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:

Hotel - Greektown Casino & Hotel

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

Band - Steve King & The Dittlies

Limo/Shuttle - The Night Move 248-342-7593

Officiant - Secular Ceremony Services, Kirk Haas

Amy & Daniel

Ceremony Location: Fort Street Presbyterian, Detroit

Reception Location: Colony Club, Detroit

Wedding Colors: Ivory, Champagne, Black, Gold

# Guests: 185

Emergency Kit Items Used: Eyelash adhesive, pearl pins, scissors

Amy's day-of beauty started very early in the morning at the Marriott-Renaissance Detroit, with Stephanie of Deux Adore doing the ladies' hair, and one of my favorite chickies, Aleksandra Adams of I Make You Up, for air-brush makeup. All of the girls, especially our bride, looked absolutely fabulous! Amy Carroll of Amy Carroll Photography and familiar face John Kerfoot of TriFoot Productions were also present to capture photos and footage.

We stopped by nearby Fort Street Presbyterian before the ceremony on the way to the reception venue for a minor eyelash emergency. The couple had chosen our Package II which is 8 hours reception coordination, but the church was so close that we were glad to have been able to help save the day :)

And then, off to Colony Club. This place has seriously become one of my favorite venues to work with. Not only is it gorgeous, but the staff is so very helpful and accommodating, and will do just about anything for their clients and vendors. They really focus on making the day run as smoothly as possible for all involved. I can not express just how much this is appreciated!

When we arrived, Izabela and her team from GoIzzy were very busy setting up the stunning florals which included 2 types of centerpieces, head table arrangements, and arrangements for the cocktail tables. My assistant and I got right to the inventory of the wedding items and placing them out. LOTS of votive candles to go around, memory table items, escort cards, table numbers, bathroom baskets, favor cards, even a basket of flip-flops for later foot relief ~ And Colony Club staff had so awesomely already set up the gold charger plates and menu cards. The paper details for this wedding were beautiful and much attention was paid to detail.

A view of the captain's table, cake table and some guest tables from the mezzanine level:

A table full of vintage family wedding photos....I love these!

A couple of guest tables with centerpieces:

Delicious cake by Holiday Market. The cake stand and cake knives were also gold (I don't see them in gold too often, usually they are silver-tone), very ornate and so pretty!

Place settings complete with paper goods, and a couple more mezzanine views:

Upon arrival to the Colony Club in their Royal Transportation limo-bus, the bridal party stopped at the Detroit Fire Station across the street from the venue for some photos (can't wait to see those!), and finished just in time to enjoy some of the remaining cocktail hour downstairs where guitarist Tyler Vess (313-445-0150) played some ambiance music for the guests. The couple got a sneak peek of their reception room before guests were ushered upstairs, we got the veil out of Amy's hair, and it was time to get the rest of the reception in full swing!

After toasts, speeches, and a plated dinner with cake for dessert, the wedding band Persuasion really got the crowd out of their seats. The dance floor was literally chock-full of people all night long, it was great! Later guests enjoyed a late-night pizza snack.

Amy, I will miss working with you and your parents; such great people! Thank you so much for your organization and generosity! Best wishes, Amy & Dan, hope you are enjoying Maui!!!

Kara & Nick Sneek Peek

Amazing sneek peeks of Kara & Nick's wedding day courtesy of Amanda Williams of Amanda Williams Photography. For more on Kara & Nick's wedding, scroll to post below or click here.

Thanks Amanda!

Kara & Nick

Ceremony Location: Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian Church, Detroit

Reception Location: Colony Club, Detroit

Wedding Colors: Eggplant, brown, gold

# Guests: 165

Emergency Kit Items Used: Blotting papers, safety pins, bobby pins, sticker scraper

Kara & Nick's wedding day was probably one of the windiest days so far this fall! I have not known weather to ruin any of my couples' days thus far though, and Kara and Nick were no exception.

Kara's day of beauty began in her suite at the Westin Book Cadillac with Chrissy from Bridesmaid Beautiful doing hair, and Aleksandra of I Make You Up there for makeup. Photographer Amanda Williams also arrived at the hotel to capture these moments, and everyone of course looked fabulous!

Wyandotte Trolley was the bridal party's means of transportation for the day, picking up the ladies and men separately and getting them to Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian. The ceremony was run by church coordinator Linda Rumon and officiated by Rev. Peter Smith. Videographer Adam of S2R Productions was in the house to get ceremony footage. My package for this day was reception-only, but heard everything went off smoothly as planned.

I began my day at the beautiful Colony Club where tables, linens and chiavari chairs had already been set, and Weber's Floral had been in to do the 3 different types of tall and short centerpieces. The centerpieces had unique stands and even the vases left for the head table matched. Very pretty!

Bertha at Colony Club had already so kindly started setting up the place cards which were cards placed in wine cork halves. (Much appreciated!) I got to setting up the many votives, votive cups, tea lights, and other assorted candles in the reception room, cocktail room & mezzanine levels, plus some other personal items. All of the rooms looked very pretty! Colony Club's main reception room is very ornate with the gold embellishments, high ceilings, mirrors, and wood floors ~ Very stunning!

Their cake by Sweet Dreams (248-737-8900):

Traditional head table before candles lit and bouquets added:

Views from the mezzanine level:

Guests arrived for cocktail hour on the first floor where guitarist Rick Zerndt (734-261-2585) played some light music. In the meantime, Kara, Nick and their bridal party snuck in a side entrance so they could be the first to view the 3rd-floor reception room before anyone else. Guests were then ushered upstairs and we prepared for the grand entrance.

Before dinner, a special event involving a cardboard cut-out of the groom's brother Pete made an appearance. Originally, he was going to be unable to attend the wedding due to military obligations, so Kara had prepared a surprise taped speech from the would-be best man and a full-length cardboard form of him to be placed out during the toasts and speeches. In the last couple days before the wedding, the couple learned that Pete was going to be able to attend and serve as best man after all ~ but the funny cut-out was still rolled out as a joke and surprise. Everyone seemed to get a pretty good laugh out of it!

A delicious dinner was then served, with cake following for dessert. Nick & Kara shared their first dance and dances with their parents, and then dancing began ~ Tunes spun by Kevin Joynt of Mike Staff Productions. Guests also enjoyed having their photos taken up in the mezzanine in the photo booth by Heather at Rock The Booth. Always a big hit!

Thank you and congratulations, Nick & Kara! Hope you are having a fabulous time in Greece!

Adrienne & Brian, Revisited

Adrienne & Brian were married in November 2009. I am just now getting to asking photographers for the pro pics for my fall 2009 and winter/spring 2010 couples. It's been a hectic past few months!!! Please bear with us as it's "wedding season" right now and I know photographers are very busy people this time of year!

Photographs by the amazing Dionne Haglund of The Shooting Gallery. For the rest of the photos, please visit my Facebook fan page. Adrienne & Brian's wedding details here.

Enjoy!

Adrienne & Brian

Ceremony & Reception Location: Colony Club, Detroit

Wedding Colors: Burgundy & Gold

# Guests: 190

Emergency Kit Items Used: Double-sided tape, white ribbon, tea light

Adrienne is quite possibly one of the biggest sweethearts I've ever met! I was looking very forward to this one after meeting her once again, and spending quite a long time chatting at the good old Town Pump downtown a couple of weeks prior to the big day. She was soooo organized that she even made up a booklet for me that was chock-full of all of the wedding details. No information is bad information and I SO appreciate everything I can get my hands on!

This was my first wedding at Colony Club and it's a gorgeous venue. The main ballroom is just breathtaking with all of the mirrors, high ceilings and balconies. I was a little worried about parking, being downtown and all, but they have a nearby parking garage that is free for wedding guests and vendors.

The day was a bit chilly but still overall good (no snow storm at least!). We arrived to Colony Club and began setup. CC staff had already set out all of Adrienne's gold charger plates which saved us a ton of time!

The cermony was also to be in the ballroom where the reception was being held. Silk Thumb Florist arrived at the same time as us, and got busy setting up some beautiful arrangements with gorgeous black magic roses. Half of the tables had arrangements, and half had these really cute burgundy feather trees with gold glitter. Another festive touch were the placecard holders which were holiday ornaments. I am so sad that I forgot to take mine home! It is not neccessary for the bride to make up a place card for little ole me, but it makes me feel extra special when they do :)

There were so many pretty things to be set up and they all looked just beautiful in the room. The gold Chiavari chairs and ivory linens really tied everything together. There was a definite "wow factor" seeing everything put together!

Adrienne, Brian, the bridal party, immediate family and of course the famous Dionne Haglund of The Shooting Gallery (some pro photos here) met in the room prior to the ceremony for formal photos. Great idea! This allowed the couple and bridal party to attend and enjoy their cocktail hour immediately following the ceremony.

The ceremony went well, with Rev. Stephen Goodrum officiating, and Panache Entertainment accompanying. As mentioned, immediately following the ceremony, guests enjoyed cocktails and appetizers on the first floor while myself and the Colony Club staff got the ballroom changed over to complete the reception setup. Instead of a traditional long "head table," the couple opted for a "captain's table" in which they and the bridal party sat all around a large rectangular table versus all in a long straight line. It turned out beautifully once setup was complete.

The room was then once again opened up after the cocktail hour for the reception to begin and for Adrienne & Brian to make their grand entrance. Dinner was absolutely delicious. I've never had a piece of steak I could cut with a butter knife. A butter knife! It was perfectly cooked.

Bertha and Eric at Colony Club were absolutely accomodating and professional, thanks to both of you! I have two more couples who have receptions booked at Colony Club for 2010, so I am looking forward to working with their staff again.

Dave Lavasseur of Mike Staff Productions kept bodies on the dance floor all night, playing some great tunes. It was fun to be able to watch everything from the mezzanine/balcony area.

Other vendors for the day included Aleksandra Adams for makeup, Jason Meyers (248-626-9900) for hair, Cakes By Stephanie, and Adam of SR2 Productions doing video. Invitations by Kate at Custom Paperworks.

Congratulations, Adrienne & Brian! Hope Jamaica was WARM and relaxing! Adrienne, I will miss talking to you, keep in touch!