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They say rain on your wedding day is actually a promise of good luck, but what about hail? Does it mean your marriage will have nothing but good luck for as long as you both shall live? On July 2, in Clarkston, MI Alexia and Nick proved that nothing was going to stop them from getting married and dancing the night away with their guests. This adorable backyard wedding was full of personal touches from the bride and groom, and it had the cutest vintage-indie theme!

Guests arrived and everyone enjoyed walking around and seeing all of the special items the bride had us set up. From centerpieces of old books and vintage cameras, suitcases to hold their cards and their very own handmade photo booth, this wedding was ready for guests to pop open the Faygo and enjoy a handmade pin or two.

There were three different sets of flower centerpieces used that came from The Parsonage. They were all gorgeous and added very nicely to the books and cameras. Guests located their names on a framed guest list and then found their table that had library cards with their names on them.

As we all crossed our fingers for the storm to just wait until they said “I do”, guests made their way to the ceremony, which we set up in the back yard. The groom serenaded guests as he led his groomsmen down the aisle while playing his guitar. Alexia’s mother escorted her down the aisle and one of the groomsmen took over playing the guitar. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the crowd.

I truly believe the rain gods were looking out for us, because just as the couple said “I do” and shared their first kiss, we rushed the guests into the tent, and the rain came down. Thankfully all of the guests were under tents as it started, because soon we had hail. We ran to the tent and held items down as things were trying to blow away.

Guests helped us and I think we all bonded while trying to stay dry and not get hit by the giant balls of ice falling from the sky.

Blessings sometimes come in disguise and for us it was the rain. It was so hot that day and after the rain we were all cooled off and ready to have a wonderful reception.

Guests dined on Famous Daves for dinner and everyone enjoyed how great the comfort food was. Being a southern girl myself, I would have to say this menu of chicken, salmon, and spicy mac’n cheese was better than fabulous. After dinner, the groom had a surprise for his beautiful bride. He gathered everyone together and him and one of his groomsmen sang an original song. While the groom sang, “I choose you babe,” all the guests got involved and the smile that was on Alexia’s face was priceless.

Alexia and Nick had one last surprise for their guests and it came in the form of an ice cream truck. The DJ (Jim from Postman Productions) made the announcement, and guests lined up so they could pick out their favorite childhood treat. This was one dessert that no one could pass up. As night came and everyone was full of delicious food and sweet treats the music began to play and everyone was out on the dance floor.

I will never forget this wedding. Not only from the hail and how we managed to keep the night going, but also all the special little touches that the bride and groom did. All the super sweet details both big and small, made this wedding that much more personal and special.

I wish all the best luck in the world to Alexia and Nick; they survived the hailstorm and still had a smile on their face. I think that proves that nothing will stand in their way of experiencing true happiness in life.

Written by Melanie King - TwoFoot Creative, Ann Arbor

Melissa & Jason were married on June 26th at the Ann Arbor City Club in Ann Arbor, MI. Their grounds are beautiful, and lend themselves to very minimal decor if you do want an outside ceremony! Dawn, who is the banquet manager there, was just wonderful to work with as well.

Their florist, Passion Flower, added a huppah underneath the pergola that is already at the Club, as well as two arrangements in front of its posts. While these are my photos, I can’t wait to see the ones that Kat Foley took of their day - she was running around everywhere!

After the ceremony, guests were directed to their seats with escort cards placed in ivory envelopes. Since the cocktail hour took place prior to the ceremony, they went immediately into the hora - Melissa & Jason joined in half way through!

I absolutely loved their flowers, and the vessels that they were placed in.

During the evening, Melissa surprised Jason with a song - the one she sang shortly after their engagement that he happened to overhear! It was so adorable.

I love when bouts are placed in fun boxes - this one was just perfect!

Their cake was brought in by Decadent Delight - an Ann Arbor local bakery.

Congratulations to you both!

Jillian and Mike were happily married on Saturday June 11th and the University of Michigan’s Museum of Art (UMMA). With newly renovated features, the Museum of Art’s Apse provided an excellent setting for the both the ceremony and dinner reception for the couple and their families. Their photographer Nicole Haley took the above pictures - the rest are from us!

As the bridal party processional began, Panache Entertainment’s String Quartet sounds filled the room. The ceremony included poems and reading excerpts from friends and family followed by “Chemistry”, a song performed by Kaitlin and Tyler composed specially for the couple.

Cocktail Hour took off in the Museum’s Form with Panache Entertainment’s Jazz Trio creating a great ambiance for guests along with Forte Belanger’s Catering as the newly married couple shared a private space.

While guest enjoyed their cocktails and refreshments, TwoFoot Creative, Forte Belanger and Bill Hamilton Designs, transformed the Museum Apse from the wedding ceremonial space to a wonderful banquet and reception space with a sweetheart table for the happy couple.

Twelve tables were all named with “Love” in twelve different languages. Upon completing dinner, the sweetheart table gave way to open up the dance floor where DJ Zac from Panache Entertainment helped the couple and guests dance the night away.

Upon exiting, the happy couple was escorted out of the Museum to their sedan with an aisle of bright sparklers held by guests to light up the night sky. Their videographer, Jamie, from 3rd Street Films, was there to capture it all! A beautiful ending for a beautiful wedding.

Written by Karissa Fitzgerald - TwoFoot Creative, Ann Arbor

Anna & Chris were married on May 14th in Ann Arbor, MI. Their wonderful videographer, Lee Thomas, sent this trailer and of course I had to share - he did a beautiful job!

Elaine & Andrew were married at the Village Club in Bloomfield Hills on June 11th - a gorgeous place for a wedding! It is a private club, so you need a sponsor to be allowed to get married there, but it is well worth the effort!

We set everything up for an outside ceremony, only to be hit by a random rain-filled cloud midway through guest arrival - forcing us to move the ceremony inside. It was a bummer, but turned out beautifully!

Blossoms of Birmingham did all the floral for the wedding. Elaine bought and painted her own table numbers, and family members printed out photos of the couple to hang around the area. So much fun!

The patio area at the Village Club is beautiful, so of course we were a bit saddened by not being able to have the cocktail hour out there. Annie O’Neill was their photographer, and she spent a few hours prior to the ceremony getting amazing shots around the grounds.

Elaine & Andrew - we wish you a lifetime of happiness - congratulations!

Jenn & Nik were married at Nardin Park UMC on June 4th, with a reception following in the Atrium at the Inn at St. John’s in Plymouth, MI. Jenn & her mom were a blast to work with, and the wedding day was just as fun!

Jenn’s paper was designed by the amazingly talented Tifany from Gourmet Invitations - I just LOVE the squirrels!

Jenn’s flowers were brought in from The Vines, and they did a beautiful job! I have never seen a captain’s table so decked out in flowers, and this one is still missing all the girls’ bouquets!

My team arrived at noon to set up linens, chargers, napkins, menus, photo booth bookmarks, escort cards, scrap book, lanterns on the gazebo, cake knife, and several other things that Jenn had brought in. We had to do quite a bit of rearranging in the room (most of the table sizes were off and had to be fixed), but it turned out beautifully!

The cake came from Lakes Cakes - and it was a huge hit for dessert. Right before guests were let into the room, the groom on top came tumbling down! I had my assistant rinse him off, while the amazing St. John’s staff fixed the buttercream on the cake so you couldn’t tell what had happened…

More squirrels!

The photographer, Amanda Williams, was so much fun to work with as always. Can’t wait to see her pictures!

The Killer Flamingos did a terrific job with the music - they kept the dance floor packed all night long! I will be working with them again in September, yay!

Congratulations Jenn & Nik - it was a beautiful wedding and we are honored to have been a part of it all!

Kary & Brian were married at Concordia University in Ann Arbor, MI on May 29th. I worked with them in planning their wedding for about a year prior, and it was so much fun seeing it all come together!

Flowers by Heidi created all the floral pieces, including these beautiful pomanders hanging from the trees during the ceremony. We later re-hung them on the patio. The ceremony was officiated by Mary from LifeCycles, and music for the entire day was provided by Sara from Platinum Mix.

Kary and Brian had all their paper designed by Jessica of JDesigns, and then printed it out at Kolossos in Ann Arbor. She designed a dog that looked exactly like theirs - Lemon! The lemon theme was carried throughout the paper, and Lemon herself made an appearance during the wedding!

Concordia University is a great place for a tented wedding - and their sales manager Danielle was great to work with! They take care of all the rentals, except for the table linens we brought in from Linen Hero.

Setup included linens, favors, table numbers, bar sign, escort cards, reserved signs on chairs, pinata hanging later on in the evening, and lawn games that unfortunately weren’t used much because of the storm…

The table number holders were an IKEA find! They also had us place two Mason jars on each table with candy in them for guests to nibble on throughout the evening, as well as votives.

We helped cue the DJ during the ceremony, and then made sure to get the group picture in that Kary wanted before the storm hit! It poured - but fortunately we had it timed perfectly to do so when guests were seated for dinner

Heidi brought the wheat grass trays, and escort cards were placed on Popsicle sticks in the grass. The guests’ meal choices were printed directly on the cards.

Kary’s aunt made the cake - and it was delicious! Other dessert included candy from the pinatas that Kary and Brian broke. I would not recommend having blindfolds available in the future!

Everything went beautifully throughout the day, until the end when Kary, Brian and their friends headed off on the last shuttle to downtown Ann Arbor.

Congratulations to you both!

Kelly and Tristan were married on May 28th at a beautiful private residence in Ann Arbor. The setting took our breath away. As you arrived you were greeted by the valet and escorted to the back yard. There you were seated and looked out towards a gorgeous gazebo and a lake. While guests waited for the ceremony to start Fran Vitti and Sin-Ting Chiu played beautiful music. Reverend Brian Tuttle was the minister and it was a very personal and beautiful ceremony.

We hung lanterns from the surrounding trees, set up chairs, and used some flowers by Bill Hamilton to decorate the walk down the aisle. Lily’s Garden provided all of the other flowers, and they were a beautiful assortment of colors. The bouquets were my favorite! The flowers were bright splashes of colors for the white crisp setting of the back yard. Queen of Hearts bakery in Ypsilanti made the cake and it was amazing.

After the ceremony guests enjoyed delicious appetizers by Christian Thompson Catering. Not only is his food excellent but his attitude is refreshing to be around. While dinner was getting ready to be served, also by Christian, everyone enjoyed cocktails, food, and some great music provided by the groom.

The bride and groom took pictures and as if we planned it the rain held of just to the very last picture. Photography for the day was by Gregory Fox.

Dinner was ready to be served and we all gathered under a huge tent, but this was no ordinary tent! We had large white circular bulbs hanging all around the bottom of the tent and placed on the top were cute chandeliers that lit up the whole entire inside of the tent as it grew dark.

This wedding had all of these simple little touches that added all the elegance, and it is a wedding I will never forget. The house with this magnificent backyard was just the perfect place for a backyard wedding.

Written by Melanie King, TwoFoot Creative - Ann Arbor

Jennifer & Kevin were married on May 21st at Ingalls Mall fountain in Ann Arbor, MI. The ceremony was presided over by Jen’s Aunt, which was just beautiful. A family friend played the guitar for the prelude, processional and recessional.

It’s hard to hide at Ingalls Mall, so the bridal party waited in the trolley until it was time to line up and walk down the aisle! These are my own pictures, as you can probably tell they are not that great! The professional shooter that day was Jeff from JLB Wedding Photography and two of his assistants. I can’t wait to share his pictures!

The cocktail hour was meant to be in the courtyard, but because of their final guest count it got moved into the rooms across from the Michigan League ballroom about a week before the wedding. It was actually a good thing - because it started to rain during pictures!

Jen surprised Kevin with cookies (made by the League) using his mother’s recipes, and the couple added other candy to round out the sweets buffet. It was a huge hit - and later at night it definitely stood it’s own when competing with the sliders!

My assistants all learned how to tie chair covers and sashes! The room looked great, I am very proud of them.

Jen bought parasols for the ceremony, and we re-used them during the reception. Here they are pictured with the guest book and leftover programs. Their engagement pictures were used to compile the guest book - definitely one of my favorite routes to go!

Jen’s mom started putting together a quilt for the couple - and guests were asked to contribute by getting their own square and leaving a note for the bride & groom!

Chateau Band played the music - and guests were dancing all the way until the end of the night!

Congratulations to you both, it was a pleasure working with you!

Anna & Chris were married on May 14th at the First Congregational Church in Ann Arbor. Rev. Robert Livingston did a beautiful job with the ceremony! Betty is the church coordinator; one of my very favorites to work with!

The bridal party arrived at the church in a trolley from Golden International, and had some time to touch up hair and makeup and relax a bit before the ceremony. Their photographer, Wendy Martin, started with them earlier in the day and had already gotten some amazing shots (I will share later) as did their videographer Lee Thomas.

While I was at the church making sure everything was set and ready to go, two of my assistants were at Polo Fields folding napkins, inserting menus, placing donation cards and kisses, setting up escort cards, pictures and the guest book, and making sure everyone was arriving and setting up as scheduled!

Guests began to arrive right on schedule at 6pm, and were greeted with passed appetizers and drinks at the bar. Their band, The Sun Messengers, started with a recorded set during cocktails and dinner before starting their first set at 8:30.

When the bridal party arrived, we got their bags from them, lined them up for the grand entrance and took drink orders for the head table before handing the announcements off to the band. From there, everything went according to schedule - dinner, dances, tosses and opening up the dance floor which stayed packed all night!

Their cake came from Mary at Jefferson Market and Cakery in Ann Arbor. It was served as dessert, either lemon with raspberry filling or chocolate.

Congratulations Anna & Chris - it was a beautiful day!