I’m really excited to work with Aaron & Renee of Captured Productions this summer! They’ll be capturing the lovely wedding day of my June 21st couple. The last few months I’ve enjoyed perusing the CP website and blog to check out all of the lovely weddings, engagements and personal videos—they do wonderful work, so if you haven’t checked them out, head over to their website soon!

I wanted to share a fun and creative wedding invitation they created!

First, guests will open this…

to find this…

which they will then open to find this…

then, pop in the dvd and they will be surprised with this!

Friends and family would get a kick out of this! How neat to create a video to share with them that will tell the story of how you met! Really, I don’t even know this couple and I loved watching it! For more information and to check out more of their work, head over to the Captured Productions website and blog!

Saturday evening I had the opportunity to sit down with Monica and Chris Zibutis of Monica Z Photography. They’re a talented husband and wife photography team based out of Michigan City, Indiana. They travel far and wide for weddings, but happened to be in St. Joseph shooting an engagement session. We met up afterwards and had a chance to chat about weddings, the importance of quality photography for your wedding (I can’t stress this enough!) and I got a chance to browse through several of their albums which were absolutely gorgeous!

I think you have to admit, St. Joseph is a gorgeous place even in the dead of winter! And I couldn’t help but post a few of the pics (top) that show how amazing the beach looks in the winter—if you’ve only seen it in the summer you’re missing out on a completely different landscape! The Monica Z website is full of eye candy, so if you’re looking for a photographer (or just want to see some amazing pictures) check it out!

*all photos copyright Monica Z Photography. Visit their blog to see full size images!

(All photos by Gregg Rizzo, click to enlarge)

I love meeting with new vendors and getting to know all of the local people who work in the wedding industry. I feel like no matter how many lunch meetngs I have I can never meeting everyone!

Yesterday I got the chance to sit down with Gregg Rizzo of Creative Design Studios, a lifestyle and wedding photographer located here in St. Joseph. Gregg also does a lot of photography work for Shore and Shore Bride magazine, as well as Blue Star Highway, and can be found at a lot of local events!

Check out Greggs website for more info!

How did you get started in graphic design+invitation design?
I went to Calvin College for Graphic Design, and have been working ever since as a Graphic Designer for a local newspaper company and more recently, designing wedding invitations. About five years ago I started designing invitations for some family members and then myself, then I gradually had more and more brides ask if I would be willing to design their invitations. And so it started…

Explain your design process+how you work with brides:
After a bride contacts me (either by phone or email), I set up a time to meet and go over ideas, colors, wording, pricing, etc. A $50 deposit is required (cash or check is acceptable). Then after all the details have been determined, I order sample paper & ribbon and put a sample invitation (or program) together and send it in the mail to the bride. The bride then contacts me with any changes and I can either email another sample, or to reassure the bride, I would mail another sample. Then I start printing once I get a final “OK”. The remaining balance is due when the invitations/programs are picked up. For out-of-area brides I can ship the invitations/programs and shipping costs would just be added to the final bill.

(La Stellina Studio in Grand Rapids, Michigan)

This weekend I got a chance to meet with Tara Berghuis of La Stellina studio. Tara is creating custom invitations for one of my 2009 couples, and so far the results have been amazing. I had already seen the mockups of my bride’s inviations, but this weekend I also got the chance to check out all of her samples, and I looked through 30+ invitations that were all gorgeous. Truthfully, I had to put the invitations down, or we never would have gotten through our meeting!

La Stellina is located in the Grand Rapids area, but Tara is also available to service out of town or out of state brides, and I can guarantee that you won’t be disappointed by her pricing!

You can email Tara at lastellinastudio@gmail.com for help with creating your unique wedding stationary.

Stay tuned for a Q+A to get to know Tara from La Stellina studio!

(Coastline Studios, Grand Rapids)

This weekend I had the opportunity to meet two wonderful West Michigan vendors. On Saturday morning I stopped by Coastline Studios in Grand Rapids. I met with owner John Pottenger, and had a chance to learn about the company, its philosphy, their role at the wedding, and even their equipment. I definitely left feeling like I could much better serve my brides in the area of videography, and again wishing I could go back and hire a videographer for my own wedding!

Coastline Studios can best be experienced by visiting their website and blog, and looking through some of their amazing wedding films. Their cinematic style embraces hollywood techniques to create wedding videos that are far from the stereotypically boring films of the past! Stop by their website and check out what your wedding could look like on the big screen (or in your living room).

Stay tuned for another fabulous West Michigan Vendor: La Stellina Studio

(Mill Creek Barns, opening May 2009)

Last weekend I had the chance to stop by Mill Creek barns, the new venue from the owners of the Blue Dress Barn. It was just as lovely as I thought it would be, even though it’s not fully completed just yet. I shot a little video with my Flip Video, so I’ll post that soon (that is, if I get the courage to hear my voice broadcast over the internet!) It has all of the beautiful details I expected, and I can’t wait to post pictures of the inside when it’s completed.

(outdoor ceremony location nestled between the barn and the woods)

There’s a beautiful ceremony area, TONS of natural light in the dance hall, and too much charm to mention. There’s also tons of opportunities to utilize the outdoor beauty including several french doors in the dance hall, several patios and bonfires to cozy up to at the end of the night.  Definitely look into Mill Creek if you’re seeking a beautiful venue with rustic elegance. It is so far from a cookie cutter hall, I guarantee you’ll love it! It’s opening in May of 2009, and I’m excited to have a couple tying the knot there on the 16th! I’ll update as our planning goes along, and as it nears completion you can expect more lovely pictures!

(views from The Veranda at The Whitcomb on the bluff)

For those of you unfamiliar with the local area, the downtown area of St. Joseph is on a bluff overlooking the lake and the river and it’s filled with quaint shops and delicious restaurants.The Veranda at The Whitcomb overlooks the lake, with a beautiful view of the lighthouse and river. It’s literally across the street from the Bandshell, which I’ve blogged about before, and is a wonderful ceremony location. The Veranda at The Whitcomb can seat up to 250 guests. As you can see from the picture below, the venue is open-air, but has ample covering in case of inclement weather. There are also beautiful gardens on the far side, perfect for a garden-style cocktail hour, bridal portraits, or mingling with guests.

(a community big band dance hosted at The Veranda at The Whitcomb)

The on-site catering and beverage service is provided by CK Catering. They recently revamped their website and included a ton of great pictures. They do beautiful presentations and are amazing to work with. The combination of CK Catering and The Veranda at The Whitcomb is one I’m very excited about, and I was thrilled to hear about some of their upcoming plans to expand the events area, which sound absolutely incredible. If you’re in the market for a reception location, you can check it out at the corner of Port Street and Ship Street!

We’re coordinating several 2009 weddings at the Blue Dress Barn, and I’m excited for the rustic charm and beauty that it lends to a wedding. Each and every wedding I’ve seen at the Blue Dress has it’s own personal style and touch of creative flair—it definitely attracts the creative, unique and detail-oriented bride!

Brides getting married at Mill Creek may consider Day-of coordination services to help with set-up, coordinate the ceremony (and moving guests from the ceremony to cocktail hour), assisting vendors with deliveries, coordinating catering & bar services, and tearing down decor at the end of the night. Mill Creek brides have the opportunity to bring in their own catering, bar service and other vendors which can be a great budget-saver, but entails a bit more work for the bride and family! Stella Event Design can help design services that fit your budget and will allow you to enjoy your wedding! Full-service planning is also available to help you create the amazing rustic-chic wedding day you’ve envisioned, from start to finish!

What one Mill Creek bride says about working with Stella Event Design:

“Stella Event Design saved my sanity! There were parts of my wedding that I really wanted to have control over and othe parts that didn’t matter to me at all. Jessica at Stella Event Design was able to accomodate me with a “partial planning” package that fit perfectly with my needs. She is quick to respond to emails and phone calls and is flexible with times to meet in person. She is very familiar with the local area and its vendors and helped me stay on budget. When it comes to above and beyond, Jessica was awesome. She returned all of my rented items for me the next day as well as my alcohol that we didn’t use. I ordered wholesale flowers and she was able to put them together to create my centerpieces and they looked beautiful. I really can’t rave about her enough. She’s calm in chaos, super organized, and obviously loves her job! I would recommend her service to anyone.”

-Megan, Married 5.16.09, from Chicago, Illinois

MORE MILL CREEK BARNS WEDDING PHOTOS

All Photos by Two Pair Photography