Stella Event Design::Michigan Wedding & Event Planner »

(All Photos by Stella Event Design)

The Heritage Center (not so long ago, known as the Priscilla U. Byrns Heritage Center) is on Main Street in downtown St. Joseph. If you’re looking for an elegant venue, its greek revival architecture offers beautiful floor-to-ceiling columns (both inside and out) as well as a 2nd story balcony, chandeliers, beautiful murals, and huge windows. I may be a bit biased since I had my own wedding here, but this is a gorgeous location for a mid-size wedding!

Shepherd Hall, the main ball room, can comfortably sit 220 guests banquet style. I’ve seen it set up for many weddings, from 50 guests up, and this is the maximum I would suggest to leave ample room for a dance floor! (optimal space would be at 160-200 guests!)

The Heritage allows outside catering, as well as bringing in your own bartenders and beverages. It’s within walking distance of the downtown shops, restaurants, and the lovely Boulevard Inn overlooking Lake Michigan.

Joyce, the events director is extremely helpful, and is available most weekdays from 9-4 to answer your questions! The building is also open Saturdays 9-12 and Sundays 12-4 throughout the summer and fall to stop in and check it out! If you’re stopping by on Saturday I’d suggest stopping in before 11:00–the rooms will be set up, but you can avoid any run-ins with the wedding itself!

(photo courtesy of Kelly Powers–of course!)

I love to win things, and if you do too, then you have until 5:00 (EST) TOMORROW to leave a comment on Kelly Powers’ blog, for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate for her services! I love to give fun gifts, so after Kelly took some shots of me when we met up, I bought a gift certificate from her for a friends’ baby shower—-and she LOVED it!  She recently had her son, and is so excited to use it—and I can’t wait to see the beautiful pictures! So hop over to her blog and leave a comment (quick!) for your chance to win!

If you’re planning a wedding in Southwest Michigan, a must-see venue is  The Blue Dress Barn, located in Millburg, Michigan, just a short drive from St. Joseph. The beautiful historic “House of David Dairy Barn” was lovingly restored by husband and wife artists Amelia & Kirby Briske and they have done an amazing job of combining the original historic beauty of the barn, with some wonderful modern amenities!

The barn boasts over 4,000 square feet of space, including a beautiful dining area, dance floor and stage, all beneath a beautiful beamed ceiling, accented with wrought iron chandeliers. The paper lanterns strung around the room offer a wonderful ambience, and the lighting is absolutely beautiful for photographs! The barn can accomodate up to 280 guests, and along with the main barn area, has several balconies as well as beautiful grounds outside, including gardens, a fire pit, and a beautiful ceremony location…lots of opportunities for gorgeous pictures! Below, some pictures from the 2009 wedding of Lisa+Bart, by Stella Event Design. Photography by Kelly Powers.

The barn offers the use of outside catering as well as bartending/beverage service, which is a huge plus in my book, as you can choose a caterer that fits both your taste, style and budget! They also offer a separate bridal area for you and your bridesmaids to prepare! If you’re seeking a truly unique (and beautiful) location–The Blue Dress Barn should definitely be on your list!

Blue Dress Barn featured in Martha Stewart Weddings Fall 2008 Edition!

MORE SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN WEDDINGS BY STELLA EVENT DESIGN:

Megan+Greg at Mill Creek Barns in Watervliet, Southwest Michigan

Yana+Brannon at Shadowland Pavilion and The Heritage Center in St. Joseph, Michigan

Kate+Mitch at Shadowland Pavilion and The Heritage Center in St. Joseph, Michigan

Stefanie+Jim at Santaniello’s and Weko Beach in Bridgman, Michigan

Lisa+Bart at the Blue Dress Barn in Millburg, Southwest Michigan

(image source}

My husband has officially confiscated my cell phone, and I’m using my last few (precious) moments with my laptop to let you know I will be out of the office through Tuesday. We’re headed up North for a much-needed mini vacation to spend a little time together during this busy wedding season! We’re going up north to a lake house (no internet access) and my husband will probably find me creeping out of the house late at night to find Wi-Fi! So perhaps there will be some vacation posting? I hope so, but don’t count on it–we’ll be back to regular posting on Wednesday–hopefully with a tan!

As promised, it’s time for our first venue feature of our new series, “Southwest Michigan: Presented by Stella Event Design!” I’m so excited to take this opportunity to showcase some of the beautiful and unique venues in Southwest Michigan that make it a fabulous wedding destination! Enjoy!

WillowHarbor Vineyards is located in Three Oaks, Michigan and 2008 was their first wedding season! I’ve been so excited to work a wedding at WilowHarbor, but was booked everytime I got an inquiry! Still, I was very excited to include this great new venue in our Southwest Michigan Venue Guide, and can’t wait to work with them in 09!

Kristie Kelleher, WillowHarbors’ Event Coordinator was so helpful in getting me photographs for our guide, and if she’s half as helpful for you wedding you won’t be disappointed!

We asked Kristie to highlight a few key features about the venue:

Our 40 acre vineyard includes a beautiful stone gazebo in front of a water feature for the wedding ceremonies and we have a new 40 by 100 foot four peak white tent which can seat up to 300.  Also, our barn has been renovated for parties and can hold up to 100 people. Included in the rental is a “Bride’s Dressing Cottage” which is a perfect place for the brides and bridesmaids to get ready!

I love that this venue can accomodate both small and large groups, and I absolutely adore that stone gazebo for ceremonies! And yes, they have a beautiful horse-drawn carriage available for your big entrance (or exit!) They offer in-house catering, and you can provide your own alcoholic beverages(big plus!) and they provide you with bar staff and mixers! For those of you unfamiliar with the area, Three Oaks is conveniently located off of I-94, some great hotels and resorts, and of course, the sandy beaches of Lake Michigan!

All photos courtesy of WillowHarbor Vineyards. Header picture thanks to JK Photography!

The wedding blog world is buzzing….so if you haven’t heard about the Library at Elizabeth Anne Designs, well, quite frankly, I’m shocked! This great new resource put together by the lovely ladies at EAD offers listings (by category) of fabulous wedding vendors! An amazing resource for brides, and we’re so happy to be included! Thanks to EAD, and congrats on an amazing project completed!

It’s been a busy, busy week (okay, summer!) at Stella Event Design! It’s hard to believe we’re already quickly booking for 2009 weddings–we’re excited to see the calendar filling up! If you’re interested in booking with Stella Event Design for your 2009 wedding, we have some exciting promotions coming up before our 2009 pricing takes effect on October 6, as well as some great new service offerings! (Hint: Do you know a gentlemen who needs assistance popping the question?)

(beautiful pic by JK Photography)

Also, keep posted for a new blog Feature “Southwest Michigan: Presented by Stella Event Design,” where we’ll be showcasing unique local venues! SW Michigan offers so many great locations, but for people unfamiliar with the area it can be almost impossible to discover them! We’ve had a great response from area venues (and helpful photographers) while compiling info for the feature, and I’m excited to start showcasing these lovelies from New Buffalo to Saugatuck along the lake shore! This will be an amazing resource for brides planning weddings along Lake Michigan!

Stay tuned later this week for our first venue: WillowHarbor Vineyards in Three Oaks!

(Chameleon Photography via The Knot)

It’s mid July which means wedding season is in full swing, and it’s the summer brides’ time to shine! So, for all of you fall brides, here is a little fall inspiration while you wait for your big day– we haven’t forgotten about you!

LOVE these ribbons! What a beautiful accent for your bouquet! You could certainly use this fun idea in any season, but these colors just scream autumn!  I found this picture forever ago and don’t know the source–If you do, let me know and I’d love to post it!

(photos-Etsy-tucci paper co.)

In the midst of wedding season, it’s easy to forget all the other great parties to plan! The weather is beautiful, grills are fired up, drinks are flowing…it’s the perfect time to throw a party (with or without a reason)! So, in honor of party season (for those of us in the midwest who don’t have this beautiful weather year-long), we’ll have a short mini-series dedicated to throwing a fabulous summer soiree!

First, you need the guests! Don’t just send out a cookie-cutter invite…we’ve all gotten the “You’re Invited” invite before…it serves it’s purpose, but it certainly doesn’t get me excited to “get the party started.” To start it off right and set the fun tone for your shin-dig, check out these cute invites from etsy seller tucci paper co.  I love the phrases on them like “see food party,” “let’s get jiggy,” and “party like a rockstar” (my personal favorite)! Check out the site for many more, plus some ultra-cute wedding and shower invites, too!

Next time:Part 2:Fabulous food!

I’m a total dork when it comes to this blog.  I LOVE watching our readership numbers climb up, I feel totally loved when I get reader comments, and I’m completely honored when some of my favorite blogs link back to us! So I was totally geeked this morning when I got to call hubs and tell him to check out Allltop.com, because the Stella Event Design blog is ON IT! I don’t know when we were posted (I’m thinking yesterday) but if you scroooooooooll down, you will find us!

For those of you who haven’t checked it out yet, Alltop offers ”ALL of the TOP” blogs by category—basically syndication for blogs. You can click any of their links (ie. Event planning or Weddings) and be taken to a list of blogs (and their most recent posts) that they think you’ll love! So, in honor of this, I’d like to share some of MY favorite blogs featured on Alltop Weddings:

Blue Orchid

Snippet & Ink

An Excited Bride

Bliss Event Group

PerfectBound

Elizabeth Anne Designs

Fabuluxe

Offbeat Bride

Tying the Knot

Sparkliatti

Planning…Forever Events (in Event Planning!)

This is only the tip of the iceberg for my list of blog faves! So, if your Google Reader is feeling a little bare…check them out! They will not disappoint, I promise!