Bay Pointe Inn Wedding

Alright guys. This one has taken me awhile to blog, but holy moly it’s a good one. This wedding happend the DAY AFTER one of the biggest storms in West Michigan. I would say about 80% of the areas around me were without power…including…. THE VENUE. Bay Pointe Inn.

I’m pretty sure Lindsay was freaking out, but she was doing a freaking amazing job of not showing it. Thankfully the Bay Pointe Inn is literally AMAZING and had a generator to make sure the hotel kept on running. I was blown away! The entire town w/ out power, but yet we still were gonna get to party. HECK. YES. I will leave the rest of this blog up to Lindsay but seriously, this is probably my favorite wedding this year. A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO Ryan Inman and Cassandra Tietz for being the best second and third shooters of all time.

How You Met:

We bowled on the same bowling league for a couple of years, but were just “bowling friends”. We both stopped bowling on that league and lost touch. One day, I was on my motorcycle at a stoplight and he saw me. He messaged me on Facebook, we met for a drink, and realized we were more than bowling friends;)

Venue:

The Bay Pointe Inn was perfect for us. A friend knew someone that got married there and said her wedding looked awesome. It was the only venue we looked at and we booked it the day we saw it. When you know, you know! We liked the idea of a destination wedding but didn’t want to make it too far where our guests had to fly. I never ever pictured us getting married in a banquet hall…we are very laid back and like to have fun, so we wanted something that allowed us to keep the party going. The night before there was a terrible storm that knocked over trees and homes and left 150,000 people without power, including the hotel. I honestly thought our wedding might get canceled. They jumped right into the action and got generators out there and never missed a beat! We had the boathouse rented for the weekend and that allowed us to have 10 friends stay in the house with us. We made a weekend out of it and hosted a party the night before the wedding and the ceremony and reception were also held there. The day after we rented 4 pontoon boats and about 50 of our friends and family stayed to enjoy the lake with us for the weekend. The Bay Pointe was a dream to work with and you could not ask for a more beautiful setting! We love Gun Lake now and will be returning for many years with our family.

Decor:

The decor was simple and if I had to describe it, I would call it “nautical chic”. The venue was already beautiful, being lakeside and the backdrop was Gun Lake. They already had so much beautiful foliage and flowers, I didn’t want to overdo it. The colors were gold, navy, and blush. I made everything myself and had the help of a few family members and friends along the way, including the day of, to set everything up. So lucky to have a great group of family and friends!

Ryan’s Outfit:

Ryan wore a navy suit that was purchased from Men’s Warehouse and tailored to him. We decided just the vest and tie without the jacket was best since it was July and slightly hot. Every man should have a suit that they feel great in! Ryan doesn’t love to get dressed up, but when the talk of wedding suit/tux came up, he knew right away he wanted to purchase a suit for himself instead of renting. I told him I didn’t mind if he wanted to change into something more comfortable after the pictures, but he stayed in “uniform” all night…I think he liked it!

Lindsay’s Outfit:

I wish there was a cool story about my dress, but it all happened so casually. I stopped into a bridal shop on my lunch break to see how far in advance I would have to start looking. I saw a few dresses I liked on the floor and asked if I could try a few on to get an idea before coming back with family and friends. I fell in love with the first one I put on and walked out with it that day. It was a sample dress, which really just means other people have tried it on. I didn’t want to spend thousands on something I would wear once. It was altered a tiny bit and professionally cleaned. It was an Allure lace A-line gown, with a champagne underlay and keyhole back. I was so comfortable in it and sad I only got to wear it once….except on our anniversary photo shoots which Rachel has suggested over my idea of having another wedding!

The Ceremony:

The ceremony was my absolute favorite part of the day. We wanted it to include not only Ryan and I joining our lives and our children’s lives, but also all of our “people”. We did not have a bridal party, so we had our kids alongside us. I asked my best friend from childhood, Erin Roenna to officiate and lucky for us, she agreed! Erin did such an amazing job of incorporating emotion, humor, and sentiment into the perfect ceremony. I don’t think I could have asked for a better ceremony. We performed a sand ceremony to unite our lives and included Jake and Lia. “These grains of sand are now mixed together and can never be separated.” The other thing we did was a “blessing stone ceremony”. All of our guests were given a river rock to hold during our ceremony. At the end, everyone was asked to make a wish or blessing for our marriage on their rock and we all threw them into the lake at the same time. As Erin explained “The ripples that are made in the water represent the love and good wishes not only for this couple but for all the world. For as our ripples cross and recross one another’s, so our love and good wishes touch and retouch all those around us.” We then exited the ceremony on a pontoon boat!

Reception/Dancing/All the Fun:

The reception was a blast! I don’t think I left the dance floor all night. So many of our friends and family were dancing and having a fun time. Some guests preferred to enjoy the lakeside breeze or take a boat ride. We just wanted everyone to have fun! We served donuts in place of cake and I heard that everyone loved the donuts. They were from Sweetwater’s Donut Mill in Kalamazoo and they were delicious! One of my favorite moments was the father/daughter dance not only with my dad but when Ryan and our daughter danced together and then welcomed all of the fathers and daughters on the dance floor. I also especially loved when all of our “Roll Tide” family (sorry, Rachel!) joined together for Sweet Home Alabama. So many fun memories!

(To note…i studied at Auburn University…WAR. EAGLE. huge rivals 😉 i still love ya’ll)

What about the Photographer?

Rachel was freaking amazing!!!! We have a large family with lots of extensions. She didn’t even punch me when I handed her a list of about 1,283 combinations of family pictures! She not only made sure to get all of those pictures, but she was great about keeping everyone on task and we blew through the pictures so fast! Rachel suggested a first look and I am soooo happy she did! We were able to get some of our nervousness out before the ceremony. It also allowed us to spend so much more time dancing and hanging out with our guests, rather than being pulled away for long periods of time. We spent a year planning our wedding, we wanted to enjoy it, too! Rachel had Sandy and Ryan with her that day and they were equally amazing. On top of being a boss about getting the shots we wanted and wrangling the family, Rachel’s work is beautiful SO talented and we will treasure these pictures forever! Thank you!

Advice for Couples Planning Their Wedding:

So many cliche things come to my mind, but a lot of them are true. Don’t sweat the small stuff..it’s a 6-hour party. Don’t spend millions of dollars on things that don’t really matter in the long run. People don’t care about chair covers, they care about having some food, drinks and getting their dance on. (At least, I do.) Make sure you have a dress that makes you feel pretty, shoes that are comfortable, and a GREAT photographer to capture it all. On the day of, no one except you will notice the things that aren’t “perfect”. Have fun and enjoy having all of your favorite people in one place at one time!

Huge thanks to Lindsay and Ryan and all of their family <3 I miss you all so much and HAVE SO MUCH FUN on your belated honeymoon <3

Grand Haven Golf Club Wedding Photographer

OH man OH man these two are near and dear to my heart. Having been guests at one of MY FAVORITE WEDDINGS OF ALL TIME, the inspiration for my first GIF at a wedding and hands down the most amazing kind hearted people I have ever met, Hannah and Darin are one of the best couples I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

Getting to know them has been fun, their wedding at Grand Haven Golf Club in Grand Haven, MI was amazing, special thanks to Crystal of Crystal V Photography for helping me out with the ceremony at this one 😀 pleasure to have you my dear.but I will let Hannah tell you more about their wedding day. (anything in parenthesis is my addition).

How you Met / The Love Story:

First met at Leppinks, where we both worked in separate departments but couldn’t seem to stay away from one another. We were always finding excuses to come see each other but kept things very private for about 6 months, so sneaky. We had nothing in common at all, but as time went on we found things to bicker about and find some common conversation. We always said “this was never supposed to happen, we were never supposed to be together. We both felt as though we came from different worlds, I was fresh out of high school and he was the more “mature moody man” haha! somehow, 5 years later, we were still together and more alike than we ever would have thought.

(We had a freaking BLAST at their engagement session, and heading to Leppinks for it was, even more, fun than I would have dreamed).

Venue:

The Grand Haven Golf Club, amazing event coordinator Laura, such a wonderful and beautiful atmosphere. Where we got married was under the pavilion by the putting green, and the reception was in the vintage room, which was just that, very vintage looking thanks to the bright red carpet. Big beautiful windows and door that face the golf course, this location was exactly what we wanted, a place that was woodsy enough for our taste but simple and convenient for our guests. I guess you could say that was what we wanted out of our entire wedding was a simple day that was focused on having fun and not too many other distractions.

Decor:

Simple, all I wanted was simple. The flowers were the main decoration in the reception room and a few small details like some signs and amazing escort cards that my best friend/maid of honor made (Elise) My mistress of ceremony, maid of honor, grandmother and mother all helped get everything in place the day before the wedding at the golf club.

Hannah’s Get Up:

I initially had a dressed picked out from Spring Lake Bridal and when I went to try it on to show some family and friends, of course, they had a new shipment of dresses come in, and I tried one on that I was interested in, that was nothing like what I had originally planned on and fell in love. I thought I wanted nothing fancy,  something very plain, and simple with maybe a small amount of lace, and instead, I got a glamorous, heavy, long beautiful gown, that I don’t regret at all.

The Ceremony:

The ceremony was spectacular. It was a relaxed environment outside, the sun was peeking through the clouds, all of our family and friends were there, some seated, some standing, making it seem very casual, just like we had wanted.

Darin’s Get Up:

A vest and a bow tie, that’s all I asked for, the vest was accepted happily, but the bow tie, my goodness, it was like pulling teeth. All of the groomsmen wore the same thing, but for Darin to stand out we agreed on a vest, and I just think bow ties are so handsome and classy, and he didn’t agree but eventually came around 🙂

{WEDDING}

Music // Reception:

Plain Jane Glory, the best, they played at my brother’s wedding and cousin’s and we could not have our wedding without them, the best dance/foot stomping music, nicest people, sweetest husband and wife duo. They played all of our requested songs from our favorite artists such as Dustin Kensrue, Brian Fallon and Dallas Green, and did a beautiful job, Darin and I both appreciate music so much so it was so special for us to have these two talented musicians do their thang at our shin dig.

Your Photographer (aka: ME!)

So much more than a photographer, Rachel was basically another bridesmaid who took such good care of me as a bride, Darin and I as a couple, she knew when we needed some time to ourselves, she knows the ins and outs of weddings and can answer all the silly questions I thought of, like what leg does the garter go on? and can you bustle my dress pretty please?? She was just wonderful, all the stress and anxiety of the day was gone when we did our first look shoot and it was just the two of us and we were truly able to enjoy one another from that moment on. She’s amazing and was an essential aspect of our wedding day. Thank you so much!

Advice To Couples Planning Their Wedding:

Remember to just take a deep breath often and know that everything will come together perfectly, and keep things simple for yourself and your guests.

Thank you for viewing this Grand Haven wedding gallery. Rachel Kaye is a Grand Haven based photographer who specializes in offbeat weddings that are all about love and family. Now booking 2018 Weddings at Grand Haven Golf Club! If you are a rad couple who is all about love, fun and making awesome photographers. HIT ME UP.

Michigan Backyard Wedding 

Michigan Backyard Wedding in Clio Michigan (SEO stuff SEO stuffffff, I’d like people to find this so SEO stufffff).

Ok, now that that is out of the way, into the good stuff. So much to say about this day. Driving to Clio was seriously beautiful. I was spending the weekend with family and friends about 3 hours away (a direct one road drive away) and reallly enjoyed my drive more than normal. I actually really enjoy driving, a lot. Especially before a wedding day, it helps me get into the zone and get my Rhianna on (slay all day girl…all day) to amp me up.  I went through some of the most rural parts of Michigan ever to get to Aaron’s parents house. The weather was calling for THUNDERSTORMS all freaking evening. Panic mode sets in a bit, but you gotta keep your cool right? I immediatley called my mother, who has special weather powers and explained to her what needed to happen. She worked her magic and we had the BEST pockets of nice weather amongst the storms. The ceremony was held off a little as the meteorologist in attendance (no joke… how convenient?) KNEW it was going to downpour right as the ceremony was set to start. Everything worked out perfectly. I’ll let Allie and Aaron take it from here:

Love Story:

We met through mutual friends at a college party. Most of our love story consists of chill nights with beer & good food 🙂

Location/Decor:

Got married in Aaron’s parents’ backyard. The dance floor was outside and it was awesome! 4 different bars too which make everything better! Because it was a backyard wedding we had to basically do everything. Larry (Aaron’s Dad) built the dance floor and beautiful backdrop behind the head table. Family and friends helped with all the decorations and they all were absolutely beautiful! I was going for a mismatched rustic look 🙂

Groom’s Suit:

Nothing super exciting about Aaron’s suit…got it at JC Penny’s on sale! It was just a miracle that Aaron even wore a suit! (HE LOOKED FREAKING AMAZING)

Bride Dress

Loved the dress when I bought it, but when I saw it again after 6 months realized I wanted to change a lot of it. A family friend did my alterations and basically redid the entire top. She took the “blingy” belt off and used the champagne colored fabric from the bottom of my dress to make a new belt. Wanted to make it a little more simple.

The Ceremony:

Well, we had to delay the ceremony because of a huge storm. Thank god for the maid of honor’s dad who is a meteorologist who saved the day. My cousin was the officiant and it was his first time ever doing it, but it was personal and light hearted exactly how we wanted it. We were married in front of Sherri’s ‘She Shed’ that Larry also built (not for the wedding :))

RRRRUUUUUUUNNNNN!!!!!

Reception/Dancing/Music/Fun:

Dance floor was outside with lots of lights. I was a little nervous people wouldn’t dance outside because it was a little chilly, but it was filled the whole night. Later on in the night we had fireworks, and they were amazing! (pretty bummed I missed out on the FIREWORKS! WHY DIDN’T YA’LL TELL ME?!?!?!)

Advice for Couples Planning Their Wedding:

Outdoor weddings are stressful but SO worth it!!

Your Photographer: Tell us all about them 😉 What you liked or didn’t like. All the deets from the day of:

Rachel, you were amazing! After the delay, we were on a time crunch and you were so efficient getting everything done. You were so light hearted and made everything feel so natural. Thank you so much!! (I GOTCHU guys! this is why we ‘pad’ the schedule, I can hustleeee through things but having extra time planned MAKES it happen! Ya’ll are the best for listening to me and most importantly, TRUSTING me, Thank you so much for including me in your amazing day!!!).

Zachary’s Farm and Red Barn Wedding 

Biz and Pat are seriously life goals. The chillest people I know, with the most wonderful family and friends. THIS DAY was amazing. I will leave it to Biz to tell you all about it, anything in parenthesis are my words:

HOW YOU MET?

Patrick and I locked fancy eyes for each other in the summer of 2012. We were both at the hospital to see our newly born niece- our moms both recalled the sparks a-flying. It’s been a beautiful, real, kind of love ever since. <3 (to note, their family members are married to each other, which is just super cute)

Groom’s Clothing

Pat chose bow ties for himself and for the groomsmen, with a gray three piece suit combo. A real handsome group of men, if you ask me.

Bride’s Clothing

Honestly, this part was really stressful. I did love how the tailor, Angie’s Quick Stitch in Burbank IL made my dress fit like a glove. I have never had a dress tailored to fit my body, it was such a wonderful, flattering, beautiful feeling.

The Venue

Zachary’s Farm and Red Barn in Homer Glen, IL. A rustic, casually cool setting, with a big white tent and red barn. Had there been no rain…. ::sour face::… the outside would have looked extra cool with lights in the trees. I loved that it was partially outside – that was always a goal from the beginning of the engagement. I also loved the setting and atmosphere. People could relax and enjoy conversation at their table with quiet music in the background. Or they could be in the barn getting low with lil’ john and the eastside boys. It was the best of both worlds!! I liked the intimate and squished-to-the-brim-with-people ceremony. I wish i stopped and looked at everyone that was in there!

The Ceremony

My brother in law – who is more like a brother – was the officiant.  He was nervous and fumbled over his words, but I loved it because it kept the atmosphere light and fun. My bridesmaids all put flowers in a vase with a picture of my mom, just as a gentle honoring of her. My beautiful cousin read an Irish proverb that I picked out and nailed it. Pat, Silas, and I mixed sand in a heart shaped vase to symbolize our unity as a family.  The ceremony was short and sweet and perfect. I remember feeling like “that JUST happened.”

The Decor

My wedding coordinator/gal pal Erica Stephens made everything look so lovely. She decorated and organized everything – she truly a one woman show. I was so lost at the beginning and had no clue where to start and felt completely overwhelmed. She said she would help make everything beautiful and she did. She is the one who found the food truck AND barn AND you. Hallelujah! I was really, really happy with how the tables and setup looked. It was a beautiful mess of sage and lavender accents, white flowers, wood rounds, and baby’s breath. I was going for rustic-boho. Before we all walked in to the barn prior to the ceremony, I remember looking around at everything and just soaking it in. It was great. My cousin/bridesmaid made the sign “Elizabeth and Patrick’s wedding”. I loved that too.

Reception / Dancing

Pat and I took choreographed dance lessons to learn our first dance together. The song was “I choose you” by Sara Barielles. I decided that would be our wedding song before we even said we loved each other- it just worked out perfectly that Pat also thought it was the most beautiful song in existence. It was a long, windy road of practicing, but way worth it in the end. We practiced after the rehearsal dinner and kept forgetting steps, so we didn’t feel strong about it. But we really nailed it the day of. I was so impressed with us. haha. I’ve watched it AT LEAST 150 times. Sure, we were nervous and did the steps a little too fast, but it was still imperfectly perfect.

Pete the DJ from Phoenix Audio Entertainment did a great job with the lights and music, and really helped with the coordinating. I feel like music can make or break a wedding – I’m grateful people were dancing and having fun. Dancing is the best part of weddings!

(Pete also literally was the most helpful person ever for me, he helped me find missing people for photos, helped chill me out when the rain just seemed endless and was all around the MOST AMAZING DJ I HAVE EVER WORKED WITH, seriously, he was wonderful and made my day!!).

Advice for Couples Planning Their Wedding

Get a wedding planner to help – my wedding would have been, quite frankly, a shit show if Erica wasn’t in charge. Create a “wedding related” email. That was some of the best advice I received! It helped with organization and did not clutter up my personal email.

Also, I loved my wedding, it was beautiful and fun and the best party we’ve ever been to, etc., but we could have saved a whole lot of pennies and just got married at the courthouse and felt equally as happy to be stuck with each other for forever. I knew that from the beginning, but Pat only realized that AFTER the fact… So future brides/grooms, you do you. Essentially we have a great party in our memories and no money. Is there a classy way to blog that… ? HA.

(YES Biz there is a classy way to blog it, by being REAL and honest <3 just like you two are..gosh I adore you both)

The Photographer

I wish you could have stayed as a guest and hung out with us. I truly love your outlook on photography and candid captures – I’m so excited to see all the photos. I’m grateful Erica found you and you drove down to document our wedding. If Pat and I decide to get married again, you’re our gal.

(awww shucks guys…. I wish I could have stayed too!!! MY FEET, bodddyyy and my brain won’t allow me to chill out after weddings, I am so invested in your day that until the photos are on my computer and safely backed up in numerous locations there is no such thing as chillin out! LOVE YA BOTH and glad I got to dance with you a bit <3)