Wedding FAQs

Absolutely – it is our specialty to host both your wedding ceremony and reception all in one location! We ensure a seamless transition from ceremony to cocktail hour to reception, dinner, and dancing. Ample parking and all festivities in a calm and beautiful location makes for a stress-free experience for you and your guests.

We are thrilled to offer three outdoor wedding ceremony locations on our property; our couples get to choose their favorite! And no stress about inclement weather, as our weddings can still take place outdoors, even if it’s raining. Ceremonies located on our covered outdoor Veranda on the east side of our nature center stay dry no matter the weather and overlook Lake Michigan!

Here are our three outdoor ceremony locations:

• Our Pavilion Courtyard in the woods can accommodate up to 220 guests
• Our Ravine Deck is a more intimate immersive experience accommodating up to 140 guests overlooking the bluff of Lake Michigan
• Our covered Veranda is the perfect location along Lake Michigan for a beautiful ceremony – and cocktail hour – rain or shine.

Indoor ceremonies at Schlitz Audubon are stunning in our LEED-certified environmentally-friendly building featuring air conditioning and two wood burning fireplaces. Couples can choose a ceremony in front of the impressive stone fireplace for up to 125 people or they may select our larger indoor space – our Auditorium – which can accommodate 190 seated guests.

We (literally) have you covered if it rains on your wedding day! Our covered Veranda attached to the building is a stunning, weather-protected backup outdoor option for ceremonies. The Veranda overlooks the forest, and Lake Michigan is visible during certain seasons. Our event experts will work with you to help determine your ceremony location preference and seamlessly transition to backup options based on environmental and weather conditions.

We can accommodate up to 220 guests in our Great Hall for a reception and Pavilion for an outdoor ceremony or Auditorium for an indoor ceremony.

Once you reach out to set up a tour and for more info, we send you detailed documents with all our fabulous amenities, rental and bar costs, as well as policies and procedures. Your venue rental includes two “getting ready rooms” open at 1pm, three outdoor ceremony locations and two indoor locations (you can still get married outside, even if it’s raining), and amazing ecofriendly reception spaces in the Great Hall, Auditorium, Hearth Room, and Veranda. You also have Lake Michigan access, ample free parking, and golf carts to get you to key photo locations.

A spectacular staff of event experts will help you with your wedding planning and coordination from your initial inquiry through your entire wedding day and night. Most importantly, as soon as you turn onto the property, you feel the peaceful and calm vibe with 185 acres of natural beauty surrounding you for your wedding (with so many photo opportunities!).

From your very first interactions and inquiry – we are here to help! We know how stressful wedding planning can be, and our expertise and experience help make it as enjoyable as possible for you. After booking with us, we supply guides for your dream wedding here at Schlitz Audubon and guidance with our combined decade’s worth of knowledge and experience. About two or three months before your wedding, our Events Team will meet with you to dive into your wedding details, timeline, and specific questions you have. The day before your wedding, your Event Manager will run a ceremony rehearsal with you, your wedding party, and family. On the day of your wedding, your Event Manager and Event Assistant will coordinate venue, vendor, and bar set up; assist with any guest or wedding party needs; help with the timeline flow and coordination; troubleshoot; and help ensure your wedding vision comes to life.

Schlitz Audubon partners with an incredible list of approved caterers for your dining needs. They vary in food and meal offerings and budget, but all excel in fabulous service and communication. Your catering company will work with you to not only provide food service, but also configure your floor plan and order tables and chairs needed for your ceremony and reception. You must choose one of the approved caterers for your main meal, but for desserts, snacks, or late-night food, you are welcome to choose any vendor or bring in your own.

We will handle all your wedding reception bar needs and it is super easy! Simply choose one of our 5-hour open bar packages that is best for you and your guests. Our offerings range from a classic beer, wine, and soda only package up to premium bar selections. We love to help couples customize their bar by adding on signature cocktails, champagne toasts, or a wine pour at dinner. Have a special beer or liquor you want added – just ask!

Your Schlitz Audubon wedding will not only be gorgeous in all seasons, but also has some tax-deductible, one-of-a-kind experiences that will wow you and your guests.

You can invite our hawks, owls, falcons, and bald eagles to come to your cocktail hour! Our remarkable Raptor Meet & Greet packages will stun your guests as they arrive at the reception to be greeted by a raptor and their handler. Learn the animal ambassador’s story, get photos with them, and feel so good that this tax-deductible add-on to your wedding is helping enrich and support our raptor program and education here at the Center.

The Unity Tree Ceremony add-on is another thoughtful (and tax-deductible) way to add environmental conservation to your wedding. During your ceremony, symbolize your unity by incorporating a tree planting with a specially chosen tree for a habitat of Schlitz Audubon that needs a little more love and ecosystem help. After planting, we send you the GPS coordinates so you can keep visiting and watching your tree grow!

We adore all the couples we have had the honor of helping get married here over the years and they love us too! To see their own words, please check out our top-rated reviews on The Knot, Wedding Wire and even on our website. We even won The Knot Best of Weddings 2026 and voted as one of the Most Loved Wedding Venues on Married in Milwaukee. 

All profits from your wedding with us support our non-profit and go right back into conservation of the land and environmental education for all! This curated, intentional wedding spending and planning is an investment you can feel has true lasting meaning.

We cannot wait to show you around and help you envision your wedding here at Schlitz Audubon Nature Center! First, let’s book you a private tour to walk through all our ceremony and reception spaces as well as talk through your timeline and all our offerings. To book a tour with us, please fill out a tour request form here.

After you’ve seen where you can host your ceremony and reception, chatted with one of our event team members, and are ready to book, we will need your requested wedding date, estimated number of guests, and which bar package you would like reflected in an estimate. From there, we send you contracts to sign and will need a 50% non-refundable down payment of the venue rental fee. After we have received these, your wedding venue is booked, and the planning fun begins! To see what dates we have available for your wedding, make sure to check our availability calendar.