Yesterday I had the pleasure of taking a guided tour of the new Shadowland Ballroom on Silver Beach in St. Joseph. The new facility will open on December 31st, and has been highly anticipated! The building is not yet open to the public, so I was excited to get some pictures to share with brides who may be looking for a gorgeous wedding venue along the lake shore.
First, a quick note on the location—it’s amazing! The new Shadowland building houses Shadowland Ballroom, an annex to the Curious Kids Museum and the full-size, working reproduction of the historic Silver Beach carousel and is located below the bluff, about 500 feet from Lake Michigan itself. One section of the ballroom, the Sunset Room and its adjoining outdoor patio, actually has views of the lake! Across the street is the newly opened Compass Fountain Park, which boasts aerial and in-ground fountains that go off on the hour during the spring and summer! Shadowland Ballroom is within walking distance of downtown St. Joseph, and downtown hotels like The Boulevard Inn. So if you’re looking for a wedding on the lake, you can’t get much closer than this in Southwest Michigan! Keeping in mind that I’m not a professional photographer, but try my best, I’ll take you on a little photo tour of Shadowland Ballroom!
A PHOTO TOUR OF SHADOWLAND BALLROOM & CAROUSEL
Below (left) is the main entrance to the building, and the private parking lot will have 80 spots reserved for private events. The building will be lined by dune grass, with a grassy front lawn. Just inside the entrance is an amazing overhead Kaleidoscope that you can actually walk under and look up into. Photos are projected into it from various cameras throughout the building, which means during your event, your big moments and your guests may be captured and displayed in all of their 1,000-faceted glory! This was neat even covered in black tape and without anything projected on it—I cannot wait to see this in action! After entering the building and passing under the kaleidoscope, you walk into a large main corridor called the Boardwalk, which divides the building into the ballroom section on the right, and the carousel and museum on the left. This building is very light, bright and open, with lots of skylights, windows and natural light!
Below (left) is a view of the ballroom from its entrance—3 sets of large french doors. On the right, the view of the ballroom, facing the entrance. I really like the colors in the room, which are light shades of blue, creams and light greens—it’s very neutral and natural feeling. On the far right, you’ll see just a glimpse of the Sunset room.
Below right, is another view of the Sunset Room. The Sunset room is attached to the ballroom and connects to an outdoor covered patio area. The Sunset room has a beautiful view of the Compass Fountain park, the lake, and of course, the sunset! As you can see, the ballroom has beautiful light wood floors, and will boast beautiful art-deco style chandeliers, which have yet to be installed. The room has state of the art features including overhead lighting options (you could project your monogram onto the dance floor) and a built-in overhead projector with 2 built-in, drop-down screens.
Across the hall from Shadowland Ballroom is the million dollar working replica of the original Silver Beach Carousel. This project has been ongoing for years now, and I am so excited to see what is promised to be an amazing piece of artwork! The carousel itself will boast 50 different horses, animals, chariots (and even insects) that guests can ride. The carousel portion of the building is open to the public, but if you’d like to reserve it for your guests, you can purchase private time in 30 minute increments. This private time can be used for pictures or rides for your guests, and also includes 50 carousel tokens that can be used at anytime during your wedding reception, or on another day. The silver tokens are actually beautiful art pieces of their own, and would make wonderful favors or keepsakes! The picture on the right shows the view of the lake from the carousel! See that blue sky? That’s the lake below it! The views from this building are going to be amazing during wedding season!
I know there’s nothing fun about bathrooms and dressing rooms, but they’re a must-have if you’ll be needing a spot to get ready on-site. The bathroom is on the right, and will have a beautiful glass-tile back splash lining the long wall of sinks. Plenty of room for you and your bridesmaids to line up and check their makeup before heading into your reception! On the left is the bride’s room, which also has its own private bathroom across the hall!
The Shadowland building director is Phil Knuth, and event bookings are being handled by Anne Vonk of The Boulevard Inn—she tells me that most Saturdays are filled for summer 2010, but as always, off days or the off-season are great alternatives and it’s never too early to start thinking about 2011! If you’d like information on available dates, pricing or a tour of the facility for your upcoming event, contact Anne at 1.888.404.7587!
Planning a wedding at Shadowland Ballroom? Let Stella Event Design help you find the perfect ceremony location, connect you with amazing local vendors, create an amazing design concept for you, keep your day running smoothly and more! Contact Us to find out about special complimentary add-on services for 2010 Shadowland Ballroom brides!
View artist renderings of the finished building HERE!
*PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DO NOT MANAGE OR BOOK THE SHADOWLAND BALLROOM! FOR INFO ON BALLROOM AVAILABILITY/PRICING PLEASE CONTACT ANNE VONK AT ANNEVONK@THE BOULEVARDINN.COM OR 1.888.404.7587!
