Vineyard Barn Wedding in Southwest Michigan

Q1: Tell us about your wedding!

“We gained inspiration from Pinterest.  I think we finally determined that we were going for a rustic chic look to match our upscale barn. Our color palette (taken from Pinterest) included dusty rose, sage green, and cream colors/champagne. We did not have any cultural or religious traditions, but did include a memorial table for our grandparents.  My aunt also found me (bride) right before the ceremony to give me my grandmother’s class ring: my something old, something borrowed, and something blue.  This was especially heartfelt.”

Q2: Let’s talk wedding decor

“The grounds of our venue and the venue itself were so beautiful already that we did not decorate much.  We mostly utilized decor that the venue provided and flowers to decorate.  DIY items for the centerpieces included: putting succulents in jars, putting florist supplied flowers in mason jars, tying napkins and creating table numbers that had pictures of the bride and groom at its corresponding age.”

Q3: What were the florals like in your wedding?

“Florals were not a huge part of our wedding, but they were used in bouquets, centerpieces and at the end of the aisle.  It was important to the bride to have lots of greens in the bouquet, with hints of pink and cream to match the bridesmaid dresses, but flowers and flower-types were not very important.   It helped that the background to our ceremony included trees, wildflowers and a vineyard.”

Q4: Did you personalize the day in any way (food trucks, guest entertainment etc.)?

“Our officiant, Chris, was one of our very few friends that met us both at the same time (he didn’t know one or the other first).  We were so lucky that he agreed to be our officiant, because we knew we didn’t want someone that did not know us personally.

“Chris was the perfect person because he could speak on behalf of both of us, as well as us as a couple.  He also blew us away with how great of a job he did; we could not have asked for a better officiant!

“One of our friends from college offered to play acoustic guitar during dinner; this gave dinner a special and intimate feel that we were not originally expecting to have. We requested to have Wagon Wheel by Darius Rucker to be our last song, as this song is special to our friend group.  This song prompted our friends to circle up, and then close in on us in the center.  This was special for us because we could really feel the love from our friends who we don’t often have all in one place.”

Q5: Let’s talk fashion

“Pinterest helped, but actually trying on dresses helped even more. I (bride) went into dress shopping thinking that I wanted a sheath lace dress, and I knew I didn’t want a ballgown. After trying a variety of dresses on, I realized that the sheath dresses did not have enough room for dancing and did not flatter my body as well as the A-line dresses did. Once I tried on an A-line dress that had some lace on top and a tulle bottom, I knew I had the perfect combination for me.

“I also thought I wanted to have my hair half up, until I tried different hairstyles on with my dress. I decided that putting my hair up in a loose bun with a braid matched my dress better, and helped with the August heat. Shoes, nails and makeup I wanted to keep neutral. I knew that I wanted to wear sandals so I would not be taller than Christian, and I wanted shoes that I could wear again.”

“Christian knew he wanted to go with grey suits and brown accessories, to create a rustic feel to match the venue. There was great debate on if and/or how the groom would match his groomsmen. I (bride) suggested that he wear a tie and the groomsmen wear bowties, but Christian doesn’t like bowties. Instead, Christian had a somewhat paisley pink tie, while the groomsmen had solid pink ties. Brown shoes and belts were left to the discretion of the groomsmen. Christian also provided brown leather watches to the groomsmen to be worn on the wedding day.”

Q6: How did you meet? Tell us about the proposal.

“I (bride) knew the proposal was coming. Christian instructed me to dress up and informed me that we were going to hang out with a friend at Holly Recreation Area (and have a fire in the middle of a 90-degree day) and then go out to dinner. I played along, but became skeptical as we sat, for what seemed like a long time, in the heat.

“Finally, Christian began his proposal, that he obviously worked hard on, and I became aware of the photographer capturing this special moment. We also captured a few more engagement pictures after the proposal. To make it really special, Christian rented one of the two cabins to stay the night in. We canoed the small lake that the cabins sat on that night, had a fire, and drank wine. It was a perfect night.”

Q7: What was the most anticipated or special moment of your wedding day?

“The most anticipated and most special moment was the reading of our vows. We were happy that our closest friends and family could hear our personal and deepest expressions of love for each other because that is not something they often see/hear. There was not a dry eye in the house, just as we had hoped!

Q8: Do you have any wedding planning or marriage advice that you’d like to share with other couples planning their day?

“There are going to be details you forget until the week before the wedding, and there will definitely be details that you couldn’t have even thought of that need to be done last minute. In the end, it all works out and the small details missed won’t be noticed anyway.

“Start planning as early as possible, even if your vendors look at you like you’re crazy for doing so; it will make life easier later.”