Battle Creek Wedding Ideas and Inspiration

Quiet Luxury Design Done Right at Greencrest Manor

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[field title=”The Inspiration”]This was a collaborative workshop for florists, planners and photographers. The teams worked together to create a beautiful collection.[/field]
[field title=”Wedding Colors”]whites, green, black[/field]
[field title=”The Venue”]Greencrest Manor, located in Battlecreek, Michigan is a French styled chateau with lush gardens and estate views.[/field]
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[field title=”Wedding Gown”]The bride wore a stunning Monique Lhuiller gown with the perfect amount of flair. Styled perfectly by Gabrielle Hurwitz this seamlessly blended with the look of the flowers and estate. [/field]
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[field title=”Florals & Decor”]The elegant white flowers worked to enhance the lush ivy walls played off the gardens with ferns and roses. [/field]
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A Charming Michigan Venue That Resembles the English Countryside

Once upon a time … Rachel & Bryan transported their guests to the whimsically romantic world of Greencrest Manor! Modern Day Collective planned a day of pure magic for the happy couple within the English-style gardens of the vine-enveloped venue with the most delightful of details. Think floral arrangements & bouquets that resemble freshly picked wildflowers and charming blue toile de jouy-inspired linens! And, you can’t miss the “happily ever after” cake moment under a gazebo that’s straight from a fairytale! Enchant yourself with all the magic that Clary Pfeiffer captured in the full gallery!

From Clary Pfeiffer Photography… After 6 years of dating, planning a wedding was something we became so excited for. We are old souls at heart, we love history and have an affection for antique and vintage things. We knew that we wanted our wedding to be a reflection of who we are. The very original plan was to elope in Ireland…but 2020 had other plans. We thought of just eloping on our own so many times, but we knew we wanted an intimate celebration with our family and closest friends.

Multiple venues and multiple planned dates later, we found Greencrest Manor. Upon seeing Greencrest, we knew it was the perfect venue for us. Greencrest has the ability to transport you to another world, a world that definitely resembles Europe. The manor house itself is so stunning and the gardens are a dream. And I will never be able to say enough kind words about the team. They are so wonderful. They truly understood me and how all the little details were important to us.

I have a love for handmade paper, so I knew I wanted our invitation suite printed on paper with deckled edges. I had the suite designed by Blossom and Ivory. She did a beautiful job with the illustration of Greencrest Manor. Once designed, I had Porridge Papers print everything for us. They make beautiful paper by hand which gives it a wonderful texture and feel. We used the same paper for our vow books.

We both really cared about the details of our attire for our wedding and spent a lot of time thinking about each thing from head to toe. Finding a dress was a process for me, none of them seemed to be exactly what I wanted. Eventually I fell in love with the lace detail and layers of my Essence of Australia dress but knew I wanted to add an overskirt that I had custom made to go over. Between the two pieces, it was the perfect dream dress I wanted.

I reached out to Emmy London and we did a Facetime design session so I could get a bespoke pair of wedding shoes. She was so wonderful to work with. My shoes were so beautiful. And I love that I have the custom sketch of the shoes to keep forever.

Bryan had his tuxedo custom made for him by Tom James. They come to your house, take all of your measurements. You get to pick out fabrics and linings, it was a really wonderful process. The end result is amazing because he has a beautiful tuxedo that fits him perfectly. The company was also able to embroider our names on his cuff, along with our wedding date on his inside jacket pocket.

Family and history were a really big part of our special day. For my ‘something blue’, I wore my maternal great grandmother’s ring. On my fathers side of the family, we have a wedding tradition that has been passed down since the 1800s. We have a gold bracelet that all the girls wear on their wedding days. It was an honor to wear the same bracelet that many generations before me have as well. My God-daughter is my cousins daughter, she was our flower girl, and I got to share the bracelet story with her that day. Our wedding was also very special in that we chose the date to share the anniversary with my grandparents. They have been married for 60 plus years. My grandfather is also the one who officiated our ceremony.

We both share a love of flowers and gardening so flowers were also something we knew we wanted in abundance at our wedding. Lots of color, greenery and organic looking garden flowers. Jen who owns Greencrest is an amazing floral designer and she made the most beautiful bouquet for me. So much color and filled with lisianthus, dahlias and snapdragons. Greencrest set up such a beautiful and simple ceremony space right behind the manor house. We also knew we wanted to do a toss right after ‘I do’ as we headed down the aisle. I had velum programs made that doubled as envelopes filled with dried flower petals.

Right in the middle of Greencrest’s beautiful gardens, they have a conservatory. We knew we wanted to highlight it in some way. We considered having our ceremony in front of it, but then decided to bring our guests into the gardens after the ceremony for a champagne toast and cake cutting. We really enjoyed being able to thank everyone for coming right in this same moment. Our cake vendor, Bella Dolce, was the only vendor we kept throughout the process of our re-planning. I love cake and Erin makes the most delicious lemon rosemary cake with lemon curd and buttercream frosting. Our top tier didn’t get saved… I ate it within days of our wedding!

After cake cutting and toasts, our guests were able to enjoy the bar, infused water stations and head inside the manor for a wonderful food display. We knew we didn’t want the formality of a sit down dinner. With only about 45 guests, we wanted our guests to be able to stroll around the house and property, or have a seat on the patio. It was a wonderful atmosphere to just see our family and friends relaxing and having conversation. We did our dances right on the back patio of the manor. My good friend sang our first dance song which was also really special.

The cream on top of it all was having Clary photograph our wedding. Her and Travis are truly wonderful souls. And I stare at our wedding photos and can’t quite believe they are ours!

Our day was beautifully perfect in every way for us. Definitely worth the wait of so many cancellations and postponements!

Darling Details At This Greencrest Manor Retreat Wedding

An intimate respite from the busy world, Greencrest Manor is a European-style bed and breakfast that will take your breath away. From the cascading ivy to the sprawling gardens, every inch of this venue offers inspiration. Modern Day Collective dreamed up the most elegant of days in the fresh air, and we can’t help but fall in love with every last detail. From the romantic spring florals to the loveliest lace Claire Pettibone dress, beauty awaits you at every corner. The charm and style of the day is artfully captured in the imagery by Shanell Photography. Don’t miss the full gallery for a closer look.

From Shanell Photography… Hosting a unique and educational retreat had been a long-time goal, executing it successfully was amazing. With some of the best vendors in Michigan, we truly made the most beautiful retreat and shoot.

Greencrest Manor is a unique venue with a European feel. The grounds are filled with some of the most amazing floral and there is beauty around every corner. Offering a shoot for our attendees at such an amazing location was such a highlight.

The dreamy spring floral along with Claire Pettibone’s new dress design was our inspiration for the design of the shoot. From the floral to the couple, and even cake design everything was breathtaking.

Intimate And Endearing Affair At Greencrest Manor

Set in the sprawling gardens of Greencrest Manor, this intimate celebration is sure to steal your heart. The incredibly talented team at Modern Day Collective worked with Kaylee and Lane to create a heart-centered day overflowing with love. Each detail is more beautiful than the last, from the bride’s father officiating the ceremony to the family style meal that made dinner feel even more personal. Clary Pfeiffer Photography’s unparalleled imagery is equal parts tender and touching. Fall in love with all the pictures in the full gallery.

From the bride and groom… We knew going into it that we would need to have a smaller wedding due to COVID, and it ended up being perfect. Not only was it so much easier to pay attention to the details while planning, but it was also so much more enjoyable on the day of — we were able to connect with everyone who came in a way that was much more meaningful.

One of my favorite memories of the day was probably the ceremony itself. My dad officiated our wedding, so it was very special to both Lane and I, and personal in a way that everyone could understand. It is definitely a memory I’ll cherish forever.

Because we planned a smaller wedding, I knew that I wanted an intimate dinner to be the main feature of our reception. Modern Day Collective helped bring that idea to life, and set up two long tables that our guests shared, while our caterer The Everyday Chef and Wife prepared a family-style meal that made the dinner even more personal.

English Garden Style Wedding Set in Michigan

You know what I really, truly love about this wedding? These college sweethearts managed to bring an English garden vibe to the bride’s home state of Michigan. Think summertime romance set at an elegant manor, with ‘maids dressed in the prettiest pink gowns by twobirds Bridesmaid. Amy Carroll photographed and there’s much more this way.

Colors

Seasons

Summer Weddings

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Luxury Venue Outdoor Weddings

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Al Fresco Glamorous

From the Bride…Jake and I have been together for eight years, since our freshman year in college. I knew he was the love of my life as soon as I met him and I could not wait to marry him. We got engaged in New York City, where we live, and always knew we would tie the knot back home in Michigan. While that definitely came with challenges, I absolutely loved planning our wedding. I found our venue, Greencrest Manor, on a photographer’s blog and instantly fell in love. It’s set in the middle of nowhere and out of 200 guests, only a couple had ever heard of it. It was perfect for the casual-yet-elegant garden wedding we envisioned.

The amazing and slightly difficult part about our venue was that we needed to bring everything in, from the tent and tables to the catering. We spent hours doing research online and speaking to different vendors to find exactly what we wanted. It was tedious and time consuming, but we ended up with a team of vendors that we adored. About three months before the wedding we realized we really needed a day of coordinator. Hiring Emily and Claire from Polished Events and Celebrations was one of the best wedding planning decisions we made.

Because we planned from a distance, we tried to keep the DIY projects to a minimum, but thankfully my family helped a lot. My mom is an angel and spray-painted all of our candelabras gold and spent hours at flea markets looking for vintage cake stands and pie plates for the dessert table. My dad made a rustic set of cornhole boards, my sister made banners and a bunch of other decor, my lovely husband attached 150 envelope liners for the invitations, and I spent the nights leading up to the wedding hand-assembling 200 program fans.

One of my favorite parts about planning a wedding was finding ways to incorporate personal details. Our officiant was our favorite professor from college—he got ordained just to perform our ceremony and it could not have been more perfect. Part of my bouquet ribbon came from my mom’s wedding dress, which my grandma handmade. She passed away a couple years ago and she always wanted me to marry Jake, so I loved having part of her with me. My headpiece and earrings were custom-designed by my favorite jeweler, Lulu Frost. She also designed earrings for my mom and sister, which we plan to pass down to our daughters. The donuts and bagels (which we served as a late night snack) came from a bakery Jake used to work at, the cake was made by a childhood friend—I could go on and on!

The smartest thing we did was a first look. We took all of our photos before the wedding, and then as the shuttle pulled up to the venue with our guests, every bride’s nightmare came true—it started pouring. I’ll be completely honest, I was really, really sad at first. But Jake took charge and decided we should start with cocktail hour and see if the rain let up. We had a “grand entrance” down the spiral staircase, ate a few hors d’oeuvres and, thankfully, it stopped raining so we could get married outside.

Even with the rain, it was the perfect day. Our guests had so much fun dancing to the Bluewater Kings Band, our dessert table was nearly empty by the end of the night and it was amazing to spend an evening with our closest friends and family. The dress and Manolos may have ended up covered in mud, but I wouldn’t have changed a single thing.