Greenery, calligraphy, winery.  The three key words that best describe the wedding day of Jarvie and Hank – which will be in my journal tomorrow.  But before I share the wedding in its entirety, I’d like to give a little behind the scenes of what went into the planning and design of the day.

Photography: Ashley Slater Photography

Jarvie is very clean and classic.  She’s elegant and has a sophisticated yet fun air about her.  The couple resides in Chicago, but have Michigan roots as far north as the U.P.  Decorative elements that were really important we lots of fresh greenery (she loves garlands), beautiful and soft calligraphy and simplicity.

We wanted it to feel very classic and not too rustic, even though part of the day would take place near Aurora Cellar’s farm house.  But the farmhouse itself has a very modern and almost minimalistic feel with amazing lighting inside, so it blended all of the various concepts we had in our head quite well.  It gave accommodations for sleeping and getting ready, it was a perfect backdrop for cocktail hour and the entire day could be located on the same property without guests tiring of the same scenery.

Below you’ll find the mood board that we used to start pulling together some of the visuals of the design.  You’ll notice when I publish the entire wedding tomorrow, that we didn’t copy any one of these details, but rather used them as a guide and inspiration.  This gave us an anchor point and when we started to get a little overwhelmed by options, we could always fall back and see what best fit our original vision.

Working with what the venue already provided was a perfect starting point.  Harvest tables, white lawn chairs and bistro lighting were all included in the rental.  These are bonus items that made us love the space even more.  But Jarvie really wasn’t a fan of extremely long tables in perfect little rows as it doesn’t encourage conversation. So we got creative and came up with a floorplan that ensured that no two tables would be pushed end to end and all of her guests could easily mingle.  Simple white plates were topped with textured eggshell napkins to add contrast against the dark tabletops and very subtly layer in another shade of ivory and white.

The main tasting room has a Tuscan feel, and while it wasn’t a direct host of the wedding day, it did host the rehearsal dinner and guests would be passing by it.  To tie in both this Tuscan and farmhouse setting, we added white ceramic and terra cotta pots for the centerpieces and cake table.  And tried to pull in other touches that would feel like an authentic Italian vineyard with olive branches and grapevine used throughout the design.

And of course flowers are always my favorite part of the décor.  June in Northern Michigan means local peony season and one simply can’t go wrong with a big, beautiful peony.  But as we were focusing on that vineyard, Tuscan, and even slightly Napa vibe – I wanted to bring in some California grown garden roses.  And they were so pretty, multiple heads on one branch, the slightest hints of butter and blush and then a few blossoms in the perfect shade of a ballet slipper.  So many textures and ruffles.  A few accents of olive branch and bay leaf were added and then we foraged local grapevine (not from the vineyard!) and the rest of our foliage was native to the area.

I mentioned Jarvie’s love of garlands and in a perfect world, she would have loved to see lush greenery lining the entire length of each 8 foot harvest table.  However, they also wanted a family style meal.  Meal service of this style means that lots of plates need to be placed on the table and your table scape needs to be able to accommodate this.  So we opted for 3 smaller floral centerpieces that could easily be moved slightly when platters were placed on the table.  We added her greens in other places, on her ceremony arbor, draping on the bars and into the rehearsal dinner décor.

Image Sources (top to bottom, left to right): unknown | Photography: Melanie Duerkopp Photography via Joy Proctor | Photography: Abby Jiu Photography, Cake: The Boutique Bakeshop via Weddings Unveiled Magazine | via Woman Getting Married | via ModWedding | Photography: Pasha Belman Photography, Floral Design: Blossom Events via Southern Weddings |  Invitation: Meagan Tidwell 

The entire day was very intentional and well thought out.  It was beautiful and we could not have asked for dreamier weather.  And Jarvie and Hank – they’re such a handsome couple who I wish much happiness for all the years to come.