Beech Creek Botanical Garden & Nature Preserve — Attraction in Washington Township

Beware renting from here for weddings

I’m not typically a review person, but I feel the need to warn other couples about Beech Creek’s handling of their events. My husband and I booked the secret garden and woodland pavilion for our wedding at the end of April. We knew booking an outdoor venue in spring in Ohio was a risky move, but we felt confident in booking with beech creek because of the policy in their rental agreement. It states “In the event of inclement weather, depending on the severity of the weather conditions, and the number of wedding guests, the following alternative option is to be considered: holding the wedding ceremony inside the woodland pavilion. Beech Creek gardens will work cooperatively along with the renter to make the best decision. If this option is not suitable, beech creek will retain the $50 processing fee and refund the balance paid. (Beech Creek reserves the right to be the final say on the severity of the weather impact on the event)” The forecast high was 60 degrees and called for an 81% chance of rain the day of our wedding. I was concerned because if our guests got wet from the rain, the 61 degree weather would be absolutely miserable. I reached out to Sarah Carmichael, expressing my concerns. She stated that the forecast she looked at said the rain may not come until 4 (which would have been in the middle of our ceremony) and if it started before then we could move the wedding to under the pavilion. She also told me that if I was concerned about my guests being cold, I should rent some portable heaters. So my options were to either risk having it rain on the guests in the middle of my ceremony or to move all 60 of my guests under the pavilion (Sarah stated that they “shouldn’t” get hit by the rain, not that they for sure wouldn’t) I did not feel comfortable with either of those options, I wanted to be able to enjoy my day without worrying if my guests were going to freeze. So, feeling comforted by Beech Creek’s policy, we chose to host our wedding at a different venue. I let Sarah know our decision in advance so they wouldn’t set up needlessly. I told her that I understood what we signed up for but would appreciate at least a partial refund, as the weather was obviously bad enough to warrant a change of venue. Sarah said that she would talk to her director and let me know, but she never responded to any emails after that. They kept the entire amount that we booked the venue for. Now, I totally understand that we took a gamble with an outdoor venue, but the entire reason that we felt safe enough to book with them was because of their inclement weather policy. Turns out, they are willing to let your guests suffer in the cold and rain in order to keep your money. Just a warning to other couples.

Editing to add*

After this review was posted, Sarah reached out and they sent us back half of the amount...

I wouldn’t recommend this venue for weddings. It’s beautiful there of course, but the possibility of rain just isn’t worth it. At first Sarah Carmichael was fantastic at communicating with us and making sure everything was set for our big day, but is now not answering any of our follow up email as to what happened on the day of our wedding.

For context, we got married 7/11 of this year, and we knew the possibility of rain could ruin our ceremony in the garden, but we chose to rent out the pavilion and the secret garden so we had a backup plan. Come to find out that the pavilion is built downstream from where the rain falls at the park, so when it rained on our wedding day not only could we not use the garden (expected), we couldn’t use the now FLOODED pavilion (completely unexpected). We ended up having to do our reception in the Hampton Inn down the road.

Of course the staff here cannot control the weather, but they can control the channels that lead the water straight into the pavilion, making it completely unusable when it rains.

But even more, Sarah promised us a refund of half our money since we could not use either of the venue spaces. Not only has a refund not been issued more than three weeks after our wedding, Sarah has stopped communicating with us for weeks.

Please do not use this location, visit it but don’t rent it. You’re better off using the Hampton inn...

Went with my 3 and 5 year old. Never been here before, was okay. It might be better for older kids interested in learning about the butterfly and caterpillar stages / animals / learning centers... for toddlers however they were more interested in the playgrounds. The obstacle course they had was the best thing they had for my younger kids in my opinion. The zip line they had suited older kids above 6 years I'd say, I had to lift my kids up and guide them on it them being little. the log playground I didn't see much point to having in a totally different area than the bigger playground, all it had to it was a bridge and logs to walk on.. didn't let my kids play in the mud play area & water sprinkler they had since I can let them do that at home with extra clothes. They did have alot of places to have lunch or rest .. beautiful flower displays and the butterfly house was neat. Like I said, the place was cute to visit but probably would of been much more suitable for slightly bit older children than mine. Admission is 12 dollars per person too which does seem like alot for a 5 year old to me, but Its how they keep...