Michigan Weddings!

Hi! My FH and I are getting married at Greenfield Village at the Henry Ford Museum! More specifically the Martha Mary Chapel and the Taste of History for the reception. We decided on it because I was a flower girl there when I was little and I always, always dreamed of getting married there (and its less than 10 minutes from my mom's!). We are getting married 9/20/2019 (which is a Friday) but we are having a smaller wedding and due to meeting the minimums, without going overboard on food it was easier for us to try and meet the minimum (if you choose the Henry Ford, which we highly recommend, make sure you are aware of the minimums for each of their venue locations and that your budget can accommodate! Our budget wasn't the issue but the number of people and reaching the minimum was so also be aware of that!). But they have been absolutely fantastic so far just with the initial booking and setting the down payment. We are very excited to be working with them! My FH is not from Michigan and doing the wedding at the Henry Ford is a piece of Michigan, but they also have so many options to include Michigan favorites from beer choices to Faygo, to even having bumpy cakes!

We made it easy on ourselves to do everything indoors since the early fall/September weather can go from one extreme to the next in Michigan, but I would definitely recommend that if you do an outdoor wedding or want to do outdoor photos, that you have a back up plan to have an indoor alternative as well! A lot of the venues we looked at had the indoor back-up at no extra cost (probably because the weather can be so different one day to the next) but you did have to make sure you plan it with the venue. Also, for wedding photos, especially if you are in the Detroit metro area, look around for maybe where you want to do your photos if you've already chosen a venue! Belle Isle will let you take your photos with a small fee and it has so many beautiful outdoor and indoor locations for you to look at, any time of the year!

While I am currently out of state, my wonderful mother who is doing a lot of meeting with vendors on my behalf to vet and discuss things for me which is super nice! We have found that the metro Detroit area is super accommodating for wedding planning. We are very very excited!

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Catherine, thank you for sharing! I love the story behind how you've always dreamed of getting married there, since you were a flower girl!

All of your wedding details sounds amazing so far! So glad to hear that the metro Detroit area as a whole is such a great venue, in and of itself, for your wedding planning process! Thank you for all of the helpful advice and insight too. All great things to keep in mind!

We are excited for you too! Have you chosen your wedding colors, decor, theme/style, or other details just yet?

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Hi Maren,

My FH is in the Air Force so we are going with, of course, navy and grey as well as our wedding colors. The venue we have is already decorated in a harvest theme so we are going to stick with that for our bouquets and centerpieces as well as the chapel decorations.

We will probably be choosing Iverson's bakery (which is also in the metro Detroit area) my parents got their wedding cake from there so we thought we would as well! We are using a local photographer, Hannah Korte (you can also find her on Wedding Wire) as our photographer! She is awesome and familiar with the area so knows some great places to do pictures. We also are using Mike Staff productions for our music/DJ. They have a lot of different options and are familiar with a lot of the popular venues in the area! The Henry Ford does in-house catering as well as have a list of vendors they use for any other place settings/linens/chairs and tables so very accommodating and lots of options. We have the big things done so we wouldn't have to worry about availability since September is such a popular month to be married in!

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Hi Catherine! Your wedding plans sound lovely so far and very smart of you to get the big details booked & ready first. As far as your bouquets, centerpieces, and chapel decorations go, are you saying you're following suit with the harvest theme? What kind of florals do you have in mind?

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Yes! We are going to be doing flowers that are in season to help with costs and also because they fit with the theme of the wedding and the venue. I also do not like roses haha. But the centerpieces are going to be simple with a runner and some candles and green garland, maybe small vases of in-season flowers, the reception area has a lot of different types of chandeliers and there are a lot of big windows, so I don't want to take away from that, and I am not a flower person. I want to get some fall garland from Michaels or Hobby Lobby for the chapel as well to put on the communion rails! (would also recommend if you are doing a fall or summer wedding of next year to hit those sale racks at the crafts stores! Hobby Lobby does 50% off sales periodically even on the seasonal decorations)

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Totally understandable and I love your decor ideas In-season florals are always a good idea. Good to know about the sale info, too, thank you for sharing!

We are getting married at bells eccentric cafe in kalamazoo September 3rd 2019. It's a Tuesday and we will be married at 230 pm with the reception lasting until 7. I know it's really strange to have a wedding on a Tuesday but when I asked FH about ideas for a date the first thing he said was 9/3 referencing an inside joke between us from years ago. So I guess we will be married on a tuesday. I would like to have a whimsical wildflower vibe. Kind of thinking about having 2/4 of the bridesmaids in floral print dresses and the other 2 in solid colors. Also I'd love a lot of flowers but am not a fan of fake ones and can't afford much of a flower budget after the more important things so we'll see what we end up with. I feel our wedding is on it's way to being very personal to who we are. We love bell's and its the best beer in kalamazoo for sure. We are also hoping to have our favorite local food truck do the catering. I still have a year to go but am really happy I started looking into things right away. It's all coming together perfectly.

Omy that is awesome! our colors are Navy and Gray too with a pop of coral

We are getting married at Noah’s Event Venue in Auburn Hills, MI, during the summer season. For the ceremony we are standing outside but guests are seated insidd (the doors ade open to view) & reception is inside. We’re not incorporating anything from MI, bc our theme is centered our New Orleans lol Our colors are green, gold & purple..but we’re mainly using greenery.

wedding tips: For me it was more easy to be organized by having time to save..our engagement is a total of 23months long & I can tell you I have everything ready for when I meet w/ month of coordinator lol

Excel spreads have been my best friend for budgeting, planning & even guest list purposes.

Don’t be afraid of bridal shows. I have won 2 grand prizes & other little things as well as found my dj (Tech 3 productions) & baker (CakesbyStephanie) who can both be found on WW as well. I will say that when going to the shows to be aware of companies such as ITWorks & Mary Kay (everyone is a winner & they are throwing a “party” for you to book/buy) & to be a little assertive & not get suckered in to things you don’t want bc vendors can be agressive.

Hire a day of coordinator if you can.

Don’t be afraid to negotiate while planning (& I don’t mean lowball) ..this honestly helped mostly for my wedding dress & I was able to get a couple hundred off photography, as well as my venue bc the venue was in the middle of raising their pricing right when we were trying to book.

View Quoted Comment You could always order flowers wholesale.

View Quoted Comment Omg, I hate roses too! haha I made sure my florists knew that was our one big “NO” at every consultation.

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Hi Patience! Your color scheme sounds lovely Love the pop of color with the deeper shades.

Thank you thank you ! It so nice to hear everyone’s different thinks they are doing. We are getting married in Livonia. I am having a bit of trouble finding a nice place to take photos in October! The planner suggested a golf course but idk any suggestions ?

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Hi Patience!

You could see if there are any parks or areas near you in Livonia with trees that will be colorful come Fall?

I found a list of nature trails and reserves in your area that might also work for a pretty engagement photo setting. I hope these help!

Hello!

Our date is June 6th, 2020. Far away but we need the time!

FH and I just booked our Hudsonville wedding barn, the Red Shed!

To incorporate our shared love for ice cream and the local favorite, our dessert will be Hudsonville ice cream and brownies.

The ceremony is outside (pray for beautiful weather), and the reception is indoor/outdoor.

FH just left for a job in AZ for the next 8 months, so I will try and stay busy wedding planning. Wish me luck!

Sarah

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Hi Sarah! Your wedding plans sound lovely so far! I love your unique dessert choice, that will be so fun and personal to you both!

Will you be planning a wedding at long distance then?

Best of luck to you in all of your wedding planning endeavors! Please don't hesitate to connect with any and all questions, comments, concerns you might have in our Community! We are always happy to help!

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Thank you! I am going to be living and planning in Michigan, but my fiancé will be in AZ for 8 months. He does not care for the planning that much as most other fiancés I assume.

We’re getting married at Infinirt and Ovation yacht charters in St Clair shores on September 22! We will have the ceremony overlooking lake st Clair and then get on a two story yacht for the reception. The yacht will sail down the Detroit river and we will do our first dance and we are going under the ambassador bridge.
The best thing about the venue is they handle almost all of the planning. When we booked with them we got an e mail with our DJ, florist and Baker included. And then they gave us menus to choose from for food. The even include the captain of the boat to officiate. This has made planning so much easier!

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Hi ERBride! Your wedding sounds absolutely amazing!

Do you have a nautical/boat theme to accompany your yacht venue?

I am so happy to hear that your venue is so hands-on and helpful! These vendors being all-included with venue package really takes some weight & details & stress off your plate.

So happy for you and your wedding plans! 25 days until you say "I do"!

We decided to not really do a theme, neither one of us is really into boating so a nautical theme wouldn’t fit our personalities. We’re going more for a classy romantic feel. But I’m just praying for nice weather so all of the out of town guests can really enjoy the skyline of Detroit and the views we will get from the boat!