The Process of Planning a Michigan Wedding: Part 1 The Venue by Jamie May Photography
By Jamie May Photography: The process of planning a wedding in Michigan : Part 1 The Venue
Wedding Planning
I have helped people coordinate the day of their wedding for about 15 years now. When my daughter proposed to get married, I thought it would be very interesting to see what my customers have to accomplish from start to finish. Word of mouth and advice was a great way to start. I started by reading some of my other blog posts that brides so willingly helped share some of their advice from their planning. You can find a few of the blog posts here: 2023 or 2022
I knew the venue was usually the hardest place to book as they filled up fast. Luckily, we had plenty of time to plan this wedding with a two-year engagement! Shelby and Jameson began to tour local venues such as The Trillium, Post Family Farm, Windmill Island, The Little Red Barn of Nunica
THE VENUE
They were interested in staying local to where we live so we didn’t check out any Grand Rapids venues and toured the lakeshore. After touring several spots they chose The Little Red Barn of Nunica.
THE LITTLE RED BARN OF NUNICA
They chose this spot because the owners seemed to care about them and their wedding. We felt welcomed and important. They also allow you to be on the property for the weekend. This is extremely helpful because it takes away the need to have a wedding planner/coordinator. We could set up on Friday and clean up on Sunday. There are many reasons to hire a planner, but with the knowledge I have from attending so many weddings, the coordinating of set up and clean up were my main concerns. Those concerns were eliminated by the ability to have the weekend.
Benefits to The Little Red Barn
Some other benefits to the TLRB are they do provide you with a selection of decorations, if interested. We used some of them: such as wood logs centerpieces, little stringed lights, signs, she has much, much more.
I am thankful the barn had tables and chairs, but you do need your own linens. We bought them on Amazon and borrowed them. The owners provide you with all the sizes needed. I was able to resell the ones that I bought for a little bit less than I bought. It was cheaper than renting them. Linens can be a handful. I also recommend having a big steam iron. We just borrowed one, but I provided an example. One of the bridesmaids steamed Friday while we laid them out and decorated them. It was a good process.
They have rooms for the bride and groom to get ready in the morning with plenty of space and outlets. The boys have yard games to play and video games in the room.
Provided at the barn are a freezer and a refrigerator. The freezer can hold 8-10 bags of ice or so. Another thing to keep in mind when you have a barn wedding is you have to bring in your owndrinking water. The bartenders can do this as well, but it is cheaper to bring it yourself. We bought big jugs like this BPA plastic jug.
You can bring your own drinks into the barn. This also is a big money saver. We shopped at Sam’s Club, Walmart, and Aldi. The bartender you hire will help you with this as you decide on a menu.
With outdoor weddings in Michigan, you always have to worry about the weather. This was not my favorite part. The weather was windy that day, but we were really fortunate, with no rain and overall a comfortable temperature. She does have a large tent for the deck, and the sides can go up for weather conditions. In over 400 weddings I have photographed, the weather never stopped the event from happening. It always works out.
If you choose The Little Red Barn for your wedding, I learned a little tip from being there a few times. Rooms are divided. Some of the people in the tent cannot see the speeches. To solve this, we asked the videographer to run a 100ft HDMI cord to a TV in the tent. We were able to stream the speeches live on the screen so the people in the tent could see as well.
The outdoor ceremony needs an efficient sound system as well. You want to be sure that the mics can hear the bride and groom speak. It is also beneficial for the officiant to share the plans after the wedding even the details if there are bubbles that you would like used for the recessional.
Owners are always onsite if you need them. We were constantly changing the sides due to the wind. When the wind died down we were able to have them up for the rest of the night, and they were always there to help. Another tip that I had to learn later is they will not eat unless invited. I wish I would have invited them to eat! They are wonderful people.
The Little Red Barn was a wonderful setting for a wedding and the owners are a big help to The Process of Planning a Michigan Wedding. Everything was fantastic and went so well. Please look back for Part 2 The Dress on The Process of Planning a Wedding in Michigan.
Michigan offers so many beautiful venues. I have been to so many over the years. We have such a beautiful area in all seasons.
Here are just a few of the images from the wedding. I hope to share many more as I share more about the planning process.
