Michigan Weddings

This one checks all my boxes. Snow, Northern Michigan, a rustic yet completely chic design from Sincerely, Ginger Weddings & Events. All the fixings for the inspiration shoot that will top all others, at least in my humble opinion. I’ll let you be the judge though, with this stunning gallery, captured by Weber Photography.

From the stylist… With unbeatable scenery, friendly wedding professionals and picture perfect spots for weddings sprinkled all along Lake Michigan, Northern Michigan is an obvious spot for summer destination weddings. When Cory Weber (of Weber Photography) and I met and started talking about the details of our shoot, it was really important to us that we emphasize what gorgeous winters we have here! Snow Moon Ranch was an idyllic venue to bring our vision of a cozy winter wedding to life. Luckily we had a fresh snow the day before.

When designing the table and florals, I knew I wanted to stick with a color scheme of neutral tones and winter whites. To add a little femininity to the rustic venue, I added blush garden roses and pink alstroemeria. We took advantage of the incredible details Snow Moon Ranch already had, and pulled inspiration from the rolling fences, stunning views, and small potted trees that were tucked inside the barn for warmth.

Our incredible bridal model, Katie, wore a show-stopping Casablanca gown with layers upon layers of tulle, and delicate beading on the bodice. We went with a classic look for our Groom, with a black suit and a blush pink and wax flower boutonnière.

For the dessert bar, Kenna from Everything Gal put together an astonishing variety of desserts. She brought in beautiful textures, including a fair isle inspired buttercream cake! The richness of the dessert table was perfect for a winter wedding.

Gatherings Vintage Rentals provided the elegant mixed table settings, which I chose to adorn with a simple tied ribbon and a touch of greenery. The linens were from my private collection, and included a mix of floor length white linens in various textures. I used a tulle tablecloth as a delicate runner to balance the heaviness of the natural white crystal candle holders.

The paper suite, designed by Mo Stych of Everydaying, incorporated neutral and blush tones, also with a fair isle pattern and a quirky last line, “dinner, dancing, llamas”.

Photography: Weber Photography- Cory Weber | Event Design: Sincerely, Ginger Weddings & Events | Floral Design: Sincerely, Ginger Weddings & Events | Wedding Dress: Casablanca | Stationery: Everydaying | Bridal Boutique: Bay Bridal Boutique | Cake & Desserts: Everything Gal | Film Processing: Richard Photo Lab | Llama And Alpaca Ranch: Snow Moon Ranch | Models: Katie Deisler & Tyler Waslawski | Rentals: Gatherings Vintage Rentals

Good morning SMPers. We have a treat for you this fine Thursday. Today’s eye candy comes in the form of a sweet-as-pie lakeside soiree. Photographed by Harrison Studio it’s a little DIY, a little rustic, and totally charming. With pretty pastels everywhere you look, this Lake Leelanau celebration is a wedding crush just waiting to happen. The beautiful bride and her handsome groom enlisted style guru Rhiannon of Hey Gorgeous Events to bring their vision to life… and what they crafted is an absolutely beautiful event as flawless as it is fun and as relaxed as it is romantic.  Go ahead take a looksy in the gallery. We guarantee you’ll be smitten.

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From the Bride… Our wedding ceremony and reception both took place at Crooked Creek Ranch on Lake Leelanau. We chose the ranch for its natural beauty, water view, and location in the heart of Leelanau County where I grew up. From the beginning, Tom and I wanted to create a memorable wedding that truly represented us as a couple. As a bride, I wanted pastel tones, full blooms, petite arrangements, and elements that fit our personality and style. One of the best things about the wedding planning process was that Tom and I were able to strengthen our ability to work together as a team. Also, we were lucky that we had many family members who were willing to help with tasks such as favors, yard games, refurbishing dressers, and making directional signs. All of these things combined, allowed us to execute a personal and flawless wedding. It was our hope that throughout our wedding week, family and friends would kick back, relax, and enjoy northern Michigan for its true beauty. Thursday afternoon kicked off our official wedding festivities, when our wedding party and family members participated in a wine tour throughout Leelanau County.

We wanted our wedding ceremony to be unique to us. With that, one of the things that we did was create a time capsule where we each wrote letters to one another that we will read in the future. Also, we had a ring blessing where our wedding bands were passed among guests. Another component that we added was wedding words of wisdom given by Mary and Tom, who are family friends.

As a very thorough bride, I did not want any element to be overlooked. Early on in our planning process, we invested in Rhiannon from Hey Gorgeous Events. Together, Tom, Rhiannon, and I spent many hours creating our vision and brainstorming ideas. A few of the major highlights we planned together for our wedding included our gorgeous cake and pie display, an oversized photo frame hanging in the apple tree for guests to take pictures, and the LOVE sign that created our alter. The biggest surprises from Rhi were the handmade pink and purple fabric garlands hung from the ceiling in the barn and the “hitched” sign (with old school tin cans painted in our wedding colors!) hanging from the 1950 Chevy I rode down to the ceremony in.

Although the entire day was truly amazing, there are a couple of moments that stick out in my mind. One of them was when I was walking down the aisle with my dad and I saw all of the design elements, people, and beautiful weather come together. In that moment, I let out a gasp in awe of the happiness I was feeling. Another favorite memory was when our band got the guests pumped up by spontaneously playing the Michigan State University and University of Michigan fight songs. One more memory was when all of my bridesmaids sang a remake version of “Call Me May be” by Carly Ray Jepsen. The lyrics told the story of Tom and my relationship and they were a perfect fit!

Looking back on our wedding about three months later I can honestly say, that we had the perfect day. We were blessed with 75 degree weather and rays of sunshine, a band that hit every note, family and friends who came from far and near, and at the end of the day; I was able to say that I married my best friend.

From the Groom… Overall, I enjoyed most of the planning process for our wedding. I was excited about having the opportunity to impart some of the things that I thought would be fun at a wedding. As soon as I saw Crooked Creek Ranch in person, I knew that Mary Beth’s vision to have our wedding there was spot on. It was the perfect place for our “style” to be fully represented. I liked the fact that we were able to custom-make yard games for our guests to enjoy during the cocktail hour and the barn was the perfect place for our band Joyride.

Overall, the things that mattered to me most were the ceremony site, cocktail hour, and the band. These were all fulfilled beyond my expectations by having a perfect water view, an amazingly designed social area for cocktail hour, and a beautiful large barn to dance and enjoy the evening in.

I would have to say that my favorite part of our wedding was sending off the wish lanterns at dusk. The moment they took flight and I saw my new wife’s eyes fill with joy will be something that I will remember forever. My wedding experience was perfect. It was a laid back, but formal affair on the water with beautiful and thoughtful design elements that made it ideal for both us as a couple, as well as our guests.

Photography: Harrison Studio / Planning, Design, Coordination & Cake Florals: Hey Gorgeous Events / Venue & Catering: Crooked Creek Ranch / Flowers: Flowers by Marla Courtney Wood / Decor Rentals: Events by I Candy / Tent: Gjs Rentals / Entertainment: Joyride Band / Cake: The Everything Gal / Lounge furniture, Linens & Lights: Special Events Rental / Videography: Bay Area Wedding Films / Bride’s Dress: Augusta Jones via Mimi’s Bridal Boutique Ann Arbor, MI / Bride’s Hair + Make Up: Kristin Romaine  / Bride’s Bracelet: Divine Jewel via Etsy / Bridesmaids gowns: Amsale / Pies and cupcakes: Chimoski Bakery / Officiant: Rev. Robin Long / Men’s Suits: Alfani via Macy’s  / Cupcake Pinwheels: Paula Designs via Etsy / Cake Bunting Banner: Company B via Etsy / Flower Girl Dress: Katina Katoo  / Jam and Cookie Mix Favors: Groom’s Mom / Directional Signs: Groom’s Dad / Yard Games: Groom’s Brother

We adore this couple (they are some of our beloved LBB Vendors, afterall), and after seeing their Michigan wedding, and hearing the fantastic story from them, we are head over heels in love now. You saw their beautiful engagement Friday, and this morning, thanks to another talented husband & wife team bobbi+mike, we’ve got front row seats to the big day. Click here to see the rest!

When we started planning our wedding, we knew we wanted something low-key and relaxed. I remember the first time I started planning for our wedding. It was one or two months after we had gotten engaged and we were kayaking in Northern Michigan with two of our friends. We had been on Lake Michigan for hours it seemed, kayaking 4-5 miles across a bay from the small island where we had set up camp the night before. My arms were sore from the trip out the previous day and our friend Kate was paddling next to me. We were talking about music festivals and I decided that was it – that was what our reception would be like. Laid back, outdoors, and filled with live music played by our talented friends and family. Kate, my lovely friend and kayak buddy, is one of the front-women in the local band The Crane Wives, so that started the wheels turning for the line-up for our wedding. By the time our wedding day arrived, we had also enlisted my younger brother, Garrett, and his friend to play, as well as my cousin Katie and her boyfriend. Once we had decided on the music-focus for the party, we started searching for locations. We lucked out and found an awesome lodge at one of our city parks, a little place tucked away in the woods with a wrap-around porch perfect for hanging out on a September’s afternoon.

Pulling together our wedding plans was a relatively simple process for us. Our ceremony was held at our church and we were so glad to be married in the beautiful tradition of the Orthodox Church. For the reception, we knew we wanted music and we knew we wanted it to feel like a big party. We also wanted it to be supportive of the great local food, beer and wine culture that we have in Michigan. We choose beer and wine from small local companies, as well as a few hard ciders to celebrate the autumn season. For food, we chose our favorite restaurant to cater an all-vegan meal for our 160 guests. The restaurant, Marie Catrib’s, has a great relationship with local farms and they designed a great autumn-themed menu for us. The meal is the number one thing that guests were head-over-heels with at our wedding and we’re still getting compliments on it. We had a local baker make an array of cupcakes, muffins, chocolates and truffles, all vegan, and my mom added to the sweets table with her famous apple pie and a tasty vegan pumpkin cheesecake. Another easy decision for us was choosing our photographers. Bobbi and Mike had taken our engagement photos (which is where he proposed– I thought we were taking promotional photos for our website!), and after getting to know them we knew we wanted them to be a part of our day. They have such wonderful personalities and their work is, of course, just stunning. We were so happy to have them on board with us.

The other details of our day, all the smaller, frilly things – colors, decorations, flowers – were chosen rather easily. I am obsessed with the color mustard, and well, purple just looked nice with it. I made most of the decorations in the last few weeks before the wedding, and it was a welcome excuse to get together with my closest friends and have a good time. The bouquets came from a local florist who grows flowers in her backyard and sells them at a local farmer’s market. I had found her through the recommendation of one of our past brides and I loved working with her. Since he and I are wedding photographers, we were lucky enough to have a lot of support from our couples, and to even have one couple who shared their thrifted plate collection with us and another who shared mason jars with us. What a blessing!

So the day-of came, and it was beautiful. Sunny skies and warm for late September. I got ready with my friends, saw him for our first look, and then we got married. And then it started raining. Right before our reception, which was supposed to be both indoors and outdoors. When we arrived at our reception, we were happy to see The Crane Wives, our cocktail band, playing on the wrap-around porch as rain beat down on the roof, with all of our guests on the porch as well. When we first arrived, we wove our way through the crowd and had the opportunity to greet all of our guests for the first time. It was such a wonderful experience. No one minded the rain, nor did they mind when the power went out because of the storm! When it went out, my brothers and our friend Matthew rushed to a local store and came back with hundreds of tea lights, which they lined the tables with. Some of our dear guests contacted folks they knew with generators and before we knew it, the party was back up and running, just in time for dinner and more live music. After dinner, the skies cleared, we snuck outside for a few more photos, and our guests were able to enjoy the lovely landscape and games that we’d set up. We danced into the night to a great mix by our awesome DJ. My favorite moment of the entire evening was after the party, when we ran out through sparklers. He and I got to our car but before we drove off, we held each other and watched all of our crazy friends running around the lawn with the sparklers, yelling and having so much fun. It was beautiful and the best way to finish such a lovely day.

Photographer: bobbi+mike / Floral Designer: The Flower Garden / Invitation Designer: Hitch Design Studio / Desserts: Wednesday Evening Cookies / Wedding Gown Designer: Watters / Bridesmaid’s Dress Designer: Lulu’s / Rings: Touchwood Rings / Groom’s Suit: Topman / Caterer: Marie Catrib’s / Beer: Founder’s Brewing / Wine: Leelanau Cellars / Cider: Tandem Ciders / Veil: DIY / Fabric Flower Headpieces: Darci’s Doodads / Bride’s Hair: Hair by Kayley Heeringa / Cocktail Band: The Crane Wives