open to the public, unable to use the bathrooms as members of the public created a line down two flights of stairs into the bathroom stalls. Their solution was to change inside of a small room we could not all fit in with windows and a curtain that did not cover the windows. As women, this was so uncomfortable.

I rented Holden for my wedding in February of 2024. Holden scheduled an entire Fall Festival after I paid money to have my wedding ceremony here. We were made aware of this festival Oct 8th of this year. We were assured the public would not have access to the ceremony site nor the bridal suite. This was not true. Members of the public walked into my ceremony. I arrived to my own ceremony 2 minutes before it was my time to walk down the aisle.

We were assured the day of our rehearsal that decor would be set up for us. We were were assured that my DJ would have a table provided to him for his equipment. We were assured there was an outlet right near the ceremony site for my DJs equipment. None of this was true. Speaking of decor, Holden staff dropped my glass welcome sign that I DIYed myself and said “the wind knocked it off its easel”.

I paid $150 for a golf cart to take the bridal party and handicapped guests to the ceremony site. When staff drove my handicapped guest who just had hip surgery to the site, they left her at the grass and made her walk after promising to drive her to her seat. Half of my wedding party had to walk to the ceremony site, as staff told some of my members they “didn’t have the time” to drive them there.

Alexis, thank you for everything you did at the rehearsal and day of the wedding to help coordinate my wedding ceremony. You are the only person who actually gave a shit about my wedding. Even going above and beyond to reprint a new wedding sign after your coworkers broke it so it was up in time for the ceremony. For you, I am so grateful. Brides, do not have your wedding here. You will receive false promises, months with 0 communication, and no coordination for your wedding. It will not be a stress free ceremony. I should have been focused on marrying the love of my life, but instead I had to call each member of my guest list to inform them the wedding was pushed back by 40 mins and to drive on the wrong side of the road past the line of fall fest cars until they reached my groomsman who would direct them into the parking lot. We would not have gotten married without my bridal party stepping in and doing Holden’s jobs for them. As gorgeous as it is, it is not worth the mental strain it will put on you. Do not get...

To: ALL FUTURE BRIDES LOOKING TO BOOK A VENUE- I was in a wedding this past weekend at Holden Arboretum. Yes the scenery is beautiful but please read all of the reviews before booking. My best friends day was as stressful and it was chaotic. (A lot of which could have been avoided if the venue had done at the very least a semi decent job). The bride booked her wedding in February of 2024 only to be told a few days before the wedding that they also had scheduled a “fall fest” the weekend of the wedding. Which why you would do that when you already have prior engagements is beyond me. I was told that they were expecting between 3,000 and 4,000 people that day. When we all got to the building that was booked, there was a man sleeping inside, they asked him to leave nicely only for him to come back later and try to sleep again. The “bridal suite” which the bride had booked was for the “whole building” from around 11:30 to about 3. This is where we were expecting to get changed and do any last minute touches. There were 9 of us trying to get ready including the bride, but the room they had us in had windows open to the public that the curtains would not even cover. Being women this was very uncomfortable and honestly disgusting. Not only that but when they said the “whole building” they didn’t actually mean it. The public kept coming up to the door to which we eventually had to lock. So they went and got an employee who opened the door for them to come in to where all of our personal belongings were (including purses, expensive dresses, shoes, makeup). We were told that they had to close the main bathrooms and let them use the ones in the building that we had rented out. Which is absurd because we were going to use the bathroom to change because we couldn’t in the original bridal room. Holden cared more about the “fall festival” they threw together than the wedding they had booked two years ago. The fall fest is just a day for people to get outside. But your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life, so why is it that they were the ones to get pushed to the side and basically told that they were least important on one of there greatest days? Not only were the accommodations terrible and not exclusive but they had broken decor that the bride had DIYED herself for the wedding. Along with the fact that they paid Holden Arboretum to golf cart people to and from the parking lot which barley got done. We had to push the wedding back, BECAUSE THE WEDDING GUESTS COULD NOT EVEN GET IN TO PARK BECAUSE OF THE FALL FEST. THE WAIT TIME IN LINE WAS 45 MINUTES TO ALMSOT AN HOUR. One of the groomsmen had to go up to the gate house and get them to open up a side way in for the wedding guests so there would be more than 5 people at the wedding. Then he had to proceed to walk down the road and ask every car if they were there for the fest or the wedding so everyone would get in. Imagine if the bridal party had done nothing and the bride goes to walk down the isle and there were just empty seats? GUT WRENCHING! We also CAN NOT excuse the fact that they let anyone at the fall festival walk right through where the wedding was taking place. I get that you can’t control people but at the VERY LEAST Holden Arboretum could have closed of the path leading around the wedding OR AT THE ERY VERY LEAST they could have put a sign saying “please be quiet and polite, there is a wedding talking place”. But no, none of that was done either. Since we started the wedding late anyways at this point you would expect the bride to be there and ready? Nope. They held her up because for whatever reason the golf cart was being used elsewhere. She showed up at the ceremony spot 2 minutes before walking down. NOT ACCEPTABLE.

It is in all honesty a disgrace that they even have a “venue” for weddings. It’s also a disgrace to the bride and groom who just wanted to have an amazing day that they didn’t have to stress about. DO NOT HAVE YOUR...

I was a bridesmaid in a wedding on 10/11/2025. This review is specifically for future brides looking to book their venue. I would never recommend Holden to any of my friends or family. The venue is absolutely stunning, but that unfortunately did not negate what the bridal party and bride had to deal with. Our bride booked this date 2 years ago and was not notified until right before the wedding that there would be a festival on the day of her wedding. When we got to the rented “bridal suite” members of the public kept walking inside our rented space. Apparently the bathrooms were all down and the public was then prompted to use the bridal suite, that the bride rented out and paid for (where bridesmaids were getting dressed and all of our personal belongings were located). After much confusion, Staff came in and told us to get dressed in the locked room in the back… that room had a curtain that didn’t close all the way. I want to also mention, I was extremely uncomfortable with the fact that people were peeking in through the glass and since the curtain didn’t close all the way, I felt completely exposed. Since the bride had 8 bridesmaids and herself to get dressed, we could not all fit in that small room. They told us we could use the bigger room near the restroom to keep our stuff in but we soon figured out that door wouldn’t latch or lock. I was very worried about my wallet or car keys getting stolen out of my bag. The night before the wedding, staff told the bride they would set up her wedding arbor, but never came to take it back to the garden so the groomsmen had to set it up right before the ceremony started. Secondly, the venue did not account for the wedding guests and parking during the festival. The bride had to push back her wedding by 40 minutes as none of her guests were able to arrive on time because of the parking. We actually had to have one of the groomsmen go to try and find someone to help us get the guests to the wedding… Brides, if you are looking for a private outdoor venue, please keep in mind that Holden also does not close off the trail for the short time the ceremony takes place. There were members of the public walking around and stepping onto the ceremony space to watch and use the bathroom. The bride also had an expensive glass sign that had been knocked over and shattered on the ground. There is much more I could add but I figure this is enough for Google reviews. Take this information how you will, but I would never book a wedding here, it’s just not...