The Harris Building

getting ready. The ceremony and reception area is just beautiful with the brick walls, original wood floors, the dome above the dance floor and how the lighting makes everything romantic. All the candles on the stairs going up were a great accent and the fact that they have an elevator for accessibility. The cocktail area was also beautiful with the vintage stained glass that I believe was original to the building. The staff is just fantastic as well. Kelsi was so easy to work with and made planning a wedding from a thousand miles away during a pandemic easy. She did zoom tours with us and helped us choose our centerpieces/decorations that we were able to rent from the building. She answered all questions promptly and helped us navigate vendors etc. I cannot express how easy she made everything or how grateful I am for her putting our florist Aime Deem on our radar. The DJ Nino was great as well. Very easy to work with and he played great music and kept people on the dance floor throughout the night. The services that were including and the price can’t be beat. They were easy to work with the arcade game vender we used as well as come up with a good set up for all the games. We received so many compliments on the venue and I am so pleased with how the entire day went.

planning all the way down to the little details. I didn't even step outside until the reception was over because they have EVERYTHING, from beautiful backgrounds for group photos to a bridal suite to get ready. Wouldn't change anything about them!

FOR YOU!

lpful. They made our vision of our perfect wedding day come to life. I seriously had the best time of my life and a lot of that was thanks to The Harris Building. I cannot recommend them enough.

e best day ever! Guests were constantly complimenting the beautiful space and friendliness of the staff. We worked with Kelsi for over a year and she was absolutely amazing! She answered all of our questions, made sure our day went smooth, and always had a positive attitude! The valet staff ran efficiently and guests were impressed at the complimentary valet parking. The DJ, Brandon, kept the dance floor rocking all night long! Highly recommend booking this venue for your wedding; you will not regret it!

own to the reception area so all morning I had to hide so people didn't see me. so that was awful and annoying considering I made eye contact with multiple people before the ceremony. The valet was inside due to it raining so a lot of my guests didn't even know there was valet and were upset about that. The girls that were helping out during the day were absolutely fantastic and helped so much. however when I'd go find someone to cut the cake, take care of something, the main girl was no where to be found. So the venue is Beautiful and we got numerous compliments but make sure you have a Coordinator and someone who can make sure everythings getting done

that I would still 100% get married there all over again because of KELSI GAUNT, their venue coordinator. This woman was an absolute Godsend. Planning a wedding during a pandemic was certainly a challenge, but at every single turn Kelsi was able to offer a helping hand. This girl saved our wedding not once, BUT TWICE. When our awful month-of coordinator quit unexpectedly THREE WEEKS before the wedding, Kelsi stepped in and agreed to coordinate both the rehearsal and the ceremony (which were not even at the Harris Building itself!). When my makeup artist fell through last minute Kelsi again saved the day by connecting us to a number of phenomenal artists, including the one that we ultimately chose. And then when the caterer and bar tried to pull out TWO WEEKS before the wedding, she personally called the owner and convinced them to make it work. We had a perfect wedding day and could not have asked for anything better. But gosh it could have been a disaster without Kelsi. Do yourself a favor and choose this gorgeous venue, if for nothing else, to have Kelsi there who will move mountains to make it perfect!

goodness, it was all so gorgeous and was a perfect canvas for making our dream wedding come true. We received countless compliments on our choice in venue. We had 180 guests at our wedding and it felt very spacious and comfortable. If you are seeking to make the reception the focal point and allow for your guests to have a great time on the dance floor, then the Harris Building is for you. Nino, their in-house DJ, helped keep our dance floor FULL throughout the entire reception! Added benefits also include the bridal suite, which was absolutely the perfect space for me and my bridesmaids to hang out and get ready the morning of the wedding. Also the entire Harris Bldg event staff, especially Kelsi, who gave us so much peace of mind during our planning amidst the pandemic. She kept us informed the entire time and was fully transparent. The timing of our wedding was just a couple weeks after Michigan essentially opened back up to a near normal capacity. While we played around with frantically switching venues to an outdoor location, we decided to keep our faith in Kelsi and her staff (& the good Lord honestly), which was the best decision we could have ever made. Leading up to the day, Kelsi was available to answer small and big questions and the day of, her and her staff helped my family put up decorations and made sure everything looked like I had envisioned, not to mention they helped pack all of our stuff up after the reception was over. The wedding ceremony itself went so smooth, which had a lot to do with allowing us time and space to have our rehearsal the night before. Kelsi was extremely organized during this and helped us figure out the smaller details. If there was a downside at all to the Harris, it’s the lack of natural lighting in the actual reception hall. However, our photographer was still able to capture beautiful photos that we will cherish forever.

to COVID, Kelsi stepped in and took care of everything herself. She even handled the wedding rehearsal and on the day of the wedding, she came to the church to help. If your getting married in Grand Rapids, I highly recommend you add Kelsi to your shortlist! You will be thankful you did!

nute COVID changes, they were willing to work with us to make it the best day we could have ever imagined. I HIGHLY recommend this venue to anyone looking for an elegant, urban atmosphere for their wedding, and seeking peace of mind during the planning process. I can't say enough great things about this venue and will certainly recommend it for any future event.

ork with and made everything flow easily despite all of the constant changes due to government rules and restrictions! She crushed it and will make sure you are in the loop and enjoy the process.

ff is so friendly and quick to respond to emails/phone calls! We worked closely with Kelsi for all of our event planning and cannot say enough positive things about her! For one, she is super sweet and very genuine! My husband and I felt very comfortable working with her and knew that our special day was in good hands. While we planned a wedding during a global pandemic, The Harris Building truly could not have handled it any better; they were always understanding, supportive, and provided so much help/advice! If you are looking for a venue that is breathtaking, look no further! We are so happy that we had our wedding at the Harris Building!

g there. We got engaged the week before COVID shut down the country. We wanted our parents to see the venue before we put down a deposit, so Kelsi immediately rescheduled a tour with us in anticipation of the shutdown for our original tour date. The day after we saw the Harris with our parents, the shutdown was announced. When someone else started thinking of rescheduling their wedding for our desired date, Kelsi reached out to us immediately with our options, and we chose a different date instead. As we began to plan our wedding during COVID, we never imagined that a year later our wedding would be a "COVID wedding", but as time continued it was clear that the wedding we had imagined would not be possible. Kelsi and her team were thrown into the unknown of COVID with the rest of us, but she handled it with such poise and grace. With every announcement, Kelsi kept us up-to-date with what it meant for our wedding. Her optimism is what got us through the most difficult times of planning. Every e-mail, phone call or FaceTime that we had with Kelsi always left us in with a more positive outlook. She gave us hope during a time that it was so difficult to find it. Kelsi was always prompt with her communication and provided us with multiple vendor requests when asked. She did not push their rental packages on us, and she always encouraged us to follow our financial needs. She knew our vision very well and she worked with my husband to create a unique set up with the furniture, and she even went out of her way to find decor that was in our colors and to find an arch that we had wanted as well-- all without being asked! She truly went above and beyond to make our vision come to life. When COVID still hadn't gone away, as we got closer to our date Kelsi contacted us in advance to reserve a backup date and went through all of our options with us. She never pressured us in any direction and reminded us always that we needed to do what was best for us-- even if that meant that she would lose our business. Her flexibility put us more at ease knowing that we did not have anything to lose with our decision, and we ultimately decided to still have with our ceremony at the Harris, but we couldn't have our true reception due to numbers restrictions. Kelsi still allowed us to have our first dance, the father-daughter and mother-son dances along with cake cutting to still give us the best experience possible. When we had hair and makeup stylists back out, Kelsi let us come into the Harris early to access the bridal suite. Right before walking down the aisle, when we realized that my recently deceased grandmother's necklace was too small, Kelsi immediately took off her own necklace to try to use as a new chain, but we couldn't get the pendant off the original. Thinking on her feet, she showed me how to make it into a bracelet instead! Kelsi did everything in her power to make our wedding the best day possible for us. With every imperfection that unfolded, she came up with a solution and truly made our day magical. In the moment, it did not feel like a COVID wedding at all. The few guests that we were allowed all said the same thing and they were blown away at the beauty of the Harris. The Harris is an A+ experience!

and friends from Michigan, all over the country and the world. Due to Covid, we had to move our dates out and to another location in South Haven. But they still worked with us to plan our wedding and by the end of the wedding, we were extremely glad and grateful Kelsi and Kristen were still leading the charge as our planners. There were many intricacies to our wedding – we required social distancing measures to ensure the attendees were safe and comfortable; we had multiple themes (Winter for the dinner and Indian for the cocktail hour) which required detailed attention to the decorations; we had tents set up for the ceremony and dinner as there was a potential for rain; we needed live streaming (both on Zoom and Youtube) for family and friends near and far who couldn’t travel. All weddings will have things go wrong – some small, some large. But Kelsi and Kristen were the right team to manage and drive the production in the background to coordinate all the vendors and activities and ensure everything ran smoothly, while troubleshooting the things that didn’t with urgency. They were truly on top of it and as the bride and groom for the wedding, they shielded us and the rest of the family from the general chaos to ensure we had an amazing time. By the end of the night, we developed a deep sense of respect and trust for these two. Three examples come to mind on how they stood out and went out of their way: (1) They managed special requests with a smile – the groom had arranged for a special cake and champagne to be delivered to the bride’s suite as a surprise and Kelsi/Kristen delivered to make it a special moment for the ladies; (2) They managed a troublesome vendor – we had an inconsiderate and rude cake vendor who almost didn’t show up to the wedding and when they did, they delivered poor quality cake, and we didn’t hear about it as Kelsi/Kristen managed it; (3) They managed a fluid situation that had a high probability of risk and errors – the live streaming went down during the speeches and we got a text from a guest and we quickly forwarded that to Kelsi who worked to get it up and running in just a few minutes. These were just a few of the many examples. Our wedding was as intricate and complicated as it got, especially with the pandemic, fickle weather and a troublesome cake vendor, but we can’t overstate how amazing this duo was. We keep hearing that this had been one of the best weddings people have ever been to and it turned out to be truly special for everyone. It certainly takes a village and there were many people involved in making this a memorable weekend, but Kelsi and Kristen were truly outstanding and the lynchpins to success.

how well run our wedding was and how friendly the staff was. The Harris Building is a beautiful venue and we couldn't have asked for a better wedding. Thank you!

que and gorgeous building. Truly one of a kind. The valet parking is a major plus especially with its location in downtown Grand Rapids. The staff is just as, if not more, exceptional than the building itself. They were so dedicated to making sure we had the most perfect wedding ceremony and reception. They made everything so effortless, seamless, and flawless. Karri and Ashley are beyond incredible. They kept our day on schedule and made sure everything ran smoothly. They made sure they had everything just the way we wanted it. The in-house florist, Aime, is phenomenal. She did all our floral pieces and they turned out absolutely incredible. She is so passionate about her work and it really shows. The in-house DJs, Bradley and Josh, were total rockstars. They kept the dance floor full all night long. They also made sure we had drinks for dinner and even ran up and grabbed my phone for me. There were other staff members that provided light while we were trying to bustle my dress. The entire staff is super easy and great to work with. They are super responsive with emails and text messages. There wasn’t a moment I was stressed or wondering what was next. They really took all the worries from us and put us at ease. They handled everything for us and made sure we could enjoy our night. We got and continue to get many compliments on how beautiful our wedding was. Our wedding was absolutely perfect thanks to The Harris Building and its entire staff. To us, they weren’t just venue staff, they were wedding guests and friends. They really made our day memorable and I’m beyond happy that they were able to share in the day with us. Thank you, Karri, Ashley, DJ Bradley, DJ Josh, Aime, and the entire Harris Building staff! You guys mean so much to us! We love and miss you guys!

hoosing this venue for your wedding and your guests will love it as well (ours did)!

f is amazing and make everything so easy and are very attentive to emails/questions/calls etc. We would absolutely recommend the Harris Building and can't thank them enough for a great wedding!

to this stuff. Not only have I worked in the banquet/events/wedding industry, but my husband and I both work in the design world in New York City so we care a lot about the aesthetics of the day and we really wanted a fun but traditional formal event, so I hope that lets you know how much this review means to me! The entire process of planning our wedding was completely seamless, Karri and team made it so easy for me and we truly so accommodating and a joy to work with! We met at KCAD in downtown Grand Rapids so it was really important for us to have a Grand Rapids wedding, that being said, planning the wedding from so far away, I didn't have any time to really come back and forth throughout the process. This was one of the reasons that we were attracted to the idea of all the accommodations in one that the Harris Building could offer us. They went above and beyond video chatting with me and sending me lots and lots of photos and emails making me feel comfortable about how everything thing would look and what we would be able to do. They even helped me source unique centerpiece for our tables that I really couldn't have found elsewhere and DIY would have been a significant investment on our parts and they turned out amazing! Amie handled all of our flowers beautifully, we were truly blown away at the job she did and her super sweet personality made planning with her so much fun, you can see every bit of her passion for what she does and it showed with how amazing every detail turned out. Bradley the DJ was cute as a button and so sweet to work with, he kept everything going so well, played great music, really took our list and ran with it so it felt very our style. Also I'm forever grateful for the cocktails he snuck down to us while we were waiting to be announced, it saved all of our guests from a very nervous and awkward first dance! The day of went wonderfully smooth with all of their help, they took over with everything and I was never wondering about the timeline and I could truly relax and enjoy our reception. ---Not to mention the building itself is absolutely breathtaking and we received the most wonderful compliments!

for intros right when we got back! The DJ Bradley was awesome & played all of the songs we requested! He was also very helpful keeping our timeline on track. From the very beginning of planning to the end of the night, everyone was so helpful & made this much less stressful. 12/10 would recommend the harris building! We cannot thank them enough!!!

ing the most enjoyable experience with literally no stress! They covered everything from Valet, Tables, Chairs, Linens, DJ, Photography and Floral! Eight months later and our friends and family still rave about our wedding. We just cannot express enough how wonderful every single detail was. It truly was the best day of our lives! Jeff Smoker & Tammy Brann United as one to Mr. Jeff & Tammy Smoker August 4, 2018