Sitting in the international waters of the Detroit River, between the U.S. and Canada, the Isle is 2.5-miles long and 982 acres. The park, larger than New York City’s Central Park, was actually designed by Central Park’s landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted. Almost a third of the island is a wooded home to many birds and small animals. Our ceremony site, the Flynn Pavilion sits on the edge of Lake Tacoma. The pavilion used to serve as a refreshment stand in summer months and in the winter months a warming shelter for ice-skaters on the lake! Map of Belle Isle https://www2.dnr.state.mi.us/publications/pdfs/RecreationCamping/belle_isle_map.pdf
To enter the island park, Michigan residents need a Recreation Passport which gets you in more than 120 Michigan state parks. The passport is $14 for Michigan registered vehicles and is good for 1 year. A one-day pass for nonresident vehicles is $11. Both are sold at the entrance booth. Entry is free for those who walk or bike onto the island. We visit Belle Isle very often and have experienced the entrance booth not being attended by staff. If that is the case when you arrive please just continue driving, making your way to Flynn Pavilion and consider your FREE entry a gift from the universe. TIP: If you choose to Uber/Lyft/ride share to and from Belle Isle, use 'Belle Isle Casino' as your drop off / pick up location. The Casino is next to Flynn Pavilion and is a more recognizable landmark/address in maps and ride share apps. You may need to walk over to the Casino in order for drivers to easily locate you. Drivers picking up guests from ceremony should not have any issue entering and should not have to pay entrance fee. There is abundant, free parking once you are on Belle Isle.
There is metered parking on the streets surrounding Second Best (Woodward, Watson St, John R). There are also a number of parking structures and flat lots in the surrounding blocks that are walkable to Second Best. Please consider Uber/Lyft or carpooling for your convenience!
As much as we love your kids to allow our guests the opportunity to let their hair down and enjoy themselves, we've elected to make our wedding a child-free event.
Dress to impress in your favorite cocktail attire!