The Legend at Merrill Hills

My husband and I looked through what seemed like a million venues on the knot. I saw the 3 legend locations and just assumed it was out of our price range, but we inquired about a quote and was pleasantly surprised! The price was the best we could find around, and we chose a Friday wedding which helped out even more. Our location (the legend at Merrill hills) actually was remodeled after we signed for the venue and we were not aware that it was going to be, so we were surprised with a whole new venue the day of our wedding. The food was nothing shy of amazing, the space was huge and accommodating for 150 guests. The outdoor ceremony location was beautiful with flower bushes, a waterfall, and the beautiful greens of the golf course. The staff working were all very kind and worked extremely hard. Our experience was nothing shy of Amazing. We received compliments from every guest saying our venue was absolutely beautiful and the food was the best they’ve had. We are so glad we chose the legend at Merrill hills and if we could do the night all over again, we would still choose them!

My wife and I looked at a variety of locations to hold our wedding. We ultimately decided on the Legend at Merrill Hills because it was the best fit for us. The wedding director (Jamie) was fantastic. We are from out of state and she was very accommodating. I highly recommend this venue to any couple, even if you’re not a golf enthusiast like I am. The views are breathtaking and the food was honestly the best wedding food I’ve ever had. It truly was a special night that we’ll never forget!

My husband and I got married here and Jamie could not have been more helpful! Having her walk us through the whole process was such a weight off our shoulders as she kept us calm and assured us everything would get done. The day of, we heard nothing but good things from our guests, particularly about the food! You won't regret it if you book The Legend at Merrill Hills for your special day.

We held our wedding reception at Merrill Hills and it couldn't have gone better. Jamie and her team were incredibly accommodating when we decided to postpone our original date. In fact, Jamie was an absolute rockstar throughout the entire planning process. She was always responsive, answered my never-ending questions, and was just extremely helpful. As a bonus, we got so many compliments on the food and drinks. (I agree, everything was delicious!) I'd recommend Merrill Hills to any Milwaukee-area bride!

Jamie was AMAZING! She did wonderful from start to finish, and made our day very special. She was professional, attentive to detail, and was a joy to work with! She catered to all of our hopes/wishes and made it our perfect day. We could not be happier! (Food was fantastic too! :) )

Our wedding venue at Merrill Hills was simply amazing! The views were breath taking with a beautiful sunset in the evening. Our pictures turned out so beautiful. The best pictures were in front of their water fall surrounded by beautiful flowers. Our guess loved the patio with the fire pits which made more room for guess to spread out qnd have the option of being inside or outside. The staff was very helpful and very kind! My strap on my dress broke and the staff right away showed me the way to the bathroom/locker room where there was a sewing kit where I was able to fix my dress. Overall, I am very pleased and would recommend Merrill Hills to anyone getting married. They did a wonderful job!

So my husbands only criteria was a golf course and I am so glad because it lead us to tongues amazingly beautiful venue. We had absolutely everything we ever could have dreamed of for our big day. It was beyond easy and stress free to drop off our decorations and centerpieces and have the venue staff set everything up the night before. In addition, we had so many compliments after our wedding of the amazing food and appetizers. Having the legend at Merrill hills as our venue was a great decision because their expertise on how things should run and the scheduling of everything was just beautiful for a stressed bride to not have to deal with. It was a magical day and this venue made it that much more special. Would absolutely recommend to anyone!! They also had a contact for me to ask all my crazy questions leading up to the wedding and the staff was so professional, so organized, and fantastic it truly made everything a breeze.

Our wedding venue was everything we could have ever dreamed!! We had the most beautiful back drop for our pictures and our guests were stunned by the beauty of the Legend at Merrill Hills. Jamie was so much fun and so helpful. She set up everything for us from tasting to the menu to wine choices. I cannot thank her enough for easing my mind and helping to calm me down when we dropped of our favors and guestbook the day before and I was so overwhelmed. She was amazing and because of that our day was absolutely perfect!! Thank you Jamie and the entire Merrill Hills staff for giving me the wedding day of my dreams

With so many vendors to choose from, husband (fiance at the time) and I were both on the same page wanted a spacious country setting. When we pull up the long drive way to the entrance of Merrill Hills, we fell in love with the gorgeous scenic view on the golf course. We ultimately picked Merrill Hills to be our venue because it fit all our top criteria. Overall on the wedding day, everyone really enjoyed the reception there, they raved about the food and beautiful scenery. The wedding party ran behind 30 minutes between wedding ceremony at a different location and reception taking photos elsewhere, Megan the coordinator on the day was very gracious accommodating our new schedule. The staff was very courteous and timely getting the warm food delivered. The one issue we had on the wedding day was the meal for my mother in law was supposed to be dairy free with the chef making a special sauce for MIL but instead it was served bland with no sauce at all. With our guest's dietary restrictions and last minute steak upgrade for our wedding party, we ended up with 5 meal selections (2 steak, 1 chicken, 1 veg, 1 kids meal). Their flexibility is worth mentioning here because most places allow only 2-3 meal options. They let us bring decoration in a couple of days ahead of time and managed all the decoration per our instruction. We worked with Jamie leading up to the wedding day, she was always very communicative. We made some unusual request to ask them to paint the two doomers at the entrance because the paint was badly peeling. They eventually agreed to do it by our wedding day and kept their word. My husband the non-picky one said the one negative experience he had was our tasting. Merrill Hills limited tasting to two meal selections. We picked chicken picata and a steak option. Even though I always loved chicken picata, I could not out of good conscience pick that as a meal on our wedding day because it was terribly dry and looked like it was made out of frozen deep fried chicken. I provided the feedback to Jamie and Megan present at the tasting, received no sympathetic words, no offer to substitute with another option. We walked out of there without finalizing our meal plan for the wedding day. When we requested a second tasting a few days later, we were told we had to pay for it. Ultimately we are glad we did the 2nd tasting because the Margherita Chicken turned out scrumptious on the wedding day. So besides the few aforementioned snags, our wedding day turned out nearly perfect, guests loved the day and bride and groom had a worry free day and thoroughly enjoyed it too.

There is no way I could be more pleased with our wedding day at the Legend at Merrill Hills. The day was exactly what we wanted. We didn’t have a wedding planner, but with Jamie and Megan as the designated coordinators through the venue, we truly didn’t need one. I never felt stressed or overwhelmed; I trusted them and they were on top of everything. Not only was the process easy and exciting but the rehearsal and day of was so well-planned and organized. Jamie and Megan always made a point to check in on us throughout the day to ensure everything was going well-- it was a pleasure to work with them! The location was all-in-one; ceremony outdoor terrace, pictures, cocktails, dinner, and reception were all on-site. The outdoor patio with glass fire pits was very popular among our guests after the dinner portion of the evening. The venue was very accommodating to our guests meal restrictions, the staff was attentive and professional (we had Flo for the head table!), and the food was spectacular. I keep trying to look back to see if there would be anything I would change, and I can't think of anything. Our photographer perfectly captured all the beautiful details of the clubhouse, the terrace, and its surrounding landscaping in our wedding photos. We had the perfect day.

We are so happy with our decision of choosing this venue for our wedding reception! The views (especially in fall) are stunning, the staff (Risa- manager, Jackie- her assistant, wait staff, and bartenders) were all friendly and very helpful. Risa and her staff set up and tore down all decorations for us saving is time and stress! The food was the best many of us have ever had at a wedding. The whole atmosphere led to an amazing experience. We had around 215 guests and were comfortable. Highly recommend to others!

From the moment I walked into Merrill Hills I knew I had made the right decision to have my wedding reception there. My husband and I can not thank Liz and the entire staff enough for all that they did to make sure we had everything we needed. Every little detail we asked for was made available to us. The views were beautiful and the patio area was enjoyed by all. We had around 175 guests and the space held us all comfortably. The food was OUTSTANDING! So many great things to choose from on the menu. I would highly recommend the Wedding Gala they put on in January to get an idea of how the place looks for a wedding reception and to try all the great food and drink selections they have to offer. We loved everything about Merrill Hills and wish we could do the night all over again :) Thank you Thank you Thank you!!

The Legend at Merrill Hills was a wonderful venue for our wedding reception. The space itself is incredible, with multiple types of spaces available to guests throughout the evening, including a quiet loft with cozy chairs and a fireplace, a newly-built spacious deck with great views, and an enormous patio with fire pits, gardens, and a water feature. The staff are wonderful and accommodating. The food is excellent. Finally, if you book a reception at this venue, I recommend attending the "Gala" in January, where you can taste test the chef's entrees and sides, get inspired by example decor, and meet local vendors. Overall, this is a great venue!

We were so pleased with The Legend at Merrill Hills! From the scenery and ambiance to the professional and friendly staff, our families and guests still are complimenting us on our wedding day. The clubhouse terrace overlooking the golf course was the location for our ceremony. With just under 100 guests, it was perfectly sized for a personal event. The transition from ceremony to the main floor for cocktails and appetizers was very smooth, including elevator service/golf carts for the grandparents as well. Throughout the planning process, Kristi (the event coordinator) was there every step of the way with great recommendations and an open ear for our ideas as well. We had a short window of planning, but she worked with us to make sure everything fell into place and really helped calm my anxiety. Her efforts truly allowed me to focus on enjoying the moment. This was also the case the day of the wedding -- my mother was so excited to enjoy the day and not have to worry about the decor or tear down. Kristi's staff perfectly executed our game plan for set up (photos, guest book, cards/gifts, name cards, centerpieces, etc.). And at the end of the night, they took care of it all! Initially, we never would have thought of having our wedding at a country club. However, after comparing the site and what it had to offer to our other front runners (botanical gardens & country springs), it was an easy decision based on both value and service. So happy with our choice!

After seeing Merrill Hills, we had no doubt that this place was our reception venue. We had visited several hotels prior which felt like caves and were actually the same price as Merrill Hills without catering! Merrill Hills offers a beautiful view inside and out, amazing food (our friends and family continue to tell us how delicious it was), and great service by the staff. Our event coordinator, Kristi, worked with us on every part of the event and was so helpful prior to and during the reception. She made sure everything fell perfectly into place and was so accommodating. Merrill Hills completely exceeded my expectations - it is truly an amazing reception venue!!

This review might be long, but bear with me... I booked this venue almost 2 years out from my wedding date. At the time it was still just Merrill Hills Country Club. A year before my wedding the venue was bought out by the Legends Clubs and was under new management. They told me they would still honor my contract... Most of the things I had been promised were more verbal and not in the contract like decorations and picture locations (it is a golf course after all) but after the event planer that had been there for 20+ years suddenly left and didn't even contact me, I started to get nervous. The new event person was, in my opinion, very inexperienced. She was very nice, a little slow on communication with phone and email, but was still ok. I will give her props for stepping in like that. But everything that the previous planner promised me went out the window, quite literally. With the change, there was some remodeling and renovation and everything was new, the banquet hall, the patio (I got married outside), the food and the prices. Now the only thing that was honored in the contract was the minimum...and with the new prices I had to increase my budget rather drastically just to accommodate that change. They got rid of the wedding packages, which is what I had based my budget off of and when I tried to reason with them, they said there really was nothing they could do. Don't get me wrong, I do understand, but when there is a transition happening with a business and customers, shouldn't there be just a little bending over backwards to make sure the transition is smooth. I definitely didn't feel like their customer service was up to par at all. Sure the food was amazing, the location was quite beautiful, and the service staff that I had the day of were wonderful, but everything leading up to it was actually pretty horrible. I would also like to mention that the day of my wedding, one of the managers got into a fight with some of my guests and threatened to throw them out. Now, I was not there, and I only have one side of the story, and I am sure my guests probably had more than they should have to drink, but any respectable manager should have handled the situation differently. In my job I deal with a lot of customer service so I hold it to very high standards. This venue did not have it. I would have liked to give them a pass because of the transitioning, but the Legends own other clubs and should know better by now. Because of that, I would not go back there or really recommend it. Any place were the manager does not respect their customers is not worth my time or money (and I sure spent a lot). Everything else worked out well and overall I was pleased with how my wedding turned out, but they really need to get there act together.

I got married at The Legend at Merrill Hills earlier this summer. When I first chose my venue, I chose it because I completely fell in love with the event planner there. She was genuinely excited and passionate about making this day incredibly special for my now husband and I. Suddenly, through the grapevine, I heard Pat was no longer with the club, so I scrambled to find out who was my contact there. I strongly feel that I shouldn't have been the one to have to do that. We ended up sitting down with the replacement coordinator and some higher up from the Legend. The coordinator didn't say a single word that entire meeting. At that point I contemplated changing venues because I was not confident that they would be able to pull it off. That's pretty bad seeing as they are a country club. As it got closer to the wedding, prices starting changing. Just a couple weeks before the wedding we suddenly found out there was a service charge of nearly $900. For a long time, it was very difficult to get a hold of their new event person. I felt that since I wasn't a member, she didn't feel she needed to be as courteous and timely to me. To make matters worse after the wedding counts for various beverages were way off and ended up costing us a lot more than quoted. Had I know I they were going to do that I would have kept an eye on how many bottles and glasses they used (even though I was the bride...) The day of my wedding, I was running around fixing things in the ballroom. There were dirty linens, the seating chart I had provided was not used, and my vendors had a hard time getting a hold of the club to arrange for various drop offs and pick ups. Had they retained their old event coordinator I think the day would've went a lot differently. A couple newly engaged couples have asked us if we'd recommend the venue and my husband and I both told them no. It's a pretty venue but the new people in place for events didn't impress me one bit. In a nutshell, if you are not a member, don't bother. If you are a member, I suggest hiring your own wedding planner instead of leaving it in the clubs hands. Remember, you only get one shot at the special day!

The "Merrill Hills" that won the Knot Best of Weddings award is long gone. I was recently in a wedding at The Legend at Merrill Hills for my future sister in law. In fact, my fiance and I were the ones who recommended the venue to his sister (the bride) because of Pat, the absolutely amazing event coordinator, as well as the completely reasonable prices. The bride booked the wedding venue shortly after The Legend bought the club. However, almost everything she was promised in the initial meeting was never met, because Pat was no longer with the club. The prices on food were raised significantly. The MoB got charged for much more on top of the quoted price, after the fact, which was deducted from their "damage deposit". As far as receiving the remaining balance of the damage deposit, the MoB still hasn't seen it close to a month later. The couple was forbidden from taking any pictures on the golf course; they were only allowed to take them on the patio and in the rented area of the clubhouse. In that past, couples, and entire bridal parties, were allowed on the course. The bride was told that the facility would be completely redone before her wedding. Save for a new coat of paint on the walls, this proved completely false. The bride was promised that she could use Merrill Hill's glass vases at no cost, to make easy floral arrangements. With Pat no longer at the club, the bride was told that the vases were all thrown away. The terrace where the wedding was held had a huge air conditioning unit dripping water before and during the ceremony. This meant that there was a great hole of chairs where the puddle was. It was quite an eyesore! The entire bridal party, the mother of the bride, and the bride herself, were also incredibly put off by Kristi. Kristi was incredibly fake with us, a facade we could see through easily! It was clear that she was in it just for the money and knew she would never have to see us again when all was said and done. That's not how anyone in the bridal business should be, and not how any of the event coordinators I've worked with in the past have been. She was also ridiculously slow to respond to any and all emails/phone calls/etc. Kristi often wouldn't get back to the bride or MoB for over a week at a time. When responding to emails, Kristi would dance around all questions rather than answering them. In turn, Kristi was clearly unorganized, as she often asked the same questions multiple times, though she had the answers in writing. During the event, it was also clear that Kristi wasn't "managing" much of anything. Everything was taken care of by our wonderful server, Flo. Flo was professional and beyond helpful. The other wait staff, as well as the bar staff, also did everything in their power to ensure the night was a success. They were professional, focused, and polite. Another positive note was the food. The steaks were cooked perfectly. The chicken was delicious (I snuck some from my fiance's plate). Dinner was the highlight of the night. My advice: Steer clear of The Legend at Merrill Hills unless you want a high stress level and even higher bill for your wedding. The positives certainly don't make it worth the price nor outway the negatives.

My wife and I were wed at "The Legend of Merrill Hills", and to make a long story short I would not recommend this venue. I promised Kristi from The Legend at Merrill Hills that I would write a fair and honest review to publish online. We originally reserved and committed to the venue during the spring of 2013 before the "The Legends" bought out the club. During that time there was an events coordinator that went by the name of Pat, she had been with the Merrill Hills country club for decades and was very friendly, responsive, etc. When we booked the club we were promised wedding decorations, reasonable priced food/drink packages, etc. During the summer of 2013 the Merrill Hills country club was bought out by "the legends" and everything changed. The food and drink prices went significantly up, and Pat, who had been there for decades had left. The club management to be honest, was really, really lousy. Kristi was nice and helpful, but often took over a week to respond to any emails. She is obviously young and new to the service industry, was very nice to us, and did her best to help us and answer questions. I just wish she was more prompt and would respond to emails and phone calls more quickly. During our wedding, the club co-owner Jack Gaudion completely ruined our wedding experience. He was very, very rude, pompous, and condescending to our guests, grooms men, and others. A few of our guests early in the evening were asking for water at the "members only" bar. Jack was having dinner in this bar with his family and really was very rude and refused to serve water to my guests since the upper level bar was "only for members" and refused them water.. He insisted they should "go where [they] belong". That really put a bad taste in a number of my guest's mouths. Again during the night a few of my guests asked for drinks, service, etc. in the upper bar since it was not clear at all that this was for "members only" again they were met with rude service and insulted for asking at the wrong place. My guests were expected to apologize to the owner even though they didn't understand how they were doing anything wrong. After the wedding my groomsmen emailed Jack, expressing our concerns. Again, we were met with rudeness, pompousness, and a lack of care or concern. It is obvious they did not care for us or want us at Merrill Hills since we were not members. The sad truth was is that I leave just a few miles away from the club, and was ready to buy into their membership someday.. but not anymore. Jack was very rude to our guests, was very condescending, and really ruined our night. I am looking into neighboring clubs further away and would not recommend Merrill Hills or The Legends to anyone. That being said--- the venue was beautiful, the food was excellent, and Kristi, the bar staff, Flo (one of the servers) provided very excellent service during the night. But again, we had so many issue with the club owner Jack and the responsiveness from Kristi that I cannot recommended this venue. Even to go further Merrill Hills owed us a refund check after our wedding to settle our bill and they took nearly a month to send it. I really wish our wedding happened before the buyout and before Jack. The truth is the venue is beautiful and the food is wonderful… but sadly until management changes I really cannot recommended this venue.

We loved Merrill Hills (now named Legends of Merrill Hills). We received soooo many compliments, especially on the food! We had a lot of guests tell us it was the best buffet food they ever had. The hall coordinator there is also THE BEST! We love Pat! She does as much as she can so that you don't have to! The hall also is attached to a beautiful patio. They are doing renovations now to make the hall even bigger, which will be nice for those 200+ crowds. We had about 170 and were very comfortable. The course was in great shape to go out on carts to get pictures, too, but we ran out of time to do that. Price was also very reasonable...not sure if that will go up with being part of "Legends" now. We loved it though and would highly recommend you at least give it a look! :)

I had my reception at Merrill Hills this past weekend and it was beyond what I could have hoped for. Everything being run by Pat and Merrill Hills ran smoothly. They let me drop off my items the week before, listened to everything that I wanted set up in the hall, and set it up exactly to my specifications. I was so pleased when I came from the ceremony to the reception and saw the hall set exactly as I had pictured it! They took us out on the course to take pictures in various beautiful settings. Overall, I couldn't have asked for them to do any more than they did. It was incredible!

Even though Merrill Hills did everything to accommodate us I felt like everything was disorganized. I paid for a 8 hour open bar and only got 6 hours. My wedding planner told us we would have the open bar and then it somehow changed day of the wedding. My wedding planner was also going to be organizing the timing of everything during the wedding and I ended up having to do all of that, which I did not want to have to be concerned with during the wedding. Everything was beautiful though and the guest loved the food.

We could not have picked a better spot for our wedding reception, and we could never have asked for a more incredible person to work with. Pat was so wonderful and so accommodating to anything we wanted. The site is beautiful - the course is so well maintained, and the outside patio was a huge hit with our guests. The budget was extremely easy to manage - there weren't hidded/extra fees for additional things like linens or decorations or projector use. Absolutely wonderful :)

We had decided to use Merrill Hills originally because we knew the food would be great (from prior reviews from family) and because their quote was all-inclusive. There was one cost per person with the package; no up-charges and no additional one-off fees as opposed to other places we looked that nickel-and-dimed you to death. Pat was wonderful to work with; she coordinated all of our vendors for the day of - I didn't have to do a thing! She even coordinated a quiet room and a sitter for our 7 month old so she could be close by but so that everyone in the family could be a part of the celebration. Dinner was excellent-not a bad review from anyone. We offered the Filet, the Chicken Masala, and the Vegetarian Ravioli (which was absolutely awesome btw). The tasting reflected what we received at the table (which I think is important to note since some places give you their best at the tasting, but don't handle the large service quite as well). My only complaint was that it went by too fast. We danced all night until we closed the place down. Well that and it was cold - we didn't really get to use the patio which was a shame, but the sun sets off to the side on the patio so we were able to get some spectacular last minute photos that we hadn't planned for. It couldn't have gone better. A big thanks to Pat and her staff for making our day so memorable.

Everything went smoothly just for a few mishaps

I would suggest Merrill Hills Country Club as a place to have your wedding. The staff are all very nice. Pat is very helpful, too. When the minister didn't have music or microphone equipment for the ceremony, Pat was very helpful with getting music ready for the wedding. I feel that Merrill Hills was very accomodating and they have excellent service!!

My wedding day would not have been what it was without Pat at Merrill Hills. She coordinated everything for my reception and was so easy going and easy to work with. She also offered suggestions to make our day better in regards to things I hadn't even thought of. Merrill hills has a fabulous package but it is also very customizable. We got to take golf carts out on the golf course with the bridal party for pictures which was really fun. Also, Pat and her team made all of my centerpieces and took care of all set up and clean up. The staff also loaded my car up with the gifts and was willing to do anything asked.

Pat Jones at Merrill Hills is wonderful. She was great at communicating and suggesting vendors for my wedding. She had everything under control and made my wedding day perfect! I did not have to worry about a thing because I knew she was on top of all the details and timeline.

The location is beautiful, the food was awesome and it's a country club so their service is top notch. The wedding coordinator/banquet manager is amazing to work with and can offer tons of helpful ideas. She isn't always responsive with emails or phone but goes above and beyond to make your day great. Their golf course is awesome to take pictures on and they let us use golf carts with our wedding party. I would recommend this place to anyone looking for a classy but not stuffy location.

The staff was very personable and helpful which is great on a day that could be stressful with no help! The setting itself was awesome, very beautiful! They let us take golf carts out on the course, which my husband and I did alone with our photographer. It was a very nice experience although you do have to be sponsored to host an event there. If you can find someone it's worth it!

The staff at Merrill Hills was extremely helpful and easy to work with. They were more than willing to accommodate us with whatever we wanted without tacking on any extra fees. The pricing was reasonable the service was excellent the food was delicious and the facilities were beautiful overlooking a golf course.;I have no negative feedback. It was phenomenal!