Heartwood Conference Center and Retreat

Coming from a small town where renovations are rare, we found this GEM! Heartwood Conference Center is secluded, beautiful and the staff is GREAT! We had looked at various venues for our wedding, but none topped this place where we could hold the ceremony on the back lawn, hold dinner and dancing and then retire to lodging there as well without traveling. Other venues hadn't changed since my parents and friend's parents had gotten married, but this place looks brand new! Everything was clean, staff was more than accommodating, food was EXCELLENT—corn soufflé is highly recommended! We were blown away at for such a beautiful space how reasonably priced everything was. I would recommend this place to everyone and look forward to going back as a getaway in the near future!

The staff at Heartwood bent over backwards to make sure everything was perfect!

Renan and I had been up to Heartwood a few times, once in the winter and a few times in the spring and summer, and we had a good idea of where we wanted the reception. The center is on lots of land, and they even have a walking trail that goes all around. We chose to get married right where the manager first suggested to us, which was right down by the water. The effect was that everyone could see us clearly, and that the lake made for an amazing backdrop. What is good is that in case of rain, they could also arrange to have something inside. I think anywhere on the property would have been great!

The reception was going to be held in the Grand Dining Room. The room is beautiful to begin with, with a huge fireplace and a really elegant rustic feature. They had it all decorated for the wedding, with flowers and white runners and lights. We wanted the place to look magical, and it looked like the inside of somewhere really enchanted. The best part was that once the meal was done, and just before the dancing began, people were able to walk around outside and enjoy the late summer air. I loved it, it was great that we felt like we owned the entire place. Everyone was super relaxed, which made us feel all the better.


They were able to make us a good cake, sheet cake, but good cake and the icing was really tasty.

We had planned that our wedding would be a weekend retreat for all our friends and family. It was great having them stay on site with the reception area and the ceremony area, because everyone quickly took ownership and started making executive decisions on where the vows should be said, etc. It’s great because lots of my family is in the dairy business, so they don’t get to get away often, so I think this small vacation was great for them. The rooms were beautiful, rustic but elegant, and there are all the amenities that one would need on site. There is a trail, too. It was great because there were so many ways for people to spend their time.

The site is absolutely gorgeous! My husband and I had an outdoor ceremony, and the coordinator was out there working from morning until the time of the wedding. She really kept us organized, which allowed me to worry about getting myself ready, and not other details.
The only downfall I had was that it was difficult to plan the wedding with them from a distance. It seemed as if they didn't experience that often, and they weren't as flexible with that. They always asked if I could drive out there and meet with them about something that could be discussed over email and phone. They didn't always seem to understand I wasn't going to drive 9 1/2 hours to talk for 1.