Monday, September 19, 2011

Neely & Chris, Revisited (In Motion!)

Back in May, I was lucky enough to work with a terrific couple - Neely & Chris. They had a fabulous wedding and reception at The Henry Ford in Deaborn, my home town. Beautiful vintage elements, amazing entertainment, and just an overall "really super cool" event.

Their VERY talented videographers, Two Penny Productions, sent me a link to THIS VIDEO clip of their day. Loved it!

I was so very impressed with this videography team; super-professional, and their number one concern seemed to be getting the best quality footage at all times.

Thank you so much, Two Penny!

Happy September Anniversaries!

Wishing very happy 1-Year anniversaries to our September 2010 couples!


Rachel & Kevin, photo courtesy of Michelle Binge, Studio Blue.....

And Camille & Lee, photo courtesy of Chelsea Brown Photography....

Here's to many more! Thank you so much!



Saturday, August 6, 2011

Happy July & August Anniversaries!

Happy Happy Anniversary to Christine & John, married August 14, 2010. Christine, you are a sweetheart and I am happy to still remain in touch with you :)

(photo c/o Tammy Labar of Tres Jolie Photography)


...and I will never forget LaDawn & Kyle's July 17 wedding last summer on Belle Isle! That was quite the HOT July day but everything was fabulous! (And special thanks to my lovely lady Brandi for the referral, I miss you!!)



Congratulations to both of you, and the additions/soon-to-be additions to the family! XOX!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

My apologies!

Hello Hello!!

As much as I LOVE to write about my wedding experiences and the fabulous vendors who help make it happen, unfortunately time has been a huge factor lately! I am slowly but surely catching up! With summer activities, life commitments, and booked weddings, I am having a love affair with my bed more so than my computer these days!!

Thanks for understanding!

~Rachel

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Victoria & Daniel

Ceremony Location: The Hope Chapel, Shelby Township

Reception Location: Twin Lakes Golf & Swim Club, Oakland Township

# Guests: 160

Wedding Colors: Kelly Green & Black/White Damask

Emergency Kit Items Used: Scissors

Vickie and I met at a downtown Royal Oak Starbucks last winter. We must have talked for an hour and a half, much to the dismay of my parking meter! Both she and Daniel are engineers, and Vickie is also a part-time Arbonne consultant.

The spring day was mild, the ceremony and reception were effortless (much in part to the GREAT staff at Twin Lakes, thanks so much Rebecca and Chris!).

Congratulations & Best Wishes to you both!



This cake stand was really neat!


Tall centerpieces:

Loooove the linens!!

Menu cards, and golf ball/tee set favors:


Whole room shot:

Place cards :)




Vickie & Dan's Vendors:
Hotel - Hyatt Place, Utica
Hair - Shapes Salon, Kim & team
Bakery - Cake Creations by Marie 586-784-8470
Florist - Irelynn Designs, April Oboza 734-818-7135
Photo Booth - Rock The Booth, Tyson
Videographer - Chad Irvin 734-634-6058
Photographer - Jennifer MacPherson
Shuttle - Lavdas Limos
Officiant - Chapel Services by Christine 248-628-9000




Neely & Chris

Ceremony & Reception Location: The Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn

# Guests: 180

Wedding Colors: Peach, Champagne, Ivory, Vintage theme

Emergency Kit Items Used: Band-Aids, tape, birthday candles


HISTORY was the theme for this beautiful May day! And what better a location than Dearborn's Henry Ford Museum?!

Nelly & Chris were married in The Henry Ford's Anderson Theatre. The original plan was for the ceremony to be outside in the court yard, but rain from the previous day and a little sprinkle that day had made the ground a bit too soft for the event. For an alternate location, really, it was just as beautiful ~ The ceremony made even more fabulous by a surprise set up by Neely for Chris's former Western Michigan University band mates who performed during the recessional in the theatre balcony in a sort-of "flash mob" feel.

A bagpiper greeted guests as they entered, along with a trio of musicians from Rhythm Society Orchestra. This company ALSO provided a pair of awesome swing dancers who gave guests a lesson later!

Nelly really left no stone un-turned in the planning of her wedding. Every element was carefully selected, from the band, to the lighting, to the escort cards, even down to the charms I witnessed the bridesmaids pulling from a cake at the hotel~ And all came together just beautifully! (More info on the charm tradition here) The Henry Ford event staff turned the room from Museum to Wedding in no time flat. Very impressive! Absolutely everyone we worked with there was helpful, accommodating, and went above and beyond the call of duty! I know I tend to say that often, but everyone (including us) truly appreciates a positive experience.

Oh, and I must mention that BOTH the bride's and groom's birthdays were on their wedding day! How cool is that? For the occasion, we put white candles on the cake and lit them upon the grand entrance, as guests sung happy birthday.

Neely & Chris were such a great couple to work with; I was honored to have the opportunity to get to know them a little better throughout their planning stages. This was one wedding I had been very excited for for a long time, as I am sure the couple was also!

THANK YOU, congratulations, and best wishes! You two rock!


Escort card table and wishing tree "guest book" ....


Escort cards doubled as favors and were small compasses:


Some room shots...not everyone can say that they had a large plane hovering above their reception room!



Captain's table before flowers arrived:




Cake, pre-candles:


Each table's centerpiece was also surrounded by candles, and a few framed family photos. It was no mistake that all of the frames coordinated with the wood of the guest chairs and in the museum:





Neely & Chris's Vendors:
Hotel - Hyatt Regency, Dearborn
Bakery - Iverson's Bakery 313-563-5161
Videographer - Two Penny Productions
Photographer - Siesser Photography
Limo/Shuttle - Dearborn Transportation 313-333-6760
Officiant - Judge Mark J. Somers 313-943-2060
Ceremony Music - Rondo String Quartet

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Happy June Anniversaries!

Happy happy 1-Year anniversaries to our June 2010 couples!

Stephanie & Gabe, married June 26, 2010; Photo courtesy of Amanda Williams Photography:



And Alicia & Nate, married June 25, 2010; Photo courtesy of MPK Photo:



Wishing you many more happy anniversaries!

Julie & Gary


Ceremony & Reception Location: Colony Club, Detroit

# Guests: 170

Wedding Colors: Eggplant, Champagne, Gold

Emergency Kit Items Used: Wire cutters, safety pins


Back to one of my favorite places, Detroit's Colony Club! I always look forward to working with them ~ And as always, they were so accommodating, professional, helpful. I can just never gush enough about this terrific venue.

The entire day and night went terrific-ally! Is that even a word? Probably not ;) Here are a few shots we took, and hopefully we'll be able to post a few professional photos by photographer Emily Dowd soon!

Detroit Popcorn caramel corn favors:


The centerpieces were a variety of tall and short:


Delicious cake!

Full room set up:


Short centerpieces:


The couple's well-adored fur-baby Petey was unable to make it to the event! However, he attended in this form:


Place card table and more room views from the balcony:




Julie & Gary were totally awesome, we had fun working with them and all of their terrific vendors!

Julie & Gary's Vendors:
Hair - M'Bardot Salon, Cassi
Makeup - I Make You Up, Aleksandra
Bakery - East Detroit Bakery 586-776-6450
Florist - Kristi's Flowers 313-231-3792
Photographer - EJ Photography, Emily Dowd
DJ - Memory Makers, Scott
Limo/Shuttle - The Night Move 248-342-7593
Officiant - Secular Ceremony Services, Kirk Haas



Monday, May 23, 2011

Happy May Anniversaries!

Happy 1 year anniversary to our May 2010 couples!

Jaclyn & Brian married May 22, 2010....
(photo courtesy of Shutterbooth, hope you don't mind I used this one, it was just too cute!)



and Beth & Justin, married May 15, 2010
(photo courtesy of Gauper Photo).


Wishing you many more happy anniversaries to come!!



Thursday, April 7, 2011

Happy April Anniversary!

Happy happy anniversary this month to Cindy & Mike married April 17, 2010! Hope you've had a wonderful year!!


Photo courtesy of Carrroll's Photography.





Thursday, March 31, 2011

Amanda & Doug Pro Pics!


Just a few pro pics of Amanda & Doug's wedding last October. For more, please visit our Facebook page. Enjoy!

Derek of Derek Cookson Photography did a fabulous job! Thank you for letting us use these photos!








Sunday, February 20, 2011

Lisa & Phil

Ceremony Location: Fort Street Presbyterian Church, Detroit

Reception Location: Masonic Temple, Detroit

Wedding Colors: Red, Black & Gold

Number of Guests: 200


Lisa & Phil's "Christmas In The City" wedding took place at the beautiful Fort Street Presbyterian Church in downtown Detroit. The reception took place at Detroit's historic Masonic Temple. This building is absolutely beautiful; I had not been inside since my dad took me to see "Cats" there as a teenager. There are several rooms and theatres inside!

The centerpieces were Eiffel Tower vases with clusters of deep red roses, greenery, and branches dripping with red crysals sitting atop a square of deep red pintuck linen:


Full table setting complete with the Masonic's black & gold China:


Sweetheart table for the bride & groom:


Shot of the entire room, and the balcony above where guest enjoyed cocktails and appetizers before the reception took place:


The escort "cards" were actually holiday ornaments with each guest's name written in gold:



The beautiful tree decked in gold that Lisa's mom put together:

Memory table:



Lisa & Phil's Vendors:
Hair - Salon Lux, Maria 586-709-7429
Makeup - The Makeup Loft, Janelle 734-891-7962
Bakery - Jerry Perhogan (Lisa's father, and the cake was delicious!)
Florist - Irelynn Designs, April Oboza 734-818-7135 (April rocks!)
Photographer - AM & FM Photography, Angelo Simon 248-443-1667
DJ - Jamie Flanagan

Lisa & Phil, I really enjoyed working with you! Good luck always!

Sarah & Will

Ceremony Location: St. Mary's Catholic Church, Saginaw

Reception Location: Hellenic Center, Saginaw

Wedding Colors: Silver and shades of blue

Number of Guests: 275

Emergency Kit Items Used: Nail polish remover, ribbon, earring back


Sarah & Will's wedding took us all the way up to Saginaw for a pretty, pre-holiday wedding. The color scheme was silver and blue with lots of sparkle!



Will really wanted a monster truck at his wedding, hopefully this was a good compromise!


Memory table:

A sparkly sleigh-full of programs:


The reception room had a mix of round and rectangle tables:





Head table details...


Snowflake ornaments hung from the candles centerpieces:


Sarah & Will's Vendors:
Bakery - Cake Ladies, Lori Campbell 810-655-6036
DJ - Rusch Entertainment, Cori Rusch 989-781-1553
Florist - Swan Valley Florist, Tom Matula 989 781-7673
Limo - Mobile Boogie Bus 1-800-411-MBoogie
Photo Booth - Rock the Booth
Photographer - Enjoy The View, Beth & Mike Severn
Videographer - Shutterspeed Productions, Jamie Ball 517-420-0042

Congratulations, Sarah & Will! It was a pleasure working with you!!