VENUES FOR OVER 50 GUESTS: (My little country church and Wedding Chapel is a charming and romantic setting for a wedding or party of up to 50 people but if you are expecting more than that I recommend the below.)
Cascades Manor House
This stately historic Jackson landmark is a lovely place
for a larger wedding, an outdoor wedding in the Gazebo
and/or a Reception in the grandest
The Michigan Theater
http://www.michigantheatre.org/
Downtown Jackson 124 N. Mechanic Street Office Phone: 517.783.0962
Jackson, Michigan 49201 Events Hotline: 517.783.0811
I fell in love with the Michigan Theater.
I was recently hired by a couple who were expecting 150 guests, to perform their wedding at the theater. Never having been there before I was not prepared for the ornate majesty of the place…the bittersweet beauty of her mostly restored elegance along with her worn and faded red velvet seats. The ornate cathedral ceiling towers overhead at least 50 feet and contains 6 gold domes. You can feel the weight of decades of grandeur and cannot help to be humbled by the feat of architecture and construction.
History: The Michigan Theatre opened on July 1, 1930 with 1,739 seats, it was the last and largest movie palaces built in Jackson.
Designed in the Spanish Baroque style, it features ornate plasterwork, marble, imported antique artwork, and walnut paneling.
It featured both stage shows and motion pictures, and was an entertainment mecca for decades before ultimately closing its doors in 1978.
Its original-and-only-owners kept the Michigan in excellent condition during their tenure, and its original appearance has changed little since it opened, amazingly, other than an Art Moderne new marquee added about 1940.
Since restoration began in 1993, over a million dollars has been put into returning the Michigan to its original glory, including restoring the original colors to the auditorium and lobby, regilding, and adding a new marquee which is more in keeping with the Michigan’s original 1930 marquee.
Full restoration is close to being completed. Due to the vaulted height of the ceiling, there is some plasterwork and painting that is proving difficult to reach but the majority of the restoration was completed in 2009.
The Theatre screens classic and art films, including children’s matinees, and its stage is host to concerts and local theater productions.