The DeKoven Center

so helpful in answering all of the questions that came up for us! She helped us plan our signature drinks and helped answer questions about the little things that I needed help with! She is very knowledgeable and helped connect us with other vendors needed for our wedding. Jackie was wonderful as well in helping things run smoothly on our wedding day. On our wedding day we had so many people compliment us on our venue! We were able to get married right by Lake Michigan, which was a dream for me and something I didn’t think would be possible. The DeKoven Center grounds were gorgeous and really easy to navigate. We had our ceremony and reception there and these spaces were right by each other, so it was very easy for us and our wedding guests to get around. We were lucky to have good weather and our ceremony outside of the chapel, but we also had the option of having our ceremony inside the chapel, which is also so beautiful. We were also so lucky to get to have our wedding there after some recent renovations. A new walkway was just added to the courtyard outside the chapel and was perfect for me to walk down the aisle. We will also be so grateful for all of the support and kindness everyone at the DeKoven Center showed us. It will be such a special place for us always!

The DeKoven Center provides a truly unique and timeless atmosphere. The Gothic-style architecture, complete with stunning stonework, stained glass windows, and beautifully maintained gardens, created the perfect setting for daughter's wedding this past October (2024). The venue sits right on the shore of Lake Michigan, providing a stunning backdrop! Some of the standout features of DeKoven were St. John’s Chapel – a breathtaking chapel with vaulted ceilings, intricate woodwork, and beautiful stained glass windows. Also, the DeKoven staff (and most specifically our excellent Event Manager, Nicole) was very professional, accommodating, and detail-oriented. The DeKoven Center really is a hidden gem in Racine, WI, because it offers a blend of historic elegance and scenic beauty. Whether you're dreaming of a traditional, vintage, or rustic wedding, this venue provides the perfect setting for a truly unforgettable day. We were extremely pleased with everything. Our daughter's wedding was perfect! Rating: 11/10 – Stunning architecture, breathtaking lake views, and very exceptional service (thanks Nicole) made DeKoven Center our daughter's dream wedding venue.

ll me all night long at the wedding how beautiful everything was! I had the pleasure of being in contact with Nicole through the wedding planning process, and she was AMAZING to work with! Always had an answer to every question and responded back quickly! I highly recommend!!!

to have found this venue and Nicole Miller is a SAINT. She is the most amazing person to work with and we truly loved working with her. She made our day special and literally made sure we had everything we needed on the day of the wedding. She’s a true superhero and we are so thankful for her! This venue is truly a hidden gem! Do not pass up!

US!! Our event coordinator, Nicole, was the ABSOLUTE best…especially having started planning over 1 year in advance for our big day. She made us feel welcomed, laid out all the expectations, dates…and even helped us with suggestions for local vendors since we were new to town. The closer we got to the wedding, she was right by my side, answered all our questions with full transparency. Fast forward to day of…I had not only Nicole but they had just brought on someone new who was SPECTACULAR….Samantha (Sam). They both made sure to check on me…but most importantly my mental well being as a bride. When I said I was nervous and felt nauseas, Sam went out of her way to bring me a box with (2) pitchers of water (ice and no ice), cups, mints, gum, etc to help calm my nerves. Just WOW! Everything was just the best experience at DeKoven and I cannot thank them enough! Special shout out to the Bartender, I believe it was Jill, who handled our party and listened to some interesting karaoke from us lol Much love and thank you again!

rocess. She was able to do all communication via email/phone due to us living in a different state. She sent us color swatch samples via mail. She was amazing and went above and beyond for us. We are very grateful for all of Dekoven staff. The bartenders did such a great job keeping up with our lively crowd!

he vision for our wedding come to life. The DeKoven center is the most beautiful venue, with their historic stone buildings, flowers everywhere, and being located across from Lake Michigan, it truly makes the perfect wedding venue. I can not recommend The DeKoven Center enough!

dreams. It was truly just immaculate and everything I ever envisioned. I feel so blessed to have had our wedding at this venue. I HIGHLY recommend putting this venue at the top of your list to consider. 10/10 review. I couldn’t give it enough stars! I can’t wait to go back someday and take family photos.

oughout the day. The courtyard in front of the chapel was the dreamiest ceremony location, again perfect from every camera angle. My florists worked with the DeKoven Center staff to create a gorgeous rose-lined pathway down the aisle, something straight out of a Pinterest board. It was perfect. My guests were blown away from every aspect. The beautifully maintained grounds, lush gardens, historic architecture, friendly staff, and lake views all contributed to making this wedding venue the most memorable for my family and friends. Most of our wedding guests traveled from Chicago IL or Cleveland OH, and they were all blown away by this hidden gem in Wisconsin! I want to thank Nicole from the DeKoven Center for making the planning process so easy for me and my husband. The DeKoven Center made all our wedding day dreams come true, and we couldn’t be happier!

l! The staff were incredibly friendly, flexible, and accomodating. We had absolutely no problems or mistakes throughout our entire experience. Thank you DeKoven for giving us a wedding venue that we will truly never forget.

brick, lake Michigan and beautiful flowers everywhere you look. I cannot say enough good things about our wedding day and everything leading up to it. Nicole is the event coordinator and she was wonderful to work with. She was so easy to communicate with through phone and email, worked with us to get everything we wanted from the perfect linens and chairs. Met with us every time we asked and never missed a beat when I made changes to our linens, chairs and floor plan. She took the time to get to know us and understand our vision to help bring our dream wedding to life. She was with us through the entire wedding process and was a joy to work with.

ons and concerns we had. Our wedding day was absolutely gorgeous. We had our wedding outside in front of the gate, and our reception in the great hall. The vendor team went above and beyond to help make our day special. We had a few concerns with guest count and fitting tables, and they helped us make it work and were flexible with what we needed. Overall an amazing experience! Thank you :)

n? Do you want a picturesque setting, at an affordable price? Do you want your vendor to pay attention, listen and execute each detail that is important to you? This is the place for you! (Well, it was for us, anyways!) Nicole Miller at the DeKoven Center in Racine, WI went above and beyond to make our day as unique and as special as we think we are! Nicole has worked for the DeKoven Center for over 5 years, in various capacities. Her experience, professionalism and personality made her perfect as our Event Manager! She was available to me, even on my wedding day! She even brought me a couple bobby pins for my hair right before I walked down the aisle! A HUGE thank you to Nicole Miller and the DeKoven Center for making our dream wedding come true! Our best to them, and to YOU, with your wedding planning! With Gods Love, Christina & Chad O.

first booked this venue, Jenna was the wedding coordinator and she was amazing! A few months prior to my wedding Jenna left the DeKoven center and was replaced by a new wedding coordinator, Barb. After that, my experience went downhill. I had to send multiple repeat emails and wait weeks for a response. The day of my wedding rehearsal we arrived and no one from the DeKoven center was there. We waited 20 minutes and I called multiple times until someone finally answered and made it clear that they forgot about my rehearsal. The day of the wedding arrives and we were given the go ahead to begin set up at 12. Not to mention it was Barb who offered to open the doors at 12 for us. (numerous people told us this, including the coordinator the NIGHT before the wedding). Well when my family arrived to set up at 12 they were told to leave and come back at 2 or they will be charged extra, setting our entire plan behind schedule. Second, my wedding contract clearly stated that we were allowed to bring in non-alcoholic beverages. We brought cases and cases of soda for our guests so the bar tab could be used solely for alcohol. When we set up the soda we were scolded and told to remove the soda immediately or we would be charged because it was “not allowed”. (Unfortunately I was not there to bring up the contract at the time- as I was getting married) Finally, during our grand March we popped off ONE party popper (which was allowed) and had a few strings of confetti on the floor which we had every intention of cleaning up by the end of the night. For some reason, staff thought it was appropriate to rudely interrupt my mom in the middle of our toast and dinner, to tell her the party popper needed to be cleaned up. After my wedding I reached out to the wedding coordinator to voice my concerns about the events and was ignored and have never heard back from them. While my wedding was beautiful overall, it was very frustrating being forgotten about and having my wedding contract blatantly ignored and having my day interrupted by unnecessary events.

ly stunning for an outdoor ceremony, and knowing you have the indoor chapel as backup for inclement weather gives you such peace of mind! DeKoven Center is also so affordable compared to other ceremony spots in the area. We had more than few changes of plans due to COVID-19 and Jenna rolled with all of them! We ended up having a "micro" ceremony with 25 people and I can't say enough kind words about how easy she made our special day. While the beauty of the grounds is enough of a sell, DeKoven's hospitality and professionalism makes it all the more worth it.

ng make for a beautiful backdrop for any wedding. For us it was a perfect location where we were able to hold our wedding ceremony in the beautiful St. John’s Chapel and then our reception in the Great Hall. My wife and I even stayed overnight in one of their apartments which are right there on site and are very comfortable and tastefully decorated. For the planning and build up to the wedding Dekoven was very easy to work with and the wedding coordinator, Amanda, was an absolute delight. She was easy to work with, always available and offered many great suggestions and adjustments which we readily adopted. She really performed the role of a wedding planner in many respects and that was great for us because it made our life easier. St John’s Chapel was a beautiful historic setting for our wedding and we were able to have our own pastor conduct the service. We also had our own musicians that we had selected playing for the ceremony. The great hall was beautifully laid out and decorated and we had numerous choices of table settings, linens, food vendors etc. so we got exactly what we wanted. Our wedding day was everything that we hoped it would be and our friends and family had a great day with us. We cannot compliment Dekoven highly enough for their great attention to detail and the service that they, particularly Amanda, provided.

e pricing was affordable and included a lot of things that other venues did not. Overall, working with Dekoven was a great experience!

questions and was able to accommodate my requests. The vendors they recommended were great, we loved supporting local businesses. The grounds and buildings are gorgeous, there were nothing but compliments from our guests. Our pictures turned out amazing. If you are looking for a non-traditional hall wedding this is the place for you! There is nothing I would change about the venue or everyone that works there. They are amazing and so personable!

th taking. The event manager Adam was hands down the best. He made sure i was stress free and went above and beyond to make sure everything was perfect for our special day. If he was ever unavailable for an email or phone call his assistant Mandy was also amazing. I am so thankful we choose to have the Dekoven center be apart of our big day. Our guests are still raving about the fun they had and how beautiful it was.

the beauty of these buildings. However, my review will not be concentrated on just how beautiful The Dekoven Center is, but I will focus on how helpful Adam Koenig the event manager was during a very difficult situation. The beginning of the ceremony we were told, what no couple would like to hear on their special day, that our officiant was not going to make it to the ceremony. It was easy to fall into despair in the thought that the day that I had planned for for a year and a half was ruined. However, despite the difficulty and the panic this caused, Adam was able to stay level headed and along with some of our loved ones that sprung to action, were able to achieve what seemed like an impossibility by that point; they go us married!!!! Adam went above and beyond what any event manager is tasked to do on a wedding day. He even helped sweep up the flower petals at the end of the ceremony, which is the task and responsibility of the wedding party. I cannot say how thankful I am to Adam for assisting us on our special day. What makes this place a go to, is that not only is the chapel and grounds absolutely beautiful, but the staff that you work with directly are amazing and are there with any questions, concerns, and are ready to spring into action when things don't go the way you planned, as that was my experience. You cannot go wrong when booking with the TheDekoven Center.

ur emails and were very thorough when giving us answers and details about the venue!

ed by the garden and the architecture. As soon as we entered the old chapel, I could see myself walking down the isle and taking a pictures around the building. Working with their coordinator was a breeze, and I always received very prompt responses to my emails or calls. The beauty of this unique venue is amazing.

many amazing options for pictures! Adam and Mandy were very professional and accommodating. I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful place for my ceremony! It was amazing and perfect!

planning the wedding everyone at DeKoven Center's wedding team was wonderful. They were very easy to communicate with via email and super responsive! They were very accommodating with all of my questions and requests. The day of the wedding everything was beautiful and went smoothly! We got married out in the courtyard and the chairs were set up by DeKoven Center beforehand for us. The only negative I have is that there were a TON of bees/wasps surrounding us as we did the ceremony (by the gates where the flowers are). I highly recommend spraying to prevent the bees from going to that area. It was very distracting because there were SO many of them. That was a minor issue though and everything else was amazing!! Highly recommend getting married here! Shout out to Adam Koenig, Amanda Tutas, and Samantha Lauf for all their help!

ecially in mid-July), the photo opportunities were endless. The overall look of this vintage location went well with our 1920s/30s theme. Here are some perks that are worth mentioning: The ability to have the ceremony and reception in one place was great and convenient for our guests. It was also nice that we could have the ceremony in the chapel or in the courtyard, and even though we chose the courtyard, the chapel was available as a backup in case of rain. The event managers were on site and available at the rehearsal the day before and the entire wedding day in case we needed anything and were extremely helpful. Leading up to the wedding day the event manager/staff were also very easy to get ahold of by phone or email. The only criticism I have is that communicating with multiple DeKoven staff members via email led to some confusion over details and made it difficult to keep track of the conversations (what had been communicated to us and what hadn't). Though, I believe there was a change of staff happening right around the time of our wedding, so things might be different now! Overall, we had the best day and it was directly and positively affected by the friendly and accommodating DeKoven staff. If we could do it all over again, we would definitely choose this location!

in front of the lake before the reception and we kept having to stop along the way because there were so many beautiful locations for photo ops!! Big shot out to Adam - thank you so much for helping oversee everything and making our special day all the more special. I would recommend this venue to anyone and if I could give it more than 5 stars, I would!

dors making the day seamless. The outdoor wedding ceremony location was beautiful. Our guests couldn't stop telling us how perfect it was. And of course the Great Hall is an incredible space, warm and inviting, but also elegant and beautiful. Cannot recommend highly enough.

out of town. Everything was set up the way that we requested and staff was available until 5pm to help with setup and to accept deliveries. However, the decorations available through the DeKoven Center were quite expensive and we had problems with the beverage service that was provided. While the bartenders were friendly, they did not know how to tap a keg, and we had to find a guest to do it for them.

on campus that you as the couple pay for. My husband was told we would never see that person since they were to be patrolling the parking lots to ensure the safety of everyone. Our security guard sat in the back of the hall by the bar, while 3 of our family members vehicles were broken into. After the matter was handled, the security guard proceeded to sit in the back again. That event ruined our entire reception. We did bring up this matter with the head coordinator and we did get a refund, but it was a fight in order for that to happen.

ur people attending!

of the venue and how cool it was to be on Lake Michigan. The wedding event staff were very responsive and friendly from scheduling a tour of the facilities to answering all of my random questions to running the wedding day to finalizing costs afterwards. Highly recommend!

t like the DeKoven Center really wanted to make this OUR special day - not that we had to fit into their protocols.

assist with planning and supervising our event. While we had an indoor ceremony, I have attended outdoor ceremonies that were absolutely beautiful, as well. Lake Michigan views are right across the street for photos. Brides and grooms should note that alcohol is not allowed on the grounds.

ommodating and helpful.

r rehearsal dinner inside Taylor Hall. My bridesmaids and I slept in Taylor that night (so we didn't need to worry about traveling the next morning). Our wedding was inside St. Johns chapel and reception was inside the Great Hall. Our guest slept inside Taylor Hall that evening (so there was no drinking and driving). We then had a post-wedding brunch the following morning inside Taylor Hall. Our guests loved the idea that they never had to drive the whole weekend and the grounds and building are so elegant and unique! Taylor Hall was so flexible with what we needed. However, the coordinator was difficult to get a hold of and have my questions answered in a timely manner. The food for the rehearsal dinner was just okay. I wouldn't rave about it but I wasn't totally displeased either. They gave us the option to have alcohol served at the rehearsal but we opted out to cut down on cost. Instead, they allowed us to bring in our own soda and they provided coffee, iced tea, and lemonade. Dealing with the main event coordinator of St. John's chapel and Great Hall (Samantha Lauf) was nothing short of amazing! She was on top of every detail and would respond quickly to my emails and phone calls, giving me thorough details to answer questions I had. It's true when they say the halls have a maximum guest count. Listen to their advice and don't max out at the number. Once you fill the room with tables and chairs it really fills up the space. We had 115 in the Great Hall and it was perfect! Plenty of dancing space and area to move around between tables (and it did NOT feel empty). My only complaint with the hall is that they do not let you decorate the night before. I had to ask friends and family to set up the morning of starting at 8am. It worked out but I would have preferred to set up the night prior. Same thing with St. Johns chapel. I thought we had it the whole day but that isn't the case. You only have an hour before your scheduled time slot (if you pay the extra fee). We paid it and I'm so glad we did. We had the time to take pictures in the chapel before the ceremony and allow time to use the bride's room to get dressed. Having our guest sleep in Taylor Hall was one of the best experiences. Don't let your guests get weirded out by the "shared" bathrooms. It isn't what they think and none of our guests had a problem with it. The DeKoven gave our party free rein of Taylor Hall that evening after the reception. Any after party was welcomed to continue and we didn't have to worry about keeping the noise down.

ut down on travel for the guests. The chapel is gorgeous and the getting ready room in the chapel was spacious. The only problem was that we only got one hour to get ready on site. My bridal party ended up getting ready at home and only going to the location for pictures right before the ceremony. Mandy was on sight that day and she as incredible. she was so helpful and so friendly. She really made the difference that day and is one of the reasons that this review is so positive. The reception space was pretty and you really can't beat the location being so close to the lake. We have great pictures because of the great scenery around the location. We were initially told that our caterer had to provide water even though we were purchasing a drink package from the reception hall. we were able to negotiate water in pitchers on the table. I would recommend this venue to a bride that has a large guest list. We had a small wedding and could have gone somewhere else for a little cheaper, but still a great experience overall.