Today was my first time coming here. I came out to support you guys. I made sure to eat a lot of good food and bought some of your delicious cider. I also sat in with my bluegrass buddies. I played and sang along. I'll definitely be back next October. Thanks for a great day! **June 2025 update. They no longer sell cider due to state regulations that require a pasteurizer which is too expensive. Musicians can't play there anymore. I think the mill is closed but the grounds may still be available for weddings.
The grounds were beautiful and we were able to provide the bride's vision for her wedding. However, communication with the ownership is poor at best. Very frustration to work with. Also be aware you have to use their designated caterer and bar service.
There was no events except the wedding over the entire weekend, yet we could not start decorating until the morning of the wedding. We barely made it home to shower and return in time for the wedding.
Don't enjoy yourself to much during the reception as you have to have everything cleared out by midnight, not practical to put your guests or yourself, on ladders after a few adult beverages.
What you are paying for is the use of the property. Be prepared to set up and take down the chairs at ceremony site, immediately following the ceremony. The table cloths are folded on the tables, you have to place them.
The caterer told the DJ he could not announce last call??!! Be aware, the bar service requires an 18% gratuity up front, then puts a tip jar out for your guests to use.
I have done weddings in different locations, this by far would not be my first choice.
Added later today: to show you how out of touch the owners are, the response that I was the coordinator was true, but it was our son's wedding, I was family, I was there for every meeting. I do not have a business. Also, after writing this truthful review, our son was called on his honeymoon by the owner Owen. Really?!! And I got a horrible message from Carleen. It was almost amusing that, she found my message address quickly when I couldn't get a response on any of my pre-wedding questions. After send me a message, she then blocked my response so I will respond to her here. To Carleen; First, tell me one thing in my review is not true. Secondly, it is sad you could find me so quickly when I had sent numerous questions before the wedding that went unanswered. Lastly, I don't own a business, I have coordinated weddings for many family friends, so obviously your statement you have "heard things" about me is untrue...now who is the bully? I assure you I will never be back to your place, as anyone I know will be fully aware of our experience and won't book your "venue" And for Owen to call our son during his honeymoon is totaling unprofessional. Why don't you use your reviews to improve your business, because once again...communication isn't your strong suit
EDITED AFTER OWNER RESPONSE
show you how much the owners attend to details, I am not a wedding coordinator, I was the mother of the groom. Someone needs to lay off the sauce
Absolutely beautiful place for a wedding. Owen and Carleen were the nicest people to work with. Everyone remarked what a beautiful place. We had such a wonderful time!!
I think this place was absolutely breath taking. I've catered wedding for many years and I have to say I was very surprised at how beautiful this place is. Lots to look at from the mill pond, animals, flowers, antique buildings. Definitely somewhere I am going to consider for my wedding. Very private place in the country side near gun lake casino, Bay Point Inn, and Yankee springs area. I would have to say this place is great for all ages and it's handicap accessible for those wondering. Five star in my eyes bc I enjoy private place events not next to houses or other buildings.
This place is super cool,And The people that own it are very nice and knowledgeable.There is the oldest schoolhouse in barry county,moved from 12 miles away And it's from the 1800's.The tour of the old historical mill was fantastic,when you walk in the antiques in there will blow your mind at how real this place once was.It's like walking into a little piece of history.I definitely suggest this place for all who enjoy animals.You can even pet the miniture horses and baby goats.Watchout for the guard turkey though,I've heard he likes to herd people.If anyone wants to get married here there's a place for that too,How bout having an historical wedding? It"s beautiful here.Come one come all....
One of the very best Mills in the state.
It is a Beautiful historic Mill (with some of the very best doughnuts around!)
It is always a family tradition,during the month of October, to spend a quiet fall afternoon, enjoying this Beautiful acreage with all of it's historic splendor and grace.
Awesome! Amazing experience. You can see them run the cider mill. Pet animals. Ride in a horse drawn carriage. See them make soap, buttons, woodwork, a blacksmith, etc. They have donuts and apple dumplings that are amazing.
We were visiting this time for a wedding and reception being hosted here, and it was awesome.
Great place to celebrate any occasion, great area, facilities, parking, atmosphere.
Highly recommended you consider having your next event here.
What a great time at Bowens Mills! Fresh apple cider, a beautiful day to wander around and see the rustic buildings, blacksmith shop, cider mill and a very cool horse-drawn trailer ride!!
Me and the family stumbled upon this beautiful historic
place it wasn't really open but we did see quite a bit we seen a log cabin,a real working grist mill, loved up on barn kittens,goats and miniature ponies. And got to see a carriage and an old school house with Jerald. Ford's initials carved in a seat. The owner was very sweet and gave us a little history lesson. They have a real history experience every Sunday in October with food to boot ?
Truly a hidden gem! Me and the fam loved coming out here and walking the beautiful grounds of the privately owned historic site. The best part of the grounds is the still operational grist mill, but they have many other amazing amenities that we enjoyed. Petting the farm animals, sitting in a horse-drawn trolley from Mackinac Island, touring an old schoolhouse and sitting at a desk President Gerald Ford carved his name into are just some of the unique finds we found. It was also a pleasure to meet the owner who shared some interesting details of the grounds. We are also looking forward to their fall festival that they throw every Sunday in October. So if you happen to be in the Yankee Springs area, you need to check this place out!
Wow what a neat little piece of history! Just down the road and never been there til now it was so wonderful! I. October on Sundays there is cider pressing and corn milling presentations and black Smith and a wool spinning freehorse drawn rides food a few historical cabins ECT. Highly recommend. Family friendly and low cost!!
What wonderful drive from Lansing, back roads to Bowens Mills. (Autumn color change.?)
And Bowens Mills was really a treat, meeting Karla the owner was a real pleasure.
I plan on making this a yearly planned trip for sure. Thank You Bowens Mills...
Beautiful farm for you to explore. Great history there. My kids loved everything. Horse drawn wagon ride, fresh doughnuts, fresh pressed apple cider that we watched being made, petting zoo and live music. Lots to explore. We spent about 3 hours here.
Would be a gorgeous place for a small wedding!!
My wife and i just attended our friends wedding at this venue today. Very rustic entryway opened up to a beautiful large room. More than enough room for a whole wedding party with around 200 guest. The food we had was very good and the decor was beautiful. Unfortunately weather didnt permit an outside wedding but if it had my thoughts of this location would only have improved. It was a very welcoming venue and our friends absolutely loved it.
It was a perfect site for a fall outdoor wedding. The hall is very open and allowed for many guests without bumping elbows. The facilities are nice and up to date. It was a beautiful country venue. The fall colors added to the beauty. Very nice spot
The venue was a great place for a wedding. The outside area by the mill is a great setting for the ceremony with the big water wheel running in the background. They have fantastic cider! (non pasterized) best I've had in 20 years! It's $5 a gallon. The indoor facility (barn) is nice and decorated appropriately for a wedding or similar event. Overall it was a nice wedding venue. They are open on other days for the mill and making apple cider but I haven't been there for a visit other than the wedding.
We had the pleasure of using Bowens Mills for a very personal event with family and friends to honor a loved one who had recently passed. From the very first phone call they were warm, accommodating, and very flexible to our needs. Carleen and Owen were so easy to work with and communication was a breeze. I want to thank them for their warmth and kindness during a difficult event, but they definitely played a very big role in making it a truly wonderful, intimate experience. I would absolutely recommend them to anyone looking for a gorgeous, warm, welcoming venue with so many options for indoor and outdoor use. Really a hidden gem. Thanks again to you both from my family to yours!
I had my wedding there October 2017 and thought it was perfect! The grounds and the buildings were beautiful! The couple was very easy to work with and communicated everything very well. During the rehearsal and the day of the wedding they both helped to move everything along smoothly! And would definatly recomend this place!
The grounds are beautiful--really, truly beautiful. Our overall experience was wonderful & the place was a big part of that.
However, Carleen (who handles the bookings) was difficult to communicate with. Neither she nor Owen use email and rarely return calls. This made planning very difficult. It also led to other simple miscommunications. For example, the horses were unbridled during family photos, 45 minutes before the hayride was supposed to start. The communication was not a huge issue, but created enough small issues to be frustrating.
As mentioned, the venue is beautiful. However, it could be even better with simple upgrades--for example, the shed down by the ceremony site had canisters of bug spray, an old broken arch, & a garbage can sitting in view of the ceremony. These things should have been put away & stored properly. Further, the chairs on the porch have rips & duct tape--small investments in things like new chairs would make a huge difference. The bathrooms near the ceremony site were not cleaned or kept up, so we had to clean them.
The thing that was most unacceptable was Carleen's handling of the home we were supposed to use to get ready in (you start getting ready in a small room attached to the barn, then move over to a house to finish up before guests arrive). Our hair & make-up people arrived about an hour late (to be fair, not Carleen's fault), but it meant our timeline was thrown off & Carleen was not willing to accommodate. She came over with her golf cart to throw our (bride/bridal party's) stuff out & carry my mother-in-law's dress back to the barn to make her change there even though guests were already arriving. My sister-in-law put her foot down and said 'no, you can wait 10 minutes so that my mom can get ready with the rest of us & out of view of guests.' I can appreciate that we were supposed to use it from 2:30-4:30, but when we weren't able to go over until 3:45, I don't think it was unreasonable to expect use until 4:45, or not to have our belongings thrown onto the porch. Who does something like that minutes before a wedding?
In a similar manner, she yelled at my aunts decorating the morning-of for coming in the front door instead of the side door. They didn't know they were supposed to use the side door. Frankly, it was weird that no one was allowed to open the front door and that doing so warranted such an angry response.
We also were told we would have to clear our things out at the end of the night because we would not be able to come back to clean up Sunday morning. I took this to mean tear down our decorations & take them out. I did not expect to have to stack tables & chairs and do more extensive cleaning, but we did. In spite of our full cleaning, we still never received our security deposit.
Additionally, be aware that you need to use their caterer for beverages. They advertise as charging per person, but charge by the bottle/keg & add 18% gratuity. All of this would be fine, but they put out a tip jar as well, which is tacky. I asked them to take it down, noting the 18%, & they flatly refused.
So, bottom line, incredible grounds, beautiful venue, reasonable price; but, could stand some basic updates and cleaning by the hosts between events. Owen was also very kind & let us purchase donuts & cider (delicious!), & gave us samples ahead of time. We really appreciated that perk. Biggest drawback: uncommunicative & one rude, unaccommodating host, which can be a huge detriment to your big day.
**Update** I am removing a star because I received a harassing email from the owner (three years after getting married), asking me to be "honorable" and take down my review, and saying that she is "sorry for me" because I am "so critical." This is wildly unprofessional, but frankly in line with the service and poor attitude delivered on my wedding day. I might have recommended the place in spite of the service because it is so beautiful, but with more country venues opening up in Michigan all the time, it's not worth it. Receiving a nasty email years later is ridiculous.
What an Incredible family that runs this establishment. I was just the wedding coordinator but I saw the love and passion that Owen and his wife put into this place. The catering, DJ, and drink service, were fantastic and very professional. The entire ceremony and reception was very well done. I love the Aesthetics of the environment. My favorite part was the horse-drawn carriage for the pre ceremony and the after ceremony.
My wife and I just planned a spur of the moment trip to do some scenic photography. We did Google some places and the mill sounded great since it was somewhat close by. When we arrived we did not know that it was privately owned land. The owner did come up and greet us and we had a nice short conversation about the history of the mill. We did ask if it was alright to take some photos and the owner pleasantly allowed us. Very nice place and owners. Thank you.
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