Where southern hospitality meets historic smalltown charm, a picture-perfect space exists to fulfill your grandest dreams. Owners Ian Brown and Kevin Kirkland have newly renovated The Grand Magnolia House and expanded the wedding venue to include events of all calibers.

The Grand Magnolia House’s carefully crafted elegant intricacies provoke nostalgia at every turn. Ian and Kevin passionately share the rich history of the house with the fondness of proud homeowners. Built in1862, it was originally owned by the Nixon family and located in Oglethorpe, Georgia.

“The original family was one of the six founding families of Marshallville,” Ian says. “The husband passed away so the wife moved the house by horse around 1906 and then added the second story.” Research of the area reveals that an outbreak of smallpox overtook the city of Oglethorpe. This may have been a driving reason for moving the house to its current location in Marshallville.

At some point after the move, The Grand Magnolia House switched hands as the Lee family took ownership of the house and land. “The original daughter, Mary Lee, was born in the house and she had her wedding reception in the house,” Kevin says. “We have her wedding album, and a lot of her pictures are framed in the house.”

Ian and Kevin took care to preserve these precious photographs, and they enjoy displaying images of the first wedding ever held at this venue. The Lee family owned The Grand Magnolia House until the 1980s, and 40yearslater Ian and Kevin acquired it in 2022.

The pair attended a wedding at The Grand Magnolia House in 2016 and immediately fell in love with the space. While the beauty of the property was striking, the idea to buy the house did not manifest that first visit.

In December 2021, they attended another friend’s wedding in Macon where they learned that The Grand Magnolia House was for sale. At the time, Ian says, “My full-time job was for the trucking industry, but I had been doing weddings on the side for friends. Kevin was a district manager in retail. We were living the city life and everything was good but we just weren’t happy with it.”

Ian and Kevin were living in Atlanta where they met and married in 2017.For some time, they had been looking to run their own business. They had never considered acquiring a wedding venue until the opportunity presented itself, and once that door opened there was no going back.

“We were at the wedding on that Saturday and the following Wednesday we put in an offer without even coming to look at it because we loved it when we were here,” Ian says. They closed on the house in January2022andofficially took over The Grand Magnolia House wedding venue business.

Originally from Kathleen, Ian graduated from Houston County High School and was familiar with the area. Kevin grew up in Vidalia and was excited to move closer to home. Their time in Atlanta was exciting, but they were eager to leave the hustle and bustle of the city for a slower, more meaningful way of life.

However, the transition was not a seamless one. When they first acquired The Grand Magnolia House, they were driving back and forth from Atlanta three times a week. “It was a madhouse because we were doing a lot of cosmetic renovations and redecorating and cleaning up,” Kevin recalls. “We took it room by room so we weren’t overwhelmed.”

While the couple did not have professional experience with renovations and design work, Ian has had a passion for it for years. “I’ve always loved design and the southern look,” he says. “Now with The Grand Magnolia House I can do it with my own space.”

In May, they bought the house next door to The Grand Magnolia House and officially transitioned out of the city to be closer to their business. Once they finished work on the interior of the property, they tackled the exterior.

“We added brick columns, a hedge wall, and are constantly adding more plants to the garden,” Ian says. “If we have to repair something, we can’t go to Home Depot or Lowes, you have to really do research to repair the house.”

Ian and Kevin are committed to maintaining the integrity of the house by taking extra precautions in all the work. To preserve the history, they have kept the original front door, screen door, transom windows, and the light fixtures in the parlors.

Before long, they were booking weddings at their newly renovated venue. But forthe first time in its history, The Grand Magnolia House is available for a wide variety of events under Ian and Kevin’s ownership.

“We purchased it as a wedding venue but we have branched out and done more,” Ian says. “As long as we don’thave a wedding, we’ll do anything.” These events include things like baby showers, bridal showers, reunions, and prom dinners.

“We also have the house listed on Airbnb,” Kevin adds. “It stays pretty booked up. You book it by the room so it’s very affordable.”

Wedding parties can rent the house for a night or two before or after the wedding for convenience sake. Bridesmaids will stay the night before and celebrate the bride with breakfast on the veranda, or the couple will stay on their first night as newlyweds once the party is over.

Additionally, they offer a variety of packages to cater to the needs of their customers. Couples can choose the small elopement package with a limited number of guests, the DIY package which allows you to bring in your own vendors, or the all-inclusive package where everything is done directly through the venue.

“Often,” Ian says, “couples come here for a small walk through elopement and they call us the next day to book the all-inclusive because they fall in love with the place just like we did.”

Many of their bookings are out-of-state couples seeking a quaint historical wedding venue. “We’ve had two couples who want to relocate to Perry because they fell in love with the area after having their wedding here,” Ian says. It brings Ian and Kevin great joy to be part of each couple’s journey as they start their lives together.

Since relocating to Marshallville, Ian and Kevin have found great joy in a slower paced lifestyle. At the heart of their business, they seek to create the most memorable experience for their customers to cherish for a lifetime.

Kevin says, “You don’t just come for a wedding and leave. We make you feel like our family and we treat you like family to make sure your day is going to be the perfect day.”

Each wedding is specially tailored to the vision of the bride and groom to ensure their utmost happiness on their first day of forever...because at The Grand Magnolia House, your future begins right here.