travel

Maddy and Ben met in Baltimore and eventually made their way back to Michigan, where they started Trillium Wood Farm in Williamston. Jeff and I subscribed to their CSA soon after meeting them, and we’ve had the pleasure of collecting a weekly bounty of fresh picked vegetables, amazing tomatoes and farm fresh eggs.

If they hadn’t won me over already, they totally got me with their vintage wedding style and laid back wedding filled with laughter and fun folks all around, along with wedding food and flowers that came right from their own farm (with some farmers market friends thrown into the mix). They get extra bonus points for being the closest wedding I’ve ever gone to—a whopping five minute drive.

Congratulations, Maddy and Ben! I’ll be eating some of your farm fresh tomatoes on a caprese salad for lunch today as I send “cheers” your way.

I’m not kidding when I tell you that I loved Grace and Dave’s St. Joe wedding so much that we’ve already had a family vacation there since their wedding, and I may have spent a little more time than I’d care to admit browsing Zillow and dreaming about a future where I have a little summer cottage there and spend my summers photographing weddings on the beach. When you see the photos, I think you’ll know why I was so smitten (and The Knot was smitten too—Grace and Dave’s wedding was featured there last month! Be sure to check out the feature to read more details about Grace and Dave’s planning).

Thanks, as always, to Chris for coming along and doing and amazing job as the second photographer on this wedding. And thanks to Leah and Dan for introducing me to Grace and Dave—and for bringing your incredibly adorable daughter along for us obsess over.

If you’re planning a wedding in St. Joseph, be sure to check out Grace and Dave’s wedding vendor list at the bottom of this post.

Wedding Details:

• Ceremony: Jean Klock Park, Benton Harbor MI
• Reception Venue: Veranda at the Whitcomb, St Joseph MI
• DJ: Randall Johnson, Wiser Productions
• Invitations: Dianna McNicoll
• Catering: CK Catering (One word: YUM!)
• Wedding Dress: Vera’s Bridal, Madison, Wisconsin
• Cake: Heather Turner
• Hair: Mystique Doyle
• Makeup: Emily Rennhack

Check out the video below to see more photos from Grace and Dave’s wedding.

Grace+Dave from Allie Siarto on Vimeo.

Autumn and Dack’s wedding had a relaxed vibe. It was small and intimate—complete with lawn games and a giant inflatable bounce house (and yes, I officially endorse bounce houses for every single wedding now).

From Autumn and Dack: “We planned a very small, intimate wedding (50 guests) in a rustic historic museum because we wanted a charming feel. We wanted to spend extra time with all of our guests. We made sure to incorporate a lot of rustic everyday things like chalkboards, wooden plaques, sunflowers, etc. We made sure to incorporate our favorite people who couldn’t be there (grandparents) in small pictures on my bouquet. My husband loved it and I surprised him with it…it was very important and meaningful to him. I also wrote him six love letters the day of our wedding for him to open up throughout the day. He loved them as well.”

What was your most memorable moment of the day? “Everything went so smoothly, we loved ALL of our vendors and especially our photographer! We loved the First Look where we could take a second to breathe and take everything in and enjoy the moment with each other before the big rush.”

• Venue: Sharon Mills County Park
• Florist: Flowers by Winter (Dennis Winters, Dundee, MI)
• DJ: Quest Productions, Jim Adams
• Catering: Food Art (SO SO good—I definitely recommend them!)
• Wedding Dress: Belissima Bridal Salon (Rochester, MI) (Jade, Maggie Soterro)
• Bridesmaid Dresses: Kennedy Blue, style Chloe
• Wedding Shoes: Chaella flats, Zappos
• Hair/Makeup: Salon Rushelle, Chelsea, MI
• Bounce House: Bounce House from InflateYourParty.com (Grass Lake, MI)

And thanks again to Chris for second shooting.

View the wedding video below to see more photos from Autumn and Dack’s wedding.

Autumn+Dack from Allie Siarto on Vimeo.

Check back next Tuesday for a brand new blog post.

Pam and Matt flew in from Boston to get married at the Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids last summer. This was my second time at the gardens—this place is such a gorgeous setting for a summer wedding. The light was perfect, the gardens were quiet and the couple and their guests were full of smiles. At the end of the ceremony as we were packing up, a heron flew out onto a rock by the waterfall. Perfection.

This wedding can best be summed up with the lyrics from the song that was playing as I packed up my bags at the end of the evening—”Everything is awesome.”

I always love it when brides take the time to do a “first look” with their fathers. It’s such a touching moment for a dad to see his daughter as a bride for the first time.

Thanks to Chris for grabbing another perspective on the first look.

Check back next Tuesday for a brand new blog post.