The University of Michigan Museum of Modern Art (UMMA) will re-open its doors on March 28th of this year. This is great news for couples who are looking for a unique space or love the idea of getting married in an art gallery! Most of the spaces on Michigan’s campus cannot hold the average wedding reception - capping events at 50-80 people. The new UMMA will be more than large enough to do so!
Taken from the UMMA website: “Highlights of the project include vastly increased galleries for collections and special exhibitions; open-storage galleries and study rooms that foster close looking; state-of-the-art conservation and art storage facilities; expanded public programming, including performing arts, spoken word, film, and art making; a 225-seat auditorium; classrooms and event spaces to serve multiple audiences; a curatorial research center; a cafe; and an expanded museum store.”
The details of upcoming UMMA weddings have not yet been released, however, I would love to help you put together one of the first!
Debbie got married back on August 16th of 2008, and decided to have her bouquet preserved before the whole florist debacle happened… So this painting is a combination of her actual flowers (gerber daisies, leaves) as well as those flowers she was supposed to have in her bouquet - hot pink roses and blue forget-me-nots. It was also painted as a cascade, which is what Debbie’s bouquet was supposed to be. This way, even though she unfortunately didn’t get the flowers she wanted on her wedding day, she has them here, preserved for life!
On Sunday I did my first bridal show of the year at the Ann Arbor Sheraton. It was great to go back to where I was married and see Cheryl again (the coordinator at the hotel) - she is so nice to work with! My booth was round, so I got to display some gorgeous linens from Fabulous Events and a spectacular centerpiece from MPE Events, two of my very favorite vendors.
I showcased one of Curly Art’s bouquet paintings, which was a huge hit! I actually ran out of business cards, so hopefully everyone at the show checks my website for contact information! Other items I displayed were my publications in local bridal magazines during the fall (Metro Detroit Bride and Brides Michigan), a Shutterfly book with some photos from my weddings, Sandals information as well as Kate Aspen favors. It was busy!
The flowers used in the centerpiece were roses, lilies and snapdragons, with some additional greenery for texture and filler. The size of it would have been great as an entry centerpiece at a wedding, or on top of columns at a ceremony site! Overall it was a pretty good day, I am excited about all the 2010 brides that came out of the woodwork!
One of the wonderful things about working with decorators such as MPE Events is that you get to see the entire table set up exactly as it would be at a wedding! Linens, napkins, chargers, floral, chairs - everything is there for you to see whether or not you like the combination, colors, style etc. once it’s all put together. Even lighting can be displayed, albeit minimally compared to how it would be at a reception venue.
In the photos, you see that there were three different tables set up, with different linens, centerpieces, napkin and chair pad colors, as well as table numbers. The hot pink rose was added to the arrangement to see the difference between this and the more lavender-pink hues - hot pink won!
The winning color scheme was gold on gold tones paired with a cream napkin. The centerpiece itself will be rounded out a bit at the top, and more blue will be added for the second showing. The chairs pictured are Venice style, much sturdier than chivari chairs but even more elegant in appearance - too bad they don’t come in more colors!
Is mom insisting on jordan almonds, but you want something a little more personal? With these tins, you can have the best of both worlds! There are dozens of available designs to choose from, add your names and date, and fill with anything you want! A single truffle would look great inside each tin. Other options might be skittles, m&m’s (which also can be personalized!) or mints. For more favor ideas, visit my Kate Aspen favor shop!
Chrissy and Dave were married back in July in Cleveland - and their video preview is now available for viewing! Their videographer was Pro Duck Productions; they did a great job capturing the day! Chrissy and Dave will also be featured in a local Cleveland wedding magazine with pictures taken by their photographer Andy Pauquette - so exciting! Congrats you two!
Last week I spent 4 days at the Sandals Royal Bahamian resort with 34 other wedding planners from around the country. It was a wonderful trip, and a much needed reprieve from this incredibly cold Michigan winter we are having! We went through Sandals Certification, got to know the resort hands-on, and sampled two wonderful meals they might serve at destination weddings.
The pool was phenomenal (albeit cold…), the food was very good as were the drinks, and the price tag on them was the best part! I am now a believer in all-inclusive resorts - it was so nice to be able to order anything I wanted without worrying about a price tag. They also include all water sports, sauna and steam room (other spa treatments are at cost), an in-room bar in most rooms, breakfast delivered to your door… It was very nice!
The resort also has a semi-private island (half is Sandals-owned) on which you can do secluded spa treatments, eat dinner, lay on the beach, or just lounge around in a hammock all day in the sun!
There will be a follow-up to this post on weddings at Sandals, but I will definitely be recommending them to clients for their honeymoons! There are several resorts throughout the Caribbean, from intimate to enormous, all with the same luxury included accommodations.
You may remember Allison & Matt’s wedding back in September at Heavenly Scent Herb Farm. You may also remember that the photographer for their wedding was Ksenija Savic. Well, I never blogged any of the photos Ksenija took of the wedding - so here they are! It was an absolutely perfect day to get married…
The grounds at Heavenly Scent Herb Farm are beautiful, owned by a couple who puts all their heart into the property. For weddings, they rent a tent from Gerych’s, but guests can wander through the various gardens and they make wonderful photo ops for the bride and groom!
Ksenija captures so much emotion in her photography, and her and her assistant were very easy to work with on the wedding day. I would do so again in a heartbeat!
The mason jars and flowers in them were provided by the mother of the bride, while most of the flowers and decor were handled by Heavenly Scent Herb Farm. That definitely makes it convenient!
I absolutely LOVE Aimee’s bouquet painting, which she just received from Curly Art! It is definitely one of my favorites so far, and captures her wedding perfectly! I absolutely love seeing these completed! For those interested in preserving their bouquets on canvas like this, Curly Art can be contacted at 818.641.4349 or via email: betty@curly-art.com. My clients also will receive $50 off their preservation!
Angela and Mike are my October 24th couple from 2008 - and they are now posted on Amanda Williams’ photography blog! Amanda Williams is one of my favorite wedding vendors EVER to work with. On the wedding day, we are a team, and it’s great to know that I can count on her if I need to! She also does some amazing work that I just love referring my clients to - unfortunately she’s usually booked! I love the above picture taken of Angela before the ceremony, it is definitely one of my all-time favorites!
Amanda loves to stop traffic for you on your wedding day, so you can go strolling down Woodward as if you weren’t in the dead center of downtown Detroit…
They were trying so hard not to cry! I love when photographers capture emotions like this though…