Destination Weddings in Michigan

When couples throughout the Country think about destination weddings in Michigan, it is common for them to consider a Beach wedding on one of the Great Lakes or at the Grand Hotel on the fabulous Mackinac Island. Michiganders, however, know all too well that some of the most spectacular venues and cathedral churches are located right in the Detroit Metro area.

 

  

In the downtown Detroit area, there are magnificent cathedral churches with a rich historical background like the ceremony above planned by Dream Wedding and Event Planners. (Photo courtesy of Blaine Siesser Photography).  The First Congregational Church of Detroit is another Ceremony favorite that offers tours of The Underground Railroad with a rich history as one of the national forerunners in the Anti-slavery movement. There are numerous churches in the Detroit Metro area with over 150 years of history and unique architectural design. 

Dream Wedding and Event Planners participated in the design of the forest-like ceremony pictured below for their Clients in an indoor venue in the Detroit Metro area while it was still snowing outside. (Photo courtesy of Jess and Nate Photography)

If you are searching for unique, impressive Wedding Reception venues, consider one of the elegant venues in Detroit, Michigan.  They have grown in popularity due to their ambiance and spectacular cuisine (picture courtesy of Inspired Art Photography).  

Michigan's mansions have a storybook beauty with vibrant, manicured gardens and historical ambience. These are just the "tip of the iceberg" among the diverse, breathtaking locations from which to choose.

Regardless of your style, budget or guest list, be certain the venue of your choice fits your personality and style.  

Why hold your Wedding Ceremony and Reception at a hotel venue?

There are definite advantages for planning your wedding ceremony and reception at a hotel.  You will save time and money by choosing a hotel for your wedding and guest room block.  Here are some of those advantages:


1)  The Bride, Groom and Wedding Party will not need to book transportation services (limo or party bus) to take them to and from the church or ceremony site, then to the reception location.


2)  If the Ladies are getting their hair and makeup done at the hotel, they will already be onsite the night before the Wedding Day.  They will not need to travel from a home or other hotel suite to the ceremony venue.

Photo courtesy of Jess & Nate Photography

 

 

3)  Everyone (Wedding Party, Families and Guests) will be much more relaxed knowing they are already on location for all of the festivities of the Wedding Day.  You will not need to reserve shuttle services for your guests from their hotel(s) to the ceremony and/or reception.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4) The Wedding Party can decide to rent a limo or party bus to go offsite for pictures on their wedding day, especially if they choose to have a "First Look" and see each other privately before the official Ceremony planned for the early evening.  Check out Dave and Carmen's pictures around downtown Detroit, Michigan:

 

 

All Photos Courtesy of Adam Czap Photography

 

 

 

5)  The Bride and Groom have the advantage of seeing their Reception Ballroom all set up prior to the Reception start time since they are on site all day.

 

 

 

 

6)  Also very important is the convenience factor for your Guests.  They will arrive the night before or the morning of the wedding, valet their cars, and will not need to leave again until they depart the day after the wedding. 

 

 



 

 

There are many beautiful hotels in the city and beyond that are a great choice for Weddings.  Ask your Wedding Planner, Kathy Byrum of Dream Wedding and Event Planners to research and recommend the hotel(s) that best suits your style and budget.





 

 

 



Your Engagement Pictures and Why Have Them Taken

Engagement is your promise to each that you will marry.  Having your Engagement pictures taken is an important part of that engagement.  Some couples ask, "Why bother?".  There are several reasons why you should definitely have these taken before your wedding day.

Having your Engagement picture photo shoot is indispensable because this is a "once in a lifetime" part of your journey together towards the wedding.  They are part of the emotional aspect of getting engaged and planning your wedding.  In the years to come, you will reminisce about this special moment in time.

Photo Courtesy of Blaine Siesser Photography

 

 

 

They can be used as your Save-The-Dates to send out about eight months before the wedding day.  It will give your guests a more personal feeling about you as a couple and will look forward to the wedding.

 

 

 

 

 

It will get you both comfortable with your wedding photographer.  It is critical that you like your photographer (determine this when you initially meet with him/her before hiring) because it will definitely show on your wedding day that you are not yourselves.  This is not a time to be unfamiliar with your photographer who will be spending the entire day and evening with you.

 

 

 

Photo courtesy of Adam Czap Photography

 

 

 

You can use one of your favorites pictures to frame and display on an easel at your Reception.  Some couples display it with the glass on the picture.  Others like to leave the glass off and have a wide border with pens available for their guests to write well wishes to them right on it.

 

 

 



 

 



 

Typically your photographer will include the Engagement Session as part of his/her photography package.  Don't miss out on such an important event in your lives.  You will regret not doing so down the road. So, schedule your pictures well before the wedding day.  But most importantly:  Have fun!





 





Transportation Tips for your Wedding Day

 

Photo Courtesy of Jess and Nate 

Selecting your Limo, Party Bus or a Rolls Royce for Transportation on your wedding day is more important than you might think.  You need to make sure the company you select is dependable with great drivers and a well-maintained vehicle.  Here are a few tips for picking the right company and vehicle:


Book your car company at least six months out, sooner if you can.

You should hire your car company sooner than later so you can get the vehicle of your choice with the right company.  After you have your wedding date, ceremony and reception locations and your timeline determined, start researching.  Dream Wedding and Event Planners can save you time and money by helping you research our preferred limo companies that have proven track records with our past couples.  They can also pass on a discount to you simply because we are handling the details for you.

Photo Courtesy of Jess and Nate

The Style of your Vehicle

A classic white limo is perfect for a traditional wedding.  If this is not your style, you can match your ride to your taste.  You can have a classic car take the Bride to the Church then around town with the the new Mr. and Mrs. for pictures between the Ceremony and Reception.  But what about your Wedding Party?  You can hire a fun party bus or limo so they can celebrate going around town with you.  You can ditch the classic car at a certain point and hop into the limo or party bus with your wedding party for the final pictures.  Then everyone can head back to the Reception together having the time of your lives.

Photo Courtesy of Blaine Siesser

Be sure to visit the car rental company to see the vehicle of your choice.

We don't want any surprises on your wedding day, especially with your limo, party bus or specialty car.  You can most certainly view the fleet of vehicles they offer on their website, but seeing it in person will give you the reassurance that you have selected the car that is right for you and your wedding party.



When choosing the rental time, plan for lateness or delays.

Dream Wedding and Event Planners will help you put together a very detailed, comprehensive Timeline from the beginning of your day until the very end.  It is critical to allow for the Ladies or the Men starting a little late on their way to the Ceremony or taking a bit longer than you plan for after-Ceremony pictures around town.  Kathy Byrum, your Lead Planner will make sure everything stays on schedule so you don't keep your Guests waiting.  However, it is always wise to set aside a certain portion of time in the schedule for traffic issues or other tie-ups.  Again, the last thing we want is for anyone to feel late or rushed at any time.  This is your wedding day...  Your only focus should be getting dressed, arriving and having a wonderful time.

Specialty Lighting Adds that "Final Touch" to your Reception

Set aside some extra funds from your wedding budget so you can incorporate specialty lighting into your decor for your Reception Ballroom.  Yes, your Reception can be beautiful without it, but that extra touch of lighting adds the "Wow Factor". 

Look at this Before and After picture so you can get the idea:

 

 

 

Dream Wedding and Event Planners recently planned and coordinated weddings that incorporated specialty lighting both inside and outside for a tented garden wedding.  The rooms and effects were spectacular.  Here are a few highlights:

Above Photos Courtesy of Blaine Siesser

Above Photos Courtesy of Adam Czap

 

Above photos courtesy of Arising Images

 

You can make your dance floor look very cool with specialty lighting like one of our recent weddings:

Photo Courtesy of Adam Czap

Even your Wedding Cake can be transformed:

Photo Courtesy of Adam Czap

Whether you choose up-lighting, a wall wash that completely changes the color of one or more walls, pin-spotting (or highlighting) your guest tables, or to change the color of the crystal chandeliers throughout the evening, your guests will be "wowed" when they see your Ballroom.  We work with extremely talented lighting professionals that can accomplish anything you want.  So, the sky is the limit while lighting your Ballroom!



Unique Ideas for your Bridal Entrance

You have been planning all the details of your wedding ceremony and reception, and this is one of the most important and thrilling days of your lives.  This is your opportunity to celebrate and showcase your relationship and style.

THE WEDDING ENTRANCE

Many couples choose traditional songs and processionals, while others make their wedding ceremony their own style with special songs, routines and surprising twists.  Create your wedding day that will be remembered for years to come by planning a special entrance into your ceremony.  Like the picture below, have the curtains closed to be drawn back magically and held in place while the Bride walks down.

ADD A SLIDESHOW

If you are getting married in a church, you can use their projector screens or large television screens  to create a slideshow to be played before the Processional.  If in another venue, you can rent one large screen to put up front so all of your guests can see the pictures.  You could also time your slideshow so pictures of each member of your bridal party appears on the screen as they walk down the aisle. When the Bride enters and walks down the aisle, you could have one of your engagement pictures shown leaving it up on the screen.  This way, the guests will see the picture and will then turn their attention from the picture to the Bride as she makes that special walk to her Groom.

ARRIVE IN STYLE

Depending on the location of your wedding, your can arrive in a non-traditional way.  If it is an outdoor wedding, the Bride could arrive on a horse drawn carriage:

With an outdoor wedding near a lake or river, the Bride could arrive by boat:

ADD A BAND 

You could consider adding a small band for your ceremony processional.  Have pre-recorded music play for the Prelude, Special Seating and Wedding Party entrance.  When it is time for the Bride to enter, have the musicians play your bridal entrance song.  They could sit to the far right or left near the front.  Your band could consist of three, four or more musicians including perhaps guitars, trumpets, piano, and strings.  The music will magically fill the room for the Bride's walk down the aisle.

Take your time and think about what kind of mood you want to set for your very special day.  This is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and you want to look back and treasure this day for years to come.

Magical Winter Weddings

Brittany and Nick hired us to plan their wedding in Michigan while they were living in Chicago.  We got to them know them and what their dream wedding would look like.   We researched the venues and vendors that matched their vision.


(Photos Courtesy of Arising Images)

 

 



Their First Look earlier in the day....



 

 

The latest trend in Floral colors is grey and yellow, exactly what Brittany chose as her bouquet accents...

After their First Look, they left with their photographers to get some gorgeous winter pictures of just the two of them in downtown Northville, Michigan.

 

 



 

 

Instead of the traditional Guest Book, the Maid of Honor (the Bride's Sister) bought them this unique box for the guests to write advice to the Bride and Groom on the little wooden hearts.  The Guests thoroughly enjoyed this!

 

 

 

And we can't forget the Groom's favorite super hero:  Spiderman on their cake!

 

 

 

Check out this weight lifting session with their wedding rings.... :)

 

 

 

All in all, they had a beautiful, romantic, magical wedding and were absolutely thrilled.

 

A small excerpt of what Brittany wrote in an email to me after their Honeymoon on the beautiful Island of Maui:

 

"My husband and I could not have asked for a more beautiful wedding than the one that we had. It was unique and perfect for us, and was truly a fairy tale wedding! We still get compliments from all of our guests about how amazing the venue, food, service, DJ, and photography were!  It really was one of the best days of my life, and was all made possible because of Kathy and her fantastic team at Dream Wedding and Event Planners.  I would highly recommend them to everybody!"

 

 

Thank you, Brittany and Nick, for the honor and privilege of planning and coordinating your special day.  You have given us wonderful memories....

 

Kathy