Leelanau weddings

Leelanau Ties

0 · Jul 21, 2017 ·

In 1985, two very non-adventurous and unspontaneous people set out for a trip to the Leelanau Peninsula and ended up purchasing a very small house on Lake Leelanau. What came as an initial shock to their family, turned out to be one of the best decisions they ever made, shaping the lives of future generations to come.

For over thirty summers now, I have visited this little house on the lake. As I child, it was the only destination I knew to vacation in. As a teenager, I would leave my hometown and work in the village of Leland for 3 months straight, loving every minute of small town summer and surprisingly learning how great it was to be a teen living at Grandma’s house.

This house became the symbol of summer. While we definitely visited during the winter months, this was the place where summer dreams came to life. Despite what the temperatures or calendar might claim, I never felt like summer had actually arrived until my first trip up north for the season, taking a ride on Grandpa’s fishing boat or sticking my toes in Lake Michigan’s warm sand.

Any excuse to drive up to Northern Michigan has always been good enough for me, even more so in the recent years. Relaxation or work, I’ve done it all. I’ve cleared Grandpa’s workbench on more than one occasion to arrange flowers. I’ve taken over the garage with buckets of blooms. I’ve even played tenant, going as far as to physically change my home address to this location, on more than one occasion in my life.

As I grew older, so did my grandparents and I began to realize that this destination that had become such an iconic part of my existence, might one day belong to someone else. I might have to pay to stay in a hotel on my beloved peninsula. My children might not ever experience this place in all of its glory or know what it’s truly like to have a bonfire by the lake. One day that well known boathouse, the one just before the narrows with the bright red roof, might just be a passing memory that belonged to someone else. Summer might cease to exist.

As the years moved on, fear crept into the back of my mind, with each visit I worried that this might be one of the last. Was there any way that our family could keep this house?

My grandma passed away five years ago, my grandpa a couple years following. If I had the funds to afford this outdated, updated and outdated again little slice of heaven, I would move to Lake Leelanau in a heartbeat. That wasn’t in the cards though. However, there was a plan. Thankfully after a couple of years of indecision, my parents were able to purchase the house and last month officially became residents of Lake Leelanau.

This magical place is staying in the family and will always be my home away from home. My Leelanau ties won’t be undone and if perhaps someday my dream could come true, I might one day permanently call Leelanau home too.

Leelanau Wedding | The Day's Design | Ashley Slater Photography

Photo from one of my favorite Leelanau weddings at Aurora Cellars with Ashley Slater Photography

7 Years

3 · Jun 20, 2017 ·

When I was first married, my mother told me that the first 7 years would be the hardest. Yesterday, we officially hit that seven year mark. While I certainly don’t know what the next 7 years hold, I can say the past 7 haven’t been without their challenges. But with challenge comes triumph and these years have shaped so much of who we are today.

The past years have been full of newness; we bought a house, remodeled the house, sold the house and moved to a new city. They’ve been full of excitement; we’ve had two little girls and watched them grow. There’s been moments of anger, hurt and loss. New jobs, saying goodbye to old friends and making new ones. Leaps of faith, starting a business and sometimes living on a prayer. There have been times when one of us, if not both, have been tempted to throw in the towel and just give up. There’s been grief, as some of those people who starting this journey with us are no longer by our sides today. While there’s been much joy and celebration in these years, there’s also been trial and heartache. And anyone who thinks that they’ll wake up every single morning madly in love with the person in bed beside them, has a whole slew of lessons headed their way.

I firmly believe that it’s our reaction to these moments – the good ones and the bad – that build character. These are the times that define ourselves and our relationships. They can make us strong or sink us. It really is your choice each and every morning to choose love and move onward, together.

It certainly isn’t my business to be handing out marriage advice. Mine is so far from perfect. But I can say that year 7 is full of promise and today is filled more love than many days of the past.

Working in an industry that thrives on love is really interesting when examining your own lives and relationships. We can say that we shouldn’t compare ourselves, but let’s face it, it happens. Sometimes I look at the bride sitting in front of me with a newly engaged glow and I can’t help but be envious. I completely disagree with anyone that says that business isn’t personal. My business touches my personal life and tugs on my heartstrings every single day. Whether it’s the emotions that I share with a new client as she giddily tells me how he proposed or the thrill of excitement that rushes through me as I discover a new blossoming bush in our back yard or perhaps even the moment of frustration that sneaks in when a last minute email or project takes me away from being able to plan a walk in the park with my girls. It’s all personal.

Because my business is so personal, it felt really appropriate to share a little project that I’ve been working on during our anniversary week. This is the anniversary of when I really truly understood for the first time what weddings are all about. It’s not the centerpieces, the flowers or the venue. It’s what those things represent and the celebration and commitment behind it all. I’ve been working on rebranding, really defining my style and my ethics and honing in on what love really means to me. Throughout this week here on the journal and on Instagram, I’ll be sharing more of the mission and person behind the blooms, because to me it’s so much more than just a pretty bouquet of flowers. It’s all leading up to my brand new website launch on Friday (if life doesn’t hand me lemons before then!) So stay tuned and we’ll celebrate together.

Photography: Shannon Scott Photography

And happy anniversary to those two young babes up there – you have no idea what’s about to come your way!!

Simply Blue Weddings

0 · Mar 2, 2015 ·

Home is where the heart is. Do you believe in that sentiment? Have you ever longed to go home – even though you’re sitting in your own house, apartment or whereever else you might currently reside?

I live in Grand Rapids. I suppose I should call it home. But my soul is wondering free somewhere near the shores of Lake Michigan and it is without doubt that I can say if one where to search for my heart, they would find it in Lake Leelanau. Every time I make the 3 hour journey north, I feel like I’m headed home. It’s for this reason that I love networking with the local wedding vendors, feel a flutter of delight every time I get an inquiry for a Leelanau destination bride or can hardly convince myself that I should charge a travel fee since in reality my clients are doing me a favor and allowing me to come home. I have access to a studio location in Lake Leelanau, I have coolers and work space and so naturally I advertise my services to the Northern Michigan bride.

A couple weeks ago I was fortunate to play a really small part in the relaunch of Simply Blue Weddings. My dear friend Rachel, of Sincerely, Ginger Weddings, is the proud new owner of the fabulous blog which caters to the “up north” bride. Her and Margaret have refreshed the space, bringing new life to the Northern Michigan resource and reminding us why we love it so much. The new blog site launched yesterday, but some us who have experience and passion for working with Northern Michigan couples got the party started a little early, and last month had a coffee and conversations date in Traverse City – which I had the honor of providing blooms for! It was so fun meeting some of the faces that I “know” through social media, of who’s work I might have been drooling over for awhile but have never truly mustered up the courage to say “Hello.”

Photography: Northern Art Photography | Event Planning: Sincerely, Ginger Weddings | Floral Design: The Day’s Design | Venue: Kirkbride Hall

The region has so much to offer, if you’re considering a Northern Michigan celebration, let’s connect! And in the meantime, go check out the brand new Simply Blue Weddings.

I am 29!!!!

0 · Mar 6, 2014 ·

I just had that “Holy crap, I’m 29!” realization. Now here’s the thing, I’ve been 29 now for almost 2 months but suddenly I feel like I’m 29… and next year…{gulp} I’ll be 30.

So what does this mean? I’ve been out of high school for over 10 years. I can’t even pretend that I understand “today’s teenager” or that I can even come close to competing with their technology and pop culture understandings. I sound like an old lady. And while I might try to improve upon this a touch, I’m still going to jam to my oldies radio.

On the plus side, I’m finally starting to get comfortable in my own skin. I have figured out my dream job and while I’m still tweaking it a bit, I’m on a good, solid path. I still love fashion – but fashion my way. I’m a mom. That doesn’t mean I’m going to pull out the “mom jeans” anytime soon, but it also means that I don’t feel like I need to adhere as much to the “Mean Girl” practices of high school. And I’d like everyone to like me but that’s really not realistic. So just stick to your guns and be who you are – I know I’m going to make someone mad along the way, they’ll get over it.

At age 29, I still don’t know everything. Even though when I was a teenager I thought I had most of it figured out. This morning I had to Google what an ampersand is… all I can say is thank goodness for Google, where were you when I was in school?

If only I could have told myself 10-15 years ago that all the weird, quirky and unique traits that I had would come in handy today. Maybe I wouldn’t have tried so hard to bury them and “conform”. Oh the lessons learned!

So here’s my 29 year old self, making some pretty for an event – or at least supervising while Rachel does all the work! Thanks for the laugh, Eliza Jean Photography!!

Leelanau weddings

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