I am SO grateful that I was able to have my wedding reception in this space. It is absolutely stunning and provided us with exactly the vibe that we wanted. It has a beautiful outdoors feel to it, has massive windows with a lot of natural light, and the wood walls are beautiful. I really loved that it had two separate outdoor deck areas for guests who wanted to be outdoors or to socialize without having to yell over loud music. The view of downtown Grand Rapids is AMAZING. We received several comments about how beautiful and unique our reception venue was. The funicular was a huge hit and really gave the guests a fun and unique experience. We also got some stunning photos at the zoo (waterfall pictures, plenty of natural greenery, etc.). Overall, I couldn’t imagine anything better. It was the PERFECT venue for us and my wedding was an absolute dream. The only thing to keep in mind is that the venue works for small to mid-sized weddings. If you have a large guest count, you’ll (sadly!) have to look elsewhere. The alcohol package was through the zoo as well and I am very happy with those services – our guests had a great time. Our coordinator, Darci, was wonderful. It was also very helpful for our guests to have plenty of free parking. Highly recommend!

This is the most beautiful and unique venue in Grand Rapids! Our venue coordinator Annie was very professional, helpful, and communicated quickly. The staff at the tree house were great to my guests as well. I mean - the pictures speak for itself. We opted to use the shuttle bus to get guests up to the venue and my guests absolutely LOVED seeing a tiger on the way. 10/10! The only thing I would advise to think through your timeline when booking this venue - we ended up hiring out all of the reception decoration because you only have access to the venue 2 hours before your event starts, unless you pay extra and I didn’t want to do that. But other than that - this venue is something your guests will talk about for a long time!

We chose the Bissell Tree House in September for our wedding and basked in the compliments all night! This venue was a great choice for those who want something different than a boxy, boring venue. Perfect for those who love the outdoors, there is a covered porch that typically hosts the ceremony and plenty of space inside and out should the weather get wet. The animal guests were also a big hit! The space really speaks for itself and requires little decoration to shine. Kristen was so kind, professional, and timely as our event coordinator. She made sure all the vendors could set up with ease and took care of so many details with the event schedule that were under appreciated and made the biggest difference. My only recommendation to JBZ would be to add more vendor choices for catering.

We just got married in September of this year and I really wanted a unique beautiful venue, I am definitely not a fan of barn weddings (just not what I wanted for myself) and trying to find a venue for both ceremony and reception that isn't a barn was a challenge. We are so grateful that we found the Bissell Treehouse! This was the perfect venue for our Victorian Garden themed wedding. We had a beautiful event that was a TON of fun too! The zoo staff were phenomenal and our coordinator Juliana was so kind. Anything I needed they were able to help me with! A really beautiful and unique space - with an amazing team behind it! 10/10 would recommend!!

We recently got married in November and I couldn’t be happier with our experience at the Bissell Tree House! The location is stunning and the venue is so open and inviting. Seeing the city at night was such a beautiful bonus too. As you can see from the photos (shoutout GauperPhoto) we were also really close to the red panda! We were able to have outdoor heaters added on so being outside wasn’t so bad, and they had a blue flame fireplace inside that was stunning! Definitely recommend this venue.

The Bissell tree house was amazing for our October wedding, they took care of us and our guest the day of, the venue is beautiful, Kristen our coordinator was great. They were very accommodating, it was a stress free day.

Conference dinner held here. Great mixed indoor and outdoor space for folks sitting eating, standing eating, and standing drinking. The shuttle bus service up from the main parking lot was a bit slow and cumbersome especially as large groups wanted to arrive and depart at the same time.

Always a fantastic place to have an event. The view is amazing and the space is nice and open. Love using the funicular to get up to the Tree House as well. Being able to enjoy the zoo afterwards is probably the biggest plus. All in all just a wonderful venue to visit and enjoy.