Destination Wedding Weekend

2009 was full of destination weddings for me, and by destination I mean the Michigan lake shore. Having family and friends coming to Michigan from out of state led my clients to many questions about how to make the whole weekend an event for their guests. The question of the importance of doing more for the guests then just the reception was asked. My answer is that it is very important to host your guests when they are attending a destination wedding.


Some ideas for your wedding weekend:

If you are able to find out where everyone will be staying while in town, welcome bags/baskets are a wonderful thing to surprise your guests with. Wedding guest baskets are a nice added touch, immediately comforting the travel-weary by making them feel right at home. I have seen couples do everything from sand pails full of snacks, bottled water and flip flops for a beach themed wedding to baskets with local wine, wine glasses, wine openers and snacks for a wedding held at a local winery. Another fun idea is to visit local businesses and collect information and coupons and put it all together in a folder for your guests to use while they are visiting. If it is not in your budget to put together a whole basket of goodies just a nice note and a bottle of wine is perfectly acceptable.

The rehearsal dinner guest list is traditionally made up of everyone that is involved in the wedding and their significant other. If you are having a destination wedding it is proper etiquette to invite anyone that will be in town for the wedding. I can see some jaws dropping and some gears turning...yes, I am aware that some of you have invited 100 people from out of town and most of them came in the night before. There is no rule to say that you have to have a fancy sit down dinner for your rehearsal night. The main rule to remember is that you want your rehearsal dinner to reflect the overall theme and feel of your wedding. If you are having a laid back wedding then do a park BBQ or backyard cookout for the night before dinner.

The wedding day usually takes care of itself by the time people are awake, have breakfast and get ready to come to the ceremony there isn't a lot of time for anything else. If you do a welcome basket including a list of local restaurants is very helpful for breakfast and lunch. One suggestion I have for the day of is transportation. If you are having your ceremony and reception at different locations hire transportation to bring your guests from their cars parked at the reception venue to the ceremony and back to the reception. Renting a bus or some trolleys for an hour isn't too expensive and the guests would love to have a personal tour of the area. This is especially nice if your ceremony venue has limited parking or is somewhere that you have to pay to park.

The morning after the ceremony your guests will most likely have to check out of their hotels late morning. But depending on the kind of fun they have at the reception they might not be getting up until the late morning either :) Inviting some of your closest family and friends to a Morning After Brunch is a nice way to say your goodbyes and thank them all one last time for coming all that way to celebrate with you. If you are staying in a hotel that has a small banquet or meeting room or if someone in the family has rented a cottage or house for the weekend, these would all be good places to host this brunch. It doesn't have to be anything elaborate, just some nice pastries, quiches and fruit would be perfect (Panera Bread does amazing catering).

By having some events pre-scheduled for your guests it takes a lot of stress off of them being in an unfamiliar place and it also shows them how much you appreciate their time. Believe me, it will not go unnoticed that you have put your guests comfort on the top of the priority list.

Ryan & Christina - Pro Pics

The professional pictures from Ryan & Christina's wedding are posted on Clever Creations Photography, check them out, they are beautiful!

http://www.clevercreations.smugmug.com/gallery/9011756_cwKpr#599569643_yoTes

Kate & Piet - July 18, 2009

Day of Coordination: Memorable Events LLC
Ceremony Venue: Lake Shore Chapel
Reception Venue: The Ravines Golf Course
Photographer: Steven F. Fox Photography
Florist: VS Floral
Limousine & Sedan: 5 Star Limo
Trolleys: Macatawa Express
Bridal Gown: September's Bride
Cake: Second Floor Bakery
DJ: Complete Music
Ceremony Musician: David Purnell
Officiant: Andy DeBraber
Linens: Special Occasions
Rentals: A-1 Rental

After all the "what-if's" and "plan B's", Kate and Piet's outdoor wedding turned out beautiful. It was windy and cold so the beach ceremony ended up taking place at the Lake Shore Chapel, an endearing little chapel that was built in 1904 for the summer residents in Douglas, MI. All of the guests met at the Ravines to board trolleys and a bus which took them to the chapel. The ceremony was very sweet, the bride and groom personalized it by having one of the groomsmen read "Oh! The places you'll go" by Dr. Seuss and the lyrics to "I Wanna Grow Old With You" from The Wedding Singer. Of course, I gave the bridal party a good story to tell by racing up the hill to switch the sprinklers off while the guests were walking up the sidewalk!

Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres were served in the clubhouse at the Ravines along with pink lemonade, lime slices and vodka in mason jars, so cute.

The couple chose to cut their delicious cake from Second Floor Bakery inside the clubhouse with all their guests present and then headed out to the lawn for dinner in the tent.


The tent was gorgeous, the floral centerpieces from VS Floral were perfect and really popped against the white and green linens. Of course, the centerpiece of the room was the candy bar, with the lime green and pink lanterns, ribbon and tulle and the wooden letters spelling out C-A-N-D-Y B-A-R!! Too Cute!!!

(I don't have one with the candy in them!!!)

Everyone did such an amazing job pulling this wedding together, it was fabulous. I love the families and friends of the couple and the couple themselves were adorable and so genuinely in love. It was my pleasure spending the weekend with them. This is exactly why I love my job!

Christina & Ryan - June 27, 09

Yesterday we had the perfect day at Windmill Island for Christina and Ryan's wedding. The weather ended up gorgeous, some of us even got a little sunburn. Over the last year I really enjoyed getting to know Christina and Ryan and now that the wedding is done I'm going to miss chatting with them, especially since they are moving to North Carolina! One of my favorite parts of my job is all the fun and amazing people I get to meet. From the families and friends of the couple to the vendors hired for the day. And talking about vendors, what an amazing team we had yesterday, everyone did a fantastic job.

Ceremony: Windmill Island, Holland
Reception: Windmill Island, Holland
Caterer: Pietros
Photography: Clever Creations, Kelli Wiseman
Floral: Ludema's
Makeup: Julie Strating
Hairstylist: Shelley Pike
Dress: David's Bridal
Linens: Special Occasions
Cake: Sinful Cheesecakes
Bar Services: Martha's Vineyard
DJ: DeWitt DJ Service
Officiate: Chuck Martin
Musicians: Grand String Orchestra

My intern Stephanie and I began the day by arriving at Windmill Island late morning to set up the tent. Penny from Special Occasions was already there putting out her amazing linens, the bride chose to do half the tables pink and the other half white with the head table set up as a big square in the center of the room in green. Everything just popped against the white tent. We hung pink paper lanterns along with white in the ceiling of the tent as well. The centerpieces were from Ludema's and turned out perfect. We used pink carnation pomander balls down the ceremony aisle and then brought them inside for the tables as well as wheat grass in white ceramic containers. Ludema's did all the flowers for the day and they turned out amazing! The bride carried light pink peony and the bridesmaids carried white hydrangea, it looked gorgeous.

Pietro's Restaurant of Grand Rapids provided the amazing food. Everything was served family style and there were four courses of incredible. For dessert we set up a buffet table covered in five different cheesecakes from Sinful Cheesecakes and tiramisu and chocolate mascarpone from Pietros, delicious. I think I had a bite of everything. Nate Dewitt from Dewitt DJ Service did an awesome job and kept the dance floor going all night. I can't wait to see the shots from Kelli Wiseman of Clever Creations, I know she got some great ones, the bridal party seemed to be having such a great time with her and I will post them when I can.

Awkward Wedding Photo

Love this awkward wedding photo from as seen on Awkward Family Photos website. Usually I just see babies posed in baskets, never would have thought to put a bride and groom in one!

The Proposal

Come out next Friday, June 19 from 5-8pm and see me at Celebration Cinemas*. There will be a few wedding vendors doing a promotion for the new Sandra Bullock movie "The Proposal". Should be fun! There will be games, prizes, giveaways and a great movie!


*Celebration Cinemas Grand Rapids South - off Kalamazoo and 60th

Unique New Venue

Last week I was invited downtown Grand Rapids to visit and walk through Open Concept Gallery. The gallery has been open for a couple of years but just recently decided to rent out the space for events including weddings and corporate parties. Open Concept Gallery is on the top floor of the building and is an old Masonic meeting hall so the architecture is absolutely gorgeous and very unique. The gallery is within walking distance from almost everything in the downtown Grand Rapids area and is located near easy parking as well for guests coming from outside the city.

If you are looking for a unique space for your next event please check into Open Concept Gallery.