Stella Event Design::Michigan Wedding & Event Planner »

On September 19th, we assisted with the Michigan beach wedding of Brittany+Hachem at The Veranda at The Whitcomb in St. Joseph.  They started the day with a gorgeous beach ceremony on Lake Michigan with beautiful natural wood chairs, a bamboo chuppah adorned with mini paper lanterns, crafted by the couple, and acoustic guitar music. It was a beautiful day and nothing short of the perfect beach wedding.

The cocktail hour began at the Veranda at the Whitcomb, and because the bandshell across the street was hosting a concert for another hour, we decided not to fight it with our own cocktail music, and enjoyed the playings of the jazz band that drifted in.  The bar served homemade Sangria made by the brides father (I’m told it was fabulous!) and mojitos, some of the couples favorites. A candy bar  boasted from-scratch goods by the bride and her mother, including homemade rice krispie treats, marshmallows, popcorn balls and caramels, complete with adorable tags and monogrammed bags for the guests to fill and take home. A delicious dinner was served family-style by CK Catering, and as always, it tasted phenomenal and the service was wonderful!

Each table was named after a dance–the rhumba, the cha cha, the running man— complete with a graphic of the footwork to go with it.  Beautiful white paper lanterns were hung across the Veranda, and the tables were adorned with beautiful gray linens and a trio centerpiece of handrangea, snapdragons and succulents in sleek white modern vases.  Such a beautiful, special day—thanks to Brittany+Hachem and their families for allowing us to share in it! I will post some professional photos from their fabulous photographer Miriam Doan when they’re ready!

MORE MICHIGAN WEDDINGS BY STELLA EVENT DESIGN:

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

Lisa+Bart at the Blue Dress Barn in Millburg, 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

Jessica+Bryan’s beach wedding and reception at The Veranda at the Whitcomb in St. Joseph, Michigan

My favorite local bridal magazine, Shore Bride, has its Fall issue out and they have some great articles (and beautiful pictures) featured! A few local retailers who I know carry Shore Bride are Moxie’s Boutique in St. Joseph, Harbortown Cafe in Benton Harbor and Kilwin’s in St. Joseph! Below is an article Stella Event Design contributed to, addressing weddings and the economy!

(custom stationery created for the June 2009 wedding of Yana+Brannon)

Beginning in October with the opening of our new design studio, we will begin offering custom invitation design in-house. Tara Berghuis, will bring her creativity and style to Stella Event Design as she joins us to offer custom invitation design!

At the studio you’ll be able to look through a wide array of samples in different styles, colors and layouts to help you envision the design possibilities available! You’ll even be able to look through all of the amazing paper choices & colors to handcraft your custom invitations, place cards, escort cards, menu cards, save the dates and more! We have beautiful custom invitations to fit into literally any budget and style!

We’re so excited to officially add this service, as we strive to help brides create an amazing and unique event, while taking away the hassles! Come visit us at The Design Studio in October to see for yourself! For your personal invitation to our grand opening events (and a chance to win amazing items for your wedding) email jessica@stellaeventdesign.com

Here are just a few shots from last Saturdays wedding at The Blue Dress Barn. Meaghan+Tom picked a beautiful fall color palette with a lot of natural accents including apples, gourds, mini pumpkins and pine cones. It was absolutely adorable and had so many personal touches. We’ll share some professional photos from Ben Pancoast Photgraphy when they’re ready, but for now, here is a sneak peek of our own snapshots from the day!

MORE MICHIGAN WEDDINGS BY STELLA EVENT DESIGN:

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

Lisa+Bart at the Blue Dress Barn in Millburg, 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

Jessica+Bryan’s beach wedding and reception at The Veranda at the Whitcomb in St. Joseph, Michigan

In October, as Stella Event Design celebrates its 2 year birthday as a company, we will also be opening our very first studio space! The Design Studio will be a creative and inspiring place for us to meet with clients, share our ideas, and work as a team to plan amazing Michigan weddings! We’re also excited to be able to showcase some of the custom services we provide such as specialty linens, custom invitations and modern decor rentals,! The Design Studio will be open to all brides, and we would love for everyone to stop by, browse through our collection of the latest wedding magazines and books, take a look at all The Design Studio has to offer, and talk weddings with us! It’s always a treat to meet our readers in person!

The doors to the design studio will be opening in October, so stay tuned as we announce our Open Houses! We have fun giveaways and events lined up  to celebrate our grand opening & birthday, including some must-have items to make your wedding day amazing! (secretive, I know–but it’s awesome, I promise!)

Want a personal invitation to our grand opening? Email jessica@stellaeventdesign.com with your Name, Wedding Date, and Address to get your invitation to celebrate with us, and a chance to win some fabulous items for your wedding!

Kellie+Kevin had an incredible lake shore wedding on August 22nd at Shadowland Pavilion in St. Joseph! Despite the rain and crazy winds coming off the lake, the ceremony happened as planned at Shadowland Pavilion on Silver Beach, and it was a personal and beautiful ceremony. I absolutely loved these bridesmaids dresses—such a beautiful color (yes, I’m partial to pink)! The bouquets and centerpieces both featured striking lilies, and they smelled so incredibly wonderful! Later this week I’ll share some of the fun details from this fun wedding!

(All Photos Property of JM Studios)

I just love these cute table markers! Incorporating a theme into your table names is another way to make your own personality shine through at your wedding. A few of my favorite from this summer so far:

Megan+Greg | Mill Creek Barns:: Each table was named after an “adventure” the couple went on, complete with a picture of them at the location. They had 20+ tables, so this was one adventurous couple!

Kate+Mitch | The Heritage Center:: Each table had a black and white picture of a landmark in Chicago, where the couple lives!

Jessica+Bryan | The Veranda at the Whitcomb:: This couple tied in their beachy motif by naming each table after a Michigan beach

Lisa+Bart | Blue Dress Barn:: A picture of the couple’s adorable dog adorned each table—these were too cute!

Carrie+Adam | Mill Creek Barns:: Each table was hosted by the couple married the longest, complete with a wedding picture and a fun or quirky fact about them! I definitely caught guests snatching these at the end of the night!

Quick Tip:: If you have more than 12 tables at your reception, I would suggest incorporating an actual table number into your design. This way, your guests won’t be wandering aimlessly as they try to find their table!

*photos by JK Photography

I love getting invitations from our clients—it makes me all the more excited about their upcoming weddings! Brittany+Hachem, who are tying the knot on September 19th, are both graphic designers, so of course I was extra excited to see what they came up with for their wedding stationery! My first peek was the Save the Dates for their destination wedding. Too cute! I absolutely love the fun approach they took—so appropriate for the fun and modern wedding they are planning!

Last month, I received the invitation, and I enclosed a snippet of it, above, but the tri fold invitation is absolutely amazing—they did a fantastic job of keeping everything cohesive and consistent in the style. The “dancing kids” image was used on the invitation, on the back of the envelopes, as well as the Response cards! They tied in their monogram throughout the inviation, even including it on their mailing labels! This couple did a great job of choosing details and decor that fit with their style, and I can’t wait to see it all come together on the 19th!

On Sunday, we had the pleasure of working with Adam+Carrie as we coordinated their fun & personal wedding at Mill Creek Barns! Carrie picked an absolutely beautiful color palette, featuring orange, yellow and blue hues! Yellow and orange tipped dahlias, peach hypericum berries and peach calla lilies were featured in the bouquets, centerpieces and ceremony arrangements. In lieu of a traditional cake, the couple opted for cupcakes by Dee’s Specialty Cakes, and they were absolutely delicious! Guests were also treated to a sweets table, complete with cartons of milk and “silly straws.” A firepit on the property served as extra fun for guests who wanted to enjoy S’Mores provided by the couple. The Matt Stedman Band kept guests out on the dance floor all night, and even provided beautiful fiddle & keyboard accompaniment for the ceremony.

One of my favorite things about this wedding was all of the personal touches they incorporated into the day. At the ceremony, each guest was giv en a beautiful painted stone heart, which they were asked to hold throughout the ceremony, and to fill with their love and support. At the end of the ceremony, the hearts were dropped into a beautiful turquoise tin to be saved for the couple to keep in the future. At each table, a pine log held a picture of the couple at the table that was married the longest, including a fun fact or quirky comment about their own love story!  I also loved that they created an “Adventure Book” to use as their guest book—the Adventure book was a beautiful handmade scrapbook, outlining Adam+Carrie’s journey as a couple. Guest could write a message on beautiful squares of paper to later be added to the book!Overall, this was such a fun wedding, and we had a wonderful time being a part of it! *All photos by Stella Event Design

MORE MICHIGAN WEDDINGS BY STELLA EVENT DESIGN:

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

Lisa+Bart at the Blue Dress Barn in Millburg, 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

Jessica+Bryan’s beach wedding and reception at The Veranda at the Whitcomb in St. Joseph, Michigan