Let me introduce you to Elliott & Rachel May! Rachel and I first met while we both worked for Oakland University Housing and when I told her that I wanted to start my own event planning business she was super supportive and helpful in getting the idea from dreams to action. It certainly didn't hurt that she had recently gotten engaged and was willing to be a guinea pig for me as I got my footing in the business. 

One a chilly but luckily mostly rain-free Saturday, Elliott and Rachel put all of their Detroit Wedding plans into action. And wait until you see the rest of these pictures! You guys, Detroit may be considered rough, but when you see these photos, you are going to want to get married in The D!

Rachel had excellent vendors for her wedding. All of these pictures are graciously shared by Cassie of O'Photography. Cassie has an incredible eye for composition and her editing made it so hard to choose color or B&W photos for the post. She also caught all of those tiny details and emotional expressions that you hope you get to see in your wedding photos. Keep scrolling, friends, gorgeous!

The ceremony took place at Old St. Mary's Church. This was probably the most beautiful and awe-inspiring church I've been too. Absolutely beautiful, and that alter chock full of flowers, they couldn't have been more perfect for accenting the already stunning architecture. 

These two pictures are a perfect example of how gorgeous Cassie's color and B&W work is. I really couldn't choose a favorite. The gold of the box office is beautiful, the black and white is so romantic. I'll let you decide which you prefer!

707 East was the location of the reception and dance party. It was extra convenient that it was just across a parking lot from the church. Here's a tip that I think is pretty great and cost effective. If your reception venue offers dessert--take it! This cake here was a whopping $38 from whole foods and they still will do the fancy fillings and decorating. I set this cake up myself and while, yes, I was a little nervous, it was pretty easy to do. Everyone got yummy cake, the couple got to save a couple of hundred bucks, that's a win in my book!

Last but not least, all flowers were arranged by Linnaea Floral Design. These were stunning and every single tall arrangement was taken home by guests at the end of the evening! Lisa was awesome to work with, she is based around Grand Rapids but travels to the Metro Detroit area for weddings on a regular basis. You should book her now if you want her though, because I'm sure her schedule fills up fast. 

How cute is that for the last photos of the night? Love it!

I can't believe that what we had worked on planning for over a year has come and gone! There is truly nothing better than planning out all of the details and only kind of knowing what it will all look like together and then seeing it in person and thinking "wow! we really did it!"

Elliott and Rachel, thank you for letting me be a part of your big day! What a beautiful start to a wonderful marriage! 



Vendors:

Ceremony: Old St. Mary's Church, Detroit
Reception: 707 East, Detroit
Photographer: Cassie, O'Photography
Make Up Artist: Jamie, Makeup by Jamie
Florals: Linnaea Floral Design

So normally I post on Tuesday and Thursday, but obviously today is Friday so that didn't happen yesterday. That's because I've been busy meeting with vendors, sending off loved ones to Alaska, creating new content for this here blog, and also creating marketing materials for the business. It has been BUSY. But next week, I promise I'll be back to my regular twice a week routine. 

But for today I'll leave you with a couple of images from around the web that I've been drooling over! 

I can't be the only person that thinks this table runner is to DIE for, right? From Style Me Pretty.

Would you believe they used spray hair color to achieve this? From A Practical Wedding.

Love this aisle lined with giant red balloons! From Offbeat Bride.


What have you seen online this week that you loved? Have a good weekend!

Two truths for you this morning. First, growing up I hated gold, had to have all of my jewelry silver and just generally didn't love anything gold. Second, a few weeks after purchasing my wedding gown, or rather my mom purchasing it, I saw a beautiful gold beaded gown in a department store and had a punch in the stomach of regret that I wasn't wearing that to my wedding. I of course LOVED my dress, and when I told Vince that I had this thought his response was "umm..yea, I really liked your dress." But here we are today and I love gold even more than before. And I still like the thought of a shimmery, golden wedding dress--who said you had to wear white anyway. 

This whole inspiration board came from the lovely bouquet you see above (#3) that I stumbled onto on Pinterest. I just kept pinning and pinning lovely things with the combo of white and gold. I think it would make a goregous, elegant affair but could also easily be taken to a playful vibe as well. 

Take a look at my other pins by clicking here.

Colors can also be easily integrated into the Gold & White combination. It would pair beautifully with Pantone's color of the year, Emerald Green, or with popular brights like coral or neon. The combinations are endless!

So would you wear a golden wedding gown? If not gold or white, what other color would you chose? 

Sources:
1: White Romance on Etsy (dress is discontinued) http://www.etsy.com/listing/112475049/wedding-dress-sequin-gold-and-white
2: Ruffled Blog, http://ruffledblog.com/gold-yarra-valley-wedding/
3: 100 Layer Cake, http://www.100layercake.com/blog/2013/04/29/modern-palm-springs-wedding-kate-jon-paul/
4: Sarah DeShaw Blog, http://sarahdeshawblog.com/2012/11/under-the-oaks-styled-photo-shoot-saint-simons-island/
5: Preston Bailey, http://brides.prestonbailey.com/2012/12/20/gold-and-white-cake/