SUNFIELD, Mich. — Two childhood best friends are bringing new life to downtown Sunfield with plans to transform historic buildings into a wedding and event venue.
- Laura Chappell and Brittany Chesney have been friends since they were 5 years old and met at Girl Scouts.
- The pair will renovate four historic buildings to create an event venue called First & Main.
- The project aims to honor local history while creating a space for new memories.
WATCH: Childhood friends transform historic Sunfield buildings into wedding venue
Laura Chappell and Brittany Chesney have been inseparable since meeting at Girl Scouts when they were 5 years old.
"We have been sisters basically our entire life," Chappell said.
Both women took a leap in 2020 to enter the wedding industry.
"Brittany is an event planner and I'm a photographer and we helped each other leap by leaving our full time jobs and coming into the industry," Chappell said.
Now they're bringing their skills to Sunfield to renovate historic downtown buildings, turning them into a venue for weddings and other events.
"This is going to be an entire estate comprised of four buildings," Chesney said.
The venue, called First & Main, aims to honor the history of the buildings.
"We're naming the carriage house the Foltz carriage house after the Foltz family who still has residents in Sunfield today," Chesney said.
Village Council Member Vicky Beers expressed enthusiasm about the development.
"The plans that they have are amazing," Beers said. "To see this building being used for something this special and the ability to bring people from out of town, out of this area, into this area so they can see what's going on in Sunfield, it's really exciting."
Kevin Vrummette, who has lived in Sunfield for nearly 50 years, shares the excitement, saying it's the biggest development he's seen on Main Street in decades.
"I'm glad to see that they're going to do something new around here, maybe draw in some more people to get involved and move into the community more," Vrummette said.
Chappell and Chesney recently hosted an open house, showing off the space to family and friends. They plan to begin renovations at the end of the year and host their first event in 2027.
"This is something we've dreamt of for years and years and it's finally coming true," Chappell said.
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