Kyle & Janet's Wedding
About Town
Grand Rapids Art Museum
A blend of modern and traditional art exhibits. Right in the middle of downtown, the museum is a fun visit on an afternoon or for one of their many evening events. Check the hours; often closed sundays. Kyle and Janet enjoy taking the kids to art museums. Janet made activity notebooks for the kids when they were very young to help interact with the museum in Ann Arbor. Now they all enjoy visiting museums and instillations of art on summer days, together.
Woodrows Duckpin Bowling
Attached to the Amway Grand, this is the perfect group event. Smaller than normal bowling, duckpin feels closer to a yard game that everyone can play. Kyle and Janet haven't played yet, but they LOVE games. Both competitive with some cutting smack talk, many rounds of Catan, poker, monopoly, JustDance, Halo..... Ok, every game ends up being intense. But they love the stories and time together.
Madcap Coffee Company
Hands down the best coffee/tea shop in downtown. Now a national chain, these roasters started here in Grand Rapids. Janet adores tea and Kyle takes his coffee black. Any trip out and about means the first 20 minutes is spent finding caffeine. They've stopped here many a drizzly walk to wait out the showers.
Monsoon GR
Small restaurant, huge flavors. This Vietnamese cuisine packs a punch (if you want it to). Perfect for lunch or dinner; with take away options. Kyle's current favorite restaurant in GR. Even though Janet really shouldn't have had their special coffee (couldn't sleep) they had a lovely evening together here with family.
Grand Rapids Public Museum
The Natural history museum has days worth of exhibits and is right on the river. On top of mummies, historic downtown, trollies and more, there is a 100 year old carousel that you can ride overlooking the river. A great way to spend a day with kids. Janet's favorite museum in town. She has countless memories here with her siblings, cousins, Mika, and Granpa as it helped spark her love of science.
The Blue Bridge
An institution of Grand Rapids, the blue bridge spans the Grand River and creates a lovely loop to walk. Just under 3/4 a mile, walking the blue bridge, past GVSU and the Natural History museum and back to the venue, can be done in 30 minutes. Kyle and Janet enjoy a walk. Something about seeing the nature and architecture slide past as you talk about life, loves, and thoughts that give appropriate weight to each step. See the town in our footsteps.
Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar
Great spot for any meal and specializes in Southern Style Cooking. Their fried chicken sandwich and their Chicken and Waffles are the highlight of the menu. Janet's Dad has perfected his chicken and waffles recipe based on this location. He makes it every year for Christmas morning. Kyle and Janet look forward to it every holiday season.
Grand Rapids Downtown Market
An indoor market offering everything from hand made crafts to unique sodas to THE BEST street food you could want. Perfect for strolling or the picky eater who wants a bit of everything. A loved meet up spot where inevitably Janet will get tacos, bubble tea, and too many pastries while Kyle orders Pho and contemplates the cost of the brisket offered at the in-house butcher.
Founders Brewing Co. (the Original)
Founder's is the pride of the Grand Rapids Beer scene. Their main campus locations has undergone many upgrades to create a gorgeous indoor and outdoor space for locals. Grab a pint or flight in this relaxed atmosphere and try some of their specials that don't always make it to bottles. Kyle's favorite spot in Grand Rapids, 1. For their awesome patio, 2. For the best beer cheese he has ever had. He now measures every dip against this one.
The Electric Cheetah
A great spot for lunch or dinner, specializing in sandwiches. Know for their sweet potato fries and large offering of rootbeers (one of which they brew themselves). Great place for kids who love mac'ncheese. Before they started dating, Kyle and Janet convinced their lab at Central Michigan University to come to Grand Rapids for swing dance (they were taking a ballroom dance class together). Ahead of dancing, the whole crew stopped here for lunch on a whim. Kyle and Janet loved the unique sandwiches and this started their ongoing hobby of trying out every new restaurant that comes to town.
Yesterdog
An old-timey Hotdog shop that's a staple of Grand Rapids. Perfect for sloppy cheddar dogs served with a side of nostalgia. Kyle was adamant that they come here his first Grand Rapids visit. He loves American Pie the Movie, and Yesterdog inspired the film's DogDays restaurant. He was ecstatic and then made sure Janet watched all the films.
Brewery Vivant
An old church converted into a brewery hall. Coolest venue in town, with long communal tables and stained glass. Janet and Kyle love this bar. It has the best Duck Nachos the world over, and they fight to get the last chip.
Jersey Junction Ice Cream Parlor
A historic Ice cream parlor, opened in 1963 by Doris VanAllsburg, the mother of the now famous Chris VanAllsburg, author of The Polar Express. This cute shop has all your dime candy favorites and is right in the middle of Gaslight Village. Gaslight Village offers a shopping district with great dining on the banks of Reeds Lake. A summer staple for Janet after her family would bike around Reeds Lake. She brought Kyle here one clear blue day the first year they were together. They took their ice creams to the roof of the library and watched the yachts sail the Lake.
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
One of the most beautiful spots in Grand Rapids. Large indoor botanical garden with expansive curated grounds, and masterful artwork scattered throughout. There's even a special sensory garden for kids. You won't believe the scale until you're there. A must see!! When Janet first took Kyle to spend a week with her family, this was one of the longest stops. They sat in the newly built Japanese garden, made jokes about koi, and had one of their first couple photos taken by a kind stranger.