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Michigan Backyard Wedding Grand Haven | Devin + Tom

Michigan Backyard Wedding

What a time to have and plan a wedding.
Almost all of 2020 is cancelled. In fact Devin and Tom ALMOST cancelled their day but instead of doing so, they opted to convert their planned Zeeland School House 5 wedding to a backyard one. This meant sending out ANOTHER set of invites, changing vendors and reducing their guest list significantly. I can’t even imagine! But getting married was SO SO IMPORTANT to them and they wanted to have their closest people with them. It all worked out beautifully on the most gorgeous July day. I am so thankful that some of these small events are still going on <3 I am missing weddings something FIERCE right now. It is a joy to relive this moments. This whole situation has made me realize even more how much I love this job. It is so so important to keep capturing these moments. Who knows when we can all gather again <3 I am going to leave the rest of this story up to Devin. She has an amazing point of view as a COVID bride on how this all went down and some wonderful stories of things that wouldn’t have happened without all the changes taking place.

 

The Beginning:

We were setup by my (Devin’s Aunt Toni and Uncle Jon) on a blind date. Tom worked with my Uncle Jon and actually a few other uncles over the years at Gentex. We connected over the phone and decided to meet at Hopcat in downtown Grand Rapids after work on a Friday night. I was going to be across the street with co-workers for a going-away party beforehand and I made sure they would check on me before they left in case the date wasn’t going well. Hopcat was packed and Tom and I ended up grabbing two seats at the bar. Me not being a huge craft beer fan at the time and trying not to come off as too “extra”, asked the bartender for a Bud Light …. which Hopcat doesn’t sell. Thankfully Tom isn’t a beer snob, which is possible when you live in “Beer City USA” helped me pick the lightest beer on the menu to order. Conversation flowed easily and I texted my co-workers that I didn’t need to be rescued. Turns out Tom had the same idea going into the date and had a friend on standby to use as an excuse to leave early if needed. He texted and told him no need. We stayed there and talked over beers and eventually decided to get pizza next door at Georgio’s. We got a couple slices of mac & cheese pizza’s, cans of PBR to my relief (no more Kraft beer) and had dinner. Afterwards, Tom walked me back to my car and we said goodnight. We’ve been together ever since!

Devin’s Dress

I setup a time to go to Becker’s Bridal with my mom, future mother in law and two sisters to try on dresses. It was my first time going to a bridal salon and I have to admit, I was really nervous I wouldn’t find a dress I would love. Well, that didn’t end up being an issue. My sisters and I pulled some dresses from the floor and when I started trying them on, it was like each dress kept getting better than the last. I loved each one, but each dress was very much a certain style (sleek and modern vs ball gown) and I wasn’t sure which one was the right “fit” for my personality. The bridal consultant pulled a few more dresses for me and that’s how I found “the one”. It’s was an Allure Romance, champagne, ivory and nude color dress. I walked out of the dressing room and my future MIL got teary and then I got teary and my sisters and mom said, “that’s the one”. It was perfect; glittery, swishy, and IT HAD POCKETS! I did need to have quite a bit of alteration work done to make it fit like a glove. Becker’s suggested HA Alterations in Standale and they were amazing to work with and did an incredible job. I highly recommend them.

I included two charms on my bridal bouquet. One had a photo of Smokey, Bandit’s older sister and who was such a huge piece of our family and had passed away unexpectedly in the Spring of 2020. It felt right to have her picture on the bouquet, I know she would have loved being included and if she were still here would have been dressed so adorably. The other had a photo of my Grandpa Myers who I was incredibly close with and miss dearly. Grandpa loved Tom and would have been so happy that we were getting married.

Tom’s Suit

We had just started looking at suits for Tom right before all the shutdowns that happened due to COVID. We knew we were most likely changing our wedding plans to have a backyard wedding and knew it was going to be a hot July day. We decided to keep it simple and went with what we could purchase online and decided to forgo a suit jacket. Tom was very happy with that decision when it 90 degrees on July 25.

Venue: 

Tom and I had rented a house on the NE side of Grand Rapids for many years. In late June of 2019, we got a message from our landlord saying that he has appreciated us as renters, but his daughter was moving back to Michigan and needed a place to live. He gave us a month and a half to find a new place. Talk about a moment of panic. We had talked about buying a house before nothing serious and had decided we wanted to wait until after our wedding. We had to put some wheels in motion and fast. We found a house we really liked the following Monday, worked with a realtor to get in to see it that same week on Wednesday, put an offer in the same day, and found out our offer was accepted that Friday! In today’s market, it was pretty unbelievable and felt like it was meant to be. I share all that because when COVID-19 happened, we decided that we didn’t want to push our date and would still get married on July 25, 2020. We talked it over and it just felt like the right decision to move everything to our backyard (and we had a backyard to move it too!). We live in a quiet neighborhood, so we wanted to give everyone a heads up that we would be having a small backyard wedding. I designed a little notecard with a cute message for everyone. Our neighbors were so sweet. Many stopped and talked when they saw us out in the yard and said how happy they were for us. More than a few even let us know we could use their driveway/yards for parking. A few even dropped off cards and gifts.
It made the wedding day feel so special and intimate to have it in the place that we have been making our home. I don’t think we’ll ever be able to move!

The Ceremony: 

Our next-door neighbor ended up being our officiant. Our original vendor had to back out and when I mentioned it to our neighbor, she said I’m ordained, I can marry you. Tom and I were able to write every single piece of our ceremony and make it meaningful for our relationship and what we want our relationship to be in marriage. It felt important to us to keep the ceremony honest and true to who we are as individuals as well as together as a couple.
Having everything at our house made it so much easier to have our doggo Bandit be a part of the day. We had Kayden, our nephew and ringbearer walk Bandit down the aisle. Kayden loves to play in Uncle Tom’s shop when he comes over. Being a little boy who just turned 4, he found some old tubing in the shop that he declared were snakes. Kayden was adamant that he was going to walk his “snake” down the aisle too. The rehearsal the night before the wedding went well and Kayden, Bandit and the “snake” made it down the aisle no problem. When the real deal happened, it was adorable because Bandit tried to take Kayden on a detour through the chairs and guests. Kayden got Bandit back to the aisle (with a little help) and it provided that perfect adorable little kid moment that I and let’s be honest, everyone loves at weddings.
Devin’s brother-in-law, Nick, is a tech guru and took over the “virtual” portion of our wedding. He was able to set it up to be live via Zoom and we were able to have our friends and family be able to join us for the ceremony.

The Decor: 

I love all things gold and sparkly. Our wedding colors were dark blue, dusty rose and gold (with greenery as accents. I love a good craft project and so does my friend Laurie. Together, we were able to come up with how to bring all those Pinterest ideas (you know what I’m talking about) to life. The seating chart (Laurie cut all those hexagons by hand btw), wedding programs, hand sanitizers, table numbers, bridal party gifts were all DIY.
Our original venue had a lot of the bigger decoration pieces that we were going to use. When we moved to our backyard, we had to find some additional décor that we originally didn’t plan on doing. I found whiskey barrels and Tom helped me get them to not smell terrible to use and line the aisle for the ceremony and then they could also be used for cocktail tables later in the night. I found a long stick in the woods behind our house and envisioned it becoming a backdrop for behind the bar we were going to setup. I hung it up to dry out a bit and Tom’s reaction was pretty funny and something along the lines of what the heck are you doing with that. I was able to sand it, harden the wood and stain it to make it the perfect piece to use for a macramé flower décor piece. It was probably one of my favorite wedding DIY projects to work on. My cousin Adrianna came over and helped me glue all the flowers on because I kept burning myself with the hot glue gun. I’m personally obsessed with lighting and really wanted to string patio lights over our entire backyard for the wedding. I showed Tom a few ideas (that I found on Pinterest of course) and asked if he thought we could make something work for our yard. He totally ran with that project from doing the math to figure out how many strands we needed to making special poles to attach everything to and running electric outdoors to be able to plug everything in. It looked incredible and provided just the right amount of light be able to dance the night away after the sun went down. I also loved putting together our arbor. I rented the wood piece and white draping from Consider It Done Event Rentals but then I purchased floral and put it all together myself. It was so satisfying to see it come to life and I fell in love with how it turned out. I was so fortunate to find Consider It Done Event Rentals who I was able to rent some additional items from that would have been difficult/expensive to purchase outright. They were so easy to work with.

rach here: one of my highlights of this day was the ring bearer interrupting me during the best mans speech for a little photo session <3 it lasted longer than it seems here 😛

Reception/Dancing/Music: 

Having a more intimate wedding meant that we could spend a lot of time with those who did come. Bandit and Kayden thought it was a party for them and totally hammed it up and lived their best lives. We had a makeshift dance floor in the middle of the yard, and it was an absolute blast to just let loose and have fun. We still haven’t figured out who the culprit behind everything in our kitchen being re-arranged was! We woke up the next day and someone had rearranged our kitchen drawers and flipped everything on the fridge upside down. The guys all stashed beer cans throughout Tom’s shop for him to find the next day. They claim there’s still some hiding that Tom hasn’t found yet.

Any Advice for couples planning their wedding?

As everyone is adjusting and adapting to what weddings can look like right now due to COVID-19, don’t get discouraged. Have an honest conversation with your partner and talk through what’s important to you for your special day. Because at the end of the day that’s what’s it all about. Don’t let the craziness of the world we live-in take away from it.

Your Photographer: 

We absolutely loved Rachels energy and passion. She made us feel so comfortable and was nearly as excited for our wedding as we were. Keeping our group on schedule can be a difficult task and she was able to keep us on schedule, while having fun at the same time. She’s not just a talented photographer, she’s an incredible human being and we are so grateful that she was apart of our special day.
Thank you for checking out this Michigan Backyard Wedding Photographer blog and gallery! I am so thankful you came to my blog to check some things out. If you want are interested in having a rad fun wedding photographer like Rachel Kaye at your amazing michigan backyard wedding please don’t hesitate to contact me at hello@rachelkayephoto.com to chat about how I can help you!
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Camp Anna Behrens Wedding Greenville MI // Sarah + Dave

Camp Anna Behrens Wedding Greenville MI

 

The Beginning: 

We met on Coffee Meets Bagel, which is a dating app that was on Shark Tank…that’s pretty much all anyone ever knows about it. But Sarah asked Dave for his number first, then he asked her out first, and so it began. After a year of dating, on New Years Eve 2018, Dave asked Sarah to marry him. On New Years Eve 2019, we were married.

Sarah‘s Dress:

I bought the dress at Becker’s Bridal on a chilly April day with just me and my momma. The dress was originally sleeveless, and I worked with my seamstress (Shannon from Vue Design) to design the sleeves which she put on just weeks before my wedding. She made it exactly how I envisioned it, and it was incredible to work together to make it happen!

Dave’s Suit:

The three piece suits were from Dunhill Tuxedos with a plaid gold and silver bowtie and pocket square, very classy.

 

Venues:

We got married at Camp Anna Behrens, a rustic lodge that we filled to the brim with candles, pine branches and people that we love. On the morning of the wedding, there was a perfect dusting of snow ever the entire scene that was pure magic. After the wedding, we went to the Winter Inn, a quant vintage tavern full of town regulars that we took over to bring in the new year with our closest friends and family. We turned the lights off, blasted the best music and counted down the seconds until 2020, when we kissed everyone we loved and raised our final glass of the night to our new beginning.

The Decor: 

Sarah did all of the decor (with the help of family and friends) and made all the bouquets, boutonnieres, arch piece, and accent wreaths from faux floral (a Grand Occasions specialty).

The Ceremony: 

Dave bawled like the big strong man he is when Sarah came down the aisle to “Marry Me” by Train that was sung live by the amazing Rachel Curtis. We recited our own vows, and realized we had both wrote down exactly seven promises to each other.

Reception/Dancing/Music: 

My dad got the party started with his classic “Play That Funky Music” dance (a simultaneously incredible and terrifying thing). At the end of the reception, we all gathered in a giant circle and dramatically sang “Don’t Stop Believing” together before we rallied for round two at the Winter Inn.

(here’s dad breaking out his movesssss!!!!)

Any Advice for couples planning their wedding?

Hire Grand Occasions. Monica and Ellie took care of EVERYTHING that day so I didn’t worry about a darn detail. HOLLA.

(RACHEL HERE, i couldn’t agree more! They took care of EVERYTHING at my wedding and it was a dream! I didn’t have to worry about a SINGLE thing <3 legit the best in the biz!)

Your Photographer: 

Rachel is everything. She is flexible, understanding, and a total bad ass. She froze her face off our entire day, getting all of our pictures (literally cold tears running down her face) and took charge, made magic, and loved us so well. She was the best decision. Hire her immediately.

 

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Kalamazoo Institute of Arts Wedding | Megan + Jay

Kalamazoo Institute of Arts Wedding 

 

Every day in this job is a dream. No two weddings are alike and no one is doing this over and over again. It’s something really special to be a part of. I am sooo thankful that Megan and Jay picked me to be their photographer! I will let Megan and Jay take it from here!

The Beginning:

Megan and Jay had been unknowingly crossing paths for years. Though it wasn’t until one fateful day during Kalamazoo Pride 2016 that their paths would begin intertwining. Jay first noticed Megan in a rainbow tutu, smiling ear to ear as she volunteered in the beer tent. He immediately wanted to know who was this intriguing woman? While Megan did not notice Jay on that day, she did add him on Facebook. Jay thought this meant she had also noticed him and was disappointed to discover that Megan was in a relationship. Megan then traveled to Germany for a five month internship and started a travel blog. Jay began reading her blog. Meanwhile in Germany, Megan continued reading Jay’s blog. When Megan returned from Germany, Jay sent a message asking her if she wanted to go out and trade travel stories. Megan agreed and a few days later the two had their first date at Food Dance. One date turned into three and three turned into a dozen. Jay and Megan spent the first year traveling, adventuring, playing board games (though there is a small list of games that can no longer be played due to disagreements over the rules), and laughing. On one grueling 12 mile hike, Jay realized that he wanted to build a life with Megan.

Megan’s Outfit:

Megan was wearing a wedding gown she found at BHLDN in Chicago while shopping with her best man, Nate. She saw the dress online previously and fell in love with it instantly. The veil was passed down from Jay’s maternal grandmother and has been worn by the Maddock women for multiple generations. The blue sapphire ring was passed to Megan from her mother, Sandy. The shoes Megan DIY’d using spray glitter and crafted rebel alliance charms found on Ebay. Earrings were made to fit my gauged ears and purchased through Etsy.

 

Jay’s Outfit:

Jay found his suit while shopping with his best friend in Ann Arbor. After trying on what felt like a dozen suits (because it was a dozen suits) he found a dark gray suit that he loved. From the suit, Jay added a floral tie and a burgundy vest. He customized burgundy shoes with the wedding date on the heel and the Star Wars rebel symbol on the toe (crafted by Megan).

Venue and Decor: 

Megan and Jay said their “I Do’s” at the Kalamazoo Institute of Art. It was a beautiful venue for the ceremony and the reception; giving the added bonus of open galleries for their guests to peruse.

Jay and Megan wanted to balance their nerdiness with elegance and weaved star wars and harry potter accents into both the ceremony and the reception. Jay built the wedding arch out of copper piping and tulle.

The Ceremony: 

The ceremony was everything Megan and Jay could hope for. The processional included a family friends’ daughter, Mia as the ring keeper (instead of a ring bearer) who held the rings in a golden snitch, followed by three bubble blowers, Arya, Indi, and Quinn in Gryffindor colors. Jay was escorted down the aisle sandwiched between his parents and mother-in law to “Beyond” by Leon Bridges. Megan was escorted down the aisle by her father to a cover of “Can’t Help Falling in Love”. The ceremony was officiated by their close friend who made it beautiful and meaningful. Their friend Betty shared some touching words about love and their relationship. A humorous and thoughtful venn diagram presentation was given by their friends Jill and Jessica. Megan‘s sister, Lindsay, read and excerpt of Andrea Gibson’s poem “Give Her”. Jay and Megan chose a unity ceremony using mimosas to symbolize joining their lives together.

Reception/Dancing/Music: All the fun!

Jay and Megan made the reception representative of them and who they are. Each table had a donation jar encouraging guests to make a contribution to Planned Parenthood and Centerlink before clinking their glasses. Jay’s best man, Jack gave a toast that was funny, caring, and thoughtful. After, Nathan, Megan‘s man of honor shared a humorous and loving toast of their friendship and his hopes for the couple’s future. Jay surprised Megan during their first dance with a friend singing their song live, “Your Song”. After the first dance the dance party started. There was also a photo booth that also served as the guest book. The night was the best night ever. Megan and Jay are still glowing from being surrounded by all their favorite people.

Any Advice for couples planning their wedding?

The best advice we have is to make it yours and to focus on the big picture because small mishaps will happen but they won’t define the day our your journey as a couple. And share wedding planning responsibilities because you’re a team!

Your Photographer: 

Rachel is a phenomenal photographer who makes even the most awkward couple (that’s us!) feel photogenic. She is authentic and almost immediately feels like a friend who you can trust has your best interest (and side) in mind. She is patient and has a special skill for getting couples into beautiful shots. Best of all she really listened to what we wanted our photos to be like and spent time where we had prioritized.

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Waterview Loft at Port Detroit Wedding Photographer | Lauren + Brad

THE MOST STEAMY hot June day EVERR but holy cow was it amazing. We bopped around after Lauren and Brads first look to different air conditioned spots and just had the greatest time. The Waterview Loft at Port Detroit is an amazing venue for a wedding. Such a wonderful view of the river and in such a fantastic spot in the city of Detroit. I just love heading over to the East Side. I will let Lauren and Brad take it from here.

The Beginning: 

We met in high school! Brad moved to Ohio to play junior hockey our senior year and finished high school at the school I attended. A friend of mine introduced us the first day Brad moved to town so that he would have at least one familiar face on the first day of school. From that day on I thought that he was way out of my league and I would regularly tell my cousin how dreamy I thought he was. A couple months into the school year he ended up with an injury and needed someone to help carry his books and help him on and off the elevator between classes- I jumped at the opportunity. We started off as really good friends (mostly because I think we were both too stubborn to admit that we liked each other), but as our friendship grew our feelings for one another were undeniable. We dated long distance as Brad played college hockey and I went to graduate school and the rest is history!

Lauren’s Dress

I got my dress at The Wedding Shoppe in Berkley, Michigan. It was just my mom and I that day, which was nice, because I knew she would give me her honest opinion and I wouldn’t have a crowd of people swaying my decision. It was my first time trying on wedding dresses and I knew I wanted to find something I was comfortable in so that I could dance and have fun on my wedding night. I tried on several dresses, but something about this dress made me feel so amazing.  I loved that it was traditional in that it was ivory lace with a long train. But also loved how the off the shoulder style and low back made it a little edgy. I also couldn’t help but think of Brad’s face the first time he’d see me in the dress.

Brad’s Suit

Brad and his groomsmen wore a black suit by Calvin Klein with Penguin gingham skinny ties. He knew he wanted something classic, but also something versatile that he and the guys could wear again one day. They wore State and Liberty dress shirts, which was perfect because it ended up being 90 degrees and humid that day. He surprised the groomsmen with custom embroidered dress socks with their initials the night before the big day.

Venue: 

Waterview Loft was the first and only venue we visited. As soon as we walked into the space we were sold. We had a lot of out of town guests, so we knew we wanted a venue that could have the ceremony and reception in the same place. It also gave our guests the chance to really experience downtown Detroit, especially because a lot of Lauren’s family had never been before. We were really drawn to the indoor/outdoor feel since Michigan’s weather is so unpredictable. From initial planning to our wedding night Waterview Loft made everything so simple. Their attention to detail and ability to make our families feel special was like no other.

The Ceremony: 

Hockey has always been a big part of Brad’s life and it’s really what brought the two of us together. We were so grateful to have Pastor Andy officiate our wedding. He not only is a Pastor at Brad’s church, but also is a fellow hockey lover and the Chaplin for a local hockey association. He made our ceremony short, sweet, and personal. The night of our rehearsal our wedding coordinator recommend we take a moment to really stop and take it all in after we were pronounced husband and wife. If we could go back to any moment that day it would be this one!

The Decor: 

Our floral and décor was done by Emerald City Designs. The venue honestly speaks for itself so we knew we wanted to keep the décor simple, modern, and elegant. We stuck with mostly greenery with touches of blush and white floral for our centerpieces. We kept the color palette natural and added lots of candles to set the mood. The ceremony space is bright and airy with views of the river. We accented our aisle with floral arrangements at the beginning and a greenery arch at the end. After one meeting with Emerald City Designs they were able to bring our vision to life on our wedding day and it couldn’t have been more perfect!

Reception/Dancing/Music: 

We are both big dance floor lovers, so we were all about having good music and lots of dancing. Pro DJ services did an amazing job playing a variety of music that got everyone on the dance floor. The staff at Waterview Loft made sure that no one in our families was without a drink at anytime throughout the night. We still have people coming up to us telling us how much fun they had at our reception. Brad and I didn’t want the fun to end, so we invited everyone back to our rooftop suite at The Courtyard to continue the party!

Any Advice for couples planning their wedding?

Don’t get caught up thinking you need all the extras you see on the internet. When it’s all said and done it’s about your love for one another and two families coming together. Everyone says your wedding day goes by fast and it’s so true! Take every opportunity you have to soak it all in. Don’t forget what the day is all about and most importantly- have fun!

Your Photographer: 

Rachel was AMAZING! First off, she is the most energetic and friendly person we have ever met- even when it was 90 degrees and humid at the end of June. The photos she creates are works of art and you can tell how much she loves what she does through her work. From our engagement session to our wedding day we felt so comfortable; almost like we were just living our lives and she happened to be following us around taking pictures of it. Brad and the groomsmen tend to feed off each other but Rachel did an awesome job at keeping them in check while letting them have fun. She was full of advice during the planning process and kept us all on schedule while she captured our day perfectly!

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The Inn at St. Johns Wedding | Maggie + Jimmy

This day was incredible! The Inn at St Johns is an amazing venue to hold all of your wedding day needs. I loved hanging with Maggie and Jimmy and all their people <3 They are awesome. huge thanks to my second shooter for slaying today as well <3

The Beginning: 

We met our senior year of high school after sitting next to eachother in physics class. The day we exchanged phone numbers he asked me on a date and the rest I think you can figure out. We have stayed best friends throughout four years of college (Go Blue), moving, first adult jobs, becoming puppy parents, and planning a wedding lol

Jimmy’s Suit

Since our colors were blush, navy, and pink the men opted for navy suits that were from Joseph A. Bank. They were great to work with and the prices were so reasonable the boys decided to buy their suits to keep for other occasions as well. Only other real accessory were the ties which Maggie got though a website called Tie Bar to match the bridesmaid dresses well

Maggie’s Dress

I picked my dress in just one day last May 2018 when I went shopping at Mimi’s Bridal Boutique in Ann Arbor. I brought some of my bridal party, mom and mother-in-law, and grandmas so I had quite the *crew* while shopping. When the stylist pulled the Hayley Paige Dare gown off the rack I didn’t even want to try it on, but after giving in and trying it on it was everybody else’s reaction that made me know it was the dress.

Venue: 

Since we had many people traveling from out of state to be at the wedding with us we decided doing a ceremony and reception at one venue would be the most convenient for everyone. Luckily, we live very close to the popular Inn at St. Johns which is an old Catholic Seminary turned into conference center. Our ceremony was held in their gorgeous catholic chapel and our reception down the hall in their Grande Ballroom. The location was perfect for guests attending, has a beautiful property for photos, and great spaces for the big day.

The Ceremony: 

We did a scripture service in the catholic chapel at Inn at St. Johns. The priest who married us was from my home Parish of St. Kenneths in Plymouth and we were so happy he was able to come and perform our marriage ceremony. (side note: best priest ever! He was fun, had a great ministry AND turned them around to face their people during the ceremony <3 it was awesome)

The Decor: 

Emerald City Designs was our go to group for decor! They were amazing and did all of our flowers, linens, stationary and menus for the tables, and signage at the wedding! Their team was also a huge help in planning a timeline for the wedding day and giving us insight into what we really needed.

Reception/Dancing/Music: 

Our reception was in the Grande Ballroom at Inn at St. Johns and it was the perfect space! The food was amazing, the cake (shout out Zingermans in Ann Arbor) was amazing and everybody had a great time. Our DJ is a local radio  DJ in Ann Arbor and also happens to love next door to my parents and be a close family friend. He knew that Jimmy and I love some good throwback songs and it was fun to work with somebody who had already known us for years before the wedding!

Any Advice for couples planning their wedding?

Everything will get done! Pace yourself and realize that although everybody wants everything to be perfect making sure you and your guests enjoy themselves is the most important thing. Spend time with family and friends who came to celebrate YOU and try to enjoy the day as much as possible because it flies by! Also, treat yourself as a couple following the wedding and spend some quality time together talking about how awesome the wedding was instead of planning details for the wedding!

Your Photographer: 

Rachel was amazing! We also had a second photographer for our day who also happened to be named Rachel and she was a wonderful person to work with to even though we hadn’t met her until the wedding day! Most people are not used to having photos taken of them on the scale they are taken on your wedding day and Rachel made us, our bridal party, and family feel natural in front of the camera. They truly cared about the shots we wanted and made sure to include all the important family and friends that came. Jimmy and I didn’t feel like we hired a photographer, but we felt like we had friends just taking photos of us all dressed up!

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Grand Haven Michigan Beach Wedding | Renee + Ryan

Grand Haven Michigan Beach Wedding

This day and these two mean SO MUCH TO ME! See, I met Ryan first in high school. He was always just this really nice nerdy guy, kinda quiet but once you got to know him a really fun time. I was elated when his FIANCE Renee contacted me about shooting their wedding. Honestly, they are so perfect together you couldn’t imagine them being with anyone else!!!! I had a freaking BLAST hanging out with them for their engagement session it’s no surprise I enjoyed this wedding more than ever! I will let them take it from here but enjoy this rainy Grand Haven Michigan Beach Wedding.

The Beginning: 

Once upon a time, we both swiped right on OKCupid… and his nerdy-delightful opening lines were a slam dunk! We met up for beers at Bdubs the next day, and it was officially confirmed that Ryan was a fantastic human inside and out 🙂

We both had kids from previous relationships, so we took our time making sure that our blended family was also destined to be a success. On our third anniversary, we were out to dinner downtown Detroit when Ryan whipped out a ring box! Renee said “but of course!” and that was that.

Renee’s Dress

Renee’s style is super casual, so finding a wedding dress that felt appropriate, still fun and wasn’t a million dollars wasn’t the easiest thing in the world. The first time she went to look at dresses she couldn’t find anything that really felt right; when a 40% off sale at David’s Bridal a month later convinced her to try again, she realized that she couldn’t stop looking at an ivory lace dress from the David’s Bridal Collection that had previously been out of the budget range. With a local seamstress’ expert help (shout out to Quality Alterations in Ann Arbor!), we added halter straps and cut off the chapel-length train for a Renee-approved beachy feel 🙂

Ryan’s Suit

Knowing that early June on Grand Haven beaches can bring unpredictable temperatures meant Ryan and his boys were destined for breathable but comfy clothes! We found them reasonably-priced stylish linen shirts at Macy’s and then worked with Men’s Warehouse to order JOE custom pants in a light gray that matched our color palette (along with a matching custom vest for Ryan). He’s been a huge fan of Rainbow flip flops for years, so he and the boys wore light gray Rainbows to complete the look.

The Ceremony: 

The rain most definitely did not stay away on our wedding day, but luck was on our side — the sun decided to shine during our First Look photos and during the ceremony!

We worked hard to create a script that captured the spirit of our relationship, and with our friend Jack officiating, it was an amazing balance of fun and serious (including our unity shot “ceremony” with tequila)! Musical selections from the Doctor Who soundtrack supplemented our secret theme 😀

Venues:

Ryan grew up in Grand Haven and knew right away that a beach ceremony was perfect for us; the quiet North Shore Beach in Ferrysburg was exactly what we wanted, and renting the picnic pavilion there meant that we had an easy Plan B in case it rained the day of.

Choosing a reception location was a bit trickier! In the end, it was the Grand Haven Visitors Bureau that mentioned Porto Bello had a popular reception hall… it was the last one on our list of venue tours, and it stole our hearts immediately. The charm of the Story & Clark Piano Factory building and the close proximity of Odd Side Ales helped clinch the deal, especially since our guest list was expected to range from 150-250 people and the venue could fit up to 275. Our life goals were to throw a wicked awesome party to celebrate, and Porto Bello’s Harbourfront Grand Hall easily helped us accomplish that!

The Decor: 

We’re avid Doctor Who fans, and our inner nerds couldn’t resist sprinkling fantastic hints of the Doctor throughout the event… but avoided anything over-the-top obvious. Our colors were Tardis (navy) blue, light gray and white, and strayed towards a “rustic” / “starry night” theme that was mostly DIY: mason jars filled with fairy lights, navy burlap table runners, and fun wood-based signage accents. Our orchid and hydrangea flower choices were based partially on Renee’s obsession with orchids but mostly what fit within the budget — Linda from Thrifty Florist was immensely helpful when it came to making budget-friendly recommendations that were still in line with our Pinterest inspiration photos!

Reception/Dancing/Music: 

Our wicked awesome party was a huge success, according to the stories we’ve heard since! Our dinner buffet was delicious, the drinks kept flowing and the music kept everyone dancing… We’re huge 311 and Blink 182 fans, so our night wouldn’t have been complete without a few of our favorite songs; our DJ from Mitten Entertainment read the crowds with ease and had us jammin’ all night long.

Any Advice for couples planning their wedding?

If you’re a to-do list kind of person, find a solution that lets you group tasks by rough due date and track notes — we used a Trello wedding planning template that separated tasks into to-do lists per month, and it was perfect for dumping ideas & thoughts about tasks that didn’t need to be finished yet so that you could better focus on what was important in the short-term. It became our shared central location for anything wedding-related that we needed to solve!

Your Photographer: 

Ryan knew Rachel from way back when in high school, and it wasn’t even a question for him on who he wanted to photograph our special day… Rachel’s energy is contagious. From her reasonable advice while planning to her everpresent skills on the day of the wedding, this girl was key to ensuring we’ll have our favorite memories captured forever. She kept us all on schedule, managed to capture all the photos we’d dreamt of, and handled every curveball the day threw at us with finesse!

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