Traditional Elegance at The Royal Park Hotel
This stunning Bride's handsome Groom had his heart set on a southern soiree, but when plans changed, and they decided to host it closer to their now home - she decided she would bring that southern charm into their traditional ballroom wedding. So with the help of Two Foot Creative and Emerald City Designs, she brought the outdoors in, making all parties (including us) beyond happy. See all the pretty snapped up by The Shooting Gallery here.
From the Bride...I am so excited to finally share my wedding with you; even though it was seven months ago (time flies), I have decided I want to share it with you because I think it has some beautiful elements that other brides and brides-to-be will enjoy! I know when I was researching and trying to find my own bridal style, I loved seeing real weddings that were lovely and human.
My husband is from Savannah, Georgia and when we first got engaged, we were thinking we would have our wedding in Savannah or Hilton Head. I loved the idea of a Southern wedding with all the fixings and Spanish moss covered trees. After going to look at venues down there, I decided living in Michigan and planning a Southern wedding would be too difficult. I am hands on and did I mention, I am a wedding planner? So yes, I knew myself well enough and what I wanted so we brought our wedding back up to the mitten. My husband, Nick, was a little disappointed; I had raised his hopes and then changed my mind. The next best thing I could do was to bring some of the Southern Charm to Michigan! Even though we had a ballroom wedding, we wanted to basically bring the outdoors, INDOORS without breaking the bank. From that point on, I referred to our wedding theme as 'Burlap & Bling' when anyone asked. The burlap brought in the Southern charm and the bling made it slightly more formal since it was still in a ballroom in a fancy hotel.
Our invitations set the initial tone for our guests. They were cream with dark brown ink and had a burlap wrap. We incorporated the same burlap wrap and monogram throughout our entire event for consistency. I wanted to use natural and neutral colors in the ceremony space. We had mahogany chiavari chairs, blooming branches, hanging crystals and lots of natural light. The Conservatory was the perfect space to say our vows. The room is made of Italian glass with an Italian glass chandelier. It was early May and the trees had just bloomed outside, giving us an amazing backdrop.
For our reception, I wanted guests to feel like they were transported outside and down South! We had three different tables with various levels of candles, mason jars, hanging candles, burlap, crystals, blooming branches, green branches and hanging lights. I wanted the tall centerpieces to almost feel like trees. My dream was to have cafe lights hanging over the dance floor and the design team made that happen! Half the tables had a floral appliqué linen that could not have been more lovely. I also knew I wanted round menus to go beneath the crystal beaded charger plates. It was one of my favorite details. I had a burlap banner made for our custom cake table. We didn't have cake passed...there were four flavors and I wanted guests to be able to choose the flavor of their choice. I also had a grooms cake for Nick; he's a huge soccer fan and his team is in England. Our baker made him a custom cake we displayed on that table. Another huge part of our reception was our band. I had them learn a few of Nick's favorite songs to surprise him. He got on stage and sang with the bad, it was awesome! At the end of the night, we went outside to do a few shots with sparklers. The Royal Park Hotel has this gorgeous patio on the river with strands of cafe lights above. As soon as it was dark enough, we headed out there with our photographers and videographer to take a few shots. These were probably some of the best photos we have and I get so many compliments on them.
The Shoes: my shoes were my one accessory most people asked about. I knew I wanted something sparkly and fun, but just couldn't find the right shoe. Through lots of searching, I found these crystal Christian Louboutin's. Unfortunately, they were unavailable. I kept searching and found a woman who wanted to same pair for her wedding, but decided she could make them. I offered to pay her to make mine and she happily agreed! I bought a pair of Louboutin's and had them shipped to her in California. There, she HAND placed each and every crystal. She would send me photos of her progress and then the completed project. I was not only in awe, but had so much respect for her patience and talent. She then sent shoes back to me with extra crystals, a tube of glue in a syringe and a note. The entire process was seamless and worth every penny!
My husband is from Savannah, Georgia and when we first got engaged, we were thinking we would have our wedding in Savannah or Hilton Head. I loved the idea of a Southern wedding with all the fixings and Spanish moss covered trees. After going to look at venues down there, I decided living in Michigan and planning a Southern wedding would be too difficult. I am hands on and did I mention, I am a wedding planner? So yes, I knew myself well enough and what I wanted so we brought our wedding back up to the mitten. My husband, Nick, was a little disappointed; I had raised his hopes and then changed my mind. The next best thing I could do was to bring some of the Southern Charm to Michigan! Even though we had a ballroom wedding, we wanted to basically bring the outdoors, INDOORS without breaking the bank. From that point on, I referred to our wedding theme as 'Burlap & Bling' when anyone asked. The burlap brought in the Southern charm and the bling made it slightly more formal since it was still in a ballroom in a fancy hotel.
Our invitations set the initial tone for our guests. They were cream with dark brown ink and had a burlap wrap. We incorporated the same burlap wrap and monogram throughout our entire event for consistency. I wanted to use natural and neutral colors in the ceremony space. We had mahogany chiavari chairs, blooming branches, hanging crystals and lots of natural light. The Conservatory was the perfect space to say our vows. The room is made of Italian glass with an Italian glass chandelier. It was early May and the trees had just bloomed outside, giving us an amazing backdrop.
For our reception, I wanted guests to feel like they were transported outside and down South! We had three different tables with various levels of candles, mason jars, hanging candles, burlap, crystals, blooming branches, green branches and hanging lights. I wanted the tall centerpieces to almost feel like trees. My dream was to have cafe lights hanging over the dance floor and the design team made that happen! Half the tables had a floral appliqué linen that could not have been more lovely. I also knew I wanted round menus to go beneath the crystal beaded charger plates. It was one of my favorite details. I had a burlap banner made for our custom cake table. We didn't have cake passed...there were four flavors and I wanted guests to be able to choose the flavor of their choice. I also had a grooms cake for Nick; he's a huge soccer fan and his team is in England. Our baker made him a custom cake we displayed on that table. Another huge part of our reception was our band. I had them learn a few of Nick's favorite songs to surprise him. He got on stage and sang with the bad, it was awesome! At the end of the night, we went outside to do a few shots with sparklers. The Royal Park Hotel has this gorgeous patio on the river with strands of cafe lights above. As soon as it was dark enough, we headed out there with our photographers and videographer to take a few shots. These were probably some of the best photos we have and I get so many compliments on them.
The Shoes: my shoes were my one accessory most people asked about. I knew I wanted something sparkly and fun, but just couldn't find the right shoe. Through lots of searching, I found these crystal Christian Louboutin's. Unfortunately, they were unavailable. I kept searching and found a woman who wanted to same pair for her wedding, but decided she could make them. I offered to pay her to make mine and she happily agreed! I bought a pair of Louboutin's and had them shipped to her in California. There, she HAND placed each and every crystal. She would send me photos of her progress and then the completed project. I was not only in awe, but had so much respect for her patience and talent. She then sent shoes back to me with extra crystals, a tube of glue in a syringe and a note. The entire process was seamless and worth every penny!