BY SCOTT SULLIVAN EDITOR
Owners of Holland’s Port 393 plan this June to open a new Ivy House event center on the 7-acre former Bloomin’ on Blue Star garden center at 3291 Blue Star Hwy.
“Ivy House,” said Candice Grant, who with her husband Brian Grant in 2020 opened the $2-million, 6,500-square-foot Port 393, “will be a lush, green, gorgeous space for weddings, corporate retreats, fundraisers, you name it.
“We offer our clients an entire property instead of just a building.”
Ivy House guests will experience sprawling gardens, a greenhouse; and a new 7,000 square-foot event building with outdoor patios.
The Covid-19 national shutdown, Candice Grant noted, caused a backlog of weddings and events in the United States. Event venues are forced to play catch-up since restrictions have been lifted.
The Grants worked to meet this demand with Port 393 at 393 Cleveland Ave. in Holland. The luxury event has hosted events four to five times a week to make up for weddings canceled due to Covid and is now booking into 2023.
There will be nearly 2.5 million weddings in the US in 2022, per research from The Wedding Report. The country hasn’t seen that many weddings since 1984, according to Axios . Candice Grant has already booked 30 weddings at Ivy House in the last month.
“Ivy House will be an amazing asset to the Saugatuck area,” says Lisa Mize, executive director of the Saugatuck Douglas Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.
“This gorgeous, sprawling space is such an elegant and unique venue for weddings and special events as it truly showcases the seasonal beauty of our area,” Mize said.
“Candice and I have a daughter in Saugatuck Public Schools and really enjoy the area,” Brian Grant told The Commercial Record. “Our idea was an event center here would complement, not compete, with our Holland venture.