Hubbard Park Lodge

ow amazing the bartenders, servers, and our day-of coordinator (Dan) were. At multiple points during the night they were even dancing at the bar in the background having a genuinely good time. They were a blast! Dan and other staff checked in with us constantly to make sure things were going smoothly. They did so many little special things unique to Hubbard Park, but I won't spoil the details for anyone who chooses to come here. The only thing I would consider with this venue is their capacity. We had around 125-130 people and it felt perfect. We probably could have gone up to 150, but if you are planning closer to 175 just know it is going to be crowded. They do have fantastic outdoor space with the beer garden, so I would recommend planning for good weather months if you really want to go with their maximum capacity. Lastly, some of the communication with the event coordinator Jordon could take a little long, but he is a really nice guy and was great to work with. He was also really flexible on multiple occasions with us. I remember we saw some negative reviews on that when first looked at HPL for a venue. Also, the prices for this venue are incredible, you get so much more for your money than anywhere else in Milwaukee. Thank you HPL!

s August. The venue is so beautiful, and one I'd be wanting to share with my guests for a long time - it's a hidden gem, so pretty by the river and the lodge is charming. We lucked out with beautiful weather for a reception by the river. We opted for the drink package that included the cheese display and meatballs and it was a hit! We also upgraded our steak to filets and they were incredible - definitely worth it! We also did salmon with a lemon butter sauce. We had tasted the food during a tasting almost 2 years ago and were really disappointed so picked all new items for our day that we never even tasted. I'm so glad we did and I think they must have gotten a new chef or something because the food was SO GOOD. Huge steaks and pieces of salmon, too. Guests were raving. Dan and Christy were so helpful the entire day, as well as Jordan who was very patient throughout the process the past 2 years when there were many times when I was frustrated with the situation. Overall, everything went off without a hitch.

nestled along the Milwaukee river with an outdoor deck and grassy spots perfect for an outdoor ceremony. There’s also a beer garden, which was a nice addition for that time in between the ceremony and the reception. Communication leading up to the day needs some improvement. It was clear that this was falling solely on one individual and it was just too much for him (which was understandable, but frustrating when information needed to plan the day was difficult to get). I hope this review can be used to get some additional staff/help. Our day of coordinator, Dan, was fantastic and definitely helped everything go smoothly even when there were a few seating chart issues that popped up. The ceremony was set up in a beautiful spot where the trees frame the Milwaukee River which created some stunning portraits. The food, drinks, and banquet staff were all incredible. We received endless compliments on how good the food was and how strong the drinks were… which is exactly what everyone wants to hear from guests. A huge thank you to Dan and the banquet staff for their work - we so appreciate it!

very step of the way. On the day of the wedding it unexpectedly rained and the manager Dan watched the radar with us, wiped off chairs, and helped move our ceremony along smoothly. I was so impressed with the staff during the reception. The food is so delicious. We got rave reviews of the salmon from people who don't normally eat seafood. I would book this venue again in a heartbeat. They made our day so special.

questionaires, floor charts, timelines, correlation with our vendors and the multitude of meetings, calls & questions we had along the way. The banquet managers and staff the day of were amazing and made all our guests feel welcome and cared for. We highly recommend Hubbard Park Lodge and are so happy we chose them to host our special day!

r our wedding was absolutely wonderful- Dan and Christy were so attentive and helpful. My father had ended up testing positive for COVID so he was only going to be able to see the ceremony if it was outdoors. Despite crazy rain forecasts, Dan worked with us and they set up a tent and went and purchased many umbrellas in case it did rain during the ceremony. They truly went above and beyond and we are forever grateful. We recommend Hubbard wholeheartedly!

ghly recommended.

d 3rd shift our scheduling was crazy at times. When I asked if we could schedule a private tasting, I was told "The menu tastings are a gift we offer. If they cannot be made, then they cannot be made. I’m sorry." Sometimes he was nice, sometimes he was off putting. I get it, but I think he was a little rude in some of his other responses as well (I was more than happy to change our schedule around to make the tasting, I was just asking if we could do a private one). I also only met him once, so that says a lot. Being a wedding photographer I know how incredibly nice the managers and wedding coordinators can be, I just wasn't impressed with theirs. I absolutely LOVED Noah and the wait staff!!! I didn't get the name of the server for the head table, but he was extremely nice and did a wonderful job! Noah was extremely nice to our baker, and the food was incredibly delicious. It would have been nice to have a staff member there during the ceremony, but I may not have seen anyone because I was hiding away. Overall my experience was decent, I probably would book them again.

Lodge. Hubbard Park is absolutely beautiful and made for amazing photos. We had a lot of guests from out of town, and I loved bringing them to Hubbard Park, because it is such a unique gem in the Milwaukee area. I loved having our reception in Hubbard Park Lodge. It is cozy, rustic, and historic. It is such a great community asset and I love that we will be able to come back and visit Hubbard Park Lodge for the rest of our lives - it will never go out of style. As far as the wedding planning staff goes, we loved working with Jordan and Catherine. For initial planning, we communicated with Jordan. He was very quick to respond to emails and did everything he could to answer my questions promptly. We met with him several times, and he was always so accommodating. On the day of the wedding, Catherine was there to coordinate and make sure that the ceremony and reception went according to plan. The ceremony chairs were set up on time by Hubbard Park Lodge staff, and Catherine made sure that everything went smoothly for the reception. She was also very accommodating for the setup of the reception and made sure that we had everything we needed. Overall, Jordan and Catherine were amazing and I have absolutely no complaints! The food at Hubbard Park Lodge is delicious! We had a tasting about 6 months before the wedding and could choose from a variety of options. I am confident that there is no other venue in the Milwaukee area that has this good of food for such a reasonable price. We had a buffet dinner and had so many compliments on the food. Hubbard Park is a public park with a public beer garden, so there was nothing we could do about random people viewing our ceremony, but we had absolutely no problem with that. It is a very family-friendly park, so no one bothered us and everyone was very respectful that there was a wedding going on. Our ceremony was from 5:00-5:30pm and the reception did not start until 6pm, so our guests loved that there was a beer garden to hang out at before the reception. Additionally, the Shorewood River Club is located right in Hubbard Park, and is the back-up location for outdoor weddings that get rained out. Shorewood River Club is newly remodelled and has a rustic feel. One of the big reasons that we chose Hubbard Park for our wedding is that it essentially has a built-in backup location in the case of rain. This took all of the stress out of our outdoor wedding. Although we are glad it didn’t rain, we honestly would not have been upset if we had to move the ceremony to the Shorewood River Club, and it would not have been an inconvenience for our guests. Overall, I recommend getting married at Hubbard Park to anyone looking for a beautiful, unique, intimate, rustic wedding with great service and delicious food - we are so happy we chose to get married there!

a fortune, but still expect your day to be nothing but perfect. The ceremony was beautiful. keep that in mind. The biggest thing I noticed was that the grass was not cut. I’m not sure if this was the responsibility of the Hubbard Park staff, or the parks system. It wasn’t terrible, but a detail that I noticed was missed. The chairs that they use for the ceremony aren’t the greatest. We had a guest count of about 180 and half were cheap white lawn chairs, the other half were nicer white wooden chairs. Again, not a big deal but I think it wouldn’t hurt to invest in nicer seating for guests. The bridal suite is not kept up either, and is very small. Our reception exceeded my expectations. The food was absolutely amazing and our guests could not stop talking about it. The food and beverage packages are reasonable and give you good variety of options. The white tent is well-kept, with nice flooring. The bathrooms were very nice too, and clean. Everyone loved being by the river at night. We could have not asked for a better reception venue that was unique and affordable. However, towards the end of the night, there were people from Twisted Fisherman that came over into the tent, and they were asked to leave. But just something to think about. The staff were great for the most part. Jordan was our go-to but was extremely hard to work with at times. If you want staff to go above and beyond for you on your wedding day, I wouldn’t recommend working with him. He was very argumentative at times and made it uncomfortable to ask him questions when we were planning. However, on the day of the wedding he did surprise me. He was attentive and made sure everything was perfect and the way we requested it to be, and it was. I wouldn’t have changed our ceremony or reception site for anything. It truly was a beautiful day and everything went as planned. I would only give 4 stars based on small details and the way we were treated by the staff member.

antic. We were absolutely thrilled with the service, the staff, and the overall feel of the venue. It is quoted as seating 200 but only 175 will fit inside, so that is something to consider when picking your venue. I recommend this to anyone looking for a romantic all-in-one venue that feels separate from the city, but has all the convenience of Shorewood. Plus it was affordable!!! Perfect.

the day arrived we got rained out. However, they provide a free backup venue for rain, so the wedding was held in the Riverclub, the smaller building right in front of the lodge. It was nice to know that even if our ideal outdoor wedding could not happen, we had a plan B. Because there was no early wedding that day, HPL allowed us to get in early and set up. They were more than happy to accommodate whenever possible. The staff was friendly and on the big day everything went just as planned. Sure, there was a miscommunication or oversight here and there, but Jordan Mota was responsive and quick to remedy any issue we had. We were so lucky to have wonderful vendors, a fantastic day of coordinator, and an energetic band who transformed the lodge into a magical vintage circus themed escape. Thank you HPL for you role in our wedding!

elp us out, then she left. A lady named Sophia took over but then I started to notice other people were responding to my emails. it was incredibly disorganized and when we started to notice nothing was communicated very well, we met in person. I noticed Sophia did not write anything down which made me very uneasy about trusting the things we mentioned would be taken care of. Sure enough, the day of the wedding, I was right. We were missing a beer we specifically requested for my husband, there were no setting upstairs when we were given a seating chart of 84 but had 100 people. based on the numbers, it's clear we need to utilize the upstairs and with every issue we had, I always emailed things over again to have written proof. that day we also requested a high chair for our 5 month old daughter & it was nowhere to be found. We also ending up switching from the fireplace to candelabra, which has a $50 difference & we are still waiting for our money back. Noah was fantastic. Always checking on not just us as a couple, but everyone else and so polite. Jordan seemed to be very helpful and making sure everyone was doing well. Sophia would rarely be found and when she was, I expressed about the beer situation. She claims she didn't recall us requesting a beer and kept making up excuses. Whereas when Jordan approached me about their not being settings upstairs, he solved it himself and told me that he will go up there quickly and do it. the communication issues we dealt with were horrible. it was a lot of extra stress for no reason. I would recommend it maybe when they have been their a bit longer and if there's only 1 designated person helping plan the wedding. I was disappointed with the outcome. On the plus side, no one else knew there were things going wrong.

ood was amazing - several of our guests said it was the best wedding food they've ever had. The HPL is also itself a beautiful historical building tucked away not too far from downtown Milwaukee. We loved how intimate the lodge felt while still comfortable accommodating near 150 guests. Definitely would recommend!

ble, the venue itself is beautiful, and the price is too good to pass up. The wait staff was super, super hospitable at there reception. The problem I had was with the "wedding planner". I think the reason behind all of my problems with the planner was just she has too much on her plate at Hubbard Park Lodge. She does ALL of their events so she can't take the time to really communicate with you on a personal level. Every time we met with her she seemed frazzled and didn't really lead the charge. We always initiated the meetings and what to talk about. Then the day of, I didn't even see her for the ceremony so we did it all ourselves and then the only time I saw her at the reception was when I asked for her. The problem with the venue itself is a couple items. The ceremony is all outdoors and Hubbard Park does not provide a back up/rain plan at all. It's up to you. So that was a little nerve racking. They also try and fit in like 4 ceremonies during the day so you have a very small window to get the ceremony set up and decorated. You get a 2.5 hour slot and you have to set up have the ceremony and break down all in that time frame. We also requested to have a bridal room to get ready in. Well you can only have it a half hour before your ceremony slot, so you still need an alternate place to actually get ready and it pretty much just serves as a waiting room/dressing room. But it is all open windows, so your husband to be could walk by and easily see you. So I pretty much sat in this small little room in the back until the ceremony started. Another sucky/sort of uncontrollable problem is the parking. The lot only holds about 50 cars and when you have a 175 people coming, it gets a little crowded especially with other ceremonies happening. For the reception you also have a small window to set up everything. Our reception started at 6 and we could not set up till 4. This seems tight but do-able. Then the people got there to set up at 4 and the other reception was still going! So they had to wait for them to clean everything up and then they mopped the floor, so they had to wait even longer to set up. I think it truly is just a management issue and they don't have enough staff members for events. But all in all I would recommend this venue. It's affordable and beautiful. My guests all had an amazing time. It's obviously all stuff only me and people behind the scenes knew about. Nothing actually effected to outcome of the day. It was all amazing. Just some logistical things that I wish were different.

whenever we had questions. We initially met with them on site before we booked but after most of our communication was through email. We could usually expect a response the same day. Noah made incredible food! We had a plated dinner but after the taste testing it was hard to choose only a couple options. Our guests loved the rustic feel of the cabin and the layout with the balcony. We had 155 people but still had room to dance just by moving a few more tables. The staff was all amazing and were really friendly to our guests. If you are looking for a unique and rustic venue this is it!!

tly, the timeline was delayed as scheduled, but they knew when to bring out salad, main entree, and dessert. It was a bit hassle to move tables to make a dance floor, but overall went well. They were helpful and nice to guests and guests have enjoyed their time and food at the reception! Thanks Hubbard Park Lodge! It was a good experience having them! :)

event at their beer garden (in the same area) the same day as our wedding, so pretty much all of our guests had to park on the street, which meant a lot of walking. If I were them, I would've planned it out better especially since this is one of their busiest times of the year when it come to hosting wedding receptions.

he location and atmosphere is absolutely amazing for the price. Much of the wedding planning that occurred prior to the event was initiated by me or my husband (aka we weren't super impressed by their organization or responsiveness to our inquiries). However, during our meetings in-person and on our wedding day the staff was put-together, professional, kind and very helpful. The food was fantastic and the chef took time to stop at our table to check in with us at our reception to ensure everything tasted good. With hindsight I would still absolutely recommend Hubbard Park Lodge. I would just say that it is probably easiest to answer any questions during in-person meetings instead of over email.

nce. The food was delicious and all of the guests left full and happy. I would recommend having them open the windows though. It was 50 degrees on our wedding day (April 12) and it was pretty warm in there.

the river. The lodge is cozy and comfortable, with rustic charm but still elegant. The food was fantastic - everyone raved about it and there were great choices. I thought that the venue provided excellent value - very high quality location and food for the price. The not great: Communication. The managers were very responsive and attentive, until about 6 weeks before our event. Once we were getting down to the details, seating chart, and timeline, they became much more difficult to work with, taking several days to respond to emails or phone calls. When we booked the site for our ceremony and reception, we were told there may be one other ceremony at the park that day, and that they gave choices of an 11:00 ceremony or a 5:00 ceremony. With that information, we planned on taking our photos in the park before our 5:00 ceremony. Two weeks before our wedding, when going over the timeline with the coordinator, I was told we would not be able to do this because there was another ceremony at 3:00. There were a couple of other miscommunications and misunderstandings on the day of, but nothing too major or tragic. Overall, I would recommend Hubbard Park Lodge, but I would be prepared to overcommunicate and clarify details as early as possible.

nce! Everyone complimented the beauty of the setting. My only complaint is the lack of communication with the coordinator there. Sometimes it took days or even weeks to get a hold of anyone on the phone. Also, on the day of the wedding, some things were not arranged as promised. For example, in my contract and final papers, Hubbard confirmed my request for an extension cord and a small table for the front of the ceremony. The extension cord NEVER CAME (luckily a friend had one in her car) and as for the table, we were about to borrow one from the lodge ourselves when finally (10 minutes prior to start of ceremony), Hubbard hauled one out for us. Basically I'm lucky because I had friends and family handling all of this for me and I didn't find out about it until after the wedding. Saved me a lot of stress.

and did not have time or interest in making your wedding as perfect as possible.

for an outdoor wedding venue.

..we jumped. We enjoyed our first dinner on the patio in the ambience Hubbard Park gave us. After signing a contract, we took out-of-town guests there to treat them for either Friday fish or Sunday brunch so they too could enjoy this treasure and become comfortable with the unique lay out of Hubbard Park. On our wedding day...the temps were in the 40's (last year 80's) so we decided to move our ceremony indoors. I must say, the Shorewood River Club (first building to the right out of the white tunnel) was a beautiful alternative. Although, we envisioned a ceremony amidst Autumn in its full splendor...our guests came first...it was a decision we did not regret. Thank you Hubbard Park staff for accommodating this for us. After the ceremony, our guests were treated to one of the most romantic settings ever...the Hubbard Park Lodge (built during the Great Depression and one of two left standing in the country) which was set deeper into the woods. They were met by professional and attentive staff to serve them cocktails and appetizers in a romantic/rustic ambience while we had pictures taken down by the river, etc. After pictures, my husband and I entered with our wedding party and dinner was promptly served with wood burning in the fireplace and candles on the tables. Dinner was delicious and attractively arranged on our plates...five stars to the cook!!! Later in the evening...our guests were given yet another opportunity to indulge with evening snacks...trust me...no one should go home hungry. Finally, many compliments/thanks to Alexia for her efforts and attention to detail. Our guests very much enjoyed attending our wedding/reception in Hubbard Park...some fathers even hoping their children to plan there as well. Sincerely tried and true and happily married, too!

we could enjoy the weather and the changing tree colors. The ceremony was beautiful to have right on the Milwaukee River in a very secluded tiny park. For the reception, the lodge is awesome for an intimate gathering with a lot of character and a cozy atmosphere. The food and service was amazing and the staff took care of everything! The only downside was that there was very limited time for decorating so make sure to have lots of helpers! The price is reasonable... we were on a tight budget for our wedding so we ended up having our wedding on a Friday and that saved us a lot of money. I highly recommend the lodge if you want a park/outdoor setting for your event without having to drive far from the city. I also would not recommend having more than 125 guests because it is a fairly small building.

have to take down tables for a dance floor but I didn't mind. I would HIGHLY recommend them for a rustic small wedding reception. They will also accommodate your outdoor ceremony in the park right on the Milwaukee river. I, however, did not choose this option.

could have our ceremony and reception at the same place - less driving and down time for the guests. We had a lovely outdoor ceremony overlooking the Milwaukee river, and a lovely reception on the lodge. We had 150 guests (probably about the maximum this venue can hold comfortably). The food was very good (you must contract with the lodge for the catering). Everyone liked it, and one or two raved. Ambiance is the chief reason to choose this place -- the lodge includes a balcony around the periphery of the room where guests can look down on the festivities. There is also a large fireplace and mantle, and the views from the patio are of the Milwaukee River. One downside: if you have elderly guests, the walk from the parking lot is a little longer than average. The plus side of this: it is a hidden gem that you can't see from the street, which adds to its rustic appeal.

very accommodating. Our only issue would be vendor access to the lodge...there is no 'drive up' area with direct access to the lodge so anyone bringing stuff in (ie. the florist, cake vendor, etc.) has to cart their stuff in along a walking path. It was do-able, but my florist wasn't too excited about it. Other than that, we had a great experience with this vendor and would definitely recommend them to our friends!

t we wanted didn't matter

nt, and not a thing went wrong! Loved it!

elling my dad, at the age of 8, that I was going to get married there one day. So 18 years later I married the love of my life there. It was just as beautiful as ever on our wedding day and our pictures are amazing. But there were a few things throughout our planning that were not so great. The "coordinator" was a pain. She was impossible to get ahold of and shared an e-mail with another coordinator who we never met. It was awkward sending e-mails because I never knew who was going to respond. We ended up going with a package that included free wine and beer all night, but it was a huge problem for the lodge to allow my guests to have 2 bottles of wine on each table for dinner. They said it was because they would have no control over how much my guests drank. We are all adults and we all know our limits (well, most of us anyway...) AND since it was free wine all night, we technically had purchased those bottles anyway. Our coordinator didn't see anything wrong with making people get up from dinner and, in some cases, walk down a narrow staircase during dinner to get another glass of wine. TACKY! After weeks of my father and my own wedding planner getting after her about it she finally gave in. But it was way more of a fight than it should have been. 2 weeks before our wedding we got an e-mail from our HPL coordinator telling us that the prices have gone up per plate. Not what you want to hear 2 weeks before the event, but it was a minor bump. Just kind of annoying, since we signed a contract well over a year prior to our event and it didn't say anything on the contract about prices subject to change. The food at the tasting was great. We were so excited about the menu. But at the reception when the waitstaff brought it out, it was different. The red wine reduction sauce that was supposed to be on our steak was replaced by some gray dogfood-like gravy. But overall, our wedding was amazing and our guests all had a wonderful time. I would recommend Hubbard Park Lodge to brides and grooms who are assertive and slightly flexible. It seemed to take a few weeks to get any answers through e-mail, which was frustrating, to say the least. But it was alright because I had my own personal planner in my corner to do some of the dirty work. And the little hiccups along the way aside, it was the wedding of our dreams and we would do it there again in a heartbeat.

promptly and hot! The wait staff was discreet and efficient. We've received comments from most our guests saying how great the food was--the best they'd had at a wedding reception and even at restaurants.

ship. Also there was a long time between when salads were served and when main dish and dessert was served (people actually started to get out of their seats between courses) this took away from the amount of time dancing.

derful park building turned into a restaurant. The ambiance is unbeatable. Very beautiful setting for our wedding in the park, and then beautiful setting for the reception inside the lodge.;After we signed our contract, they changed management twice. I cannot recommend this venue under current management. The bathrooms were being remodeled, and we were promised remodeled bathrooms, they were half finished. Not good for guests. So we negotiated a $500 discount for the total bill; however, I am certain they overcharged me on the bar bill almost the exact amount to make up for their 'loss'. It made the days before our wedding more stressful than it had to be. And I felt like even though we were spending lots of money there, they still gouged us on the final bill. A desirable level of experience and professionalism was just lacking. Basically, no matter how gorgeous the venue, I can't recommend it under current management, who is Mr. Deborous Patterson.