Ceremony::: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

Reception and Caterer::: Frederik Meijer Gardens

Day of Coordination::: Elements of Elegance Event Planning and Floral

Florist::: Elements of Elegance Event Planning and Floral

Photography::: Katie Morrow Photography

Wedding Cupcakes::: Alicia Giles Cakes

Linens::: Special Occasions

Limo Service::: Dadds Limo

Make Up::: Lindsey Smith Make Up

Overnight Accommodations for couple::: JW Marriot

We had the honor of being part of Sean and Dana’s wedding and what a wedding it was!  It was filled with so much love and special touches that it really was a great event to start off our season with.  When I met with Dana for the first time last year I fell in love with her style!  And I have to say she was my bride that had some of the sweetest DIY projects.

On a sunny Saturday morning we started our day off at Dana’s mom’s house helping the guys finish getting ready and all pinned up with their personal flowers, all being captured by the wonderful Katie and her second shooter Theresa.  Then we were off to the JW to check on the girls and deliver their personal flowers.  Walking into the girls’ suite, you could just feel the excitement and love radiating from the room.  And our bride was amazingly calm as she was having her makeup finished.  Then it was time to slip Dana into her beautiful dress and let her see her groom for the first time on the stunning staircase.

Then our wonderful couple and their bridal party were off to pictures in downtown Grand Rapids.  My assistant Patti tagged along to help with any needs the bridal party  might have had.  As for me, I was off to the Palm Room at Frederik Meijer Gardens to set up for reception with the help of my dear friend Allison Bower!  I arrived to a room filled with activity!  Penny from Special Occasions was busy putting on the chair covers and table linens.  Alicia was busy setting up the yummy cupcakes and placing the most interesting cake topper I have ever seen!  The couple has a love for video games and had a custom made topper of their favorite character from Esty.  Alli and I were busy placing the reception flowers and the bride’s beautifully made Menu Cards, Favor Boxes, and Escort Cards who by the way were all created by her.  Once the room was close to being finished, I was off again to meet up with Patti and the bridal party at their home church in Greenville for the ceremony.

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church was so quaint and the ceremony was quite moving with a Shakespeare reading and the Bride’s aunt signing the most beautiful song.  After the ceremony, the bride and groom chose to release their guest themselves so they could take a moment thank each one of them for coming.

After the wedding the bridal couple and their party were off in the Limo for some fun photos around the area and our team was off to do finishing touches Palms Room for the couple’s dinner reception.  The brides choose an ivory, dusty pink, chocolate brown, with a touch of green apple for their color palette.  Once all the table settings were placed, the room truly looked amazing!

Once the finishing touches were done, the doors were opened for cocktail hour where guests were served a chill glass of Champagne and along with Butler service of hors d’oeuvres as they walked in.  As the guest mingled, the couple and their bridal party arrived and were ready to be announced.  Our  fun filled evening began with “Grampy” giving a heartfelt prayer blessing both the meal and the couple followed by some fun and lighthearted toasts to the couple.  Then one of the best meals I have had at a wedding was served to everyone!  Frederik Meijer’s caterer group did an amazing job!  After the dinner was served the guest enjoyed an evening of great music and dancing!

Congrats again Dana and Sean!

Floral:: Elements of Elegance

Photography:: Lizzie’s Photo’s

Stationary and Invites:: Sondra’s Ink

DJ Service:: Thunder Mountain DJ Service

Ceremony and Reception:: Castle Farms

Linens:: Special Occasions

Bridal Gown:: Bridal Lane

Bridesmaids and Bridal Accessories:: September Brides

Make- up Artist:: Rainbow Shades

Hair:: Body Perfection

Lodging:: Grey Gables Bed and Breakfast

The EOE team this year has been very fortunate to have planned three full planning weddings along with our partial planning packages and our DAY OF Services.  But I have to say this particular wedding was a favorite of mine.  Dana and Travis were and still is a very special couple to the EOE team to say the least.  I can still remember Dana’s mom called me the first time to talk about her daughter’s wedding and the excitement in her voice.  The couple was so excited to get married that they decided they didn’t want a long engagement.  So with the help of the EOE team we pulled off a beautiful UP North wedding in a short 12 weeks.  Below are the details of Dana and Travis day…

This wedding was amazing in some many ways.  From the great couple to the touching vows that left everyone in tears.  No detail was forgotten and I loved Dana’s vision of her wedding day.  Deep Chocolate Espresso, Mango Tango, and Ivory were the color scheme.  She really had an eye for details and like me, loves things to flow.  So from her personal flowers, stationary, to the ceremony reception flowers, and linens, everything fit together perfectly!

Planning!

Dana and Travis choose to hire the EOE team under our Full Planning Package. This package was great for the two of them considering they both have demanding careers.  We set up their budget, picked out best vendors; set them up with a great location and all those detail; and even tracked all their RSVP’s and help them do their table assignments.  With us doing all the big things and most of the little things, they were able to sit back and enjoy their engagement.  But we did include them in the fun tasks like making up welcome bags and designing the program.

Where!

Dana and Travis really wanted their wedding to be something special and a place their guest could really enjoy.  After hours of searching for different venues they came up with Castle Farms in Charlevoix Michigan!  What an amazing spot within Michigan.  The town is adorable and Castle Farms is beautiful space that really fit the feel of their wedding.  What is wonderful about this space is that we are able to have both the wedding and the reception within the same location.

All about the paper!

When it comes to invitation and all stationary needs, there is only one place I send my clients, that’s to Sondra of Sondra’s Ink.  She designed the most beautiful invite that I have ever had the pleasure of receiving!  And then she followed up by designing to die for escort cards, menu cards, and table numbers for our couple.  We also utilized her full service program which includes her designing, assembling, and even mailing out the invites.  Dana choose a deep chocolate espresso pocket fold with stunning ivory paper placed on a dark rust backer.  And then topped everything off with a stunning monogram that we carried across into our decor design.

Flowers and Décor::

The Bridal bouquet was so very important to Dana.  She had been envisioning her bridal bouquet since she was just a little girl.  So when that day finally came we presented her with her dream come true bouquet!!  She carried 50 Flame Calla Lilies with a corset tied satin handle with a pearl accent.  It truly reflected her style and feel for the entire wedding.  We designed a beautiful hand tied bouquet of cream calla lilies and hydrangeas for her five bridesmaids to carry alongside her. We forgo the traditional corsages for the mothers of the couple and instead made up dainty nosegays of calla lilies and a rose for each mom to carry.  And the boutonnieres were made up of Fiddle Ferns and berries for a more of a manly look for our gentleman of the party.  They loved them and apparently they’re also tasty!!

For the décor of the ceremony, we choose to go with very simple but elegant designs.  Dana and Travis were married in the beautiful Queen’s Tavern that was beautiful on its own.  We only add some simple flowers for the chairs, two beautiful arrangements, and wreath for the Alter.

For the reception we dressed the tables in the Knights Castle with stunning Chocolate Espresso Pin Tuck linens matched with simple mango tango chair ties and specialty folded napkins that had a single bloom in each center.  The centerpiece designs were just as elegant as the setting itself.  Our first design was a cubed vase with three calla lilies submerged in water for a simple elegant look to the table.  Our second design had wonderful tall candle stick with a monogram candle in the center and three vases of terracotta roses with glass holly/winter berries.  These tables were my favorite of the year!

All those Great VENDORS!

What I loved most about this wedding is being with us some of the best vendors from West Michigan.

Our photographer Lynell was and is AMAZING!!!  She captured such feeling in all her pictures… Plus she made everyone feel so comfortable and made sure everyone was having fun.  Her talent is displayed below!  I can’t wait see the rest of them!

Our Make Up Artist Patti was flawless!  She made each and every person she touched that day feels beautiful and special!

Rachel and Stephanie our hair stylist were FAB!  I was amazed on how the girls’ hair did not move all day and continued to look beautiful despite the rainy weather!

Thunder Mountain DJ service is one of the BEST in West Michigan.  Dave and Deb have worked many weddings with the EOE team and as always their service was top notch!  They had the dance floor packed all night!

All those special touches!!

Dana and Travis really went out of their way to make their guests feel loved.  From the moment they arrived they were greeted with welcome bags filled with Taffy from Taffy Barrel based right there in Charlevoix and all kinds of information about the city and surrounding areas.  But it didn’t stop there.  They wanted to make this a weekend people would never forget.  And I believe they achieved this goal.  From vows written from the heart; a program that showered love to their bridal party; to their Signature drink “Kiss the Bride” martini; to the amazing candy and desert bar for their guest to snack on all night; and  ending with a the most heartfelt toast to their guests that left me in tears.  They truly were an amazing couple that I can call my friends now.  Congrats Mr. & Mrs. Travis Gurd!

This afternoon I had the pleasure of sitting down with Heather Frank from Grand Valley State University Alumni House to review details for an upcoming May wedding.  I have had the honor of visiting this site before but never had the opportunity to plan a wedding at this venue. The Alumni House has so much to offer future brides that I want to take some time and pass on some information.

As soon as your guests drive into the driveway they know they are in for an experience.   As you enter into the building you walk into a wonderful foyer with an elegant stairway that is just perfect for pictures! And the reception room has a very cottage elegance feel to it with warm green walls, wanes coating, and crown moldings.  This room also offers wonderful natural light with ample windows. Just off the reception room is a beautiful patio area that can be used for either or ceremony or a cocktail hour…

The room rental for both ceremony and reception is $850 and just reception is $700.  The Alumni House also offers full catering and bar service at a reasonable price.  In addition to the wonderful set up for a wedding, the Alumni House does offer 4 rooms upstairs for accommodations for your guest also at a reasonable price that will included breakfast.  Please take a moment and check out their web sites where you can get more information such as menu and bar cost. http://www.gvsu.edu/alumnihouse

Please look for my wedding review of the Alumni House this coming May!  Happy Planning!