Love is limitless as this couple discovered when they canceled their original plans and opted for a woodland ceremony surrounded by close family and furry friends. The sprinkling sky didn’t stop The Days Design from curating an exceptionally romantic day filled with vintage tea cups and bright blooms, and Kelly Sweet’s camera caught every last bit. See it all right here!
From The Bride & Groom…When planning our dream wedding, we hit a few bumps. We lost our first venue due to poor management. With less than a year left we booked another venue, but the style was completely different. We basically had to start planning from scratch. Six months before the wedding I got laid off from my job. That’s when we decided to plan something more intimate and budget friendly.
We ditched the venue (and our $1,200 deposit) in favor of Nature. We got married in the Sanctuary Woods Nature Preserve near Lake Macatawa in Holland, MI. Instead of having the 200 guests we originally planned on, we invited only our parents, wedding party, and furry friends.
Because of the intimate style, we were able to have the most amazing “Alice In Wonderland” inspired Tea Party. Shelby from The Days Design came out to set up the beautiful table and flowers in the pouring rain. She did an amazing job, despite the circumstances. We are so thankful for all of her help.
Our amazing cake came from Second Floor Bakery in Holland, MI. We decided to go big for drama, and the humidity and rain melted the fondant in the most spectacular way. So Mad Tea Party!
From the beginning I knew that the photography was the most important part (besides marrying the man of my dreams, of course) to me. I could not have asked for a more amazing, talented and patient photographer. Not only did Kelly Sweet follow us through the woods in the rain, while carrying her equipment; she also made the most out of the unexpected weather, and gave us creative, magazine worthy photos that we will pass on to our grandchildren.
Prior to the ceremony we laid out a circle of rocks for us to stand in. We placed the Rose Quartz, (a gift from Holly at Mother Moon in Saugatuck), at the top of the circle. The procession began and we walked in towards the circle and LaRissa invited us into the circle to start our ceremony. A lovely poem was read by LaRissa that described the union and symbolism of being out in the woods surrounded by nature. We exchanged our vows and placed our rings and declared our love.
After our vows we drank from a chalice (from Sweetwater Pottery in Montana) to bless our union. We invited our loved ones into our circle to drink from the cup as we were all united as a whole. As we walked out of the ceremony circle, now united as husband and wife, our guests threw seeded confetti that will bloom into wildflowers. After the ceremony we moved to the table where we sat as a family and made rounds of toasts and had cake together before the night ended.
My best advice to couples planning their big day is this; Spending tons of money doesn’t make your day perfect and you can’t control the weather, what makes your day perfect is the love that you’re celebrating and nothing can change that.
Photography: Kelly Sweet Photography | Event Design: The Days Design | Floral Design: The Days Design | Wedding Dress: Vera Wang | Cake: Second Floor Bakery | Ceremony Venue: Sanctuary Woods Nature Preserve | Calligraphy: Emiline Designs | Men's Attire: Lord West | Furniture Rental: The Rental Company