Last-Minute Bookings, Fall & Winter Package Sale!

I still have availability for some great 2009 dates!!

My SAPPHIRE package for a 2009 dated event (Saturday) will cost only $150 with the mention of this blog.

A FRIDAY or SUNDAY in 2009 will cost only $100*

(2009 Offer will not apply to holiday dates - see website for my list of holidays)

Dates for JANUARY, FEBRUARY or MARCH 2010 Saturdays: $200 for Sapphire package* APRIL 2010 Saturdays $250*

Fridays and Sundays in JAN-FEB-MARCH 2010: $150* APRIL 2010 Fri/Sun: $200

(2010 Offer will not apply to holiday dates - see website for my list of holidays)


Please email me for availability and check my website (http://www.abeautifuldayeventsmi.com/) for package details!

Deposit and contract must be received by 10-31-09. Please see our website for package details and contact us for a consultation!

* Wedding & reception must take place in Metro Detroit or Ann Arbor area. There will be additional fees for travel outside Metro Detroit.

Lisa & Austin

Ceremony Location: Our Shepherd Lutheran, Birmingham

Reception Location: Ritz-Carlton, Dearborn

Wedding Colors: Chocolate Brown, Ivory, Yellow

# Guests: 70

Emergency Kit Items Used: Safety pins, pearl pins, blotting papers, lotion

Another beautiful post-fall day began at the Dearborn Ritz-Carlton where Lisa and her girls were chilling in her suite with hair and makeup by Rashida from The Glam Doctor and Nicole Pizzini. Nicole actually did my hair for my wedding too, and does my hair on a semi-regular basis; I love familiar faces!

Lisa was amazingly calm! I think a good portion of this can be attributed to her totally awesome and sweet Matron of Honor, Carrie. Carrie was excellent in communicating and contacting me all day and night. We gathered all of her reception boxes to take down to The Gallery ballroom downstairs. I made a few trips hand-carrying the centerpieces, as I am not sure how they'd fare on a porter's cart and we wanted them all to make it in one piece. Lisa DIY'd her centerpieces (and ALL of her flowers, actually) with yellow calla lilies and they looked terrific!

Guest favors were silver heart-shaped bottle openers, personalized in a box with a band noting the bride & groom's names and wedding date, placed on top of the napkin on each charger plate:



The Gallery ballroom was both a gorgeous and intimate setting for the couple's 70 guests:



Rather than standard rectangle banquet tables, The Ritz had a beautiful wood credenza in the lobby for Lisa's signature mat and escort cards: I loved the extra detail on the escort cards.

Arriving to the church, we quickly realized that the church was also holding an Oktoberfest event on their grounds that day! Luckily they had saved parking for the wedding guests though! Tammy, the church coordinator, was cooperative and easy to work with. Thanks Tammy!

The ceremony went well with a special appearance by Brooklyn, Lisa and Austin's 2 year old daughter. She was adorable, as were all of the flower girls! The couple was pronounced, and exited the church to guests blowing lots of bubbles.

Getting back to the reception site was challenging for us and guests due to the closure of Southfield Fwy southbound (cannot wait until construction "season" is over in MI!!!) but we made it back in plenty of time to check the reception room and do some last-minute touches. Guests were treated to and open bar and a terrific buffet with plenty of wonderful food options, including a full dessert spread and the wedding cake (Cakes by Stephanie 730-240-CAKE). The Ritz staff were professional and very accomodating to our needs and provided excellent service all-around.

Music for the evening was provided by Dean at Thomas & Thomas DJ's and was a good mix of Jamaican sounds and of course, popular US dance tunes. Lisa's heritage is Jamaican, and some of the guests and family had traveled from all over to attend this wedding. BTW, thanks for your help Dean!

Congratulations, Lisa & Austin! XOXOXOX!

Melissa & Bodie

Ceremony Location: First United Methodist Church, Farmington
Reception Location: St. Mary's Cultural Center, Livonia
Wedding Colors: Black, Orange, Dark Red
# Guests: 215
Emergency Kit Items Used: Hair spray, super glue, tape, place cards

Sunny and not too hot, a bride's dream wedding day!

Our day began at St. Mary's Cultural Center in Livonia. We had many boxes of things to get through, including a colorful candy buffet. While I love the color-coordinated candy buffets too, this colorful one looked so FUN and inviting, and you have a lot of options as far as candy choices when you are not limited to certain colors. The couple also had a very thoughtful memory table planned, floral centerpieces, table runners and head table swag lined with candles and rose petals, along with all of the usual wedding accessories, lots of votives, and even some sparkle for the cake table! Keith and Sam at St. Mary's were super-accomodating and the kitchen staff was very welcoming when we needed access, which makes my job 10 times easier!! Thank you, guys!

We arrived to the church to make sure the ceremony decor had arrived and started hanging the DIY tissue pomanders which looked so cute on the pews. First United has ceremony coordinators on-site, and Linda and Maureen were great!

Melissa arrived in her limo looking absolutely stunning! The bridesmaids were in black and the orange and deep red flowers they carried (all by Irelynn Designs) looked gorgeous against the gowns. Additionally, Melissa's bouquet was all deep red roses, Black Baccaras and Freedom Roses, so pretty!

We got to work again with the wonderful Kate Lees of KBL Photography (http://kblphotography.carbonmade.com/). Her associate and brother, Paul Briles, was the videographer. Kate has a great attitude and both were so easy to work with. Pro pics will hopefully land on my website and Facebook fan page soon! (Update - check out some photos here!)

There ceremony went off as planned, although I do believe we had one shy ring bearer who did not feel that day was the day to walk down an aisle. This seems to happen fairly often though (I had another shy ring bearer last month). Little ones can be unpredictable :-)

The bride and groom made their church exit to the guests blowing bubbles. I love love love the photos that result from this and cannot wait to see them. I think bubbles make some of the neatest church exit photos.

Melissa and Bodie had a slightly unique entrance planned, as Melissa's heritage is Middle Eastern. The bridal party was announced and waiting on the dance floor, and the newlyweds entered to a traditional Arabic song and many guests then joined them on the dance floor. At one point Melissa was lifted up in the air on a chair ~ she looked like a queen and Bodie quite obviously adores her. It was really a cool thing to see both families all together on the dance floor in celebration! (Music done by Michael Shea at Shea Sounds)

St. Mary's served delicious food, including a fatoush salad (love fatoush!). Catfish was one of the more unique entree choices and it too was delicious! The cake (http://www.cakesbykara.com/) was later served with ice cream, and the colorful candy buffet was opened. Cookies made by the bride's family, and also some other cookies and brownies, were available on the candy buffet as well.

All in all a successful day and night... Thanks, Bodie & Melissa, for allowing us to be a part of everything! Congratulations and enjoy JAMAICA! (jealous over here!!)

The candy buffet before some of the refrigerated things were added:

Nicole & Terrence

Ceremony & Reception Location: Eagle Eye, East Lansing

Wedding Colors: Fuchsia, Black & White Damask

# Guests: 205

Emergency Kit Items Used: A few safety pins, antacid, packing tape

(Small collection of pro photos located here)

Well, Saturday it was back to East Lansing for Nicole & Terrence's wedding and reception at Eagle Eye. The facility is fairly new with absolutely beautiful grounds and an outdoor ceremony garden. Familiar face Corine from Sebesta Designs had already set the centerpieces up (which consisted of about 3-4 different varieties of fresh floral designs, tall and short, just so pretty!) and was outside at the ceremony site decorating the pergola with fuchsia fabric and more florals. (Go to http://www.sebestadesign.com/ for more info). Nicole's aunts were also starting to set up the candy buffet which was, in one word, extensive. SO many varieties of candy and cookies, everything in pink shades, white, and chocolates.

The theme was certainly everything damask, even down to the cake (which was DELICIOUS!) done by Rhonda at Tasty Layers http://www.tastylayers.com/.



We got right to setting up the rest of the room, including the place card table (the place cards were packs of tiny mints, really cute), memory table, cake table ~ and also the ceremony garden with shepherd's hooks & pommanders, unity sand set. Nicole had a large basket of pink, white & black flip flops available for tired dancing feet later on. The attention to detail and adherance to the color scheme from the programs to table runners to bar napkins, even some of the votive candles, was impressive!

I am looking very forward to seeing the detail pro photos done by Amy Boeve (http://www.amyboevephotography.com/). There were just so many beautiful things to notice at this wedding!

After everything was set up and the bride had arrived (Nicole, you seriously looked like a MOVIE STAR!), it started to sprinkle a little bit but not enough to rain it out. Light sprinkles, but luckily they did not last through the whole ceremony.

Guests enjoyed a cocktail hour immediately after the ceremony with signature drinks, a beautiful fresh fruit, vegetable and cheese spread, and once again a photo booth by Rock The Booth (two nights in a row, woo hoo!). Dinner was delicious, and the mad stampede to the candy buffet once we opened it was a little crazy, but in a good way!

Music for the evening was done by Jon Hermann at Real Deal DJ's (http://www.realdealdjs.com/). I cannot express enough how easy and terrific he was to work with. Carol at Hawk Hollow was also helpful and accomodating. I've said it once and I will say it again and again: I love teaming up with great vendors!

Nicole's mother and aunts were absolutely wonderful ladies. I appreciate the organization of everyone, especially the bride, as it helps me out a ton on the day of the wedding. There were so many small details and things but I drove home from this one fairly confident knowing that no stone was left unturned - and I owe a lot of that credit to Nicole's organization of all of the wedding items and her family's support. I know we are simply strangers that were hired to do a job, but it's so touching when a family welcomes you with open arms as if you were always part of the family. BIG THANK YOU!

Best wishes, Nicole & Terrence (who left for their Caribbean & Puerto Rico cruise at 3 this morning)!! Hope you enjoyed your cookies & candy on the plane perhaps?

Special thanks to my assistant Lisa who helped me out tremedously! XOXOX Leese! "She works for ME!" Woot!

Jackie & Brad

Ceremony Location: Redemption Lutheran Church

Reception Location: Imperial House, Clinton Twp

Wedding Colors: Hot Pink & Champagne

# Guests: 251

Emergency Kit Items Used: Pins, 1 Tealight :)





Jackie & Brad were married on August 21 at Redemption Lutheran Church in Sterling Heights. I have known Jackie for a while now and was excited to have been asked to handle her wedding.

Friday was a little warm but luckily not stifling hot. We began the day at Imperial House and started setting up Jackie's DIY centerpieces. She had two varieties ~ tall glass vases filled with crystal beads and silk orchids atop a mirror surrounded by votives, with an LED light beneath the beads to illuminate it. The second centerpiece was a bowl filled with water, with floating candles and floating orchids on top of a mirror. Jackie's aunt came in to set out the favors which were homemade cookies in the shape of fish (I do believe Brad is a fisherman!).

The cake table was decorated with lots of shiny faux diamonds, very sparkly!




We arrived to the church and went over some things with the church coordinator Joe. He was very helpful and appreciated having the extra assistance, as he usually doubles as both the coordinator and the organ player at Redemption Lutheran.

Jackie and the girls arrived in the limo and we then asked all lingering guests to go inside so absolutely no one would see her. She looked beautiful! Her hair and makeup were done by friends Kendra and Lisa, with bridesmaids' hair and makeup done by Jen and Steph at Deux Adore. ALL of the ladies looked just terrific!

The ceremony ran pretty smoothly. I missed a bit of it handling some things regarding the DJ, but was finished just in time to see the couple pronounced!

At the reception, guests were having fun in the photo booth done by one of my favorite vendors, Rock The Booth (www.rockthebooth.com) who was also creating a scrap book of the photo strips. The food at Imperial House was very good, especially the roasted potatoes :) The kitchen staff and manager Vicky were also so friendly and helpful.

Dinner was super special for Jackie, as her dad had coordinated a surprise for her at dinner time. Her brother, who is serving in the US Air Force, is currently out of state and could not be at the wedding. Jackie's dad had set up a television & speakers and we all 'tuned in' while her brother was able to give his sister a wedding message live from across the country. Great idea and very touching!

Kate Lees of KBL Photography (http://kblphotography.carbonmade.com) photographed the event and she was so fun! I cannot wait to see how the professional photos turn out. (Small collection of pro photos now located here)

Congratulations Jackie & Brad! Have fun in Traverse City!

Special thanks to Mara for turning on all of the LED's while I was at the ceremony site, and to all of the great women I have met through my own wedding planning process. (Oh, and also my husband of course, who puts up with me when I am in "work/on-duty mode" which means he does not always see me in the most patient state :S)

Sabrina & Nathan

Ceremony Location: MSU Alumni Chapel

Reception Location: MSU Union, East Lansing

Wedding Colors: Gold, Dark Teal, Fuchsia

# Guests: 136

Emergency Kit Items Used: Talcum powder, lotion, Band-Aids, gum


Sabrina & Nathan live in California and were in need of some additional assistance on their wedding day to make sure everything was set up and in place. This was a rare situation in which I did not meet the couple until their wedding day, but no worries!

And what a hot day it was! It had to be at least in the mid to upper 90's! My assistant and I arrived first to MSU Union where Corine Sebesta of Sebesta Design (http://www.sebestadesign.com/) was already setting up the chair covers and florals. Corine is absolutely professional, does a beautiful job, and really has her act together. Looking forward to working with her again in a couple of weeks!

On to the setup....Sabrina had a personalized CD made for each guest that we placed on the chairs as not to interfere with the table settings. Actually there were two CD versions ~ one for the younger crowd, and a "clean version" for the rest of the guests. Lots of votives surrounded the centerpieces, with some really pretty scrapbook paper placed under each centerpiece, and we draped tulle (over skirting) and lights (under the skirting) to make the 2-tier head table look extra special.

For the cake we added the flowers left for us, then surrounded the table with petals and gold votives.

The ceremony took place at MSU's Alumni Chapel and let me tell you, they really have their weddings down to a science. Up to 3 ceremonies can take place there in a single day and they really run smoothly. I was recently there in June also, and the ceremony coordinator, Sarah, is super sweet and so organized. As before, Sabrina & Nathan's ceremony went off without a hitch. Guests were offered progams of course, and these adorable fans that Sabrina's step mother had brought from China. The Alumni Chapel is air conditioned, but the fans came in handy for everyone outside and later on at the reception when everyone was hot from dancing.

At the reception, the plated meal was delicious. Guests were then served cake for dessert. The Union staff (especially Patrick) was so very professional and accomodating to anything I requested of them. Sabrina's father and step-mother were also an especially big help, and even agreed to bring the altar flowers to the reception site from the church for me. I had wanted to leave them in the church so they could be in the background for photos, but since the reception was immediately following the ceremony, we had to get back to the reception site to make sure things were set for guest arrival. Thanks, Ted & Alanah!

Sabrina and Nathan's wedding was photographed by Sam of Sam Sarkis Photography (http://www.samsarkisphotography.com/); the preview pics I got a chance to see were beautiful. Video was done by MK Video, and DJ "T" at Tunes By T (http://www.tunesbyt.com/) kept guests on the dance floor all night long. I had been in touch with Sam and T prior to the wedding day and both were very cooperative and stuck to the timeline so that we were on-schedule the entire evening. I love working with great vendors!

THANK YOU and congratulations, Sabrina & Nathan! Enjoy HAWAII!!!

Kellie & Victor

Ceremony Location: Ford Memorial Methodist Church, Detroit

Reception Location: Oakbridge Suites, Wayne

Wedding Colors: Pewter, Fuchsia, All shades of PINK!

# Guests: 192

Emergency Kit Items Used: Blotting papers, double-stick tape, pins

(Pro photos located here)

One word, rain. And lots of it! What a wet way to start a wedding day! Regardless of what anyone might say to make a bride feel better, I think most brides would understandably be a little bummed to have rain decide to rear its head on her wedding day. Kellie was a trooper and hung in there though.

Miss (now Mrs!) Kellie holds a special place in my mind, as she was one of the first brides to book me and it means a lot when someone has that kind of faith in you. I will also mention that she is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet. Even with an unfortunate incident just a couple weeks prior to her big day, she looked beautiful on Saturday and you'd never have known.

We started the day early at Oakbridge Suites and began setup. Boxes and boxes were unloaded, with everyone involved getting a bit soaked. There was a lot to do, so we got right to work. First her centerpieces were set up, square vases and bunches of hot pink roses were cut and placed, with candle votives all around. Votives and lush petals (not shown in photo, petals were placed later on) surrounded the sweetheart and cake tables. Next came the candy buffet with candies in all shades of pink. This candy buffet was just the kind I'd love to partake in as a wedding guest: lots of containers chock full of great candies, pretzels, and mini cupcakes. The room was finished off with some pretty pink uplights which really added to the room ambience.

At the ceremony site, Pastor Kenneth Bryant (who is Kellie's uncle and quite possibly one of the nicest people I've ever met) gave me a run-down on some things. We then got to pinning boutonnieres and making sure things were set for the ceremony. The aisle was lined with candles and lots more rose petals in pink shades. The ceremony ran a bit late which was actually a good thing, because the rain finally stopped a few minutes before the end of the ceremony so that the bride and groom could make their church exit in a somewhat dry manner!

Reception time! We headed back to the reception site to get to putting out loads of rose petals and lighting all of the votives and uplights. The night ran pretty smoothly and on time. Guests enjoyed food by the caterer, Chef Anthony Brock ~ And later, a delicious moist cake done by Cakes By Angelique (Gist). After tasting it a bit later, I was wishing I'd known about her when I was looking for my own wedding cake!!

Others who were part of the Kellie-Victor Team that day were Kris from Kreativ Imaging (who set up a slide show later with some images he had taken through the day, great work! http://www.kreativimaging.com/), DJ Orlando DeJesus of PRP Productions, and Jay Fontaine from Your Bartender (http://www.yourlibations.com/) who really was a HUGE help to me through the entire night. Kellie & Victor's mothers and some other family members were also a great help during setup and throughout the evening. I can't say enough about how everyone came together and made it happen.

Kellie, if you are out there reading, congratulations! I really hope that despite the rain and things that your day was everything you had hoped it would be. Lastly, I read your card and choked up a bit. You are such a poised, well-spoken, beautiful young woman. I enjoyed our emailings leading up to the wedding and I thank you for the faith you had in me and for allowing us to be a part of your day! Congratulations and best wishes!!