Last night was by far the most intense wedding experience I have had yet! Salma and Mohamad were married at the Detroit Opera House, which now ranks #1 on my list of favorite venues - not only because it is gorgeous! Dan Brinker, the production manager at the Opera House, is amazing to work with and his staff is equally so. They provided me with a walkie talkie to be able to contact the front of house staff, which proved to be incredibly valuable!
In addition to the on site contact, myself and my two assistants also had radio contact with each other throughout the event. Why would that be necessary, you might ask? Let me give you a run down of things that needed to be coordinated for some visualization:
- The entrance of guests into the stage from the lobby, with simultaneous cuing of the quartet on stage and the Sheik to be ready to go behind the curtain
- The entrance of the bridal families and bride with her father, with simultaneous cuing of the quartet for 3 separate songs and the Sheik to enter the stage once everyone had taken their seats
- Hiding the bride and groom at the end of the ceremony, while moving chairs off stage and cuing the curtain to be raised (which resulted in a well-deserved gasp from the crowd!)
- Assisting lingering guests with place cards in the lobby, a seating chart on stage, and preparing the grand entrance off stage with the bride and groom and Lana belly dancing troupe
- Coordinating the lighting with the entrance, cuing the singer of the band to begin and making sure the caterer was ready for whatever show was coming their way
- Having the Layali sword performers (yes, you read that right!) ready to go immediately following the grand entrance, with a slide show of photos scrolling on a screen in the background
Just a brief pause for a photo of the gorgeous 48 foot sweets table!
- Coordinating the video of the bride and groom to begin at the conclusion of the sword performers, making sure the various performers received a meal between acts, and placing any gifts and cards on the bride’s dressing room
- Dealing with an entire HUGE layer of cake that could not be served since the baker decided throwing it on a flat-bed would be a good idea (there will be a blog post about this later)
- Get the picture? This is only about half way through the evening!
The caterer, Opus One, did a great job serving and clearing food around all the performers, and I heard nothing but amazing things about the food! Because service was a bit delayed (performances tend to make it hard to serve…), Salma and Mohamad decided to do their first dance at the end of the evening instead of the beginning - it worked out wonderfully!
Gene did a wonderful job setting up the place card table above! The decor was done by Amy Guzzardo of 1-800 flowers, and it truly looked amazing! Photography for the evening was in the hands of Sam Sarkis, and Premier Video Productions worked alongside him all night - they stayed until clean-up!
The cake looked beautiful, towering over the guests and awing them all as they walked onto the stage!
Some added bonuses the bride and groom threw in for their guests included:
- The wonderful 48 foot sweets table pictured above
- A Cappuccino cart for late night smoothies and hot beverages
- An artist on the stage painting the scene (how cool is that?)
- Flip flops for all the dancing (guests were begging for more songs at the end - it was packed at 12:30am!)
- Beautifully packaged favors
Salma will also be having her bouquet turned into a painting with Curly Art - I can’t wait to see how that turns out! Congratulations on a beautiful wedding Salma and Mohamad - it was a blast! I hope you have a wonderful time in the Maldives!
Tamara’s mom contacted me about a month before the wedding to see if I was available. Fortunately for both of us, it worked out! Tamara and Ian were married at Wellers in Saline, and that was also the site of the reception in the historic Carriage House. The grounds at Wellers are a photographer’s dream, and I know Wendy Martin had a lot of fun shooting there! It was great to work with her - I am excited to see the shots!
The flowers for the wedding were provided by Dee Dee of Hearts and Flowers; and both the bride and her mom were very happy with the results! She does not have a website for me to link to, but is located in Dexter, MI. My favorite officiant, Mary Stevens, performed the ceremony. Her company is Life Cycles, and she does a lot more than wedding ceremonies!
Tamara was very hesitant about adding the purple flowers to her red and white color scheme - but they really stood out in the Carriage House and the bouquets looked great against the girls’ dresses. The entertainment for the evening was provided by the Ragamuffins, a band that Ian jams with from time to time!
It all went off very well, the timeline was mostly adhered to (everyone spends too much time going around to the tables!), and Tamara and Ian are now in Costa Rica! Congratulations you two, it was great to work with you!
Molly and David were married at the Botanical Gardens on Friday on one of the most gorgeous days of the year so far! I arrived at the Gardens early since no other wedding was taking place that day, and while MPE Events was setting up decor, they also were kind enough to assist me in setting up 75 chairs as well! The officiant for the ceremony was the only worrisome part of the day - due to a family emergency she arrived at the Gardens right as the ceremony was supposed to begin! I had everyone ready to go and lined up though, so it worked out in the end!
Molly’s bouquet was an absolutely beautiful mix of pastels and bolder spring colors. I am so excited that she is having it preserved by Curly Art into a painting! Her photographer for the day, whose pictures I will be sure to post once they have been edited, was Jennifer from Amanda Williams Photography. She did a great job getting through all the formal photos quickly so the fun could begin!
The linens were also provided by MPE Events, and the buckets of flowers from the ceremony were re-used underneath the gazebo of the Atrium at the Inn at St. John’s. Once the sun set, there was also an amber glow to the room from the uplighting they provided. The videographer was one of my favorites, Kristyn from Castle Video Productions!
Gobo lights always look great on the brick wall at the Inn at St. John’s, and this was taken from the design on Molly’s invitations which were done by Tifany from Gourmet Invitations. By the time you could really see the gobo, the dance floor was already packed with guests - thanks to DJ Marc la Rochelle from Night and Day Productions.
The cake was delicious, provided by Cakes by Stephanie out of Monroe, MI. Molly found the cake topper online and fell in love with it, I think it’s a great additional touch of spring! Due to being pretty low on the guest count, Molly and Dave were able to add some amazing extras with St. John’s - a martini station, a chocolate fountain, a gourmet coffee station, late night snacks, super premium bar for a full 6 hours (that’s the maximum!), sushi platters during cocktail hour, and the best of all - a two night upgrade to the Presidential Suite!
Molly and Dave - congratulations on your wedding day! It was so much fun working with you this year, and I look forward to hearing about your honeymoon next winter!
I always love re-posting weddings once the professional photos are blogged! Why? Well, it reminds of the wedding day all over again, and because as much as I like taking photos at my events, they never reach the quality of the wonderful photographers I work with!
These photos are from the blog of the lovely Amanda Williams Photography, who I love both as a friend and as a colleague. She captures so much emotion, and makes a couple’s wedding day so enjoyable with her great personality! The above photo is from the beautiful Inn at St. John’s in Plymouth, one of my very favorite venues to work at!
Like Amanda said - you two should be in magazines! Hopefully I can get you into one 
Adam Sparkes from Breakfast with Adam just sent me over a link to his blog, in which he has posted photos of Melina and Vic’s engagement session!
I love how they turned out! Melina and Vic will be married at the Downriver Italian American Club in Wyandotte this August - and it is setting itself up to be a wonderful wedding day!
I am very excited to work with Adam again. A few other vendors that Melina and Vic will be working with are John from Trifoot Productions and Amor Wedding Officiants.
Congratulations you two - you look great in pictures together!
My article is up on Buy Michigan Now! I will also copy it here for your enjoyment;) However, I strongly encourage any Michigan-based business to sign up (free!) on the Buy Michigan Now website!
In the first edition of this series, we discussed locating a Michigan-owned and operated venue for your wedding. Once the perfect location is selected, it’s time to think about the dress! The dress should fit the mood you are going for with the wedding overall - and it should reflect who you are. What better way to accomplish both while keeping your business local (and reducing your carbon footprint) than hiring a custom gown designer?
There are several amazing designers in Michigan - and we will start with Bonnie Daws. Bonnie has been designing and creating unique haute couture bridal gowns and evening wear for over 25 years. Bonnie purchases the same bridal silks that are used by high-end designers and works with New York lace importers to obtain the most fabulous laces from around the world. Her designs range from the hard-to-find traditional to the most contemporary, high fashion styles as seen in some of the country’s finest bridal salons and on international runways.
Jules Joyner is another great Michigan gown designer, boasting 21 years in the industry. Her base price starts at $1000, and of course you can get as elaborate as your heart desires from there! She loves custom work because it allows brides to be a part of the creative process with their wedding attire. “I draft my own patterns so my girls can come in with their pictures of their perfect vision…top half of this one and the bottom half of that one”.
Next on the list is Peggendott Originals Inc., a small custom design studio located in Berkley, Michigan. They have been around for over 18 years, operating mainly as a mother/daughter team. One of her past brides describes the experience best: “Thank you for making my vision of a dream gown come to life! I was thrilled with the outcome of my dress - it looked completely different than the day I brought it to you. You could not have done a more beautiful job. I had hundreds of compliments on my gown - still to this day!”
Finally, if you are looking for something completely different, Forest Creek Renaissance Shoppe offers high quality, reasonably priced Victorian, Renaissance and Tudor wedding gowns handcrafted here in Michigan. Susan Sherry, the founder, enjoys dressing up in period costumes and doing research into what people wore during the medieval, renaissance, and Victorian eras. If this describes the theme for your wedding, she should be next on your contact list!
Molly is getting married this Friday, I can’t believe the year has gone by so quickly! I can’t wait to see a full-sized version of her seating chart from Gourmet Invitations in the grotto of St. John’s. I had to share the photo of her chart because I think it’s just adorable!
Brittany and Andrew were married this past Saturday - it was a beautiful wedding and a gorgeous day! The ceremony took place at St. Francis of Assisi in Ann Arbor. The church was decorated very nicely for Easter, so the only additions were pew bows done by the florist for the event (one of my favorites!), MPE Events. They delivered the bouquets to the ladies, pinned the bouts on the guys, and made sure everything was set before heading off to set up the reception.
For the reception, Brittany had created place card boards for the place cards - which is a great way to minimize space used and keep them from ending up all over the place! All the paper products she created herself, and they looked like they were professionally done! The photographer for the day was Robert Bruce, and the videography was done by a family friend. Robert is great to work with, I cannot wait to see some of his photos!
The cake was wonderfully moist, and provided by Christine’s Cakes and pastries. Next to the cake were photos of both Brittany and Andrew’s parents cutting their cake - I just loved the personal touch! The DJ, John from JD Entertainment, did a great job as emcee as well as keeping the dance floor packed all night long! It was definitely one of the biggest dancing crowds I have seen!
MPE Events provided the centerpieces for the reception as well, and they looked amazing! Half were short, as pictured above, and half were tall with fuji mums and river rocks at the bottom of each vase. Votive candles added to the ambiance in the room, as did the black chivari chairs. Glen Oaks definitely knows how to cook - the food was outstanding and I always get a kick out of the 20-salad assortment!
The wedding truly did go off without a hitch - and the bride and groom looked amazing throughout the night! I hope you two have a wonderful honeymoon - and I look forward to hearing from you after you get back! Congratulations!
Kathleen Voss (Lorraine and David’s photographer) just sent me some sneak peeks from the wedding! They look amazing and I cannot wait to see the rest - enjoy!
I love the emotion in this picture!
Lorraine looked stunning, and her dress was absolutely perfect!
Getting ready shots are always fun! Stay tuned on Kathleen’s blog for additional photos!
Lorraine and David were married on May 8th at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Ann Arbor, MI. I worked with Lorraine on her wedding for close to a year, and it was a great process! Lorraine knew much of what she wanted for the wedding, and just wanted help tying it all together and finding the perfect vendors for the job.
Lorraine bought chargers for the intimate reception at Barton Hills Country Club in Ann Arbor. The linens were provided by Fabulous Events, and the menu/love poem booklets were created by Tifany at Gourmet Invitations. I set everything up for them the day of the wedding, including the beautiful budding branches that Lorraine and her mom created for their centerpieces - it all looked amazing!
Lorraine booked The Lighting Guy for wall washes, pinspots, dance floor lighting and a monogram gobo on the dance floor, and it truly made the atmosphere in the room. The DJ for the evening was Marc la Rochelle, who did a great job keeping the dance floor packed until it was time for the couple’s grand exit through a pathway of candle-lit mason jars!
Lorraine and David names their tables after places they have visited together, which include some truly unique places as they are both archealogists! The vases were spray-painted to achieve the perfect blue color. I am sure the photos that come back from Kathleen Voss will show much more detail - and I will be sure to share! Their videographer was the wonderful Kristyn from Castle Video Productions.
Lorraine ordered her cake topper online at Etsy, and the cakes were both provided by Courtney at Cake Nouveau - an award winning baker on Fourth Street in Ann Arbor. The groom’s cake is pictured below - a dig site featuring the couple as well as their dog Molly!
Lorraine and David - it was absolutely a pleasure! I wish you the best of happiness in the future, and I hope to hear from you every now and then!