Ann Arbor Wedding from Heather Jowett + Petals Planning Company
At the risk of being a little too cheesy, this couple has got chemistry - and I've totally fused right onto it. Petals Planning Company planned a soiree perfect for two self-proclaimed chemistry nerds, complete with blooms in beakers. Based on Heather Jowett's images, I'd say the day was a knock out, or an A+ if you will. Make sure to do your extra credit in the gallery - because that is some homework you'll absolutely enjoy!
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We met at a company picnic in New Jersey while not taking part in the Electric Slide. After several additional awkward encounters, we discovered we shared the same love of music and roller coasters. Our time together was short lived as I had to return to my home state of Michigan to finish out my last year of college. Not to be discouraged, Dan hopped on a plane and met me on Labor Day weekend. A trip to a theme park sealed the deal.
We decided that the two most important qualities in a venue were our ability to provide our own caterer and one that would have an intimate feel. We are planning to travel to Japan for our honeymoon and we wanted to bring Japan to our guests in the form of the dinner menu.
As soon as we visited the Matthaei Gardens we knew it was the place we wanted to get married. The conservatory used natural elements to create a quiet space that was ideal for the small, intimate ceremony we envisioned. We were also able to reserve the auditorium space to host our reception (using our own caterer!) which allowed us to keep the entire event under one roof.
We are both chemistry nerds at heart and wanted to pay tribute to this mutual love. At the same time we didn't want it to overwhelm the senses. We wanted our wedding to be subtly nerdy while brightly elegant. Purple has always been my favorite color, and I loved how it played with the equally prominent cornflower blue. Pink and yellow were used as accents throughout the design.
What made our wedding so special to us were all of the personal touches we had included. My grandmother passed away two weeks before the wedding, so I wanted to honor her at the wedding. Dan's mother passed away when he was younger, so we had already planned to incorporate a small dedication to her that would be more personal. We set the tributes by one another in the reception area so they would be a part of the celebration. I also attached my grandmother's engagement ring to my bouquet for my "something old" and "something borrowed."
We took every opportunity we could to insert bits of our personality into the wedding. Music was one of the things we clicked over, so we used songs by the first band we bonded over during the ceremony. At the reception, flowers were in flasks and test tubes, and we added stacks of science fiction novels from our book collection for an extra personal touch. Our wedding favors were small flasks with almonds to honor the Italian tradition.
Photography: Heather Jowett / Flowers: Sweet Pea Floral Design / Event Planning & Design: Petals Planning Company / Venue: Matthei Botanical Gardens / Invitations: BlimpCat / Shoes: Kate Spade / Dress: Modern Trousseau via The Gown Shop Ann Arbor / DJ: Mike Staff Productions / Videographer: Mike Staff Productions / Caterer: Food For All Seasons / Bride's jewelry: YJ Design / Cake topper: Tilly Biedron / Flask favors and beakers: Lake Charles Manufacturing / Almonds: Oh! Nuts / Sash: Ivy & Aster via The Gown Shop Ann Arbor / Veil and headpiece: Sara Gabriel via The Gown Shop Ann Arbor