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The Whitney Reviews

The Whitney View more information

Reviews

4.5 out of 5 rating
22 Reviews
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95% Recommended by couples

Awards

22
  • J
    Jordan P. Sent on 11/30/2022
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    A truly magical experience

    Amazing venue, highly recommended to anyone looking for a perfect spot to get married.
  • Sarah
    Sarah Sent on 07/22/2019
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    Best Day Ever

    The Whitney provided amazing food and service for my ceremony and reception. I had the ceremony in the garden and the reception inside Mrs. Whitney's bedroom which was upgraded at no cost because it wasn't booked on my wedding day. The event coordinators were very responsive and helpful. I could not have asked for a better wedding.
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    Tracie C. Sent on 07/11/2019
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    Great for events

    We had our post-wedding brunch (day after wedding) for all of our guests from out of town. It was wonderful. Samantha was really great to communicate with from start to finish. The brunch was delicious and I really appreciated that we never felt rushed; the staff allowed us time and space to take photos and enjoy each other's company. Hospitality was really excellent, setting was lovely, and food was delicious! Couldn't ask for anything more.
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  • M
    Melissa Sent on 12/27/2017
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    Our Daughter's wedding and reception was on 10/28/17 at The Whitney in Detroit. The staff was absolutely amazing, accommodating and extremely professional. The food was delicious from the hor dourves , to the soup and salad combination, the exquisite entree choices . Many of our guests told us that the food was the most delicious they've ever had at a wedding reception, we agreed. It was a unique and beautiful venue to have a wedding, so warm and romantic. We highly recommend The Whitney for any occasion, thank you for making our Daughter and her Husband's day so special, we could not have been more pleased.

    Sincerely,
    Melissa & David Kizer
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    Maria Sent on 10/27/2017
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    My husband and I had our wedding reception there from 12-3:30PM on 10/21/17. I was blown away by Sams (events coordinator) professionalism, attention to detail, and her calm and cooler demeanor. She was nothing but a joy to work with and made our day even more special. I highly recommend this place for wedding receptions. The staff we had were super friendly and fun to be around. We had a three course brunch menu and the food was PERFECT. It being our wedding reception, of course the bar was raised high. Sam met every expectation we asked for and she went above and beyond. I highly recommend this place. They also let us bum around afterwards to take wedding pictures there. We also did a cake cutting, hired a pianist and did dances on the second floor. It was just an incredible day and a large reason was because of Sam and her staff. Cant thank them enough!
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    Angela Sent on 10/06/2016
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    If you're planning to have a small intimate wedding, this is the place to go! The garden is gorgeous, and the mansion is absolutely stunning. You couldn't go wrong either way. Also, the food is amazing and the staff is so accommodating!
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    Mike Sent on 10/12/2016
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    Samantha, the events coordinator was absolutely fantastic in helping us put together the wedding of our dreams. She was fast to respond, professional, really understood our vision and was excellent at helping us put everything together. The Whitney is absolutely beautiful and we'd absolutely recommend it for anyone looking for a unique venue to get married in Detroit
  • Beth
    Beth Sent on 08/01/2012
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    I used The Whitney for my ceremony location and I couldn't be more thrilled with how things turned out. The staff was great from walk throughs to the rehersal and the day off. It was so beautiful and captured the feeling I wanted for my wedding day. Thank you to everyone who helped make this day run smoothly!
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    Stacy Sent on 11/01/2011
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    This was the most amazing place to hold a small, intimate wedding. The historical venue provided the perfect backdrop and we were treated amazing by the staff. Especially Brigett Gossett who catered to my every question and made sure that my day went off without a hitch (no pun intended :o)
  • kelly
    Kelly Sent on 06/08/2011
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    I book the Whitney for june 11th then decided months later that i needed to change to the week before, they had no problem. The banquet manager had changed during the time I was contacting them, but I had no problems with this. Everything I had discussed with the previous manager had been told to the next one. Kristine was great at returning my calls and putting my mind at ease about everything. They even served a gluten free meal for my son. The day was hot and the building was even hotter. I had asked for the air to be turned a little lower, as I was really hot. they did their best, but it is an old bldg and very hard to control the temp. I had absolutely no problems and everything went as planned. It was a perfect day!
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    Joanna Sent on 07/12/2010
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    Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous! There were a few set backs but overall a pleasant experience. So great in fact, we are having our vow renewal there next year. We married in front of the Tiffany stained glass landing on the 2nd floor. It was beautiful.

    The cons- FREEZING!! Where was the heat? People above us in the landing thought I was laughing when I was actually shaking. And in the Music Room where we held our brunch, it was quite chilly also. No discounts were given, but it was still a nice service.
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    Kayla M. Sent on 08/04/2021
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    Magnificent!

    Getting married at The Whitney was a dream come true. Staff was so helpful on our big day and with planning. Our guests really enjoyed a the uniqueness of the venue. Photo opportunities can't be beat. Looking forward to anniversary dinners here for years to come!
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    Natalie Sent on 11/13/2011
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    Our wedding at The Whitney was absolutely perfect! Kristine Rader, the banquet manager, and her staff were accommodating and made sure everything went off without a hitch. The food was spectacular and the venue was beyond stunning. Early on in the planning process, we had some concern about minor lapses in communication. As the day approached, all of our concerns were alleviated by Kristine's attention to detail. We were also impressed with how quickly and perfectly orders were taken and hors d'oeuvres, dinner, and dessert were served to our 120 guests. We cannot say enough about the venue, it's undeniable charm, and how much our guests loved it!
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    Oneka Sent on 05/18/2011
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    Everything was absolutely perfect on our day. I had the Whitney reserved for the reception and they allowed me to use the 2nd floor to dress for my ceremony which was taking place at the Belle Isle Conservatory. The site was beautiful and the Banquet Facilities Specialist made sure we had everything we needed. The only fault that I found was we weren't served everything that was supposed to come with the meal (buffet) such as the bread and beverages. I didn't realize until afterwards because I was so caught up in the day. Other than that, I would recommend the Whitney any day. Our guests enjoyed being their and the wait staff was excited and helpful.
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    Megan Sent on 10/12/2016
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    We had our wedding here at the Whitney last month. Samantha, the event coordinator, was a pleasure to work with. She was very responsive to all my emails for the months before the wedding and was around the whole day of the wedding for all our last minute needs. She also helped get the room decorated, which was above and beyond. Everyone thought the food was amazing (I think everyone ordered the wellington) and the venue itself was a beautiful setting and helped us to get some great photos. We did both the ceremony and reception at the venue and I couldn't have been happier!
  • Kezia
    Kezia S. Sent on 09/21/2023
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    Beautiful Historical Venue

    We had an amazing wedding day at The Whitney. The accommodations and photo opps were unique. Service was kind and anticipatory, and the food/cake/dessert were all top notch. Responsiveness to calls/emails about our event was sometimes slow and our wishes were not proactively communicated to all parties providing service during our wedding/reception. We found ourselves being repetitive leading up to, and during the event. That said, I would recommend this venue and I would host another event here. It is a beautiful, historic site with a talented kitchen and waitstaff who will make your day memorable.
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    Megan Sent on 10/05/2016
    4.3 out of 5 rating
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    We had our wedding here at the Whitney last month. Samantha, the event coordinator, was a pleasure to work with. She was very responsive to all my emails for the months before the wedding and was around the whole day of the wedding for all our last minute needs. She also helped get the room decorated, which was above and beyond. Everyone thought the food was amazing (I think everyone ordered the wellington) and the venue itself was a beautiful setting and helped us to get some great photos. We did both the ceremony and reception at the venue and I couldn't have been happier!
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    Julie Sent on 04/17/2012
    4.3 out of 5 rating
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    When my husband and I got engaged, I knew I didn't want to get married in a hotel, or a country club. I wanted someplace difference, elegant, intimate and beautiful. The Whitney was everything that I wanted and more. I did not utilize a wedding coordinator or planner, and Brigette at the Whitney stepped in and answered every question that I had in a timely manner. The food was great, the venue looked perfect, every single member of the staff was lovely. The only complaint that we had would be the lack of flexibility with timing. Indoor ceremonies have to be complete by 5pm because they open to the public (unless you rent the entire place), so we had to start earlier than we would have liked. Additionally, we couldn't get in until 2 hours prior to the ceremony, which rushed us a bit. Other than that, I wouldn't change a thing.
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    Jaclyn Sent on 03/04/2012
    4.1 out of 5 rating
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    We recently had our wedding at The Whitney, and I couldn't say more about the place as whole. I couldn't imagine a better place for us, and it offered a timeless feel that I don't think we could have gotten anywhere else. While there were some hiccups, I would recommend The Whitney for any event.

    Venue Pros: Absolutely gorgeous. If you want elegance, intimacy and history, there is truly no better place in the surrounding area. They do a decent amount of wedding throughout the year, but it is definitely still a "unique" venue. We had our ceremony outside in their garden, which is so beautiful, and our reception inside, which is even more outstanding. The whole mansion can accommdate more than 300 on all three levels. Valet parking.

    Venue Cons: Being that this is an old mansion, it is not a conventional venue. Your guests will be in separate dining rooms, and depending on the amount, possibly on separate floors. We liked this because it gave our larger wedding a sense of intimacy, but others may not. If you are going to have your ceremony outside, keep in mind, this is on Woodward in Detroit, there may be a chance of some city noise or sirens during your ceremony. Their elevator does not work, so if you do have more than one floor, keep in mind that elderly will most likely not be able to get up there. Their internal speaker system did not work; we had to use our pianists, which we did find out until we came to put the music on during our reception.

    Service Pros: The people at The Whitney were able to answer all our questions in a timely manner. There were some discrepancies in the cost, due to an old employees miscommunication, and they "ruled" in our favor. They have multiple coordinators to help with the set up of all decorations, which takes a huge load off, if you don't have a private wedding coordinator. They actually did a FANTASTIC job executing all my decorating plans, and I was super please with the end result. Our server was very wonderful and attentive, and we also got other raves about the service and the formality of the whole experience from our guests.

    Service Cons: They were sometimes slower with communication than I would have liked, during the planning process, and very hard to reach by phone. We planned to have our ceremony outside, but at the rehearsal, they started setting it up inside without speaking to me first; there was a slight chance of rain at the time, but not enough that warranted pulling anything inside. The day of the wedding, there were some morning showers and a 30% chance of rain in the afternoon, when my mother-in-law got to the venue an hour or so before I did, they were, again, setting up inside without notifying me. She went to bat for me, and they conceded, which was great b/c there wasn't a sprinkle. Also during the rehearsal, the coordinator was rushing us along. To her defense, almost everyone in my wedding was late due to a family medical emergency, but between her attitude, them setting up inside, and glances at her watch every 5 minutes, she just added to the stress (which made me mad because I went out my way to e-mail her supervisor about how great she was at the tasting). Lastly, my husband's godparents and their elderly mother arrived about an hour early for the ceremony. The elderly lady was tired and a bit chilly and wanted to sit inside, but the people at The Whitney refused to let them in and made them sit outside in the garden.

    Food: The food was amazing. Their salmon, that we had at the tasting, was the best I've ever had. We had to switch to whitefish for the actual wedding, but that, too, was delicious. There are not many ways to screw up a filet mignon, but theirs was very good. Surprisingly, my favorite was their chicken dish. It was probably one of the best chicken dishes I have ever had.

    Cost: If you are looking to rent out the whole mansion for a wedding on a Friday or Saturday night, it's a pretty penny. However, they have other price points for Sunday weddings, Monday weddings and Tues-Thur weddings, that may better fit your budget. We did Monday and I feel that overall, we got a lot more than what we paid for.
  • Ambyr
    Ambyr Sent on 07/27/2011
    3.8 out of 5 rating
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    The Whitney is absolutely gorgeous – inside and out. We chose to have our evening ceremony and reception at the Whitney outdoors in the garden. We had around 150 people – so it was perfect. Initial contact with the staff was horrendous and stressful – luckily they ended up replacing the original contact person with Kristine Rader. Kristine was VERY responsive and never missed our scheduled appointments. Everything we asked for happened and the Whitney staff was awesome. With the exception of some cold glares from a manager during the arrival for our rehearsal the day before and some confusion with staff telling our guests the wedding had been moved inside due to rain – everyone was accommodating. All of our guests commented on the friendliness of the staff, the great food and how awesome the bartender was. I was pleased with how quickly the staff converted the ceremony space into reception seating and the extra touches of lanterns in the back area – it made the garden look like something out of an evening fairytale. We had somewhat of a non-traditional wedding – but the Whitney let us do what we wanted and for that we are ETERNALLY grateful. Our wedding was perfect.
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    Bianca Sent on 01/27/2013
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    Beautiful location for a small wedding. Food and wait staff were amazing.
  • Marie
    Marie G. Sent on 11/28/2021
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    I regret choosing this venue

    I had my wedding here and it was terrible. My guests even commented how bad it was and that I should take legal action - yes it was really that bad. Here is the list the details:

    PS: If you think you can avoid the nightmare below by staying on top of the coordinator and GM, don't. I was promised personally by the GM that everything would be perfect and that any concerns about the coordinator and their organization would be resolved.

    PRE_WEDDING: The Whitney's coordinator (that were were forced to pay) literally DISAPPEARED. Right after THEY LOST OUR FLOWERS (1K worth). The bridal suit that was not ready per contract when I arrived. NO ONE was there to direct me or my wedding party as the previous bride had not finished. When asked about this I was essentially told that she took priority.

    CEREMONY: The restaurant didn't properly set up the mic we ordered so our ceremony and toasts went unheard by the majority of guests. The venue also forgot to deliver the easels for signs we ordered from them. The restaurant's matre de, who was supposed to direct guests upon arrival messed up big time. GUESTS ENDED UP AT THE OTHER BRIDAL EVENT (which was supposed to have concluded) or in the bridal and grooms suits while we were changing. SOME GUESTS RUSHED INTO THE CEREMONY WHILE WERE PROCESSING DOWN THE AISLE BECAUSE THEY HAD BEEN MISDIRECTED BY THE MAITRE DE.

    RECEPTION: NO ONE SET UP TABLES FOR THE GUESTS!! The bridal party, in the middle of the event, had to direct the switch from ceremony to reception seating! When I questioned the the GM, he told me he thought my guests were supposed to be setting up their own tables and chairs! One chair they handed out literally broke and collapsed when used- injuring a guest.
    .
    MEAL: THEY HANDED OUT MENUES CONGRATULATING THE WRONG COUPLE!!!! In addition the menues had incorrect entrees. Some even had brunch items listed for our dinner wedding! My guests had to wait hours for their food because the dining hall was over 2 hours behind. In addition THEY VENUE FORGOT TO SERVE DESERTS WE ORDERED AND PAID FOR.
    My vendors were forgotten altogether and went to McDonalds.(so I lost opportunity for pictures). The kids ate adult food as the restaurant forgot to make the chicken fingers as ordered. By the time meals finally arrived it was too dark to see them and our venue time was nearly up so people had to choose whether to eat or dance for that last hour.

    CONCLUSION: The entire event was an embarrassment and we paid 18K for the venue alone. The GM attempted to apologize by giving us a $250 gift card to eat our anniversary meal there! LOL- barely the cost of one dinner and honestly we don't want to remember this! THE GM EVEN MIS-WORTE OUR NAMES ON THE APOLOGY CARD LEAVING NO NOTE OR SENTIMENT THAT THE RESTAURANT CARED THEY RUINED OUR WEDDING.

    I wanted my wedding to be memorable and it was - I CONTINUALLY GET REMINDED OF THAT MY WEDDING WAS AN EMBARRASSING FIASCO BY GUESTS>. The Whitney prides themselves on delivering service and excellence for which they cannot deliver. I would have been better off ANYWHERE else.

    The Whitney's reply:

    Hello Marie,

    Thank you for your review. I wanted to send over my sincerest apologies that your special day wasn’t what you had expected it to be. I know that you and I worked together to be sure everything was organized prior to my absence for maternity leave. I am heartbroken to hear that we failed to give you the quality service and reach your expectations of The Whitney. I’m saddened that you had to suffer partially due to my absence. I have no words on some of these examples of situations that arose during the event. I hope that the refund that our General Manager provided at least eased a bit of the stress of the outcome. I’m so sorry again, and wish we could have done better.

    Sincerely,
    Samantha Cesarz
    The Whitney Banquet & Event Manager
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