Becca + Zach 9.16.16 Wedding

We loved being apart of Becca + Zach's big day! These two have a love story that's been in the making their entire lives. Their mom's are best friends and they grew up together. Years later they have found their way to happily ever after! They got married in Becca's mom's back yard and then took pictures at William's Creek where they grew up playing together as kids before they made their way to The Barn in Zionsville for their reception. Ivan + Louise captured every moment so beautifully, Accent Floral Design artfully designed the florals, MCL catered delicious heavy appetizers to keep guests snacking all night, The Wedding Studio helped Becca find the most stunning dress, A Do Salon helped to make Becca feel extra gorgeous, and Violet Vintage's beautiful furniture made the day so perfect we quaint seating areas! 

United Way Gala

We sit on the committee that helps plan the United Way's Red Carpet Gala each year and we wanted to share more about the gala in 2017! See all the details below and please consider joining us for a great cause :) We can't for another fabulous event!

UNITED WAY'S RED CARPET GALA - AN ALICE IN WONDERLAND THEMED OSCAR VIEWING PARTY

6 P.M. VIP ENTRANCE; 7 P.M. GENERAL ADMISSION  |  FUNDRAISER

Indiana Roof Ballroom
140 W. Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204

Please join us for United Way of Central Indiana's annual fundraiser, celebrating the wonderment of Alice in Wonderland.

Venture down the rabbit hole to a world of whimsy, featuring wonderful activities and a silent auction. Following, a three-course dinner will be served during a live telecast of the Academy Awards. 

Pre-sale tickets start at just $75 or make it an extra special evening by purchasing the Tea Party VIP Experience. Our maddest hatters will enjoy hors d'oeuvres, special signature cocktails, three-course dinner, complimentary beer and wine, separate lounge and access to games of wonder.

Proceeds benefit United Way's education programs.  Follow the link below to purchase your tickets today! 

http://www.uwci.org/events/united-ways-red-carpet-gala

Our Wedding Paper Products

I was so fortunate to meet Jessika with Jupiter & Juno a few years back! She has the most fabulous paper products and they're LOCAL! No online purchasing of wedding invitations from a huge company where you never know who you're calling! Jessika's other half of her business which is in Chicago and ran by Jessica is Just Invite Me. Jupiter & Juno prints all of Just Invite Me's wedding invitation designs. Just Invite Me also made all our personalized gold wooden name cut outs and table numbers. Jupiter & Juno also made our # signs, custom treat bags for our hotel gift bags, gold foil letterpress menus, and custom napkins. Jessika helped me to custom design invitations and paper products that would be cohesive from start to finish so that everything guests touched went together! The invitations were a merging of a few designs her company makes regularly to make something that was perfect for us! They have such a wide array of papers, textures, and colors to chose from! Their staff is professional, prompt, and fabulous at what they do!! Their invitations helped us to project the high quality and formal tone we were going for while adding a little sparkle for fun!

Invitations:

 

Personalized Gold Wooden Name Cut Outs, Letterpress Gold Foil Menus, and Table Numbers: 

Custom Treat Bags: 

Custom Napkins: 

Custom # Signs: 

Vendor List:

IN Ceremony Location: Lincoln Park
IN Dinner: Indy Fresh
IN Ceremony Music: Jill Pitz (Harp)
MI Ceremony Location: Windermere Point
MI Reception Location: Chippewa Hotel
Wedding Dress: Marie Gabriel Couture (Designer: Amsale)

Reception Dress: Bella Bridesmaid (Designer: Aidan Maddox) Florist: Accent Floral Design

Photography: Conforti Photography
Videography: Unique Heart Productions
Invitation Designer: Just Invite Me
Invitation Printer: Jupiter & Juno
Custom Calligraphy Signage: Katie Lynn Emerson
Planing & Design: Plum & Poppy (Beth McHugh – Coordinator/live saver)

Caterer: Chippewa Hotel

Hair & Makeup: Something Blue Stylists
MI Ceremony Musician: Brook Xiao
Linens: LGI Linens
Chair Rental: A Classic Party Rental
Flatware & Candlesticks: Violet Vintage Rental

Groom’s clothes: Ike Behar

Hair Accessories: Hair Comes The Bride
Jewelry: Moyer Jewelry
Bridal Robe: Plum Pretty Sugar
Laser Cut Table #s & Escort Names: Just Invite Me 

Our Wedding Rental

Our wedding rental items were a handful of things that really helped to make the space complete. When a reception venue comes with chairs that aren't your favorite, it can totally change the room to have the right chairs! The gold candlestick holders were the perfect accent to the ivory taper candles. The gold flatware was actually very important as all standard flatware is silver and when EVERYTHING else is gold, it's incredibly important for the flatware to be gold as well! 

Gold Chiavari Chairs from A Classic Party Rental: A Classic's gold chiavari chairs made the big trip up to Mackinac Island with us! It's very hard to get chairs on the island so we decided to bring our own! A Classic is the best rental company in town. They have professional and knowledgeable staff as well as a huge selection of high quality rental items. I have rented their gold chiavaris dozens of times for clients and I was thrilled to have them at our big day!

 

Candlesticks from Violet Vintage: I am fortunate enough to work with Violet Vintage regularly! They have the most wonderful stock of items that is always growing! They offer the best service and it's the most fun thing to go into the shop and pick out things for your wedding! I promise you'll want to take it all home with you when you go! 

Gold Flatware from Violet Vintage: <3 

Vendor List:

IN Ceremony Location: Lincoln Park
IN Dinner: Indy Fresh
IN Ceremony Music: Jill Pitz (Harp)
MI Ceremony Location: Windermere Point
MI Reception Location: Chippewa Hotel
Wedding Dress: Marie Gabriel Couture (Designer: Amsale)

Reception Dress: Bella Bridesmaid (Designer: Aidan Maddox) Florist: Accent Floral Design

Photography: Conforti Photography
Videography: Unique Heart Productions
Invitation Designer: Just Invite Me
Invitation Printer: Jupiter & Juno
Custom Calligraphy Signage: Katie Lynn Emerson
Planing & Design: Plum & Poppy (Beth McHugh – Coordinator/live saver)

Caterer: Chippewa Hotel

Hair & Makeup: Something Blue Stylists
MI Ceremony Musician: Brook Xiao
Linens: LGI Linens
Chair Rental: A Classic Party Rental
Flatware & Candlesticks: Violet Vintage Rental

Groom’s clothes: Ike Behar

Hair Accessories: Hair Comes The Bride
Jewelry: Moyer Jewelry
Bridal Robe: Plum Pretty Sugar
Laser Cut Table #s & Escort Names: Just Invite Me 

Indian Summer Styled Shoot

I had the wonderful opportunity to do an Indian Summer Styled Shoot at Trader's Point Creamery! I LOVE how it turned out! Isibeal Studios is the most fabulous florist! She and I poured over all the little details that day and styled things to the beautiful result you see below.  We couldn't have done it without the fantastic team assembled below! 

Vendors:

Photographer: Christa Breaugh Photography
Planner: Plum & Poppy Weddings
Florists & Stylists: Isibeal Studio: Autumn Keller
Venue: Traders Point Creamery
Invitation Designer: Just Invite Me {by JBDESiGN}
Invitation Printer: Jupiter and Juno
Rental: Violet Vintage
Hair & Makeup: Something Blue Stylists
Jewelery: Rana Salame
Bridal Gown: LUXEredux Bridal
Bridesmaids Dresses: Bella Bridesmaids
Cake: Cake Bake Shop

Our Wedding Linens

I have worked with Vaso at LGI Linens so many times for specialty linens for clients! Vaso truly carries linens no one else does! His diverse array of linens was the perfect accompaniment for all the other fabulous details we'd selected! Each piece of a wedding builds on the next and linens are the base of it all. Vaso's heavenly ivory patina linen with gold woven through it made the perfect backdrop for all our other details from chargers to chairs and flowers! See the beautiful images below!

Table Linens:

Napkins: 

Vendor List:

IN Ceremony Location: Lincoln Park
IN Dinner: Indy Fresh
IN Ceremony Music: Jill Pitz (Harp)
MI Ceremony Location: Windermere Point
MI Reception Location: Chippewa Hotel
Wedding Dress: Marie Gabriel Couture (Designer: Amsale)

Reception Dress: Bella Bridesmaid (Designer: Aidan Maddox) Florist: Accent Floral Design

Photography: Conforti Photography
Videography: Unique Heart Productions
Invitation Designer: Just Invite Me
Invitation Printer: Jupiter & Juno
Custom Calligraphy Signage: Katie Lynn Emerson
Planing & Design: Plum & Poppy (Beth McHugh – Coordinator/live saver)

Caterer: Chippewa Hotel

Hair & Makeup: Something Blue Stylists
MI Ceremony Musician: Brook Xiao
Linens: LGI Linens
Chair Rental: A Classic Party Rental
Flatware & Candlesticks: Violet Vintage Rental

Groom’s clothes: Ike Behar

Hair Accessories: Hair Comes The Bride
Jewelry: Moyer Jewelry
Bridal Robe: Plum Pretty Sugar
Laser Cut Table #s & Escort Names: Just Invite Me 

Christina + Charlie 7.9.16 Wedding at the Scottish Rite Cathedral

Beth loved helping coordinate Christina + Charlie's wedding to perfection! Besides being the most stunning bride, Christina + Charlie have wonderfully kind families! It was such a joy to share in their day. See their fabulous vendor team and pictures below from their wedding that is just our style, timeless and elegant! 

Vendors:

Photographer: Ian Borgerhoff Photography

Coordinator: Beth McHugh

Ceremony: Sacred Heart Catholic Church

Reception: Scottish Rite Cathedral Events

Caterer: Thomas Caterers of Distinction

Florist: The Empty Vase Indy

Videographer: Eyenamics

Reception Musicians: Ken Arlen Orchestra

Transportation: Advanced Limousine Service

Hair: Wild Horses

Makeup: Karen Hall

Bridal Gown: Marie Gabriel Couture Bridal

Bridesmaids Dresses: Bella Bridesmaids

Cake: Classic Cakes

Custom Calligraphy & Signage from Katie Lynn Emerson

These are truly some of my favorite things I've ever collaborated with another artist to create! Katie Lynn happens to be my cousin but I wouldn't have chosen any other professional in the world to help us create the wonderful items you'll see below. Katie took my initial ideas and made them so much better! The best ideas always come from collaboration and I feel like that's truly how Katie and I got to this beautiful place! Katie found the perfect gold to hand calligraphy our wedding invitations, then she made the most fabulous welcome sign for our reception, my favorite thing was our custom calligraphy seating assignments on stemless champagne glasses, and last but certainly not least our custom signage throughout our reception. Katie has made many things for clients of mine in the past but I have never loved anything as much as I love what she did for us!! Katie is patient (Lord knows I had to have annoyed the hell out of her with my 1,000 texts and emails), kind, and immensely talented!!! She can be reached @_klemerson on Instagram!!

Custom calligraphy on our wedding invitations:

Custom welcome sign:

Custom calligraphy seating assignments on stemless champagne glasses:

Custom signage for wedding reception: 

 

Vendor List:

IN Ceremony Location: Lincoln Park
IN Dinner: Indy Fresh
IN Ceremony Music: Jill Pitz (Harp)
MI Ceremony Location: Windermere Point
MI Reception Location: Chippewa Hotel
Wedding Dress: Marie Gabriel Couture (Designer: Amsale)

Reception Dress: Bella Bridesmaid (Designer: Aidan Maddox) Florist: Accent Floral Design

Photography: Conforti Photography
Videography: Unique Heart Productions
Invitation Designer: Just Invite Me
Invitation Printer: Jupiter & Juno
Custom Calligraphy Signage: Katie Lynn Emerson
Planing & Design: Plum & Poppy (Beth McHugh – Coordinator/live saver)

Caterer: Chippewa Hotel

Hair & Makeup: Something Blue Stylists
MI Ceremony Musician: Brook Xiao
Linens: LGI Linens
Chair Rental: A Classic Party Rental
Flatware & Candlesticks: Violet Vintage Rental

Groom’s clothes: Ike Behar

Hair Accessories: Hair Comes The Bride
Jewelry: Moyer Jewelry
Bridal Robe: Plum Pretty Sugar
Laser Cut Table #s & Escort Names: Just Invite Me 

Chastity + Cody 7.9.16 Wedding Video

We loved helping this couple plan their entire wedding at Chastity's family home! Their love story began 13 years ago. Since then they have welcome 3 beautiful children and grown deeper and deeper in love! We were thrilled to work with a fantastic team to bring their dream wedding to life! Thank you Unique Heart Productions for the stunning video! Thank you to our entire team: MBP Distinctive Catering, A Classic Party Rental, Cybil & Brandon Studios,Accent Floral Design LLC, Lakeside Entertainment, Whisk Bakery!

Our Wedding Attire

The first thing many bride's think about when they get engaged is buying a wedding dress! We got engaged 6 months before we were married so it was one of the things at the forefront of my mind as that's not much time to get something chosen and ordered! Luckily, I knew the first place I wanted to go was Marie Gabriel Couture! I also knew when I wanted something to change into after our Zionsville ceremony and during our welcome dinner at Mackinac that Bella Bridesmaids was the place to go! 

I've grown to love Anne-Marie & Young at Marie Gabriel Couture over the years sending clients to them and having them look fabulous while raving about their experience! Marie Gabriel has the most highly educated staff and carries gowns no one else carries! I have loved Amsale for years! The first event I ever planned was a fashion show at the Mavris where whatever college designer won the runway show that was being judged won an internship in NYC with Amsale! I love their naturally dyed, made in NYC gowns! I felt so fortunate to purchase one, it's a work of art! I also bought my veil at MGC which was made by Toni Federici. It was light and airy! I loved it too! Also, made in the US so that's fantastic as well! I also had my alterations done at MGC. I have a hard shape to fit and they made my dress flatter me in all the right ways and hide anything I wanted hidden :) I felt elegant, timeless, and so bridal! Everyone who knows me always says, "It was so you!", which is exactly how every bride should feel! I want to wear it on a Tuesday! 

 

Kathleen who owns Bella Bridesmaids is one of the sweetest people I have ever met! She, like me has never met a stranger so we could talk for hours! Many of my clients go to buy their beautiful bridesmaids dresses from her and even though I didn't have bridesmaids I knew she'd have many dresses that would be a perfect fit for our Zionsville reception and Mackinac welcome dinner. I found the most heavenly Aidan Mattox dress! See the iPhone images below! If you need bridesmaids dresses, a dress for an event or night out, GO TO BELLA!!! 

Jake wore the most beautiful Ike Behar navy blue tux! I wasn't sold right off the bat about navy but as soon as he showed me a picture I fell in love with it! He looked so handsome and felt great in it! 

Vendor List:

IN Ceremony Location: Lincoln Park
IN Dinner: Indy Fresh
IN Ceremony Music: Jill Pitz (Harp)
MI Ceremony Location: Windermere Point
MI Reception Location: Chippewa Hotel
Wedding Dress: Marie Gabriel Couture (Designer: Amsale)

Reception Dress: Bella Bridesmaid (Designer: Aidan Maddox) Florist: Accent Floral Design

Photography: Conforti Photography
Videography: Unique Heart Productions
Invitation Designer: Just Invite Me
Invitation Printer: Jupiter & Juno
Custom Calligraphy Signage: Katie Lynn Emerson
Planing & Design: Plum & Poppy (Beth McHugh – Coordinator/live saver)

Caterer: Chippewa Hotel

Hair & Makeup: Something Blue Stylists
MI Ceremony Musician: Brook Xiao
Linens: LGI Linens
Chair Rental: A Classic Party Rental
Flatware & Candlesticks: Violet Vintage Rental

Groom’s clothes: Ike Behar

Hair Accessories: Hair Comes The Bride
Jewelry: Moyer Jewelry
Bridal Robe: Plum Pretty Sugar
Laser Cut Table #s & Escort Names: Just Invite Me 

Indian Summer Styled Shoot featured on Ruffled!

We loved being apart of the amazing styled shoot! We try to do one a year to get our creative juices flowing! We are so proud of this shoot and we're even more thrilled to see it on Ruffled! Thank you to our entire vendor team: Photographer: Christa Breaugh Photography Planner: Plum & Poppy Weddings Florists & Stylists: Isibeal Studio: Autumn Keller Venue: Traders Point Creamery Invitation Designer: Just Invite Me {by JBDESiGN} Invitation Printer: Jupiter and Juno Rental: Violet Vintage Hair & Makeup: Something Blue Stylists Jewelry: Rana Salame Bridal Gown: LUXEredux Bridal Bridesmaids Dresses: Bella Bridesmaids Cake: Cake Bake Shop

Hair & Makeup for My Wedding

Jake and I had a non-traditional wedding in the fact that we two weddings! One local for those family members who couldn't make the trip and one in Mackinac Island, MI! I had the wonderful girl who has done my hair for 8 years do my hair for our ceremony in Zionsville! Teddi Bickers has been doing my hair since the first event I ever planned at the Mavris! She styled it that day and I fell in love with her work! In Mackinac the amazing Something Blue Stylists did my hair & makeup! I also had the most beautiful hair accessories from Hair Comes The Bride!  Stay tuned for more details & pictures from both days! Full vendor list at the bottom!!

Teddi is a great friend after 8 years of doing my hair! She did a fantastic job with basically no direction! So I NEVER wear my hair up, but my hair down just didn't make any sense with my dress. It was a big leap of faith for me to let someone put my hair up as it's so unfamiliar for me! Teddi did my hair in the coolest way but still made it polished and timeless! I felt gorgeous and I was so thankful for her creativity and help!

Hair & Makeup in Mackinac Island: courtesy of Something Blue Stylists!  I have been working with Andi at Something Blue Stylists since she moved back to Indiana a few years ago! She truly has a larger than life kind spirit and a true talent for hair & makeup as well as running one hell of a business! She has become a friend after sharing dozens of clients and doing styled shoots side by side! I was honored to be her coordinator for her wedding the week before Jake & my wedding! I was so glad I could have Brittney from her company do my hair and makeup in Mackinac! Brittney came up with her family and then took a ferry to the island to do my hair and makeup! She also did all the little girls in the wedding and my sister. She did a fantastic job on myself as well as the little girls! I see a lot of hair and makeup so I'm incredibly picky but Brittney worked with me to find the perfect style. Brittney also made sure my makeup was flawless! She expertly applied lashes (I wish I could wear them everyday) and made sure my makeup lasted by artfully applying it! I sweat, I was rained on, I was hugged and kissed and it lasted all the while! I continue to refer Something Blue Stylists to many of clients and they never disappoint them just like they didn't me :) So thankful Andi found her way back to Indiana from California!! See the gorgeous images below! 

I was so fortunate to get introduced to Gina with Hair Comes The Bride through Andi with Something Blue Stylists! Gina makes the most beautiful hair accessories for weddings! These pearls came on hair pins so we could add them to my hair however I decided on my wedding day. I hadn't made a final decision until very close to the wedding so I loved these because they offered me lots of flexibility to accentuate my hair however I chose to wear it! They were incredible quality and Gina was great to work with!

Vendor List:

IN Ceremony Location: Lincoln Park
IN Dinner: Indy Fresh
IN Ceremony Music: Jill Pitz (Harp)
MI Ceremony Location: Windermere Point
MI Reception Location: Chippewa Hotel
Wedding Dress: Marie Gabriel Couture (Designer: Amsale)

Reception Dress: Bella Bridesmaid (Designer: Aidan Maddox) Florist: Accent Floral Design

Photography: Conforti Photography
Videography: Unique Heart Productions
Invitation Designer: Just Invite Me
Invitation Printer: Jupiter & Juno
Custom Calligraphy Signage: Katie Lynn Emerson
Planing & Design: Plum & Poppy (Beth McHugh – Coordinator/live saver)

Caterer: Chippewa Hotel

Hair & Makeup: Something Blue Stylists
MI Ceremony Musician: Brook Xiao
Linens: LGI Linens
Chair Rental: A Classic Party Rental
Flatware & Candlesticks: Violet Vintage Rental

Groom’s clothes: Ike Behar

Hair Accessories: Hair Comes The Bride
Jewelry: Moyer Jewelry
Bridal Robe: Plum Pretty Sugar
Laser Cut Table #s & Escort Names: Just Invite Me 

Styled Shoot at D'Amore Published in Belle the Magazine

We loved planning & styling this amazing photoshoot at D'Amore and we're thrilled to see it published in Belle the Magazine! So thankful for our entire team below! Love these beautiful images and our upside down cake :) 

D'Amore Events of Indianapolis Plum & Poppy Weddings, Accent Floral Design LLC, BlumLux, Classic Cakes, Jupiter and Juno, La Dolce Salon & Spa, Nancy's Bridal Boutique, Wow Factors, Wilhelmina Models, TEN:THIRTEEN design,
LModelz Model Management, LGi Linens, Stylish by India, CLyon Productions! 

Abbie + Marty 5.29.16 Wedding at Union Station

Abbie + Marty were referred to us by their family's florist! We were so honored to be trusted with a family near and dear to her heart! The Gray family was so fun, it was a joy to share in their celebration! We loved helping coordinate all the details of their wedding day at Union Station Indianapolis! We are thrilled to share the images below including the gorgeous florals from Accent Floral Design!  You'll also see plenty of pictures of the surprise dances that incorporates both families, groomsmen, and bridesmaids! :D We can't wait to see the video from Rewind Documentaries!!

Vendors: 

Photographer: Jennifer Driscoll Photography

Coordination: Plum & Poppy Weddings (Beth Becker McHugh )

Ceremony & Reception: Crowne Plaza Indianapolis-Dwtn-Union Stn

Florist: Accent Floral Design LLC

Band: Living Proof Band

Cake: Classic Cakes

Makeup: Beauty by Crystal

Videographer: Rewind Documentaries

Our Wedding Flowers

This post is one of the harder ones for me to write about our wedding day because there is SO much I want to say! Linda with Accent Floral Design and I have been working together for so long and I truly LOVE her work! She has been taking care of clients of mine for years and she even helped my sister with her wedding 6.5 years ago! She has since become a dear friend and we've done many weddings together and even travel the world! Nothing like finding inspiration for weddings in Italy, right?! I am thankful for her talents as a florist and her honesty and kind heart as a friend! She will also keep you laughing and drinking wine in her free time! She always blows me away on wedding days! I usually ask, are you sure we payed for all these?! The flowers are always lush and beautifully put together to execute whatever vision the client and I worked to create! She has versatile style and adapts to make each client's dreams come true! Not everyone is a big flower person but I have grown to LOVE flowers in my years as a wedding planner so I had very very high hopes for ours on our wedding day! Linda not only blew me away but they were so great my husband couldn't stop commenting on them or our guests and even the hotel staff said it was the most beautiful wedding reception they'd ever had largely in part to the gorgeous floral! I'll try to break down what was wonderful about each element as they're so many I love! See full vendor list at the bottom!

My bouquet:  I could write an entire blog post about how much I loved my bouquet alone! Poor Linda, I wanted a million flowers that I knew weren't in season but she worked so hard to find everything I asked for and replaced things that couldn't be found with other things I loved just as much! Also, if you have two ceremonies you get two bouquets! You can see the pictures below of my Indiana and my Michigan bouquet! They were both stunning and different from one another! I still can't pick a favorite! My favorite flower is the coral charm peony and my bouquet was accented with those as well as the reception. Other favorites are: peonies is other colors, burgundy and ivory ranunculus, dahlias (I had both light and darker ones), blushing bride protea, juliet garden roses, hops, and lots of different varieties of greenery! I wanted it to be diverse in flowers and textures. Linda did just that! Lots of different greenery gave the bouquets a unique drape and flow.  The only color in the day was in the flowers and they were a hit! I also wanted very specialty ribbon. It is hand dyed from Silk & Willow and has a beautiful look and feel! My Indiana bouquet also had champagne grapes which were a subtle delicate addition. There's also a picture of where my bouquet found it's home at our reception which was at the entrance with guests champagne seating assignments. Bouquets should always have a home at your reception and our tables were too full so this was the perfect thing to soften that area as guests entered. There is also a picture of me with my mom. She has a love for flowers like no one I know. She taught me all that I know about gardening and she has the greenest thumb! I'm lucky to have her and I'm so glad she kept my Indiana bouquet as we went on to Michigan because I know how much she enjoyed it!

Jake's boutonniere: Again the great part about two ceremonies?! Two boutonnieres!! Jake had a blushing bride protea in Mackinac and an ivory ranunculus in Indiana. I love both and couldn't pick so we did different ones at each ceremony. I love them both and still can't pick a favorite. I love the traditional classic touch of the ranunculus but I also love the cool sleek more modern touch of the blushing bride protea! Jake loved them too! It was fun to get to surprise him with all these details on our wedding days!

Ceremony decor: We wanted to keep both our ceremonies simple. In Zionsville we were in a beautiful park so we didn't have any ceremony decor there outside of my bouquet. In Mackinac Linda made these beautiful garlands that wrapped around where Jake and I stood. It's a very Hawaiian thing (Linda spend 15 years living in Hawaii) and we loved it as we honeymooned in Hawaii and Jake is still trying to figure out how we can move there :) The view was really the focus in Mackinac as we went there for the water! We were fortunate enough this beautiful tree was in full bloom too while we were there!

Flower crowns & little girl's bouquet: I mean, let's start with how cute Enzo's face is in the first picture below!!! He sure loved being with all the pretty girls :) We decided not to have a traditional bridal party and we just had all our nieces & nephews in the wedding! The three cuties you see below with Enzo are sisters and were angels all day! I love an asymmetrical flower crown on little girls with long ribbons and Linda just blew me away with these! The girls loved them too! My sister's little one wasn't into cooperating for a group picture in Mackinac, also had the cutest flower crown and at our Indiana ceremony where she did her job flawlessly! She had the cutest mini-bouquet in Indiana. She carried it so carefully and it was the perfect thing for 1.5 year old! These little accents make the cutest part of your day even cuter!

Reception decor: Easily my favorite part of the floral! The big show! the RECEPTION! As you can quickly see my motto for our wedding flowers was too much isn't enough! I LOVE flowers! So I wanted the tables to feel drenched in flowers which they did! There were 5 large arrangements in the most beautiful footed mercury glass. There were small lower julep cups filled with flowers. There were hops, fresh fruit, and open blooms tucked in around all the arrangements so no detail was missed. Linda also provided the beautiful taper candles and gold & champagne votives that made the space feel so magical once it was dark! We had a fresh bloom with some greenery at each place setting too! I wanted no detail overlooked! The variety of flowers was heavenly! Lots of burgundy with creamy peaches and ivory flowers and pops of vibrant pink with the coral charm peonies! Lots of different greenery, berries, and fresh fruit! Asymmetrical in the best way! Nothing round or no two perfectly the same! I love that look too but it just wasn't what we were going for here!

The greenery on our welcome sign was one of my favorite things! It looked so lush! I also died over how perfectly Linda execute my vision for the back of Jake & my chair! I cut custom fabric weeks in advance and she adorned them PERFECTLY with fresh florals and greenery! Each arrangement was unique which was exactly my vision. I wanted each one to feel special! They all had champagne grapes and plums (totally Linda's doing - when they didn't have pomegranates that we had talked about she chose plums for Plum & Poppy!). I loved this! Every food station had a beautifully accented sign that just made every detail feel well attended to!

Vendor List:

IN Ceremony Location: Lincoln Park
IN Dinner: Indy Fresh
IN Ceremony Music: Jill Pitz (Harp)
MI Ceremony Location: Windermere Point
MI Reception Location: Chippewa Hotel
Wedding Dress: Marie Gabriel Couture (Designer: Amsale)

Reception Dress: Bella Bridesmaid (Designer: Aidan Maddox) Florist: Accent Floral Design

Photography: Conforti Photography
Videography: Unique Heart Productions
Invitation Designer: Just Invite Me
Invitation Printer: Jupiter & Juno
Custom Calligraphy Signage: Katie Lynn Emerson
Planing & Design: Plum & Poppy (Beth McHugh – Coordinator/live saver)

Caterer: Chippewa Hotel

Hair & Makeup: Something Blue Stylists
MI Ceremony Musician: Brook Xiao
Linens: LGI Linens
Chair Rental: A Classic Party Rental
Flatware & Candlesticks: Violet Vintage Rental

Groom’s clothes: Ike Behar

Hair Accessories: Hair Comes The Bride
Jewelry: Moyer Jewelry
Bridal Robe: Plum Pretty Sugar
Laser Cut Table #s & Escort Names: Just Invite Me 

Our Wedding Music

Music is such an important part of a wedding! It sets the mood and tone for the day subtly. We had a wonderful harpist for our Indiana ceremony and a violinist on Mackinac Island! Jim Cerone created the most wonderful playlist for us as we were in a space without room for a dancefloor or DJ but we still wanted the feeling of the day to be perfect! As a wedding planner I stress the importance of professional musicians and DJs to help craft the perfect atmosphere for your ceremony and reception. They help create flawless transitions from one event to the next and help your guests float through the day without ever noticing one event ending and the next beginning. We were lucky that the music came easy for us as we knew what we wanted. If you're unsure it can be helpful to watch wedding videos online and see what you like best for type or style of music.

I LOVE live music, especially when we're outside! I know many harpists as a wedding planner but since we got married on a Thursday in Indiana it was a bit of a challenge to find someone who is free. I was referred to Jill Pitz by some other great harpists I know. She did a fantastic job! She was kind and easy to work with as well as very responsive. We were so fortunate to have met her through some other professionals! I look forward to working with her again for future clients! Photo below from our Indiana ceremony courtesy of Conforti Photography! See full vendor list at the bottom of this post!

In Mackinac we had our dear friend and very talented musician Brook Xiao play the violin for our ceremony at Windermere Point! He is one of the most naturally gifted musicians I have ever met and we were so fortunate for him to be able to play some beautiful classic music for our ceremony! Again, live music outside is just heavenly! The picture below is from Conforti Photography of our dear friend Brook enjoying our reception, the man is truly masterful and can play any instrument you hand him! Before he moved to Nashville he used to help clients of mine regularly! 

As a wedding planner there becomes things you like and things that you realize aren't a good fit for what you want for your own wedding. We wanted a view in Mackinac for our reception which we definitely had at the Chippewa on a covered patio that sits right on Lake Huron! This space was a perfect fit for our guests and we wanted a small reception with time to just chat with our guests so we decided to forgo the traditional dance floor space and DJ so we could invite the number of people we wanted. We didn't want formal introductions or any other formalities during our reception that you need an emcee for. As a planner I can't tell you how valuable having someone to orchestrate all these events is! Since we weren't having them but I know how much a DJ who knows your personal taste can help keep the atmosphere and mood the way you want it we reached out to Jim Cerone to have him help us craft the perfect playlist for our evening! Jim is an incredible DJ and so much more than that! He truly is a master of ceremonies for your reception! He subtly controls the mood and atmosphere through the perfect song choices! His services are invaluable and we saw the success of his strategic song choices at our reception. He kept everyone in high spirits and our evening ended with our nieces and nephews dancing until the reception ended! It was perfect for us and then became the soundtrack to our honeymoon as we traveled around Hawaii! The picture below is not from our wedding but is so you can see Jim Cerone in action (image stolen from his website and taken by the wonderful Jennifer Driscoll).

Vendor List:

IN Ceremony Location: Lincoln Park
IN Dinner: Indy Fresh
IN Ceremony Music: Jill Pitz (Harp)
MI Ceremony Location: Windermere Point
MI Reception Location: Chippewa Hotel
Wedding Dress: Marie Gabriel Couture (Designer: Amsale)

Reception Dress: Bella Bridesmaid (Designer: Aidan Maddox) Florist: Accent Floral Design

Photography: Conforti Photography
Videography: Unique Heart Productions
Invitation Designer: Just Invite Me
Invitation Printer: Jupiter & Juno
Custom Calligraphy Signage: Katie Lynn Emerson
Planing & Design: Plum & Poppy (Beth McHugh – Coordinator/live saver)

Caterer: Chippewa Hotel

Hair & Makeup: Something Blue Stylists
MI Ceremony Musician: Brook Xiao
Linens: LGI Linens
Chair Rental: A Classic Party Rental
Flatware & Candlesticks: Violet Vintage Rental

Groom’s clothes: Ike Behar

Hair Accessories: Hair Comes The Bride
Jewelry: Moyer Jewelry
Bridal Robe: Plum Pretty Sugar
Laser Cut Table #s & Escort Names: Just Invite Me 

Photography at my wedding: Conforti Photography

So I promised to break down each element of our wedding and blog about it so I could talk about it in greater detail! I wanted to share the best and worst parts of my experience so that brides could hopefully better understand the process. First up, our photographer!!!!! 

Cassie with Conforti Photography was our wedding photographer. I am in the unique position that my best friend for over 10 years is one of the most amazing wedding photographers in the midwest! (How lucky am I right?!). Cassie and I met freshman year when we lived in the same dorm. We first connected over our inability to hear something going on while we were at BGR at Purdue. I'm so glad our hearing trouble lead me to find my "person" (if you watch Grey's she's my Christina).  In ten years she's helped me through graduating from Purdue, moving to New York, convincing me to move home, dating, exploring the world, helping me start my business, and finding the man of my dreams. In her life, I've watched her marry her high school sweetheart, buy her first house, and second, start her business, and welcome both of her beautiful children into the world! It's been a friendship full of lots of big hugs, laughing till our stomachs hurt, tears, wine, tailgating, delicious food, and fun! I'm so lucky to have experienced it all with her by my side! She actually helped me find my calling to be a wedding planner! All that being said, she is truly the most kind hearted and talented wedding photographer I know and I'm thankful she was there to capture our day! We also had her wonderful second shooter Teresa Schmidt (Teresa Schmidt Photography) to help her so she could be present as my friend throughout parts of the day! Ready to see one of the stunning images already?!

I mean, did she nail it or what?! But let's back up a little, she did also do our engagement pictures! I think engagement pictures are so important. Outside of being a wonderful thing to have they also help you to get comfortable with your photographer. I have had Cassie take my picture for years but it was a first for Jake to pose and have professional pictures taken. So it was incredibly helpful for him and I to do our engagement pictures with Cassie. That way on our wedding day he felt relaxed and comfortable in front of the camera. Posing for engagement and wedding pictures doesn't always feel natural but after you see how they turn out you're much more comfortable the second time.

Cassie is also very adventurous and helps me to push the boundaries of my creativity. When I was first chatting with her about engagement pictures she suggested we do those by water since our wedding was on the lake. As soon as I began to search for "lakeside engagement pictures" I fell in love and decided we HAD to have a canoe! So we rented a canoe, I had my hair and makeup done by the fabulous Something Blue Stylists and adorned it with flowers and candles from Accent Floral Design! It turned out to be my dream pictures come to life! All thanks to Cassie fantastic eye and willingness to try new things with me! See how great they turned out below! My advice is to get creative and do something personal! We love the lake so it was the perfect place for our pictures! Love coffee, maybe do a few in your favorite coffee shop?! Love to travel? I have client who took a trip to Paris and did their engagement pictures there to help capture their love for travel! Need ideas? Ask your planner or this one place where Pinterest can be helpful! I think Pinterest is best used for inspiration not direct ideas to copy. So look around and get inspired!

 

Now to the BIG day! For our Zionsville wedding it was sunny and HOT! So that day was easier in the sense that we didn't have rain to deal with. It is important to think about sun if you're having an outdoor ceremony. Sun is fine and shade is fine but mixed lighting is hard for photography. So we decided to stand in front of the gazebo to solve this issue. It rained the entire day of our Mackinac reception outside of the 1.5 hours we had to take pictures. It was actually raining when we left the hotel in our horse drawn carriage and it thankfully stopped before we reached the Grand Hotel to take pictures! It's always important to have a great photographer that has covered spots for pictures in their back pocket in case of rain. The Grand Hotel has a beautiful wrap around porch that we were headed to for pictures but fortunately we were able to take photos outside in the beautiful gardens since it cleared up! We ended up with cloudy skies that made for great photography! When it's just stopped raining your dress is still going to get dirty but in my mind, you bought it to wear it so you might as well go for it!

As you scroll below you'll see that Cassie captures each detail beautifully! She is fantastic at macros shots of your smallest details but for me these were so meaningful! I love seeing my mom and grandma's jewelry next to their favorite flowers and my wedding ring! Years from now the portraits will hang in your home so they're so important but it's so fun to see the details you chose that you may have forgotten. We wanted everything customized for our guests so I love seeing those details because each guest's place setting reminds me of the special person in our lives that filled that seat. I am a huge proponent of full room shots of your reception! I worked so hard on that and many clients do and as a bride or groom you don't usually get to see that (unless you're like me and you're dying to see it so we schedule the entire day to make sure you can). It's so fun for me to look at images of the entire room because I see all the hard work, love and details that made the day come to life! Every piece of greenery that I chose, hand calligraphy, the ring I'll wear for the rest of my life, the chargers I fell in love with, and a million other tiny things!  I love our portraits as well! That's what you'll hang on your wall and show your kids! These are my favorite to print on a large scale! These give me the feeling of our day all over again! So it's important to find a photographer that you like both their detail and wider portrait shots! Cassie just knocked them both out of the park! See a few funny candid shots of she and I down towards the bottom! I love when clients chose her (I never tell them we are friends until after they independently pick her) because I know she'll make them as happy as she made me :) I can't wait to cherish those pictures for years to come and for her to help welcome Jake and my children when they come as I did hers! My heart is so full every time I see these! I want each client to find the same joy in their wedding images! There is a perfect photographer out there for everyone and Cassie was ours! Follow your heart and chose whose work you think tells your story together best! See the full vendor list after the images below! 

Vendor List:

IN Ceremony Location: Lincoln Park
IN Dinner: Indy Fresh
IN Ceremony Music: Jill Pitz (Harp)
MI Ceremony Location: Windermere Point
MI Reception Location: Chippewa Hotel
Wedding Dress: Marie Gabriel Couture (Designer: Amsale)

Reception Dress: Bella Bridesmaid (Designer: Aidan Maddox) Florist: Accent Floral Design

Photography: Conforti Photography
Videography: Unique Heart Productions
Invitation Designer: Just Invite Me
Invitation Printer: Jupiter & Juno
Custom Calligraphy Signage: Katie Lynn Emerson
Planing & Design: Plum & Poppy (Beth McHugh – Coordinator/live saver)

Caterer: Chippewa Hotel

Hair & Makeup: Something Blue Stylists
MI Ceremony Musician: Brook Xiao
Linens: LGI Linens
Chair Rental: A Classic Party Rental
Flatware & Candlesticks: Violet Vintage Rental

Groom’s clothes: Ike Behar

Hair Accessories: Hair Comes The Bride
Jewelry: Moyer Jewelry
Bridal Robe: Plum Pretty Sugar
Laser Cut Table #s & Escort Names: Just Invite Me