5 minute read

THE COLLINS COLLECTIVE

from 2023 Homefront Magazine Wedding Guide

from 2023 Homefront Magazine Wedding Guide, page 13

MEANT TO BE MINE

By Renee Lapham Collins

“I was obsessed with brides and weddings,” Collins said. “I knew when that issue was going to show up at the library and I would sit there and flip through the pages and look at all the brides and the dresses.”

Collins earned a degree in business from Davenport University and at the age of 24, moved to California, where she worked in IT in the health care industry and in financial planning. She would help friends and coworkers with event planning like weddings, but she still kept her day job. In Santa Barbara, she met and married her husband, Tyler, and finally found the courage to leap from IT to wedding and event planning. All the time she was working in health care and IT, she was secretly obsessing over weddings and helping others have the wedding of their dreams. An opportunity to start her own business in Chelsea brought the couple back to The Mitten. They started The Collins Off Main in 2019 and began working on the Collins at the Clocktower last year. Tyler has a full-time job in law enforcement. “I was successful in the financial world, but eventually I just accepted that weddings are my jam,” she said. “I loved helping people get married. So in 2014, it became my full-time job.”

One of the chief areas Collins focuses on in her business is the guest experience. “I want the guest to walk away and feel that the experience they had was intentional,” Collins said. “I want to create an experience for them.”

Collins explained that she encourages brides to think about the experience their guests will have and at The Collins Collective, which includes the newly-acquired Chelsea Clocktower property, that happens, regardless of the budget. “We want our spaces to be simplistic and beautiful, and an experience that every bride will treasure,” she said. “Everyone deserves a wedding that is simple and effortless.”

The purchase of the Chelsea Clocktower, Collins said, provided an opportunity to offer both a chapel for the wedding ceremony and a venue for the reception. The wedding ceremony is so important, she said. “When it comes to the ceremony, that’s what people remember and what they want the photos and videos of the most,” she said. “I take it seriously.”

Collins said she doesn’t take any wedding lightly. “They choose us,” she said. “It is a gift to be able to be part of those perfect-moment ceremonies.”

Collins said one reason she and her husband returned to Michigan was to assure their 5-year-old daughter had an opportunity to grow up with her cousins. While Collins never dreamed of owning her wedding planning business, she said the chance to open The Collins Off Main was too enticing.

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Natural Expressions Aesthetic Clinic

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International Diamond

517-265-9800

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Scenic grounds, unique bridges and historic venue create the perfect setting for weddings. A full-service banquet facility with on-site catering, bar, large dance floor, seating up to 275 with 3 private rooms.

Cascades Manor

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Nestled in 10 wooded acres. Offering unique accommodations like in-house massage therapy services — perfect for the bridal party or your guests.

Heart Wood Place

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3723 Wisner Hwy, Adrian heartwoodplace.com

Whether your wedding is an intimate gathering or a grand event, our approach is fresh, fun and creative. Free consultations.

Flowers & Such

517-263-0274

910 S Main St, Adrian weddingsbyfs.com

This remarkable venue has much to offer. Have your wedding on the golf course or inside in the banquet room with a panoramic view. You'll find an abundance of photo-worthy locations to capture every moment.

Clark Lake Golf Course

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Ousterhout's Flowers

No matter your style or where you're tying the knot, they have bundles of blooms perfect for you. Beautiful blooms for beautiful brides that fit any budget. Small intimate weddings to elaborate affairs.

Ousterhout's Flowers

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Host your wedding in a renovated elementary school with a chic, vintage ceremony and reception. The outdoor patio, catering kitchen, bridal parlor and on-site guest house offer everything you need, all in one nostalgic location.

Historic Venue In The Heart Of Clinton

Rent it all, just the building, first or second floor or the lawn. Capacity: first floor - 78 people; second floor - 149 people. Indoor tables and chairs included. Beautiful setting perfect for outdoor weddings. Large picnic area. Make reservations through the Clinton Village Office. Reasonable rates.

Smith-Kimball Community Center

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211 Tecumseh St, Clinton voc-skcc.org 

Wear your individuality. New boutique accommodates brides, mothers, flower girls, proms, formals, quinceanera's, tuxedo's, alterations. Call for appt.

Meant To Be Mine

Bridal Boutique

419-822-0183

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Forty Nine South 517-435-2193

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Having the additional space at the Clocktower presents potential brides with more options. It opens this June. “I don’t really know how to explain it, but these spaces just sing to me,” she said as she showed off the newly renovated space. “It’s as if the space almost knows how it wants to be done.”

The new chapel area will include oak pews Collins procured, along with chairs and decor that give it a church-like ambiance. The chapel is on the first floor, with the reception venue on the top floor. From the third-story windows, there is a view of the quaint downtown Chelsea village anchored by the Jiffy Mix factory silos. Inside, Collins is listening for the building’s whispers of how the space will be used, but it’s sure to have the urban vibe that has become so popular. It is easy to imagine, now that the walls and floors have been stripped down to beams and pillars. For Collins, it’s a blank canvas waiting to be brought to life.

“I think wedding planning is one of the only industries to be micro-focused on the local economy,” she said. “Ninety percent goes back to the local community. It’s so rewarding to be part of that, to be able to see this happen.”

Collins said she gets teary-eyed at every wedding, and for her that is a barometer of her devotion to weddings. “I love the possibilities, I love the emotions, I love the dad moments before the aisle walk, and the groom’s first sight of the bride,” Collins said. “I love weddings. And I can’t wait to see people have their epic moment.” n

The Collins Clocktower

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Nanci with an Eye Photography

231-598-0129

Adrian   nanciwithaneyephotography.com

All inclusive venue perfect for wedding ceremonies, receptions, showers, anniversaries, birthdays, graduation parties and memorial luncheons. Indoor/outdoor locations. Newly renovated ballroom and dining facility. Gorgeous views, upscale venue.

Hills of Lenawee Golf Club & Banquet Center

517-265-2142

4110 Country Club Rd, Adrian hillsoflenaweegolf.com

Experience the beauty of this rural setting. The 800 wooded acres bordering private Pickerel Lake provide the perfect atmosphere for your wedding. Spectacular indoor or outdoor weddings and receptions.