Wisconsin is known for its plethora of vibrant forests and scenic lakes. And Kamp Kenwood takes advantage of both through its collection of cabins which rest on the shores of Lake Wissota. With the lake on one side and numerous trees surrounding the others, Kamp Kenwood makes an ideal venue for anyone looking for a more secluded and private event.
Getting Ready
While Kamp Kenwood has one central cabin that serves as its reception hall, it also has separate bunkhouses and a more modern (relatively speaking) cabin to house guests. The furnished cabin serves as an excellent suite for wedding couples' night of as well as a spot for bridal parties to get ready before the wedding.
One additional advantage of the surrounding woodlands is a natural spots to hang a dress or collect detail pictures of rings are in no short supply!
Pro Tip: If you're interested in getting these types of images, make sure to plan time for them in your schedule with your photographer. While so many things happen organically throughout the day, this isn't one. So half an hour should be a good rough estimate for how much time to consider for your photographer to quickly steal the wedding dress and rings for some images.
The Ceremony
Depending on the size of your ceremony, you might have a few options for sites. However, for most mid-sized and larger weddings, the primary site is just to the side of the reception hall near a gazebo overlooking Lake Wissota.
The Pros -
With views overlooking Lake Wissota, the majority of your wedding photos have a good chance of being stunning. The gazebo has plenty of charm and there's ample space for decently sized weddings. This site is also extremely close to the reception hall and fairly accessible for even handicapped individuals. It's also quite secluded from the outside world. Overall, a really gorgeous ceremony site!
The Cons -
While the views looking down the aisle are spectacular, the views looking back up it can be a bit more challenging. The parking lot is in line with the aisle so some cars may be visible in your walking down the aisle photos. Additionally, there's a pullout that is a convenient place for food trucks to set up shop. And you'll notice a small sewage well lid at the back of the aisle as well. However, these all can be mitigated. If you're walking down the aisle pictures are really important to you, you can attempt to limiting parking within visibility of the aisle and have the food truck set up elsewhere. Additionally, a good photographer can clone out the sewage lid. The only other negative about the ceremony site is that its presence next to water can make it difficult to photograph in harsh light. The reason being, if it is super sunny out, the water will reflect a ton of brightness while the shadows of the gazebo will remain relatively underexposed. This again can be mitigated by a good photographer, but prepare to have some of your images appear a little flat as we artificially bump up the shadows in Lightroom.
Beautiful views looking down the aisle!
Gazebo in direct and strong sunlight. Image just a touch flat.
Notice the parking lot towards the top/right of the image behind the food truck and the sewage container. But like I said, these can be mitigated if it's important to you!
Couple's Portraits
If you like elopement style images in the woods, you'll love this venue for that very reason. There are plenty of little trails that lead away from the main ceremony/reception site and offer seclusion from wedding guests. You can walk along the water, into the woods, and even explore a perfectly decorated garden. And with plentiful trees to create a canopy, even in harsh direct sunlight, there are plenty of places to find shade where your photographer can utilize softer light for more pleasing images. The photo opportunities for this section of the wedding along make it one of my favorite wedding venues. But I'll let a few pictures give you an idea.
On a path just to the Southeast of the ceremony site and along the lake.
On the way walking back to the ceremony site amongst the little log cabins found scattered across the grounds.
Stopping for a secret first dance before heading back to the reception for the real thing.
The Reception
The reception space is quite large can can easily fit a medium to large sized wedding (150-200 guests per their website). Like most parts of the venue, the reception hall feels like a large cabin with log-siding and a large fireplace. It also has a full kitchen available and bathrooms inside the hall. One drawback is the lack of AC (I don't remember there being at least, but I could be wrong!). However most evenings are perfectly comfortable with ample open air.
But where the reception really shines is the abundance of greenspace for guests to wander during the evening, play some boardgames, or simply stare out at the lake at sunset.
Summary
Kamp Kenwood is a venue that packs a ton of upside at a pretty affordable price as far as wedding venues go. If your ideal average day off includes taking a walk through the woods, playing some lawn games, just being near the water, and you're okay doing away with some of the lavish modern amenities, this is a venue you should absolutely check out.