This gorgeous wedding takes place in the town where I grew up. I spent my girlhood days daydreaming about all the beautiful soirees that happened at The Henry Ford, convinced they all embodied the romance of the history of the place. And today my dreams have finally been brought to fruition, as this sweet wedding, from Jeffrey Lewis Bennett Photography, has fulfilled them all. It’s filled with a certain kind of vintage romance that could only happen on these magical grounds. I’ll be living out my childhood fantasies in the gallery, and I’m sure I’ll see you in there!
From the stunning bride … Mark and I met on a walk though Lincoln Park in Chicago. We had an instant connection and four years later he proposed to me in my favorite place, the Lily Pad Pond in Lincoln Park. Although we love our home in Chicago, we are both from Michigan and wanted to have a wedding that celebrated our roots. I absolutely love flower gardens and it was my dream to be married outside in one. Lovett Hall at the Henry Ford was perfect because it allowed for an outdoor ceremony with a beautiful dance hall that Henry Ford built to teach his children ballroom dancing. The colors of the venue perfectly matched the look that we had wanted: soft and romantic. We especially loved their library where we had our Ketubah signing ceremony. Yas from Quill and Fox helped design a custom invitation just for us and it really set the theme for our event.
Because both Mark and I are quite studious, and I love family heirlooms we decided to collect vintage books, teacups and assorted vases to decorate our tables. Close family and friends helped to find the collection and by our wedding we had gathered over 300 pieces. I worked closely with our florist, Marena Boddy, from Viviano Flower Shop and she helped to make beautiful bouquets and arrangements with anemones, lisianthus, ranunculus, Queen Anne’s lace, succulents and beyond. I designed a stamp and other printed items with Sarah LaTarte from Good Creative, and for wedding favors, Mark and I hand-stamped Moleskine journals. With the help of our Mothers, we tied up each one as a little present and also used it as the place card. We recycled extra invitations to make name tags and other labels and asked guests to take all of the flowers and collected books and vases as an extra gift.
Before the ceremony we took a carriage ride through Greenfield Village and took pictures with our amazing photographer, Jeffrey Bennett (JLB Wedding) in the Cotswold’s English Garden. Shane Tincu videoed the event and my Father, Jerry Silecchia along with Mark Heckert, keyboardist from our wedding band, Intrigue edited the footage and made an incredible video for us. All of the hard work paid off because everything was so personal. We were so happy to have our family and friends celebrate our new lives together!
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Photography: Jeffrey Lewis Bennett Photography | Cinematography: Shane Tincu Films, edited by Silecchia | Flowers: Viviano | Event Design: Heather Silecchia | Event Planning: Amy Cox at Lovett Hall | Ceremony Location: Ginger Meyer Garden at The Henry Ford | Reception Location: Lovett Hall at The Henry Ford | Invitations: Quill & Fox | Programs and other printed items: Good Creative | Shoes: Seychelles from Nordstrom | Dress Designer: Mikaella by Paloma Blanca | Bridesmaid Dress Designer: BHLDN, Neiman Marcus, + Maggy London | Men’s Ties: TopShop | Jewelry for bridesmaids: custom made by Dragonfly Designs | Band: Intrigue