Shinola Hotel Wedding Planning Guide | [2024 & 2025]

We’ve been inside the walls of oh so many Detroit Wedding Venues. But, one wedding venue that we absolutely adore is Shinola Hotel! Located smack dab in the heart of our beloved city, the Shinola Hotel is modern, elegant, luxe, and sophisticated. So many of our couples seek to plan a wedding at the Birdy Room in Shinola, because of its vibes and appeal. But really, that’s just the tippity tip of the iceberg! We’re going to break down all the ins and outs of planning a wedding at Shinola Hotel. From menu sections to venue spaces and capacity, all the way up to your wedding photography experience. There’s no gatekeeping here, so keep reading for more!

Detroit Wedding Venues With Overnight Accommodations

We have it on good authority (see photos below, please & thanks!) that the rooms at Shinola Hotel are the perfect spot to get wedding day ready while capturing those final moments before you say I do. So frequently, our couples book hotel rooms near their wedding venue without the ease and peace of mind that comes with having a suite in their venue! And, it goes without saying, those guests of yours who will be making the trek in from out of town? They’ll need central accommodations to make navigating your wedding weekend easy breezy and an absolute blast.

The rooms at Shinola are just as luxe and modern as their selection of venue spaces! Hardwood flooring with mid-century modern furniture and loft-style windows to let in all that precious light while you get dressed for your wedding. If you really want to kick things up a few notches in your room while you get ready for the day, inquire about the spaces with a terrace!

Shinola Hotel Wedding Venue

Wedding receptions at Shinola Hotel are an all-inclusive, everything you could possibly need and more kind of thing. Once your date is confirmed, Shinola Hotel will set you up with your very own dedicated on-site catering manager who will be your personal point of contact, to oversee all your needs. The best part about planning a Shinola Hotel Wedding? They have options for intimate weddings of 40 guests, all the way up to epic celebrations of up to 350 guests to celebrate your best day ever! We’ll give you the inside scoop on each space, along with capacity, and the experience you can expect, below.

The Foundry Room

This space is perfect for an intimate wedding celebration. If what you have in mind is an early morning weekday ceremony with a delectable brunch to follow, the cozy Foundry Room would be absolute perfection! By the way, we also love how this space works for hosting a rehearsal dinner with your immediate family and wedding party.

Capacity | A seated wedding reception at The Foundry Room has the ability to accommodate up to 32 guests. For a cocktail reception (standing room only), The Foundry Room can accommodate up to 40 guests.

San Morello Private Dining Room

With a dedicated patio entrance via Woodward Avenue and a fabulous walk-up bar, the San Morello Private Dining Room is also available for intimate wedding day experiences. In addition to its private bar and entrance, the San Morello dining room also serves up audio-visual technologies so you can loop that montage of engagement photos! Need a spot to host your rehearsal dinner? The San Morello dining room serves up some amazing Italian food!

Capacity | A seated wedding reception inside the private dining room has the ability to accommodate up to 40 guests.

The Birdy Room

Need a bit more space for your wedding reception? A Shinola Hotel Birdy Room Wedding is where it’s at! When folks think of planning a wedding at Shinola, the Birdy Room is what comes to mind. And that’s because this space is truly epic in every sense of the word! The glass-enclosed space has major conservatory vibes, but the aesthetic is modern. Additonally, a Shinola Hotel Birdy Room Wedding offers access to a private garden. Major bonus, the space can be used for ceremonies, cocktail hours, or receptions!

Capacity | A seated wedding reception at The Birdy Room has the ability to accommodate up to 70 guests. For a cocktail reception (standing room only), The Birdy Room can accommodate up to 150 guests.

Bixby Hall

By far, the largest venue space offered at Shinola Hotel is Bixby Hall. Like the Birdy Room, Bixby Hall is ultra modern and features white tiled ceilings, a marble fireplace, and contemporary chandeliers. Bixby Hall also features glass French doors that open up to give you and your guests outdoor access.

Capacity | A seated wedding reception at Bixby Hall has the ability to accommodate up to 200 guests. For a cocktail reception (standing room only), Bixby Hall can accommodate up to 220 guests

Full Level & Salon

Need to plan an unimaginable night of dinner and dancing for close to 200 guests? Shinola Hotel offers the option of renting out the entire level! Peep the details below.

Capacity | A seated wedding reception, with dancing that takes place across the full level, including the salon, has the ability to accommodate up to 170 guests. For a cocktail reception (standing room only), the full level combined with the salon can accommodate up to 350 guests.

The Brakeman

If you’re already thinking about how you’d like to celebrate the night of your wedding until the early hours of the morning, you are in luck! For afterparty vibes at the Shinola Hotel, you can hit up The Brakeman. It’s an American beer hall with an ever-changing menu of craft beers, all courtesy of the mid-west. The beer hall also features ping pong, foosball, and shuffleboard. Need a late-night snack to wash down that craft beer? Penny Red’s, a fried chicken spot, is located right next to The Brakeman. On their menu, you’ll find buckets of fried chicken, honey-butter biscuits, and fresh farmstand sides. Is there a better way to top off the night of your wedding than with craft beer and honeybutter biscuits? We think not! 

The Culinary Experience at Your Shinola Hotel Wedding

Aside from the late-night fried chicken (which we highly recommend), you might be wondering what the food is like at a Shinola Hotel wedding. In a word, delicious! But, we get that you’ll need more info than that before securing your wedding date. So, here’s the deal! The food and beverage selection along with your personalized menu for your Shinola Hotel Wedding are oversoon by NoHo Hospitality Group with Chef Andrew Carmellini at the proverbial helm! Since NoHo’s inception in 2009 they’ve partnered with Shinola Hotel and the Michelin Star chefs (see, we told you it was that good!) behind the brand have been all about serving up masterful dishes in a warm and inviting atmosphere. The ingredients they use are sourced fresh. And best of all, locally grown!

Fresh and local are two must-have elements for putting together any unforgettable wedding day menu!

So, that wedding day menu of yours, what are you thinking? Will it be brunch, lunch, or dinner? What about your beverage package or a dessert station? Well, you’ll be happy to know, the options are endless.

Here’s a quick overview:

• Brunch
  • Served Buffet or Family Style
• Plated Brunch Menu
• Lunch Menu
  • Served Buffet or Family Style
• Plated Lunch Menu

• Dinner
  • Served Buffet or Family Style
• Plated Dinner Menu
• Dessert Menu
• Dessert Stations
• Beverage Packages
• Featured Cocktails

Each menu comes with its own selections. But, if you’re headed straight to a plated dinner option, we’ll give you an idea of what your service might look like. A plated dinner reception at a Shinola Hotel Wedding will include three courses. The first course offers your choice of salad, or other deelish menu items like tuna tartare, shrimp cocktail, or beef carpaccio. For the second course, you’ll be offered two selections from the menu that include salmon, swordfish, chicken, sirloin, filet, or lamb. And that’s us giving you just the basic options! There are a total of 10 options on the second-course menu with an add-on choice of lobster tail fra diavolo. For the second course, you’ll also be given a “silent” option which will cover your guests with any allergy or dietary restrictions. You can see the full list of menu options, at this link.

Bar Packages for Your Shinola Hotel Wedding

Bar services come in two separate packages! The standard bar package includes a selection of one white wine, one red wine, one rosé, and one sparkling wine. This package is currently priced at $45 per guest for a period of two hours. If you’d like to keep your standard bar package open a bit longer than two hours, you have the option of extending it for $13 per guest per hour. 

The second beverage service option is the premium package. This package comes with a selection of one premium red wine, one premium white wine, one sparkling wine, and one still rosé. This service is currently priced at $60 per guest for a total of two hours. If you’d like to keep your premium bar package open a bit longer than two hours, you have the option of extending it for $15 per guest per hour. Finally, your beverage service at Shinola includes the option of a featured or custom cocktail. For pricing on this, you’ll need to connect with your on-site catering manager. Last note really quick on the bar services; guest minimums, and setup fees may be applicable if you are hosting a more intimate wedding of less than 30 guests.

Shinola Hotel Wedding Packages & Cost

We gave you the low down on the spaces available to host your wedding, a small glimpse inside their menu, and the deets on their bar services. Now you’re wondering, “What is my Shinola Hotel Wedding going to cost?” We’ll give you a basic idea of what you might expect to spend on your wedding at Shinola, but, we have to be honest, your selections, guest count, and wedding date will drive the total overall cost. So think of it more like an estimated fee!

A standard wedding package at Shinola Hotel comes it at around $230 per guest, and includes the following:

• 5-hour event time
• 4 hours for pre-event setup and load-in
• Bar & wine selection for 5 hours
• Tableside wine service
• 4 passed canapés (fancy word for appetizers)
• Chef’s market table
• 3-course family-style dinner
• Front and back of house staffing and service
• In-house equipment provided (tables, chairs, house linen, glassware, flatware)

A premium wedding package at Shinola Hotel comes in at around $300 per guest and includes the following:

• 5-hour event time
• 4 hours for pre-event setup and load-in
• Premium bar & wine selection for 5 hours
• Tableside wine service
• 6 passed canapés (fancy word for appetizers)
• Chef’s market table or eastern market table
• 3-course plated dinner
• Passed late-night bites
• Front and back of house staffing and service
• In-house equipment provided (tables, chairs, house linen, glassware, flatware)

The Fine Print

Here’s what else you need to know about the cost of your Shinola Hotel Wedding. The cost of hosting your wedding ceremony at Shinola Hotel is $2000. Food and beverage services are subject to a 6% Michigan sales tax. Additionally, your wedding is subject to a 24% operational fee. Shinola Hotel weddings do require a minimum spend amount. However, the total of the minimum spend will vary depending on your selected date, reception space, and the size of your wedding. 

The venue spaces at Shinola Hotel are already outfitted with that fab mid-century modern furniture we mentioned above, along with lighting and state-of-the-art sound. But, you might have your eye on a different vibe when it comes to your wedding day seating or other items needed for your setup. You can absolutely hire your own rental company to come in and provide you with those items, but there will be a service charge for the handling of outside rental items. 

Shinola Hotel Wedding Photos

If this planning guide didn’t already kind of say it, we’ll say it in no uncertain terms. We are always beyond honored to capture our couples’ best day ever at Shinola Hotel. This dreamscape of a wedding venue looks amazing when the light pours in. Not only that, but it’s downtown location is perfect for creating a wedding photography experience with a variety of backdrops, both indoors and outdoors. You might have already noticed the attention to detail in every facet of styling at Shinola Hotel as you scroll through the photos above (hardwood flooring, floor-to-ceiling windows, that insane white hall full of archways!)

Here’s the thing, such a small part of our job as Detriot Wedding Photographers is taking our couples to those great spots and backdrops for wedding photos. The bigger picture is this… Those unscripted moments, those candid moments. The moments when you look over at each other and realize, this is it, your wedding day is here and you never want it to end. The moment you first lay eyes on each other, the quiet moment you stole away after the ceremony for a private cocktail, and the moment when all the people you love are gathered on the dance floor letting it all hang out. That’s at the heart of the experience we provide our couples. If that’s the kind of vibe you’re looking for from your Detroit Wedding Photographers, you can contact us here.

Hunting for a tag team of wedding photography ninjas to capture your epic love story? We’re a husband-and-wife photography powerhouse based in Detroit.

Eager to know more about working with us? Let’s chat!