BUENA VISTA TWP, MI – A family-owned greenhouse that has served the Saginaw area for more than 50 years will begin hosting weddings next year.
The owners of Abele Greenhouse & Garden Center, located at 3500 Wadsworth Road in Buena Vista Township, announced their plans in a recent Facebook post.
The greenhouse’s new event venue, the Abele Greenhouse Event Center, is now booking weddings for August-December 2026.
“We’re not gonna make enough money doing this to get rid of our flower revenue, but if it was something we could supplement in the offseason, that’d be really cool,” said owner Matt Bouvy. “There’s been a pretty tremendous response.”
Abele owners Matt and Jennifer Bouvy decided to begin offering the greenhouse as a wedding venue after their daughter Lauren Bouvy was married there in October 2024. And another wedding is scheduled to take place at the greenhouse on Oct. 18.
“That was kind of a perfect day,” Matt Bouvy said of his daughter’s wedding. “It was pretty nice.”
The greenhouse already closes on Sundays after July 4 each year, so weekend weddings won’t significantly impact regular operations.
“We’re a seasonal business, so the flowers and vegetables and all that stuff takes up every square inch of this facility in March, April, May and June,” he said. “It’s definitely not going to be a 12-month wedding venue, maybe four or five, depending how things go.”
“We’re just trying to take a slower time of the year and see if we can do something fun with it and be a service to the community.”
In the past, the greenhouse sold poinsettias during the winter to help keep profits flowing during its offseason. The greenhouse supplied flower shops and churches with poinsettias but stopped growing the flowers in 2007 because it wasn’t profitable.
Aside from purchasing chairs and tables, little will have to be done to the property to make it suitable for weddings, as it already features a large open area, Matt Bouvy said.
“There’s lots of different unique wedding venues, but I’m not familiar with any that would be in a greenhouse,” he said. “So, I thought that would be kind of cool.”
The venue’s wedding package, priced at $7,500, can accommodate up to 200 guests.
The greenhouse’s existing staff will operate the venue for the time being.
“Hopefully, if this turns into something, we’ll be hiring some additional people to help,” Matt Bouvy said.
Additional information about the Abele Greenhouse Event Center is available online at abelegreenhouse.com.