DeKoven Center Reviews

The DeKoven Center is a beautiful venue anytime of year! The grounds are extensive with lovely garden areas....we had a winter wonderland with a gorgeous backdrop of exquisite architecture and soaring trees!!
There is a separate chapel, two reception halls, outdoor grounds, and packages to accommodate. Plenty of parking and easy access. One of the best part of the venue was working with Nicole Miller the Event Manager! She is extremely knowledgeable, professional, highly communicative, resourceful, and bought into the complete success of your day!! Magical place! Wonderful staff! Greatest day ever!!!

If you’re looking for a wedding venue that blends historic charm, breathtaking lake views, and elegant architecture, the DeKoven Center in Racine, Wisconsin, is a top-tier choice.

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 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.

The Dekoven Center is a one stop shop so to speak. The chapel has the feel of old world charm as well the their reception halls on the same beautifully landscaped property. They are clean and well maintained . No decor is needed except what you want to put on your tables. But, when the tables are set, you need very little because of the elegance of their settings. All of the settings and linens are included in their price too! (Unlike many other venues and several colors to choose from. )
Our daughter had visions of a barn wedding that are a newer trend of this decade but when we visited the Dekoven, she fell in love with it right away.
The property also hosts two apartments that are rented separate of the Dekoven Center by Air Bnb. The Air bnb was the only negative part of our experience. They cancelled our reservation of the apartments after they cashed our year ahead deposits. We had no retribution from them either.
We then found a Vrbo a few blocks away that was much better suited for our bridal party group anyway. Even though it was of no fault and not related to The Dekoven Center, they bent over backwards to make right of the injustice of Air Bnb.
We planned this wedding throughout the year and from Pennsylvania and it could not have been a more enjoyable experience for our family. Nicole is the best! She made us feel like family and we will always be so grateful to her and the servers of the Dekoven Center to have made our daughter’s wedding such a wonderful experience and fond memory. Highly recommended.

The DeKoven Center was an absolutely stunning venue for our wedding. We were amazed by the flexibility they offered, accommodating various faiths and denominations with grace. The indoor cathedral setting was classic and elegant, while the outdoor space provided a vast canvas to bring our dream wedding vision to life.

The staff at the DeKoven Center were incredibly friendly and went above and beyond to ensure everything was set up just the way we wanted. They were attentive and responsive, making the planning process smooth and stress-free. Additionally, their willingness to help with decorations and setup relieved a lot of wedding-day pressure.

While the venue's beauty and accommodating nature were definite highlights, the parking and layout was not super intuitive. A couple of our guests got lost on the drive or in the parking lots. Overall, it did not detract significantly from our special day.

We highly recommend the DeKoven Center for couples seeking a versatile and picturesque wedding venue.

Our event was wonderful and I cannot express enough how helpful the staff was. Our event coordinator Nicole went above be and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed and that we loved everything we got. The venue is absolutely gorgeous and I am so glad we went with the Dekoven Center for our event.

Me and my wife had the best experience from beginning to end! Nicole was responsive and did everything to accommodate our very specific 1940s theme. The grounds and beautiful and make for amazing pictures! We are so grateful for all of the effort that went into our day!

Nicole was great to work with, always willing and able to answer any questions I had. The rest of the staff was also very friendly and easy to work with. We loved the venue, it was perfect for our outdoor wedding, but it was good to know we had the option to use the chapel for bad weather. The Great Hall was beautiful we loved the architecture and the lights the venue provided.

The DeKoven Center is simply the most beautiful and picturesque wedding venue we have ever seen. The stone buildings, historic architecture, lush gardens, lake views, friendly and supportive staff, all contributed to creating the perfect setting for our wedding.

My husband and I had a private first look in the Bishop Garden, near the rear of the property and it was just beautiful. We had all of our bridal party photos and family photos taken on the grounds prior to the ceremony and we were all in awe at every angle. Every photo came out perfectly, our Chicago-based photographers and videographers were incredibly impressed with the endless options of photo opportunities and backgrounds.

The ceremony took place in front of the chapel on the lawn in the courtyard and every detail was absolutely beautiful. My florists created a gorgeous aisle by individually sticking hundreds of white long-stemmed roses into the grass aligning both sides making the space even more gorgeous.

Everywhere you look is a picture-perfect setting. Our guests were either from Chicago, IL or Cleveland, OH, and they were all blown away by this hidden gem in Wisconsin. Even now, six months later, people are still talking about our wedding. The experience was so unique and for many of our guests, it was their first time visiting Wisconsin. Many have mentioned to be in a place as breathtaking as the DeKoven Center for our wedding made the commute even more worthwhile. Guests enjoyed exploring the gardens, admiring architecture, walking down to the lake for sunset and much more.

We had our reception in the Great Hall, and it accommodated our 220+ guest list perfectly! We had a plated dinner catered and served by Chef David’s as recommended by The DeKoven Center and our wedding cake by Sugar and Spice Cupcakes, another Racine local. I can’t say enough how positive our experience was planning our wedding with these amazing vendors.

Planning a wedding from 3 states away was a challenge as a young bride, but Nicole from the DeKoven Center put us at ease and made the process so simple and fun for me and my husband! I never thought this beautiful of a wedding venue existed outside of Pinterest, and we cannot be more grateful to have had the opportunity to start our forever at The DeKoven Center.

If you want the best venue and event coordinator, look no further! We worked with Nicole and Jennifer for our wedding on December 3rd, 2022. There was absolutely no problems. She helped make our day absolutely perfect. The campus is beautiful and ADA accessible. I highly recommend staying in the AirBnbs on campus as well.

As seniors marrying again in our 60's we were a bit overwhelmed at all the plans & arrangements we needed to make. My husband knew of DeCoven Center, & I loved its charm, lovely architecture, stained-glass windows & gorgeous location on Lake Michigan immediately. Nicole helped us with every detail. She was very professional; kind & patient. We'd recommend her to anyone looking for a beautiful wedding!

Our event manager Nicole was amazing. She was very friendly and courteous. She was our fourth manager over the period of the three years of planning, but with the short time we worked with her, she did an amazing job. The chapel and the Assembly Hall were beautifully decorated and set up and I was impressed on how everything turned out.

It was hard to find somewhere in Wisconsin with a European feel after our destination wedding had to be cancelled due to COVID. We found The DeKoven Center and thought we’d check it out. When we arrived our jaws dropped. The pictures do not do the venue justice! It’s absolutely gorgeous and has that castle feel we were looking for. Barb and Lynn with The DeKoven center were incredibly helpful and just so easy to work with. They both went out of their way to make sure our day was as special as possible. All of our guests were blown away at the beauty of the venue and said this was the best wedding they’ve ever attended. I highly recommend booking this venue for your special day!

I love the look and feel of the older structure. The buildings and grounds are beautiful. But they DOUBLED BOOKED US! So after I went in and paid in full (not just a deposit), confirmed the date and time for the ceremony to be in the chapel. We needed the time confirmed so we could send out invites made of wood and paid a lot extra to have express shipped. The tell us that THEY double booked the chapel. We could move to a later time or date. NO - wooden invites sent out already. Not going to call everyone and say hey ignore the invitation the ceremony will be at 4:30pm instead of 1pm. The staff seamed genuinely sorry and offered to buy an arch and decorate it so we could get married in the hall. We were having a very small group of people only about 25 including the wedding party. NOT what we wanted but also did not want to change the time or date. The staff did throw in some extras free of charge. It was beautiful, I rearranged the ceremony and reception chairs and tables and added more decorations to the arch, it worked. We wanted to get married in the chapel.

I will start by saying that this was a beautiful place for my wedding and I had an amazing night. Unfortunately, I would not recommend this place due to multiple incidents. When I 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.

I highly recommend having a wedding at the Dekoven Center. The Chapel is beautiful and Jenna really works with you to make sure your day special and everything you want to included in your ceremony is in there. On my wedding day we had a huge snow storm and she contacted me and offered to move the ceremony time back that day to ensure we and our guests were able to make it.

We had our wedding ceremony here. Jenna was our coordinator. She was amazing to work with. She kept me in the loop along the way in regards to what changes were made for their COVID protocol and was very willing to work with us on everything. I highly recommend the DeKoven Center!

Cannot recommend DeKoven enough! We held our ceremony outside in September 2020. We could not have asked for a more picturesque venue. There are so many amazing backdrops to take pictures! We worked with Jenna, who was not only extremely responsive, but very patient with us as things changed due to the effects of Covid. She was extremely accommodating and helpful as we navigated our "live online" ceremony for our guests outside of immediate family. Our day was beyond perfect thanks to her and the DeKoven Center.

It's Beautiful, It's Perfect and It's on Lake Michigan. It has all the facilities and amenities for a Fantastic Wedding Day with a wonderful built in wedding coordinator. Enjoy....

Even during COVID the Dekoven Center was an absolutely amazing place to get married! The scenery was beautiful and the staff, especially Jenna, were excellent. We had to relain our destination wedding here in town in three weeks and they were flexible, timely, and just amazing! I highly recommend them.

Jenna and the whole dekoven team did an amazing job to help me prepare for my big day! It’s completely stormed the day of, but they made sure everything was perfect!

The Dekoven center was the ideal location for our wedding and everything about our day there exceeded our expectations. The historic buildings and the beautiful lake Michigan setting 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.

We were married July 20th and everything was amazing! Jenna made everything run very smoothly the day of the event. Communication the month prior was a breeze, she answered all my 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!

The Dekoven center was everything we could have ever asked for. Even with switching contacts from Adam to Jenna was fairly smooth. Jenna was amazing with everything and any changes, even last minute, we're solved with ease! The grounds and buildings were perfect for wedding shots. I couldn't have asked for a better venue.

I recently got married here in September 2018. I can rave a thousand times over about how beautiful their grounds are. They take good care of their property to ensure they preserve 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.