Chapel In the Hills — Attraction in South Dakota

For those who are looking to be married here, be warned. My husband and I booked a tiny ceremony at the Chapel a few short months before our wedding. We spoke with Brian to arrange in advance a plan for the day of. Brian emailed us information including rules and limitations of the venue contract. We followed up with a phone conversation in which Brian politely answered some questions we had. We were a bit surprised at Brian’s somewhat-lax approach in the weeks leading up to the wedding but appreciated that he seemed easy to talk to and friendly. Still, we weren’t very comfortable that the chapel doesn’t include rehearsal opportunities. If our wedding had been a bigger, more formal event, the lack of rehearsal would have been a dealbreaker. Fast-forward to the ceremony day, we arrived a few minutes before our scheduled arrival time (about 12:45) and my husband was hoping to get the Bluetooth sound system set up to his phone to make sure it was working. We knew there was the possibility that we wouldn’t be allowed to start preparations until our contracted 1:00 arrival time, however a tour bus had pulled in and my husband was told that he would not be able to speak with Brian until 1:00. Keep in mind, our ceremony was scheduled to begin at 1:30. No rehearsal, can’t speak with anyone, can’t begin set-up until THIRTY MINUTES before the ceremony begins. So, my husband was unable to prepare the sound system even a moment early (though it would have only taken Brian 10 seconds to give him Bluetooth instructions), all the while a tour bus of seniors are milling through the chapel. In fact, the tour didn’t exit the chapel until 1:05. I’m no stickler, but the lack of flexibility on the part of the Chapel isn’t what you want on your wedding day. Add to that, there is no air conditioning. The “bridal changing room” is rough. No A/C or windows. Getting ready to walk down the aisle requires more than a table lamp and a box fan. Especially in the summer months, think really long and hard before committing to a 1/2 hour prep window, no prior meeting or rehearsal, sweltering heat, stagnant air, random tour groups, and a venue manager who can’t...

Beautiful venue and amazing priest. That’s where the good times end. I got married here not long ago and the manager of this place is very rude and super unprofessional. I called asking about using the bridal suite for my wife and he told me we wouldn’t be unable to use it according to the contract and was very rude about saying so. I asked him to please calm down and lose the attitude as I was only trying to get clarification. At this point he threatened to complete void my contract and not refund me.(I spent several hundred dollars on a 2 hour slot of time) Upon arrival, I asked if he could start clearing tourists out as were we’re getting ready to start. He told me that people are allowed in the chapel until the ceremony starts. I asked what the point of me paying for a time slot was if everyone else was allowed in. He yelled at me saying I should have read the contract better. All in all, this was the most unprofessional individual I have ever had the displeasure of working with. I would suggest anyone get married in their back yard before trying to o deal with the manager of this venue. The priest, who was from San Diego, apologized to us for how rudely we...

Truly a unique spot! The chapel is an exact replica of a chapel located in Norway called Borgund Stavkirke. The grounds are beautiful.

On site there is a miniature museum stuffed with Scandinavian antiques. Photo albums provide documentation of each artifact and it's use. It makes for a real life seek and find game!

There are public restrooms, a bell tower, a prayer walk, and a gift shop on the grounds as well. I did not get close to the bell tower or the prayer walk as there was an outdoor wedding held when I visited.

The shop attendant was very friendly and knowledgeable. She described the unique building housing the gift shop called the stabbur. In Norway, animals would be housed below creating heat that would warm the second story living space the sod and grass roof would provide insulation and goats would reside on the roof, keeping it mowed and protecting them from predators. The prayer walk is supposed to have statuary...