Wedding Recap: Part 7 - "Day-Of" Pictures

On our wedding day, we decided to go the non-traditional route that is becoming more and more popular. We planned a “first look”. We knew we wanted to do pictures in the city of Detroit, but we didn’t want to miss out on our reception. The only way to make it work was to do pictures before the ceremony.

At around 3’oclock on my wedding day, my little brother walked me through the Detroit Renaissance Center to meet Evan on the first floor of the GM Building. Along the way people were asking me if I was a bride, stopping and staring and some even snapping pictures. Evan stood with his back to me and I approached. It was kind of a funny thing that we probably didn’t need to go through, but it is the new tradition and could have made for a good surprised face photo. After a few moments of looking each other over, we headed to the People Mover to go on our photo tour of Detroit.

The weather was warm on the day of the wedding, so we were a little worried about getting sweaty before the ceremony. Luckily we passed a CVS on our way out of the building and Evan and our photographer, Chris, stopped in to get something to keep us dried off. The best thing they could find was a pack of socks. So we each had a sock that could be ours to keep dry and luckily had some extras to give to the groomsmen once the whole bridal party was to meet up outside.

Armed with a roll of quarters we jumped on a off the People Mover to get pictures all over the city. Again our photographers already had sites planned where they wanted to shoot. Some empty city streets, some at the People Mover stations, the classic monument shots and strolling through Greektown. All day cars were slowing down and honking as they passed, people yelled congratulations out the windows and some took photos for themselves. It was comical to watch me carry the dress around town, trying not to totally brown the bottom.

Fortunately, the dress was easy to manage once I figured out my system. I was so happy with the way all of these pictures turned out. And it was no stress at all to know that we still had plenty of time until the wedding would begin, instead of having to worrying that we were missing the party.

Wedding Recap: Part 6 Engagement Session

We had our engagement photo session the Thursday before the wedding. It was a nice feature that was included in the photography package we chose and it was good practice for us to be in front of a camera. Neither Evan nor I consider us to be very photogenic, so it took a little while to get used to having people take our picture. We had looked through lots of photographs that our photographers had done for photo shoots and the scenes from Belle Isle really stuck out to me. So we chose to do our session there, on largest island park in the United States.

Our photographers already had a bunch of different sites around the island scouted out for our photos. They look at things completely different from us. They see light and texture and all kinds of details that don’t even flash in my brain. One our favorite pictures from the session was this photo that they took in the reflection of a big puddle in the road.

Belle Isle was a wonderful place for pictures, but I would have had no idea where to even begin if it weren’t for Michelle and Chris. We were pretty awkward at the beginning of the session, but their direction and calm demeanor put us at ease. The whole session was less than two hours and we got pictures at a ton of different sites. I am really glad to have these photos of us while we are young and pretty.

Wedding Recap: Part 5 – The Photographers

I received a lot of advice from people while wedding planning, but one of the things that stuck out in my mind was something my friend, Jenn Mapp, said to me right after her wedding. “Get a great photographer!” She told me this as her wedding was being featured on Style Me Pretty and in Weddings Unveiled Magazine. The photos of her wedding day captured the beauty of her day in a way that took you right back to the feeling of the day. I knew I wanted that.

One of the main reasons I hired a wedding coordinator was to recommend me a great photographer and that she did. Chris and Michelle Gerard of Inspired Art Portraits are two of the most talented people I have ever met. And they are just great people in general. We visited their studio in Ferndale, Michigan on one of our planning trips and were thoroughly impressed. These two are true artists with their craft.

There were two major things that I had not expected about our photographers. Number 1, they had our pictures from the engagement session up online for us to view less than 10 hours after the photo shoot. Same goes for the wedding pictures. Michelle had posted on facebook, an amazing assortment of photos from throughout our wedding day the day after the wedding! It was so nice to be able to immediately share pictures with people who couldn’t be at the wedding. Not something your average wedding photographer can do. (I don’t think she sleeps.) The second thing I was surprised by was just how amazing the photos turned out. I had seen their work before and knew how talented they were, but it was incredible to see the wedding day through their lenses. Everything was even more beautiful that I had remembered and that is an amazing feat.

More amazing photos coming this week. Stay tuned!

Wedding Recap: Part 1

It is hard to know where to begin when it comes to wedding recaps. Do I post chronologically starting from our drive to Michigan? Do I do all the wedding week recaps first and the honeymoon recaps second? What about all the other pre-wedding things that I still haven’t posted, do I just forget about those altogether? This was a tough decision that I had to make, but I am confident that you all will be happy with my decision of where to begin. I give you the DRESS…..ES!

That’s right! I am bringing out the big guns.

It is amazing how different a dress feels on your wedding day. At my final (and only) fitting that took place just 4 weeks before my wedding day, I felt the same way I have felt every time my brother let’s me try on one of his runway masterpieces. I feel like a super model and can’t believe that he created this amazing gown. But I wouldn’t say that I felt bridal. The dress fit perfectly and didn’t need any alterations, so I just tried it on, walked a few steps and then the fitting was over. At that time in the NYC studio, it didn’t really feel like my dress. I left excited to be wearing it at my wedding, but didn’t necessarily feel a connection to the dress itself. All of that changed when the huge box arrived at the Marriott in Detroit. While I was checking in to our room, the head of the concierge desk approached me and said, “I have your dress.” Butterflies. They wheeled it up to the room and I unpacked it carefully in the spare closet, making sure Evan could not to see it. I stood in the closet and thought to myself, “This is the most amazing dress I have ever seen and it’s mine”.

At that moment I felt that if a wedding dress could be a person’s soul mate, this was mine (other than my husband, of course). The white satin and tulle masterpiece created by my little brother was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined in my wildest dreams. On my wedding day, my brother held it open while I stepped into it in a room full of my best friends in the world. It was a stop-and-remember-this-moment moment that I had been advised to relish in. I felt like I was wearing a cloud.

After I was dressed, my brother helped me walk through the hotel to meet Evan on the bottom level. Taking that dress down 3 escalators was truly a laughable task. I was asked several times if I was a Bride which I responded to, “No, I’m not.” which really threw some people for a loop. Evan and I spent the afternoon traipsing around Detroit City with our photographers of Inspired Art, taking the most beautiful pictures I have ever seen. I mastered the art of holding the dress up, so it wouldn’t drag on the ground. And then it was time to get married to my best friend, in my dress, my beautiful wedding dress that my little brother made for me.

After the ceremony Evan and I rushed upstairs to have a moment to relax and realize what just happened. It was another stop-and-remember-this-moment moment that was captured by our photographers in my favorite picture of the day.

Then everything went in a whirl, cake cutting, toasts, first dance, and the first two hours were gone. After a few dances and a few drinks I decided it was time to get busy and changed into the party dress. The party dress was what I had been keeping as a surprise, but when it came down to it, I didn’t have time to make another entrance. I just casually walked in the room and hit the dance floor. The short flirty dress still felt bridal, but bridal in a fun, let’s dance all night, kind of way, and dance I did, all night with a few short breaks to mingle with guests.

Photo by Uncle Terry

The dresses played a big part in my day as a bride and I can’t imagine the day in any other outfit.

More on the attire of the day coming soon. Wait till you hear about those bridesmaids.

**All photos provided by Inspired Art Photography unless noted otherwise

Photographer Booked!!!

It has been over a week since my last post, I was really on a role there for a while. Planning is in a slow spot, since our next Michigan trip isn’t coming until the first week of March, but I do have some exciting news (which you can probably tell from the title of this post.) We booked our wedding photographer!! We received great recommendations from our planner and I am so excited with our pick. Our photographers are Michelle and her husband Chris of Inspired Art! They are local in Michigan and have done photography at our venue and many others in Michigan and other destination locations. I am really excited to meet and work with them.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from their website.

It is funny that most of my favorite pictures come from their “unbridal” photo sessions. For those not obsessed with wedding blogs, an “unbridal” photo session (sometimes known as "trash the dress" sessions) is a photo shoot after the wedding, where you put the dress back on to take pictures that you wouldn’t want to take on your wedding day. This is often because these photo sessions put you in more creative places that could get you dirty. It seems like a ton of fun, but most likely we won't be able to do it since we leave for the honeymoon right after the wedding. It is a great excuse to wear the dress again. We will see if Evan will let me pack the dress as my carry on for a Michigan trip after the wedding...

Photo Sites

Considered the symbol of Detroit, the 26-foot statue sculpted by Marshall Fredericks in the 1950s depicts a seated man holding a sphere in one hand and a family group in the other. It is located by the City-County Building at the base of Woodward Avenue, across Jefferson Avenue from the GM Renaissance Center. The statue's plaque reads, "Through the spirit of man is manifested in the family, the noblest human relationship." Link

A Destination Detroit Wedding must include wedding photos at famous Detroit landmarks. We had a couple of sites in mind that were “must sees” during our recent trip. The Spirit of Detroit and The Fist being two of these. We didn’t have a lot of time to go site seeing, so we planned to do a drive by. Well we ended up staying longer than planned because we got in a fender bender right in front of The Fist! We drove right into the back of an SUV with a trailer hitch in Evan’s Mom’s car…oops. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

Dedicated on October 16, 1986, Monument to Joe Louis was commissioned by Time Inc. for the City of Detroit to honor Joe Louis. The monument is a 24-foot long arm and fist held in balanced suspension from a pyramidal support of bronze poles. Weighing approximately 8,000 lb., it rises 24 feet above a major downtown intersection. Link

Our interest in the Fist came from its appearance in the opening credits of the HBO show, Hung. The beginning of the show starts with its star walking by different Detroit landmarks including a Coney Island restaurant and under the People Mover. I just love the idea of our wedding photos including recognizable Detroit sites. Other ideas for wedding photo sites include the Riverplace Walk overlooking the Canadian Skyline and riding in the People Mover.