Macray Harbor

ted we knew it was a sign. Kelli helped make sure everything was exactly how we wanted and didn’t let a detail go missed. The morning of the wedding she constantly checked in to see if we needed anything or there was anything to do. She made sure our day was the best and one to remember! 

ave asked for a more beautiful place to celebrate

staff I interacted with on the day of and at our tasting were all really lovely. I will say that there was a lot of staff changes during my planning process, but the final pair working with us seemed on top of things (Tammy and Meaghan- thanks!). As an event coordinator myself, I felt there were more opportunities for the sales/catering manager to check in or be involved, and there isn't anyone on site the day of the event. No banquet captain/manager checked in with us at all either on the day of. Dinner service was slow and cut into dancing time. Nonetheless, our ceremony outside on the water was exactly what we wanted, everyone we did interact with was kind, and the room looked beautiful. :-) I don't regret booking here!

other than the beef, was off the charts, we also had a late-night snack added and I'm so glad we did. The sliders went over so well. We were there from 9am until 1am the next day. There were 7 people getting ready in the bridal suite and we had more than enough room for that. We had our ceremony there right out by the water with such an amazing view. MacRay set up all the chairs outside and all we had to do was put our special touch on them for decorations. The pictures outside were amazing, we even did sunset photos. We moved inside and had the entire place to take pictures and enjoy the night. Renee was outstanding to work with, she answered every little question I had promptly and made me feel so comfortable about having my wedding here. This was hands down the best decision that we could have made for our wedding. If you're not booking here you're missing out on amazing views, outstanding food and top-notch service. Thank you so much for giving us such an amazing day for our wedding,

enee (the event planner) was always available for questions and super helpful. The room was absolutely gorgeous, overlooking Lake St. Clair. I cannot rave enough about the staff on the day of either! They were SO helpful and even offered to fold the linen napkins (that I brought myself) and place them on the tables. At the end of the ceremony they collected all of my (personal) napkins and chargers for me during the clean-up process. So so happy that I chose to have my bridal shower at MacRay, highly recommend!

eing able to work with Fergy to plan our day made things stress free and go smoothly, she answered any questions we had and got everything situated just as we imagined. The food and dessert were fantastic. The setup was absolutely perfect, our day went just as planned with no issues at all! All the staff was very helpful with any questions or anything we needed. Chris was also there if we needed anything and made sure things went correctly and in a timely manor, he was awesome. He made sure guests were taken care of all evening and if anything came up it was taken care of very quickly. We had such an amazing time. Our guests still talk about our wedding non stop, how beautiful and perfect things were. I wish I could go back and have this day all over again. I highly recommend Macray for weddings or any event you may be planning. They went above and beyond what we expected.

eded. I couldn't have been happier!

The staff there did a great job helping my family set up in the morning and worked extremely hard to make sure my husband and I were comfortable and having a good time. My only suggestion to make the day go smoother would be to have the bride sit down with the person who will be at the wedding and go over everything step by step. We did this with Fergy but Fergy was not the one at the wedding or running the hall so there were some miscommunications (we figured them all out and everything ended up being great but that communication piece would have helped the day go smoother with less questions/confusion about what we wanted). It was truly an amazing night and one my husband and I will remember forever.

and the chicken tasted like a smokers dirty basement. Little easy parking and very slippery dance floor. Could not walk on it in heels. Would definitely not recommend

edding! We received so many compliments and could not have asked for better service. Would highly recommend!

worry about the weather, and this was the perfect place. They also have a new outdoor space for ceremonies where we were able to take pictures since we were the only wedding that day. Both the ceremony space and reception space had beautiful views of the water and the boats . We liked working with Fergy for planning and she had recommendations for all other vendors who were also wonderful. This was extremely helpful since we only had about 3 months to plan the wedding. In addition, the staff during the day were extremely helpful and took care of every detail for us. The food was delicious and Shelley baked us wonderful pies in place of cake since that was what my groom wanted.

ask for better than MacRay's (or Mac & Ray's)! We were in the lower Commodore Room which has great space, a cool bar set up, and awesome views of the water and marina. MacRay's was super helpful through the planning process. On the day of the event, Tina was very helpful in making sure that everything was properly set up and looking gorgeous. The food was phenomenal!! We did a plated meal and offered Pinot Grigio Chicken (although some people said the pasta with it was a little dry that night), Roast Beef (which was perfectly tender), and the Lake Superior Whitefish (the bride and grooms choice meal). They also made accommodations for a few people that required vegetarian or gluten free options without skimping on flavor. MacRay does charge if you bring in your own cake, but you shouldn't even make that an option because Shelly makes the best wedding cakes in the business!! We had such a hard time deciding which flavor we loved so we got to go with our two favorites. The bride was also really excited that the dessert came with ice cream! The late night snack pizza was also really delicious and went over very well. The price for a waterfront location, with excellent food and helpful staff, was actually among the most reasonable quotes. A couple negative thoughts: the bar tenders did not wipe down the bar and a few people in the back of the room didn't get cake. Those are really small items. Overall: Excellent venue!!!

ey learn from this experience. We were served the wrong side dish at dinner without being informed that it would happen. If we were informed it would have been fine. A month before the wedding I learned that the baker did not have our cake on her books and was going to out of town for our wedding. The hall did what they had to do to correct this issue. I was disappointed in how the design turned out. The baker told me she could handle it and it would be fine but if the baker didn’t think it would work than she should have stated that; I was open to change and doing what would have looked best. There was also a party bus for a homecoming party’s dinner that was parked in the dead center of the lot that overlooks the water and also a few dozen high school students getting in the way of our pictures. (Thank goodness my photographer is amazing and a quick thinker) We also had a few items damaged by homecoming party. They were replaced by the hall, although they could not replace our guestbook which the students wrote in. They also had the partybus unload right in front and enter in through the main doors right as our ceremony was starting in the very first room on the main floor. I wish they would have entered from one of the other side doors; this might have also prevented the kids from damaging the items they damaged as they never would have walked by them than. The hall denied that they had the party on their book yet they were on the sign in the front that directs you to the room you are to go to. I really don’t like when people lie which is what I felt like was happening I wish they would have just apologized and moved on. I think that they could have done a better job controlling these high school students and the situation could have been handled better. Also half of my thank you cards were missing and not placed in napkins. We had given the hall extra and they were still placed every other place setting. No one could ever explain where the extras went. They did do an excellent job other than these few mishaps. I hope the hall learned and no one ever has to deal with these issues again. They were excellent in let us set up early and working with us on a number of other items. They were able to gather up all the "lost" or forgotten items by our guest. To be honest most of these things are just 'little things' but they add up which is the only reason I am sharing these things. They are a beautiful venue and wonderful to work with, I would just make sure if you have expectations you state them very clearly and many times.

er. We had our same sex ceremony and reception at their facility and it was absolutely breathtaking! They whole crew was professional and non judgmental.

water was spectacular and the staff were very attentive. A big shout out to Fergie, the catering manager! She of course thought of things I never would have. So I appreciated her expertise. I highly recommend them!

nd made the planning for the day seamless!!!!! I would definitely refer any bride looking to have a beautiful ceremony or reception to this location !!!!! The baker made such a delectable cake, and the food was outstanding , my guests are still talking about it 27 days after the wedding on Facebook!!!!

ent that everything would turn out perfectly, and it did :)

ined. The grand ballroom is definitely the way to go because the views of the water and sunset at night are breathtaking. We had family style dinner and the food was so delicious! Everyone kept raving about the slow-roasted beef, herb-roasted chicken, and mashed potatoes. Also the bartenders were great. No one had to wait in line for a drink. We had our wedding on a Sunday because it's A LOT cheaper than Saturday. There were a few mess-ups that originally were stressful, but Fergy (catering manager) made up for it. We originally booked a ceremony site with Fergy a year before our wedding date. She called me a month before my wedding to let me know that site was having a HUGE music festival that day and she just found out. She felt really bad and ended up turning the parking lot in the harbor into our ceremony site. It was a blessing in disguise because it was more than we expected. A few things that happened and worth mentioning for future brides: 1. I made table names and the staff decided to put their table numbers up instead and just put the table names I made on the tables. That made it confusing for the guests and I was upset because I spent a lot of time organizing it. 2. They didn't put out the card box I requested, which left guests wondering where to put cards. 3. During cocktail hour, they put out the hors d oeuvres 30 minutes later then scheduled. 4. The person we worked with mostly wasn't great at getting back to me all the time. Once I realized how busy and over-worked she is I didn't take it personally. But keep this in mind when booking this venue. You won't get a response right away and you will most likely have to ask the same question more than once to get an answer.

a lot easier!

place. It is kind of expensive but worth every penny!

ce and all of our requests were ignored. Our planner had "comped" us some items and wasn't there so that wasn't followed through with. Would have been nice for the bride and groom to have a bit of food while taking pics for an hour instead of just alcoholic beverages. Was treated quite rude by staff when asking for items we requested for as well.

ests commented on how beautiful everything was and how lovely the room was. We choose the Salad with all the fruit and chicken on it for the guests, and it was Amazing!!! Fantastic salad! Fresh and tasty! Plus the pricing was excellent! Wedding Cake - Shelley, the pastry chef from Mac & Rays, made our wedding cake for us. My DH knew her because in college he use to be a banquette server there. She has the most AMAZING cakes I have ever tasted. Her decorating is also beautiful! I still have guests telling me the cake was so good they had more than one piece! :) Her prices were very affordable as well, you would expect to pay a lot more money for such a delicious, moist cake!

unt on her returning my never ending e-mails. We wanted to offer Filet and were not happy with the cut and the tasting. They worked with us and brought in Black Angus and even did a second tasting. We used the downstairs room and the layout was perfect for our 20 person head table and 18 rounds. The bar is right next to dance floor and the patio was right there too so no one missed a thing! We were allowed to set up the night before since nothing was booked and Lisa never stopped offering to help! We had a blast and my dream came true when everyone said the words I was hoping to hear..."The food was amazing and we had so much fun!"

for your wedding when you are working with your event planner there make sure they do not hide any extra costs from you. i was first told I would have to pay for colored napkins in the end I didn't. Then I was told that I would have an hour gap in between my ceremony (which was held at same place just different room) and reception no matter what and the day before they called me and asked me if I would like my reception to start an hour earlier. Of course I couldn't do that since my invitations already had the time on them and my wedding was the next day. Just be very careful ask lots and lots of questions. No one ever seems to want to give any information I always had to drap it out of them.

ught it to their attention.

ready had my money so it was not their problem any longer.

hicken or the cake had I known I wouldn't have ordered it.plus I had no clue what the cake would look like and I wasn't happy with that either.

id that the room would fit 180, but I would really not recommend anything over 150.

alked through the door. The view is breathtaking!