Memoirs from the Manor: Wedding & Event Season Reflections

Hi there, friends! It’s been a minute, hasn’t it? Whew- what a season. When we launched the website back in March, we had NO idea what was ahead of us for the year 2020! We were filled with hope and excitement, big plans and dreams that were beyond our imagination at the time. Then, COVID. The pandemic sent so many people and industries into a tailspin. And we were no exception. It rocked our world.

I want to say thank you to everyone who has been following along on Instagram- you have been so supportive and gracious. Your messages were uplifting and encouraging during a very scary and uncertain time. Every "praying for you", "thank you for being a positive light in the midst of COVID", "we love following along" message was balm for our soul and kept us going on the days when it seemed too much to process. As much as you appreciated our words of encouragement to you, we appreciated yours to us. It was a truly incredible gift!

We will always do our best to find the silver lining in every situation and without a doubt, the gardens invigorated our spirit during this trying time. We are so grateful that we have a venue that hosts outdoor events. With 15 acres, fresh air is all around us. Although most of our couples that had planned to get married at Greencrest in 2020 moved their wedding to 2021, we were still able to serve so many people that we would not have had to opportunity to work with otherwise. We were able to do small elopement ceremonies or commitment ceremonies and full-scale intimate weddings. Dinner parties for 30 and all-hands-on-deck, attentive events for 100.

Creative Floral Magic Collaboration: @moderndaycollective |  @parkplacedesign |  @mercibeaucoupfloral⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

We were even able to help some of our Grand Rapids clients from our sister company that handles planning and design, Modern Day Collective. It was so fun to actually get to offer Greencrest to them as an alternative option for their upended plans, which we would not have been able to do otherwise. It was really special as a planner to be able to extend that to our clients.

The couples that came to stay for the weekend, what a joy that's been to experience you for the whole weekend! Especially now, when people were not allowed to gather together and they are staying home together as a family. It was magical to be able to see you come together and have some normality. The sound of laughter drifting through the halls was music to our ears.

Although it’s been a scary time, we just kept the faith that Greencrest was meant to be and that it has become so apparent through this experience. What a tremendous blessing this property has been to so many. It's probably the best feeling in the world when people say "You know what we look forward to your stories, we look forward to seeing what you are doing!" and they come out to say, "Oh my gosh, it's so much better than I thought." There's just something special… it's a legacy. This property has been around for 85 years and I truly believe that the strong bones will endure and stand up to any storm (or virus).

The people, couples and families that we are serving are so tremendous. To be standing with them at a special time and then to have so much stress involved with planning a wedding during this time has been wonderful.

We have heard so many incredible stories this season and feel blessed beyond measure to have become a part of them. We also can’t wait to share these beautiful couples and their stories with you over the coming weeks! We’re simply gushing over the photos and want to be sure to share the most precious, special moments from each day.

If you aren’t already following along on our Instagram, please do! You can keep up with the behind the scenes and we’ll be sure to let you know whenever we have a new blog post.

Thank you to Studio Phrene for these beautiful images!