Handmade Michigan Wedding: BreeAnn + Nik

Today’s wedding is from GWS reader BreeAnn and contains so many sweet personal details – I just love it! BreeAnn + Nik both worked hard to add personalized touches to just about everything they could. They really wanted their guests to experience a day with thoughts of “Yeah, this is one-hundred-percent Bree and Nik” about everything they did. Also, since BreeAnn is an artist, she knew she wanted to be strongly involved with the design + details of their wedding. As the vision of their perfect wedding day evolved, they realized that there were a few key elements that were incredibly important to them: family + friends, a playful and colorful tone, and handmade details. Thanks so much to photographers Bryan and Mae for sharing their lovely photos.

From BreeAnn, “All of the details were DIYed by myself and family members. Having this much involvement in the design of our day made it easy to let our personalities show through. I illustrated, designed, and created our wedding invitations, portraiture motifs, programs, seating board, cake topper, and all other paper paraphernalia. We’re both proud to be a bit geeky, so I even hid little Star Wars spaceships and unicorns in our invitations.”

I walked down the aisle to: Your Guardian Angel (String Quartet Tribute to Red Jumpsuit Apparatus)

Our exit song was: All I is You by Barry Louis Polisar

Their ceremony included personal vows they wrote for each other and BreeAnn even created a spin-off of the traditional sand ceremony: a new ‘foundation’ ceremony that incorporated sand, earth, and soil from geographically important locations, such as their birthplaces of Wyoming and Japan.

Most memorable moment of your wedding day? As our officiant was leading up to the pronouncement and the big kiss, Nik and I were both waiting with eager anticipation. Our officiant said something that could have been interpreted as the final statement, and Nik was so eagerly impatient that he misinterpreted it and started leaning in with puckered lips. I instinctively backpedaled away from him in shock and told him we weren’t supposed to kiss yet! All of our guests joined us in the ensuing laughter. It was such a wonderful and innocent blooper that our officiant let him steal a quick kiss before finishing and delivering the final cue. It may have initially been a little embarrassing for Nik, but I absolutely adore that he just couldn’t wait to kiss his bride.

About half of our DIY projects were labors of love that extended to include our wonderful family. My grandmother sewed the table runners and fabric hearts, while my other grandmother and mother made strings of bunting garlands and assembled the pennant flags that were embroidered with table numbers. My father hand-painted old pieces of barn wood from the shed across from their house to create signs, and he and my grandfather made our cake stand out of a lazy susan and pedestal. The day-of, we had countless family members and friends working together to decorate the venues to perfection. I was thrilled that so many loved ones were involved in making our day unique and special. Even our officiant was my childhood pastor! We couldn’t have done any of this without the help of our friends and family, and we are so incredibly grateful to have had so many hands personally touch our wedding.

Any advice for those planning now?
Have fun, and remember to savor every single moment of the entire process! A wedding is not just one day. It starts with the proposal and spans over every second of planning, every moment of indecision over a detail, every victory over a project, and every minute of incredible joy up until you both collapse together at the end of the wedding day, exhausted and blissfully married. Up until that final day, focus on the things you have control over and learn to accept the things you don’t. On the wedding day itself, just dismiss all those what-if’s and could-have’s. Something is bound to go astray if not just a little; don’t let it bother you because in the end the only thing that matters is marrying the person you love. So relax, go with the flow, and celebrate every second. It really will be the best day of your life.

vendors
photographer: Bryan and Mae // ceremony location: Spring Grove Parkv// reception venue: St. George Banquet and Conference Center // invitation designer: Lullafly (bride) // wedding dress: unknown designer from Kasia’s Bridal Boutique // hairpieces: Percy Handmade // bridesmaid dresses: handmade by local seamstress // hair + makeup: Panopolous Salons (hair), Sephora (make-up) // groom suit: Express // cinematography: Occam Photography // cake: Cascade Confections // caterer: West Michigan Caterer // floral designer: Andylou’s Floral Designs // getting ready robe: Plum Pretty Sugar // DJ: Unique Entertainment // shoes: Joseph Griffin

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