Willows Bend Reviews

The staff at Willows Bend is excellent. They answer all your questions promptly and treat you like your family. Their positive attitudes create a fun and friendly experience. I would highly recommend the venue, wedding planner and DJ. They were absolutely lovely. Bride's Parents

This place is beautiful and has everything you would ever want or need. Also, the owners were so helpful and fun to be around!

Our daughter was married here on 7/22/23. It could not have been a more perfect day! Jim and Michelle are wonderful to work with as well as the venders they recommend. Highly recommend this venue to everyone!

We just had our daughters wedding (and rehearsal dinner) at Willows Bend. Absolutely beautiful venue with wonderful spaces… bridal suite, grooms room, kitchen, plenty of restrooms, and the scenic and private outdoor space!! Jim and Michelle were excellent to work with … helpful the whole process! They recommended vendors who were also top notch. It was a truly perfect experience! I would gladly recommend Willows Bend!

We were married at Willow’s Bend on April 9th 2022 and our day was wonderful! Jim and Michelle were very helpful right from the moment we booked. They had wonderful suggestions for vendors as well! They were very accommodating and kind to both us and our families. Our wedding day was like a fairytale and we could not have asked for a better venue. Guests are still talking about how beautiful everything was and so are we! Both my husband and I would reccomend Willow’s Bend to anyone looking for an event venue. -Brennan and Justin Richter

I’m so happy we chose Willows Bend for our Wedding Venue. It is a beautiful Venue inside & out! They were very responsive to questions, super friendly, very accommodating & flexible. Our guests loved the venue as well. Would Definitely recommend Willows Bend!

Thank you Jim and Michele Shively, for all you did to make Charlee French and David Sam French's wedding such a great and memorable day. You have an outstanding venue and we couldn't have been happier with the way you, Aaron Koker (DJ) and Thomas Felts (photographer) worked together to make everything flow seamlessly. We heard all positive feedback from those who attended and will definitely recommend your venue to everyone we know. We wish you many years of continued success.

We just had our wedding here this past weekend and it was nothing short of amazing! Jim and Michelle are incredible. They run their business as a business, not as a swap meet. The prices and details of what is included are up front. No surprises. Every single one of our guests, complimented the venue's beauty on several occasions. It's the perfect venue and I wouldn't have changed it from the world. Thank you Willow's Bend for making our dream day, come true.

Where do I even start? Jim and Michelle went over and beyond to provide and support us in any way needed to help us have the most beautiful wedding ever. They are wonderful, kind, and very honest people. The venue is beautiful, the DJ ( Aaron) did an excellent job. The firework display Jim put on was out of this world. Jim and Michelle are very professional. If your looking for a venue, I would strongly suggest Willows Bend. A top of the line venue. Thank you so much Jim and Michelle.

Willow’s Bend helped provide us with the perfect wedding. Jim and Michelle were incredible and helped make the entire night perfect with their personal help and gorgeous venue. From an amazing fog machine, and incredible lighting, to the perfect sound system setup and outdoor setup, this place has it all. We were even lucky enough for fireworks on a great weathered day. There’s nothing that slips through the cracks and they go over every single little item to make sure the wedding is in good hands and accounted for. I couldn’t recommend this place any stronger if you’re needing a location for a wedding. Don’t forget to add the fireworks option, worth every penny to add that special something extra! The hand built venue has everything you need and then some, and is a gorgeous lakeside location. Stop looking, because you’ve found your dream venue!

We had our wedding this past weekend and let me tell you it was the time of our lives. Jim and Michele are two of the nicest people we have ever met. They were super helpful with every aspect of our wedding planning and really contributed to our special day. The Venue alone speaks for itself! Every little detail is absolutely perfect, which makes every brides dream day a reality. Both of our families enjoyed there hospitality and felt right at home. Once again, a huge thanks to Jim and Michele! We couldn't have done it without you both! Me and my wife would recommend Willows Bend to anyone for their special day! It truly is the Field of Dreams!

I regret not writing this sooner, but my daughter was married at Willows Bend August 1, 2020. Willows Bend and the owners Jim and Michele Shively met with us frequently, responded quickly to our questions, and accommodated every need. It was such a perfect day. A beautiful venue for the wedding by the lake, the stunning reception space, and ended with a spectacular fireworks show. An absolutely perfect setup for a fairytale wedding. Our guests stayed to the end and enjoyed every minute. My husband and I enjoyed working with the Shively's and now consider them as friends. I am so pleased we chose Willows Bend, as I know my daughter and son-in-law will relive those priceless memories forever.

We had such a lovely time and enjoyed time with our family. Thanks hey help that day become possible and loved having a open bar!

Jim and Michele run a fantastic business. Through all of the uncertainty that the pandemic provided us, these two continued to support and aid my husband and I to create the perfect wedding day. We recommend to anyone who is looking for an all-inclusive wedding venue.

Let me take the time and effort out of your search....book at Willows Bend. With Jim and Michelle, we had a wedding with the bride out of state and COVID-19 pandemic and the pandemic was our ONLY stresser. We love Willows Bend.

This venue is so beautiful and unique and definitely worth the money. Our daughter and son-in-law got married there last weekend and she continues to call it her "fairy tale" wedding. We've had numerous comments about its setting and the capacity for an indoor/outdoor event. We enjoyed the fact we didn't have to use a vendor from a list and were able to use a local caterer/friend from our area. Jim & Michele offer different beverage prices, too, which is nice. They went above & beyond when making sure we had everything we needed. A+++

Willows Bend was the only venue I looked at because it just felt perfect from the get go! It is just unbelievably gorgeous with the most beautiful setting. Jim and Michele are so fun to work with, they helped everything run smoothly, and they truly cared about my husband and I and OUR wishes for our wedding. They took so much stress off my shoulders, were quick to answer my hundreds of questions, and made me feel SO special! They've thought out everything so carefully! The bridal suite was PERFECT for my eight bridesmaids and me to get ready in, the ceremony and reception set-up is exactly what I had envisioned, they allow outside catering, and the beverage packages are very reasonable! I loved my Friday wedding, as I was able to rent the venue out on Thursday for 6 hours to decorate and hold our rehearsal. Honestly, we didn't have to do much decorating because the venue is already so elegant! My wedding felt like a fairytale and it had so much to do with this venue. I've gotten HUNDREDS of compliments on the venue from our guests! I 110% recommend Willows Bend!

Jim and Michele have a terrific venue. It can be individualized to fit whatever folks want for their wedding day. The owners truly care about people and want the best for their clients.

Beautiful venue, personable service, support from owners was above and beyond what we expected. Excellent suggestions when we had questions. Flexible seating and set-ups! Best venue in the area.

Jim and Michelle were wonderful to work with and Willows Bend is beautiful inside and out. My daughter and her husband chose a date in November as that was the best date Willows Bend had available this year and the weather was questionable. We had a lousy weather forecast a week before the wedding and we decided to have the ceremony inside and Jim and Michelle met with us again to plan an inside wedding. Then, the afternoon before, it looked like the weather would be OK and we changed back to an outside ceremony. All the while they were supportive and encouraging. They were booked the day before so we had to get everything decorated that morning but it all came together. Everything was beautiful and most of all, the bride and groom were thrilled with their entire wedding day.

Very wonderful venue owners and extremely easy to work with. The venue is unequivocally beautiful. Will most definitely refer any future events/weddings!

Willows Bend was nothing but amazing! From the very beginning Jim and Michele were very helpful. They were always VERY quick to respond to questions through email, they were very accommodating to my ideas and vision for the big day, and they were just so friendly and fun to work with! The venue is just gorgeous and perfect for a larger wedding, but also great for a smaller one. We had around 230 guests and the space never once felt cramped.

What sets Willows Bend apart from other venues is its large bridal suite, elevator, large parking lot, tons of natural light, large open floor plan, and its gorgeous lake view. I would have to say the biggest thing though is the personalization Michele and Jim bring to the table. Their love and passion for this venue and this line of work is so immense, and because of this my parents and I felt we were in great hands. My husband, our families, and I had such a great experience at Willows Bend. My husband and I both agree our wedding day was the best day of our life, and we feel so blessed to now be apart of the Willows Bend family. We will cherish the memories of our wedding day forever.

Jim and Michelle have a wonderful facility, it is stunning! Beautiful building and an ideal setting for an outside, lakeside wedding. They were great to work with, responsive to questions and helpful with ideas, yet flexible with other ideas. My son and daughter-in-law had a perfect and super fun rehearsal, wedding, dinner, reception and dance! Wonderful memories made with family and friends!

Our daughters wedding was the second event to be held at this new venue. It couldn't have been a better experience. The wedding was beautiful in a beautiful setting. Jim and Michelle were fantastic to work with. You will find Michelle taking care of so many items during the event that you didn't even think of. Awesome!!!

Words cannot begin to describe how thankful me and my fiancee are for choosing this venue for our wedding. From the start we were in love with the venue. It has a great view and it will produce great pictures. Jim and Michelle have been so great with work with. They are so detailed oriented and really care about making every wedding perfect. They go out of their way to make sure you feel comfortable booking with them. I can't wait to work with them for our wedding in 2019 !

We took the tour last week and the area is breathtaking. It is so tranquil and beautiful. Jim and Michele are so wonderful to work with. They are so personable and easy to talk to. Had to have this space as my venue after visiting. I would give 10 stars if I could!!!

Jim and Michele are very personal and so caring! They truly have thought through every thing that would make the wedding experience the best for the couple. I am looking forward so very much to working with them and getting to share this experience with them at Willows Bend!

Jim & Michele have been so great to work with! They are very organized and have great plans for Willows Bend. We are so excited that our son & his fiancée have chosen this venue! It is definitely going to be a perfect site.

They are very helpful and it is beautiful out there!!!

Very personable owners. Made sure to work with us every step of the way. Great advice and made the wedding day super easy. The fireworks were the icing on the cake.

Everything worked out great. The host were very accommodating and helped a lot whether that be the night of the rehearsal dinner or the day of the wedding. Very responsive on text. Able to answer just about any questions you might have as well as they have many suggestions to help you.

Austin and I had a beautiful wedding reception at Willows Bend. Jim and Michelle were wonderful and really made the night run smoothly and worked hard to ensure our happiness as a bride and groom. I have one concern with our night and it is the communication between what I wanted with my DJ and what Jim wanted. Once this was addressed, everything was great and Jim responded to my feedback on the matter and fixed the issue. Our night was EVERYTHING we could dream of and we are so appreciative to have Jim and Michelle listen and communicate everything with us, and when an issue arose it was immediately fixed. Thank you both so much!

It cost way more then what we got but loved it

They were very easy to work with and they didn't hesitate to make sure everybody was doing ok and that we didn't need anything

The venue itself is absolutely gorgeous and I could not have asked for a more beautiful location for my wedding. The only reason I didn't give the venue 5/5 for everything is that I felt like the owners were just a bit too overbearing at times. While they clearly meant well, I felt like they inserted their opinion a bit more into my actual wedding planning than I had envisioned. In hindsight, this could be resolved by being more upfront about what I wanted as a bride. Hindsight is 20/20 and the owners certainly do their best to make sure each bride has her best day. However, as a bride I would recommend that you stick to your guns on what you want or don't want on your wedding day.

I write this review to allow other couples considering this venue to have knowledge of what to expect when booking. Upon touring the venue, I asked the owner, Jim, if there were any hidden fees that we could expect upon booking. He told us that he could not think of any, so we decided to book this venue for our wedding. We quickly realized this was not the truth. While booking our caterer, they gave us their prices and asked where we were getting married. They quickly informed us that our total cost would be higher because the owners of Willowsbend charge them 10% of what we paid to be there. I was shocked. Our caterer informed us that it is not just their company that is charged; they told us that any caterer who goes into that venue is expected to pay the 10%. I reached out to Jim about this, and was told that he was not sure how they chose to charge their clientele. We started talking about this with people we knew, and one of our pastor friends informed us that he has performed a wedding at that venue, and was also charged 10%; ultimately, this was charged to the bride & groom when he refused to pay it. While I can only speak to my experience with the caterer and our pastor friend being charged, I can assume any vendor that steps into that venue will be charged for their presence. 10% may not seem like a lot, but it quickly adds up. The venue is beautiful and offers great scenery for a wedding, but I wish I knew this information before booking with this venue because it would have changed my decision. Prior to booking, I read the negative reviews this venue has and didn't believe them because of the owner's responses to those reviews. I wish I had. Unfortunately, due to personal circumstances, we had to cancel our wedding 5 months before the date. So I cannot speak to the actual day-of-event, I can only speak to my experience with this venue when planning and leading up to it. As I said, I wish I had taken the reviews I read to heart and knew that after my experience, I wanted to warn other couples considering this venue of what they could expect financially upon booking.