Glass House Community | Grand Rapids, MICHIGAN Wedding Photos
Amy and Greg got married at the Glass House Community in Grand Rapids, a truly amazing spot in the most unlikely of places. This is a small venue which ideally fits around 30-40 people but they can accommodate 50. This allows for everyone to sit at one table and have top-notch course dinner vibes. Have you seen Babette's Feast? Susannah and I recently accomplished the right library hold shenanigans to get a real DVD so we could finally watch this, and of course it was right up our ally. The concept that dinner parties change your life? Obviously, sold. Having said that, here’s just a few of our FAR too many thoughts and opinions about group dinners, one of the more sacred, integral parts of being a person, from nights at home eating soup to the highest feasts.
The one sad thing with weddings over 100 people is it makes it hard to have everyone be able to eat at the same time. Either you do a buffet, so guests are all eating at different times. Or you do a plated dinner, and the food is not very good because plating 100+ servings is very difficult. The best option if you're wanting good food, good conversation, and good vibes is doing family-style at the tables. It brings back the memories of thanksgiving feasts with friends and family. The clanking of silverware on dishes, the asking to pass the potatoes and gravy. It’s needing each other, experiencing something simultaneously, serving and being served.
But the most ideal is a course dinner with 30-50 people all sitting at the same table. Why? Because you all get to start and end a whole journey together. And even better than a restaurant, no one is having to make menu decisions!
Before the feast started, Amy and Greg’s good friend stood up and made a toast, no need for speakers and microphones. Afterwhich he instructed everyone that they had a match and a small candle on their plate—they were to light the candle, make a blessings over the bride and groom, and then blow it out. Then dinner started. Waiters came and delivered scotch egg and salad. The main dish after was beef tenderloin, polenta, and sautéed asparagus. The desert? Hollowed out oranges, that they turned into a marmalade, that they put in the very bottom and then layered crunchy orange cookie, a creamy orange whipped filling, topped with caramel-infused orange, and don’t forget the orange cotton candy on top. Amazing. Everyone got to partake at the same time and enjoy each others’ conversations.
The assignment for this wedding was to document these two families coming together. Both Greg and Amy had been married before and both came with two kids. Amy got ready with her daughter, and her son got ready with Greg and his two son (6-year-old twins and the life of the party). One thing both Greg and Amy put in their vows was that their kids come first. It was a beautiful family and a blessing to document their day. One of my favorite things with photographing weddings is getting to show behind the scenes as well as the polished stuff. I want you to remember all that went into your day.
Venue: Glass House Creative
Flowers: Hyssop Floral
Catering: Tiny Dinners
Photographer: Peter Mahar Photography
