Castle Farms

uring our rehearsal and on the wedding day. If you want an incredible wedding that your guests will never stop talking about, book Castle Farms! We had ours at the Knights Courtyard/Knights Castle, and it was incredible.

ey were much more affordable than I had anticipated and offered us a few discounts to bring the price down further. Truly it is a beautiful location and all of our guests raved about it all day ❤️

as very on top of everything and made the day of as least stressful as possible. The venue is gorgeous and we got so many compliments on the beauty of the castle.

day with our showing to the very end of our wedding night, the communication was clear and consistent. Everyone worked with us with every detail and making sure it was exactly what we wanted. Our coordinator Alaina was so flexible and calm when we had to add or change a few things with hours to the wedding. Setting up and tear down was a breeze, with so many hands on deck. The location was clean, organized, and beautiful. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience, I would recommend castle farms to anyone.

hey are very professional and helpful. All our guests loved the venue and our photos were beautiful!

our changes.

just how I pictured.

y many events every season so the booking/planning process is very streamlined and easy as there are FAQ pages, recommended vendors, and tons of other information they have to help you plan your event! The downside to producing so many events is that the communication isn’t always timely and you definitely feel like just another wedding as there will likely be 3 others on the same day as yours. You get assigned a coordinator 2 months before your event, but we personally had a difficult time getting replies within a week and found more success simply by calling the castle and talking to the events services line (shoutout to Brenda for dealing with ALL my questions and being so kind and patient). I understand having so many other people to keep track of, but when your date is approaching and you also need help it can be frustrating at times. I also heard complaints from several of my vendors (who are experienced working Castle weddings) that they never received the day of info from the coordinator like they usually do and had minor difficulties upon arrival that were out of character from their experiences. Also be mindful that since 1918 Cellars is on site, you are required to use their wine for your event. This was not a problem since we found wines we enjoyed and the tasting experience prior to the wedding was a blast. Just a helpful note if you and your fiance(e) have a favorite wine that you would like served that day to know you cannot bring in other brands. The day of the event went smoothly on our end and the coordinator/assistant coordinator were super sweet and made sure that everything stayed on track. Final note: MAKE SURE YOUR GUESTS ARRIVE ON TIME. The lift bridge in Charlevoix causes taffic backups that guests may not know to account for. They will not let anyone in late (which I understand for photos and could obviously be distracting) so some of our favorite people unfortunately missed the ceremony and were stuck waiting around until the cocktail hour. Overall, it was a wonderful experience and they really are great at what they do. Just know that since they produce so many events, you will not get that personalized one-on-one feel that a smaller venue would likely be able to provide.

my husband in the venue of our dreams. It was everything I wanted - absolutely stunning location, perfect “destination” place, and I hardly had to decorate for it to feel perfect. Just what I wanted! The guests had nothing bad to say either and many have mentioned after the fact that it was definitely a top wedding they’ve been to. I do, however, want to make it very clear that the venue space did not come without stress though, and I’m sad to say I felt definitely in the minority here as I’ve seen nothing but excellent reviews about the Castle. We booked this space two years in advance, and while most of that time was spent at ease due to my wedding planner, that would not have been the case without her. Unfortunately, the castle advertises providing an event coordinator that is with you for the last two months of the wedding. When the two month mark hit, we honestly struggled getting into contact with ours. During this time, our event coordinator just.. ghosted us. We had requested a Google Meet chat so me, my planner, and her, could hash out details, which she had confirmed she’d be able to make, and then just never showed up. I sent a follow up email and didn’t hear for the entire week. We finally emailed the head of the castle to see if she was okay, which she then (finally) replied after that week and said she was back, but only then had she finally mentioned that our request to have a later rehearsal time was simply not possible. However, just as we were finishing our rehearsal, another group was coming in. We’d requested a later time and she said they didn’t do rehearsals that late. I am making an assumption but I feel that it was likely more the case of the coordinator not being on top of things. From there, I just felt like another number. The Castle is known for hosting multiple parties, but even our wedding day we just felt shuffled around. Our coordinator came in to rehearsal not quite knowing most of our details, calling my husband and our crew by the wrong names, etc. Just not how you want to feel as a bride! Lastly, we got an invoice a few weeks after the fact with our rentals. In the contract, it was stated that we’d be billed right before the wedding with those final rentals included, and my final bill i paid right before the wedding did list them! They just ended up not charging us that full amount and instead notified us later that we still hadn’t paid. Totally fine, as of course I knew what I rented and want to pay what I owe, was just confusing. I guess what I’m getting at, is that all in all it was a great venue, but be prepared to feel like just another number as they pump out multiple weddings every weekend. *****edited to add: the Castle followed up RIGHT away on this and took their time to get through the finer details of this review. I felt heard when I talked to Rebecca and it is very clear that they take feedback and are continually working on improving.

venue, we also hosted our rehearsal dinner on site. I would highly recommend doing the same if you are able! We received so many comments from our guests on our venue choice, and we're so glad we picked Castle Farms!

kind, organized, and helpful. There were no hiccups, even from planning from far away. The guests were super impressed. I HIGHLY recommend this venue. I wish I could get married here over and over again!

he day went so well, I've been reliving it over and over! I will say it's a fairly secluded location. Charlevoix was essentially a destination wedding for us since we don't live in Northern Michigan. This also makes other vendors a bit tricky to find, but Castle Farms provided us with a list of preferred vendors in the area so the whole planning process was made fairly easy! Highly recommend all around

really early.

hing together and made it so easy for us to go through our big day without any issues.

e could book our dream venue. The staff was always in touch and responsive when we had questions. We couldn't have asked for better service during the rehearsal and day of the wedding. Bryan and his assistant always made sure we had everything we needed. They were like fairy godparents! Nothing went unchecked, every detail was handled efficiently and professionally. As a bride, they made the day incredibly easy.

little upset with the fact that I could NOT find my assigned coordinator anywhere due to the fact she was in our ceremony space doing the thing that I asked to be done the day prior. I felt this could’ve been done either after our rehearsal the day before our wedding or the morning of, before my wedding party and vendors started arriving considering we couldn’t even get there until 2 hours after the coordinator arrived on site. I saw more of her assistant than I saw of her. I also hated how rushed everything felt because of 3 other weddings that were taking place. We had to share photo op spots and we weren’t told about any of this prior to booking with them. I actually found out this is the way things were done through another vendor. I do recommend them because at the end of the day my wedding was still beautiful and things ran smoothly for the most part.

t to deal with and were in constant communication with us during the planning process. It was a true fairytale wedding!

it was, and the gorgeous places to take pictures- even with snow! The coordinators were on top of it, I didn't even hear anything from our caterer because they were taken care of as soon as they got to the venue. They were flexible and professional, from the first email. Castle Farms was a few hours away from most of our family, but the venue and city impressed us and our guests staying overnight. Worth it!

ere rude to my daughter and some guests and kept interrupting my husband while he was trying to help with packing stuff up about the eine. They were pushy and rude, but Tyanna was awesome. I would definitely recommend Castle Farms to others.

rs were able to work through and make everything wonderful for our special day. We 100% recommend Castle Farms to future couples for their special day!

! Tyanna did a fabulous job as our coordinator, she remembered all details, kept in close communication with my maid of honor and mom all day, leaving us stress-free! Our guests were in awe of Castle grounds and their service and hospitality!

they helped to make my day perfect. I had the best experience with them from the first meeting, to the tour, to the wine tasting, the coordination, and the day of was exceptional. I highly recommend!!!!

beyond anything we could have expected of her role….She was so sweet! We forgot a picture for our memory table- she printed and laminated it for us during the reception. She also opened the giftshop after it was closed because my son wanted to purchase us a gift. Details that seemed so small, meant the world to us <3 She did not miss one single detail. If you want a stress-free wedding day- I would 100% book with Castle Farms!

re-scheduling, re-planning a wedding due to a pandemic is an extremely stressful and emotional situation, Castle Farms employees made it stress-free. From the beginning, every employee we met with/talked with/endlessly e-mailed back and forth with was extremely helpful, professional and you could tell truly cared and wanted what's best for their couples. Our day-of-coordinator was thorough, so great to work with and made everything smooth on the wedding day. I would highly suggest choosing Castle Farms as your venue!

above and beyond and I do not know what I would have done without her. She made everything run smoothly. Brittany was also very understanding and incredibly helpful with all the Covid changes that were thrown our way. The outdoor location could not be more perfect. Guests loved exploring the grounds. The pavilion and tent were decorated beautifully with lighting. It felt like a real fairytale.

d was difficult and stressful at times, but Castle Farms was very accommodating. Angela had some great suggestions when changing plans, she made sure our wedding day went smoothly, and helped us plan down to the small details. I would highly recommend Castle Farms to any couple, it is an absolutely beautiful venue in any season!

recommend planning your wedding at the Castle. Not only is it an amazingly gorgeous fairytale venue, but the staff was awesome and did their best to accommodate us throughout the journey with all of the changing regulations. Thank you Dale & Castle Farms for helping me have the most perfect wedding day!

ion. And quick in her responses. She made us both feel comfortable even through all the changes we couldn't control. She had great suggestions and recommendations that we implemented at our wedding. We loved our wedding! And had the most amazing time - as did our guests who have told us many times.

eption. We couldn't have asked for a better experience. Even with all of the insanity with COVID 19, Castle Farms worked with us to figure out solutions and to accommodate our ever-changing plans. We loved how careful the whole staff was to make sure that our wedding was safe and fun for everyone! To any couples who are considering Castle Farms for their wedding - DO IT! You will have the most experienced and helpful staff, and the most beautiful wedding. We were so happy with every step along the way.

ions along the way. They were kind, and very attentive to our guests and I would HIGHLY recommend this venue for your special day.

st were ecstatic. The venue had so many fun features to it that made our day memorable. Planning a wedding during COVID was quite stressful but Castle Farm made life easy.

dn't love about the veue is how rushed everything felt because they give you a fairly limited time line for everything since they have so many weddings going on. But if you want a beautiful venue where you have help pulling every detail together; they will make it happen and make you feel totally special!

Castle was offering to send couples one of each of their bottles (for a price of course, but it was very reasonable) and then set up Zoom call where Dale Henning, venue coordinator and 1918 Cellars Tasting Room manager, walked us through the tasting of each wine. The virtual appointment could not have gone better. Dale was very knowledgeable, and had answers for all of our questions, plus more guidance about things my fiancée and I had not even considered. He was very patient with us (my parents and grandmother joined us for the tasting, so naturally there was a lot of chatter!) and even offered to meet with us and do a cider tasting when we are finally able to visit the Castle in Person. The virtual event really ended up being so fun, and honestly was very convenient because we didn't even have to worry about traveling anywhere to get to the tasting or after having sipped 11 different wines! We really appreciate how friendly everyone at the Castle has been so far (especially Dale!), and how hard they are working to find creative solutions to keep in touch with their couples during these times. 15/10 would definitely recommend doing a virtual wine tasting if you're a future couple at the Castle, and also just highly recommend working with Castle Farms in general...our experiences so far have been nothing short of fantastic.

was free (it would’ve been completely free except we had already paid ~half). CF was generous enough to let us enter the giveaway even though we had already decided to have our wedding there, and it was honestly a huge blessing. As we all know, weddings are so expensive—the giveaway allowed us to have the wedding of our dreams, since the CF cost was a hefty part of our budget. The team at CF was so professional and experienced and made the entire wedding process a breeze. They were very familiar with our wedding planner so we had a good line of communication with them. We even forgot (somehow!) our box of wedding cards at the end of the night, and the team at CF kept track of them and stored the box in their locked office until we came by the next day to pick them up. It was such a small thing, but the gesture was very touching the next day & helped keep us carefree. The Knight’s Castle & Courtyard was an absolutely UNBELIEVABLE place to get married. I’ve always said I would get married in a castle, but that’s hard to actually do in Michigan! Castle Farms made my wedding dreams come true!! We ended up being the only ones with a wedding on our holiday weekend in July so CF was even willing to change the rules for us. I asked them to turn the trains back on for our reception and they agreed to! We had the freedom to wander around the whole grounds and I think our guests really enjoyed it! One of the only downsides of our time working with CF was the actually process of the giveaway. Thankfully they have changed their system this year—I believe—which was absolutely necessary. My husband and I were very dedicated to rallying our support systems to garner the votes to win the giveaway, but so were many other couples. This, plus the high stakes of the giveaway and the impact of social media, made for a very VERY stressful week of the giveaway. We agreed, along with all our friends who spent hours contacting people to vote for us, that a week-long giveaway was too long. It made the contest drag on and heightened the tensions among all the couples that were already present. While we are so thankful and honored to have won, it was a really really tough week of wedding planning. Even our reviews of our vendors have been delayed until recently because the giveaway was so stressful/dramatic that we needed some space from wedding planning. However, we recognize that a lot of this was outside of CF’s control and I believe they also learned from the situation. We are glad to see that the rules have changed this year and we can’t wait for another amazing military couple to win the wedding of their dreams at the beautiful Castle Farms. Thank you to Castle Farms for coordinating a wonderful opportunity for our military community each year! We were so thankful to have CF donate their time and service to us, and we’re so grateful to them.