Live Like a Local

18th Amendment Spirits Co.

We love it here! If you're a bourbon fan, give the Black Betty a try. It's Ashley's favorite!

Arnie's Bakery & Restaurants

Bistro Bella Vita

We had our celebratory dinner here on the day we got engaged. Go for an awesome dining experience.

Bridge Street Market

Bridge Street Market is a community-minded market located in GR's Westside with a focus on fresh and locally-sourced and Michigan-made goods. If you're staying in an Airbnb or VRBO while you're here for our wedding, stock your home-away-from-home kitchen with the yummies from here :).

Brown Butter Creperie and Cafe

Butcher's Union

Whiskey. Beef. Brunch. We don’t know what oil they cook their fries in but they’re so darn good, no condiments are even required.

Cakabakery

Ashley had a caramel corn cupcake from here at a work fundraiser and almost died of happiness on-the-spot.

Cloth + Cabin

Gals, this Rockford boutique has all kinds of adorable clothing options and all the modern farmhouse home décor you could possibly want.

Coppercraft Distillery and Restaurant

If you don't want to make the drive out to Holland, you can find Coppercraft bottles at many local liquor and grocery stores ;).

The Counting House

An adorable home goods store

Creston Brewery

We went on our very first date at Creston and the rest is history! Andrew's favorite brew: Batmanstarwarssuperman (yes, you read that right). Ashley's favorite: The Panda Bear.

Danzón Cubano

Cuban cuisine & crafted drinks

The Deck

The three B's: barbeque, beer and the beach! The Deck is situated directly on Pere Marquette beach in Muskegon. Enjoy some barbeque in the sun, then work it off with a stroll along the lakeshore. If you're there late enough, it's a great spot for a lovely sunset view too! Be sure to try the strawberry mojito.

Donkey Taqueria

Well-crafted tacos and margaritas in one of our favorite parts of GR!

Downtown Market Grand Rapids

This is one of Ashley's favorite places! Within the Downtown Market's walls, you visit places like Madcap Coffee, Tacos El Cuñado, Slow's BBQ, Pho 616, Rák Thai, The Oddest Supply Co., Downtown Market Plant Stand, Pulp & Stem and a ton more. Plus, there's a gorgeous greenhouse on the second floor of the building and a beautiful balcony for you to enjoy your coffee or lunch on.

The Found Cottage

An adorable shop with an eclectic mix of vintage and modern rustic goods. You can shop online or better yet, visit their brick and mortar store in Hudsonville!

Founders Brewing Co

Their beer is some of the best in the world (they've got the awards to back it up) and their sandwiches, in our opinion, should get just as many accolades. Grand Rapids owns the title of Beer City, USA and Founders is one of the establishments that help that nickname stick.

Frederik Meijer Gardens

Enjoy a variety of gardens (tropical, desert, Victorian, Japanese and more) and the outdoor sculpture park. There's also an amphitheater that's a fantastic concert venue, if you're lucky enough to score tickets to a show!

Fulton Street Farmers Market

Grand Armory Brewing Company

Three words: White. Chocolate. Blonde. You should go here just for this beer! But you could also go for the other great selections on tap, the live music and the tacos!

Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival

Take ship tours, check out the craft fair and carnival, listen to tribute bands and catch some spectacular fireworks. The Coast Guard festival in Grand Haven honors the men and women of the US Coast Guard and provides seemingly endless fun and entertainment.

Grand Rapids Art Museum

The building is just as beautiful as the art inside of it.

Grand Rapids Popcorn Co

You may not have realized yet that you need creamy dill popcorn, but you do. Flavors like bacon cheese, birthday cake, caramel latte, white cheddar jalapeno or s'mores could also be your thing- they've got those too!

The Green Well Gastro Pub

Their menu's ingredients are sourced from small, local and sustainable farmers and, uh, YUM. Ashley ordered a polenta dish with barbeque pork, Andouille sausage and spinach one time. That was, like, 2 years ago and she still doesn't stop talking about it!

Hancock

Nashville hot chicken and boozy smoothies. We think the appropriate word is... Yeeeehaw.

Harmony Brewing Company

Not only does Harmony Brewing have great food and beer, but they'll deliver it to you too! They also have a location on the west side of the city called Harmony Hall so making a trip there is easy wherever you are.

Linear Restaurant

Modern American restaurant featuring work from local artists.

Long Road Distillers

Listen, we know we're Beer City, USA, but we also know how to craft a beautiful cocktail. Distilleries have been popping up all over West Michigan and this place knows how to do it right.

Love's Ice Cream & Chocolate

They have a rotating menu of flavors such as root beer, white Russian, maple flipping bacon and lavender blueberry. As a bonus, Love's is located in one of Ashley's favorite places: The Downtown Market. Grab a cone and stroll around the greenhouse on the top floor!

Madcap Coffee Company

Really good coffee in the heart of downtown on beautiful Monroe Center (there are other locations too but Monroe Center is just a great location). Grab a bag of the Six One Six blend as a souvenir before you head out of town!

Marcona on Lyon

A modern Mediterranean restaurant

Martha's Vineyard Fine Wine & Gourmet Grocery

The Mitten State

This is a great place for our out-of-town guests to grab some Michigan garb ;).

MODRN GR

Modern and eclectic furniture and home décor.

New Holland Brewing - The Knickerbocker

The Knickerbocker is an industrial architecture thing of beauty. Take it all in while you sip on one of Andrew's favorite stouts: Dragon's Milk!

New Hotel Mertens

French cuisine, a baker and a rooftop lounge- perfect for summer cocktails!

The Northside Pub

Northside is a no-frills, fun place to hang out with friends. They also have some stellar pizza.

One Bourbon

Grand Rapids' largest selection of whiskey. Oh yeah, there's food too.

Osteria Rossa

Outside Coffee Co.

Deliciously-crafted coffee served out of a vintage camper. Adirondack chairs and hammocks for seating (and igloos in the winter!). This place oozes awesome vibes.

The Paisley Pig Gastropub

The menu consists of locally-sourced ingredients and beverages. You can't make a wrong choice when you come here. Ashley recommends the beet & goat cheese ravioli!

Pho 616

To know pho is to love pho. This place happens to be located in one of Ashley's favorite places in GR- The Downtown Market.

RAD DADS Tacos & Tequila Bar

Korean BBQ tacos and jalapeño margaritas are just a couple of the awesome items on Rad Dads' menu. They have their own restaurant now, but we have loved them since they started as a food truck.

Rainy Days Cafe

This place is the quintessential mom & pop breakfast place! Our wonderful friend Kandace introduced us to this tiny little restaurant one morning and we were sold. Breakfast is excellent here and the place is so darn cute!

Rebel Reclaimed

This. Place. ROCKS. The guys who created this Eastown gem have so thoughtfully curated every item for their store. Art, kitchen goodies, plants, candles, coffee table books, jewelry... you'd better set a budget for yourself before going because you will want to buy everything. That's not an exaggeration.

Robinette's Apple Haus & Winery

This adorable apple orchard is owned by an incredibly sweet family. The gift shop is cute, the wine-tasting is fun, but the donuts are AMAZING.

Rockwell Republic

This is one of our FAVORITE places for a date night. We love to come here for the California rolls and cocktails. The days surrounding our wedding is the perfect time of year to check out Rockwell- grab a pitcher of sangria and enjoy the summer sun out on their deck! As an added bonus, their daily happy hour specials are hard to beat.

Rose's on Reeds Lake

Enjoy dinner on the deck overlooking Reeds Lake in East Grand Rapids!

San Chez A Tapas Bistro

European, Mediterranean and Latin American tapas. It's the perfect place for a date night.

The Søvengård

A biergarten with a local and seasonally-based Scandinavian menu.

Stan Diego Baja Taco Kitchen

Maybe you've taken notice by now, but we LOVE tacos! We are so happy Stan Diego is close to home for us because we love coming here. Andrew and Ashley love the california-style tacos and margaritas. The kids love the churros.

Stoffer Home

An interior design store that's as gorgeous as the products sold there.

Tacos El Cuñado

If you only choose one of the taco places we've suggested to you, please make it Tacos El Cuñado. Authentic Mexican tacos, elote and some bomb horchata make this Ashley's favorite. There are 2 locations to choose from, but we'd suggest going to the one on Burton Street. There's only room to stand and place your order inside, then enjoy your meal at one of the picnic tables outside.

That Early Bird

Go get yourself a maple or lavender latte and pick virtually anything from their eclectic menu- you will not be disappointed! That Early Bird also offers several vegetarian, vegan, non-dairy and gluten-free options.

Trail Point Brewing Company

No dinner menu, just good beer and great live music outside in the summer!

Unruly Brewing Company

We went to Unruly on our second date. The beer is great, there's a pizza place inside, and it's also where we first saw Jesse Ray & the Carolina Catfish- the band playing at the wedding!

Wax Poetic Candle Bar

Custom-blended, hand-poured candles.

Westside Social

You NEED to experience the chicken & waffles at Westside Social. We're not joking. This is a MUST. Then wash them down with an Old Cuban (Andrew's favorite).

Wolfgang's Restaurant

Best breakfast in GR. Hands down.

Woosah Outfitters

At Woosah, you can find woodblock prints, incense, campfire mugs, clothing and all kinds of other accessories. We'd call their style 'outdoorsy-chic'. Artist/Woosah founder Erica Lang hand-carves her wood blocks in-house. Everything you see there is a product of her creative genius.