Detroit Yacht Club

Our coordinator was Kasia and she truly went above and beyond in helping make our day perfect. Our reception was in the beautiful fountain room and the food was fantastic. We were able to stay in the Gar Wood suite, which is right next to the ballroom and it made getting ready so easy. We had 9 bridesmaids, my mom, two photographers, 2 makeup artists and 2 hair stylists and there was enough room for everyone. We cannot recommend the DYC enough!

t. I was dazzled by the venue space and fell in love. It ended up being the best backdrop for our wedding. We rented the Trophy room to get ready and regroup during the day. The guests were very impressed with the building, the history, the beautiful view of the water, skyline and sunset. The catering manager was professional, communicative and we received a great quality of service and value. And the Food! Everyone loved the food! Servers and bartenders also took good care of our guests.

hower, etc). My mom, sister, and I stayed in it the night before and it made me feel way less anxious on my wedding day. The only "con" is the flux in communication with Belle Isle. There is a fee to get on the island (since it's a state park) but since DYC is private land, there's some back and forth about if DYC guests need to pay that fee. Of note, we had ZERO issues on our wedding day and it is of no fault to the DYC. It just made visits during the planning phase slightly more complicated. Lastly, the staff were amazing. We worked mostly with Kasia, who was so incredible. She was very attentive, patient, and had a great sense of humor. We also got to work with Sara who was incredible on my wedding day. As an anxious bride, I was in awe of how supportive the whole team was. From the kitchen staff, to security, even the attendants at the gift shop, everyone was so helpful and kind. I definitely recommend having your wedding at the DYC!

ing smaller than expected. While we hoped to have a buffet style dinner (strolling dinner), they only offered plated meals. This was one of the only compromises we felt we had to make in our planning. People looking to book here shoudl be aware that there's no AC, so if you're having a summer wedding, it's going to be hot. The only other complaint our guests gave us was that the PA system didn't really reach the veranda/balcony outside the main reception hall, so you and your guests should be aware of that if announcements are made.

th. We had three coordinators over the course of our wedding planning process, so naturally we had concerns about miscommunication and details getting missed, but things went smooth for the most part. Our final planning meeting felt longer than it needed to be and we needed to repeat ourselves relatively often, but everything ended up coming together great. The coordinators and staff seemed to genuinely care that every detail was right. Everyone had a great time and was blown away by the DYC!

well as flexible in terms of making the wedding day exactly how I envisioned.

imak did a wonderful job and was always responsive to the very many details we asked and sometimes stressed about! The food was also very, very good! Thank you for a beautiful setting and staff. We appreciate you.

wedding planning process. She was professional, promptly responded, and helped us create the wedding of our dreams. The weather was sunny and 77 degrees and the grand ballroom remained a comfortable temperature with the windows open to the veranda. All the guests complimented us on the food (particularly the braised beed) and generous pours by the bartenders. Guests loved the historical ambiance and being right on the water. We enjoyed a spectacular sunset on the veranda that really added a special element to our day. Excellent service from the staff and our vendors had an easy time working with the venue. I would highly recommend booking the Garwood Suite to stay at for your wedding night. It was so nice having a private area during our reception and it served as the perfect place to get ready with the bridal party. I cannot recommend the DYC enough for your special day!

ur wedding there were executed flawlessly by staff, down to the smallest details. The food was AMAZING. Pricing is very fair and they do not nickel and dime you, which was our biggest complaint during venue shopping. The space is so grand and beautiful and timeless. Samantha, Sarah and Chef Nicolai went outside the box to accommodate our special requests and make sure we were happy. If Samantha was annoyed with how type A we were during the planning process, she never showed it. We will cherish our memories there forever. Thank you so much DYC!

ric part of Detroit, they are a joy to work with and the service & food are second to none. I mostly worked with the coordinator, Sam. She was extremely responsive and always kind and helpful. I had a lot of questions throughout the process and she took the time to explain everything to me thoroughly and completely. She was also very flexible - I wanted the champagne pour before the ceremony instead of during speeches, she said that was fine. I wanted certain sides instead of what the meal normally comes with, that was also fine. Last minute changes to table layouts? No worries. We also had multiple guests with food allergies and they made sure to note that in detail to make sure everyone was safe and comfortable. The ballroom itself is gorgeous and doesn't need much in terms of decoration. The food was fantastic - I don't even want to cal it "wedding food," it's definitely restaurant quality and the portions are huge. The bar was great - strong pours but made sure everyone was enjoying responsibly. I got a lot of complements from guests on how pretty the ballroom is and how great the food was. I'm so glad we chose the DYC as our wedding venue. There isn't a bridal suite, but they let us put our things on the third floor in a private area (had to get ready elsewhere, which is fine). I was worried about ubers/lyfts at the end of the night, but our guests didn't have to wait long at the end of the night. Two things to note (not necessarily bad things) - There's two ballrooms on the second floor. The guests of your wedding will be sharing a bathroom with the guests of other events (if there's two at the same time). - Their standard chairs are pretty outdated. We hired a vendor for Chiavari chairs

TIC. My clients texted me the morning after and said their word for the event was "perfection". It was my first time planning at this venue and every interaction with the Sales team (Ruth Ann and Sam) were great. They were organized and communicative throughout the planning process and answered my random questions that popped up day of. The day of the wedding the Banquet Manager Sara was phenomenal. We had issues with some vendors arriving on time (booked separately and not through the venue) and Sara was great at problem solving and directing the staff. All the servers were friendly and attentive from set up to tear down. The guests throughout the evening said so many compliments (such as how quickly they served and cleared dishes and how nice they were). At the end of the evening one of the the bartenders named Megan overheard me say that someone in the bridal party accidently took my purse/wallet/keys when they cleaned their room. It was after midnight and my phone was almost dead and I was frantically calling any contacts I had from the wedding along with the hotel the guests were staying at. Megan helped call the hotel, looked for a charger for my phone, and even offered to drive me to the hotel to retrieve my things in the event we tracked them down. I had no way to get anywhere or pay anyone and it was very late in an unfamiliar city (I am from Ohio). She assisted in getting a pass for me to get back on the island after hours, spoke to the DYC security and informed them of my dilemma, and then even drove me in her car to try and track down my items! Then Megan drove me back to the venue and got us back on the island with the pass she secured for me and finished tearing down the event. She made sure I knew I had support and wasn't stranded with no assistance. It was after 1am when we got back to the venue to finish tearing down and she made sure I was all set before she left for the night. She stayed and helped me for hours after her shift ended to make sure I was safe and told me she would help me figure out. Megan went above and beyond. In all my years of events, I have never been so thankful for a venue and their team. You will not be disappointed in booking here because your needs will be taken care of. From the planning to the execution, and even the hiccups that occur along the way, this team will be sure to step up and execute a fantastic event for you. Thanks DYC staff and a special extra thanks to Megan! I hope to work with you again in the future!

are beautiful. Fountain room has AC which was ideal for a summer wedding. River view is great for photo and video. I would recommend.

d attentive as well. The food was delicious. I was so impressed filets and chicken were cooked perfectly for our group of 100 people. The Fountain Room is a beautiful space and was set perfect for our day. Sara even had staff help adjust tables after seeing the room to make sure people did not feel crowded. We were checked on through the event to make sure things were going well. Fantastic experience for our wedding.

e DYC was not maintained, and a couple other challenges arose. Lack or service & staff incompetence: It was very hot that day and our families were taking wedding photographs near the water. Declined bottled water, members only. The staff said a pitcher was ok but that they wouldn’t bring the water pitchers to us. NO ONE TOLD US THE BRIDGE WOULD CLOSED AT MIDNIGHT. We ended up having several guests get stranded at the DYC with us and had to make emergency plans, including additional costs, to get everyone out in a safe manner. The bridge closure is not listed on the Belle Isle website, nor any other documentation we were provided. Our banquet director was kind and pleasant, but she also had never gone to the east end of the island where the ceremony was taking place and wasn’t able to provide much help while the ceremony set-up was happening. Thus, she was not effective as our day-of contact. Contract/ Agreement Violations: Security tried to kick us out early. Yes, the bar package was set to go only until 11pm, but they knew per our timeline that the band would play until 11:30 and breakdown would begin at midnight. Instead, we were rudely told we needed to end early and get out so that staff could go home. According to their wedding guide: “Your Wedding Package Includes ❖ Cake Cutting and Serving of Wedding Cake.” Later, we were told we would receive no support or service for the cake. So my wedding party had to set that up as well. Then the day of, we were told the cakes could be restocked if we put them on trays ourselves - something that would have been very useful to know before. The staff ate some of our guests cakes during the party meaning some of our guests were not able to have the dessert we purchased for them. Coffee and tea was listed as to be served with dessert, but many of our guests were not served or offered any coffee or tea. The Wedding package included valet. But apparently that was only for parking the car! The valet left early and guests needed to retrieve their keys and find their vehicles at the end of the night by themselves. Candles - we were told the DYC would help us light 5 candles per table and would light our decorative candles. Later we were told that union rules had changed and the agreement they made with their wedding clients no longer stood. Lack of maintenance/ care for Gar Wood Suite & Grounds. The east end of the island (where we held our ceremony) was not maintained between when we first saw and signed our contract and when we got married. There was geese poop and feathers everywhere. In the BEO it specifies maintenance would clean up the ceremony area - but they did not fully. When DYC did send out “lawn care” the morning of for final cleaning, it consisted of two men with leaf blowers. Leaf blowers do not do well for sticks and goose poop. That has to be raked. As such, members of our wedding party had to spend HOURS cleaning up the location. The DYC was also supposed to move a series of wooden pallets out of the space and only shifted them 2 meters back - so our groomsmen had to carry them out of the ceremony space. We paid $800 to rent this outdoor space for our ceremony under the pretense it would be maintained like the starlight circle area - it was clearly not.

ons come to life! The serving staff was also very professional and did a great job during the event as well. The venue is incredibly unique and gorgeous, the veranda makes the whole evening even more unforgettable, and the setting on the river is just beautiful. 10/10 would recommend having your wedding here!

edding was perfect!!! The drinks & food were delicious and the venue is beautiful! Sam is your girl if you are looking for a venue for your wedding in Detroit!!

helpful and quick to address questions and concerns. They were flexible and worked with us for any concerns that came up

ally didn't feel the need to add extra decorations. We did bring in our own chairs though because the DYC only offers green banquet chairs. Although it was hot because the ballroom is not air conditioned, it did not take away from the evening because we were able to open the windows and go out on the balcony . Guests really enjoyed the indoor/outdoor event space! The food was great and portions were large. The tasting was also a lot of fun and gave a great opportunity to not only taste the options, but also see how they would be plated! You and your spouse can invite up to four guests as well! During the night, we had access to the dock and were able to get some beautiful photos on the water! We love Detroit and Belle Isle, so hosting our event at the DYC was the perfect choice!

itney Gilbert was a pleasure to work with...she is thorough and does an excellent job! On the day of the wedding, the entire staff was constantly asking if I needed anything and was right there to assist in any way possible. I would highly recommend this venue to any bride and groom!

Great experience, would get married there again in a heart beat!

a made sure my day ran smoothly. I can’t thank them enough for the superb job they did. The venue alone is beautiful and our food was delicious. Our guests complimented that the food was cooked perfectly. They even made special considerations for dietary issues, gluten free, nut allergies, and people on blood thinners. Our guests were so appreciative of this and felt very safe eating there. The venue it’s self was beautiful. Our guests enjoyed walking on the docks, taking in the view of the city. The venue was accommodating with us using a lot of our own decorations and let us store our decorations in a unused room after the event, for us to collect the next day. I highly recommended the DYC for a dream wedding venue.

able. Thank you to her and her staff for tremendous service and their special attention to details. Also want to compliment the chef and the food. Everyone talked about how great it was. Beautiful venue that I highly recommend

ice during the reception was great, and the staff was quick to turn over the ceremony set to for the reception. They also worked with us to get local beers available for our guests. The reason I didn't give the DYC a 5 was the turnover of staff the year leading up to our wedding. We had three different contact people and each time a new person was hired, we had to go over all the details discussed again. Thankfully, the last person we worked with was Collette and she was excellent to work with and ensured not a detail was missed day of. She was quick to respond to all my emails and did all she could to meet our requests. Overall, a lovely place!

s before our wedding we were assigned 5 different banquet coordinators (7 total). Each time someone quit they never bothered to call us or let us know and never passed our information along. They didn't have our seating plan, meal selections (nothing) they assigned someone to our wedding the week of our wedding who just started and then that person walked out in the middle of an event and then we were assigned the assistant manager who we drove to meet with the Saturday before our wedding. She assured us she would take great care of us after meeting with her only to find out after numerous unreturned phone calls the Tuesday before our wedding that she also quit. Needless to say the director of catering never bothered to call and let us know or even send an email. We found out from the operator who answers calls because we couldn't get the director of catering to call us. Fast forward to the Thursday before our wedding when my fiancé drive there to meet with them to once again give them the instructions for our wedding and the floor plan that they lost. The Friday we were setting up the venue for our wedding on Saturday, the staff brought a family in who was getting married there in September. So instead of helping my father carry boxes up and down the stairs they chose to spend their time with the couple getting married in September who was touching ALL of our stuff when we were setting up. After an hour I had to ask the staff to ask them to leave because they were moving everything we had set up. I had to hire a day of coordinator last minute because I had no faith in the DYC to help us with it wedding. On the day of the wedding, the food looked and tasted nothing like it did at our tasting, they had the wrong beers on tap and we were short seats for our guests. I have to mention the DYC did upgrade our bar at no cost and knocked some money off the final balance to make up for it but to me I would rather have just had help and attention in the weeks leading up to our wedding. You only get married once, do not trust your big day with this venue- they do not care. Our wedding was beautiful because my husband and I did everything we could to make it that way but for the 20,000+ we spent I would have rather gone somewhere else. Two things also to note- the venue does not have air so our guests were melting inside of the 90 degree venue and the whole month of June the island is basically under construction for the Grand Prix. These were two things that we knew about prior to signing. My advice to the club owner is to take a look at why you have so much turn over and revisit who you are putting in management positions. Also, have a contingency plan in place- if a worker quits- DOCUMENT the information for the weddings they are responsible for. It's so unfair to couples to have this stress on them because of your turnover.

ight she was there to help along the way! She even was our coordinator for the ceremony!! They don't have any hidden fees and they tell you prices straight up! They have 2 suites at the club which were perfect for the bridal party to get ready in.

eing her every time we visited the venue - not only was she was incredibly sweet, but she also somehow took my scattered ideas and helped me turn them into realistic plans in our space. She even helped me surprise my husband with an ice cream bar at our wedding, and I'm not sure which of us was more excited about the idea. As for the actual venue, we got so many compliments on the beautiful space (we used the grand ballroom), the views, and the food. We loved having cocktail hour outside (but with an easy alternative available in case of rain) and also loved taking pictures on the dock. It was absolutely worth the drive onto Belle Isle. I would recommend the DYC to any couple!

tage of the gorgeous Christmas decorations that adorned the ballroom and adjacent rooms like the cocktail room and the veranda. It complemented my daughter's theme of "A Dickens Christmas." In addition, the food was delicious and the wait staff was superb. I received so many compliments My friends and family kept calling and texting me saying that they have never attended a wedding as beautiful as the one we hosted for my daughter and her husband. If there were a hundred-star rating the DYC would get the entire 100.

read out both during cocktail hour and after dinner. The food was delicious, and definitely impressed our guests. Everything went smoothly and the Detroit Yacht Club was very responsive to the constant questions I had during the planning process. You can't go wrong with the Detroit Yacht Club as a wedding venue.

l. We worked with Emily and she was AMAZING! She was so patient, helpful, and willing to do anything to make our day perfect! She worked with us from the time we booked to the time we left the venue on the night of our wedding. The food is great too (many guests told us it was the best wedding food they have had!). We are so glad that we chose the Detroit Yacht Club for our special day! Our guests had an amazing time and all of our photos taken here were breathtaking!

redibly friendly, fun and easy going. We worked with Nikki, she was like a friend who happened to be helping you plan your day. Communication was easy and clear and they were very supportive of any changes we needed to make or questions we had. The food is AMAZING! We had a really fun time at our tasting and everything, including wine, was very good. Two weeks before our wedding we found out Nikki had taken a new job and would not be at our wedding, you can imagine this was a shock to us. Her right hand, Emily, took over and not a detail was missed. Emily slipped right in, she had all our information and was just as friendly and helpful. The day of, we walked into our reception and before I could even blink, Emily and her staff were at the door with champagne and snacks for the wedding party as we got ready for our grand entrance. The rest of the night, I barely saw them - they were really behind the scenes and let the guests enjoy the night. The wait staff is incredibly polite and professional. The operation at the DYC is flawless, the venue is beautiful and the people who work there really care about you.

was incredible. I worked with Nikki leading up to the event and she is fantastic. My emails and phone calls were responded to in hours. Obviously what every bride wants! I am actually going to miss talking to Nikki so much! Everything was super organized, I thought the prices were very reasonable, and the days leading up to our wedding were seamless. The night itself went flawless. I did not have a wedding planner or a day of coordinator so I was the most worried about timing and execution of everything, and the reception was perfect. I never had to worry about a thing. Everyday my guests are still commenting about what a gorgeous venue we had and how much they loved the ballroom and the veranda for cocktail hour! I would recommend the DYC to anyone. :) Especially if you want an amazing authentic Detroit venue!

e veranda was great. The ballroom was amazing as the sun went down and the view overlooking the Detroit River was great. The food was fantastic and the service was great. We had a fairytale wedding. Everything I could've imagined.

thrilled with anything that was in our budget. Having been to the DYC for another (non wedding) event, we thought to look there and we are so glad we did. The DYC is the most beautiful place in Detroit. And now that Belle Isle is state-owned, the whole island looks even brighter. The catering staff was amazing, the food was absolutely delicious, and the event coordinators worked flawlessly with our other vendors for a truly magical night. We were absolutely in awe of how beautifully things turned out and we are still hearing from guests that it was "the best wedding they've been to in years" and that they were "just blown away by how gorgeous the DYC is." The one thing to note is that I would recommend budgeting to rent linens and chairs. Unfortunately, the ones they provide for free are more appropriate for meetings than weddings, but that is the only complaint. However, they worked with our chair/linen vendors very well and everything was perfect. If you're looking for a unique venue rich in history and splendor, this is the place for you.

, especially for the amount of money it is to have your wedding there. During the 8 months we planned our wedding, we saw a high turn over of staff there. It was sad to see some of them go because they were good to work with. In the end, we ended up working with the catering manager Crystal. She was helpful in some areas, but was hard to get ahold of and there were some major mistakes made the day of the wedding. I tried to discuss them with Crystal via email since the wedding, but have received no response. The venue and wedding were still wonderful, I was just disappointed with Crystal's service at times.

located. We were very pleased.