A black and white wedding at the Ritz is like the mother of all timeless affairs. It’s just about as good as it gets. And whether you’re a bride-to-be or way past your days of “I do,” this modern ballroom beauty will stop you dead in your tracks, guaranteed. You must spend time in the gorgeous full gallery where every photo from Nathan Abplanalp somehow seems prettier the last, followed by a viewing of Life Stage Films’ video that’s equally as elegant.

 

From Nathan Abplanalp Photography…This is a wedding I had been looking forward to for a long time. Scott and Tania are such a modern and classy couple with impeccable taste in venue and style as shows through with their wedding being held at the Urban Garden in Uptown Charlotte, NC. The soft light and modern lines of the venue gave the added kiss of elegance to put this wedding over the top, especially with the pink and silver accents. 

Wedding Photography: Nathan Abplanalp Photography  | Wedding Venue + Cake: The Urban Garden at The Ritz-Carlton | Floral Design: Flowers by Lingky | Wedding Planning + Rentals: Hall & Webb Event Design | Paparazzi Stand: JMS Entertainment | Wedding Cinematography: Life Stage Films | Officiant: Patrick Maloy | DJ: Split Second Sound | Hair + Makeup: Lindsey Regan Thorne | Wedding Dress: New York Bride & Groom | Suits: Mens Warehouse

Life Stage Films and The Ritz-Carlton are members of our Little Black Book, Love what you see? Take a look at their portfolios.

Life Stage Films

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The Ritz-Carlton

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Continuing today’s lineup of pretty is a St. Paul affair with all the style and spunk we wedding bloggers so love. It’s a modern approach to a romantic affair with a bit of whimsy thrown in for good measure. Put on your pinning pants and get ready to swoon, because these captures from Canary Grey Photography are knock-your-socks-off stunning!

 

From the Bride…Since Mike and I got engaged in the woods and have a love for all things modern and vintage, the inspiration for the wedding was organic woodland & modern vintage.  I knew right away I wanted the wedding to have a timeless look, nothing too flashy or kicthey, so I tried to keep all the grounding elements (wedding party attire, table cloths, etc.) grey and white and have fun with the details of the decor. Adding in a woodland creatures to the decor felt very us and then became another theme I tried to weave throughout the space, adding in the birch tree name holders and elements of fur.  We chose a venue where we could really have control over the look and feel rather than having someone else dream that up for us.  Due to the last minute weather forecast, it was too cold to hold our ceremony outdoors as originally planned.  The balloons were a last second add on in an effort to fill some of the space behind us during the ceremony… and it worked out very lovely!

 I have a good friend who is a textile designer so I brought her photos that inspired me and together we adapted a color palette and came up with a design for the invites which we hand screen-printed (in my garage). That palette became the inspiration for the flowers and dessert table. I brought the invites to the bakery and florist so they had an idea of the colors and textures I was going for, but let them both have full rein of the final design. In the end they both nailed the look and far exceeded my expectations.

After picking up decorative items here and there for several months, it was somewhat hard to imagine what it would all look like together and since I couldn’t be there to decorate the space myself, I hired a wonderful coordinator who took the time to understand the look I was going for and nailed it while also coordinating all the vendors coming and going all day – what a job! In the end the look was one that evolved over time and couldn’t have happened without a lot of help from friends, family, vendors and the final product was even better than I had imagined it in my mind.

Wedding Photography: Canary Grey Photography | Wedding Coordination: Lizie Anne | Floral Design: Colleen’s Flower Cellar | Stationery: Luci Kandler Designs | Decor + Balloons: DIY | Table Numbers: Wedology | Mr. + Mrs. Wood Signs: Oh Dier | Desserts: Angel Food Bakery and Coffee Bar | Catering: Deco Catering | Uplighting + Entertainment: Jukebox Express | Hair + Makeup: Julie Swenson Beauty | Wedding Dress: Posh Bridal | Bride’s Orange Coat: Vintage | Bride’s Shoes: Ruche | Bride’s Hairpiece: Bethany Lorelle | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: J.Crew | Groom’s Suit: Men’s Warehouse

I’ve never had such an immediate adoration for wallpaper as I did when I started sifting through these images but seriously Detroit, you’re bringing it with that wall decor. You know who else is bringing it? Julie Pepin Photography, that’s who. Because tucked inside this day are portraits as timeless and gorgeous as they come. They are the kind of photographs that children and grandchildren are going to be coveting years from now. They are family heirlooms in the making and you can see them all right here.

 

From the Bride…Right from the get go, Steve and I knew we wanted to get married downtown Detroit. The first few months were trying because we couldn’t find the right venue in terms of size and price. We looked into every place that that had experience hosting weddings (museums, theaters, and clubs) but the cons outweighed the pros for most of them. when I was just about to give up hope and let my mom convince me to have a banquet hall (which isn’t our style) our started researching places that aren’t known for hosting spaces. I was reading up on the old buildings in the business district…like the Dime, Guardian, and Penobscot. In my readings, I discovered that these places once had clubs and ballrooms in the upper levels. I contacted some building managers to see if such places still exist in these buildings…but many of them have gone through renovations and changes and have learned such spaces don’t really exist within these buildings (very sad!) The Dime Building Manger gave my contact info to Yvonne, the manager at The Madison and she contacted me saying, Madison is finishing renovations. Once it was Detroit’s 1st Film theater, and now it was being turned into a space and rooftop that can be rented for all kinds of events (quite the opposite most of these old buildings have gone through!) We were hesitant at first but when we saw the roof and view we were incredibly charmed. It was even better than what we envisioned. The reason we wanted Detroit was because our families are from there. Steve was born there, we went to school there, and some of are favorite places to be are there. We know the city has a certain stigma it can’t shake off by some family and friends, but the Madison venue is in the heart of Campus Martius where some of that splendor still shines. I couldn’t have asked for a better representation of what we wanted.

Favorite Moments… 1. When driving to the salon to get my makeup done, I had this epiphany that everyone we care about is in town ALL AT ONCE FOR US! I got overwhelmed and had to pullover. 2. My dad himself is a favorite moment all his own. Seeing him in that tux was amazing. My dad is a pretty casual guy and it was just cool to see him looking suave like that. He was totally out of his element but I could tell he was digging how he looked. His moves on the dance floor took me off guard and were unrivaled. Gerald the DJ was even impressed with my dad’s crazy music knowledge. Even crazier is how current my dad’s info is. He knew every pop and rap song that Gerald dished out when things were getting rowdy. 3. Seeing Steve on the roof for the first time. I can’t really describe what I felt. But it was pretty darn magical and perfect.

Photographer: Julie Pepin Photography | Floral Design: Tim Grebik Jr, Arden Park Detroit | Catering: Golden Spice Catering | DJ: Gerald Roesser | Hotel: Book Westin Cadillac | Cake: Groom’s Mother + Costco | Wedding Venue: The Madison | Wedding Dress: J.Crew | Shoes: BHLDN | Earrings: Fenton Fallon from J.Crew | Bridesmaid Dresses: J.Crew | Groom + Groomsmen Suits: Vera Wang | Make Up: Rouge | Hair: Juaquin Cameron, Scissor Candy