Ann Arbor Wedding Guide

With wedding season bursting into bloom, Current reached out to three couples who married in the past year to hear their tips on securing venues; finding flowers, music and food; and on what made their weddings special.

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Nikia & Quentin

Married April 29, 2017

How did you two meet? Church.

Who popped the question? He did.

During the wedding planning process, did you ever want to elope and just get it over with? Yes, but we wanted family to celebrate with us.

Was your wedding big or small? Small size, we just wanted family and close friends.

What made your wedding special? Formalizing our long relationship.

nikkia-rings

Quentin:

Three words to describe your partner: Blessing, beautiful, soulmate.

What was your first impression of your partner? Confident and gorgeous.

What was it like seeing her walk down the aisle? Deepest joy.

Nikia:

Three words to describe your partner: Faith in God, rock, soulmate.

What was your first impression of your partner? Jolly, simple.

Tell me about your dress! Classic, beautiful.

nikkia-cake

Cake/sweets:
So Lovely, Inc (Ypsilanti, facebook/slovelyinc).

Wedding and reception venue:
Sheraton Hotel (3200 Boardwalk Dr., Ann Arbor, 734-996-0600, sheratonannarbor.com).

Flowers:
So Lovely, Inc.

Photographer:
Sudeep Studio.

Specializing in wedding and portrait photography with a classic and timeless style, Sudeep’s background in painting and journalism give him his images a freshness and dynamism that capture the spirit of his subjects.

Wedding coordinator?
So Lovely, Inc.

Dinner/catering:
Sheraton Hotel.

Music/entertainment: 
Provided by family friend.

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Kendra & Malcom

Married August 19, 2017

Wedding venue:
Ann Arbor Art Center (117 W. Liberty St., Ann Arbor). The art on the wall where the ceremony took place was part of a community art installation which allowed anyone, specifically catered to families and children, to come and color the wall. It was beautiful and we loved the integration of the Ann Arbor community as a backdrop to our ceremony.

Dinner/catering:
The Greyline chef created a locally sourced and
seasonal feast.

Wedding coordinator:
My mom and I! We had a blast.

Photographer:
The amazing and hilarious Heather Jowett (1734, Abbot Ave., Ann Arbor, 757-329-1046, heatherjowett.com).
Heather Jowett creates intimate wedding and portrait photography that captures the beauty of your love story with singular style.

Hair & Makeup:
Imagine3 Beauty Studio (201 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor, 734-528-0922, i3beautystudio.com).

Music/entertainment:
DJ LuFru (Luke Frutig, 734-330-6857, lufru.com).

Flowers:
Angie Ebert from Bluehill Flower Farm did an amazing job. I cried with joy when I saw the flower arrangements! (bluehillflowerfarm.com)

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Wedding reception venue:
Zingerman’s Greyline (100 N. Ashley St., Ann Arbor, 734-230-2300, zingermansgreyline.com).

How did you meet? We went to the same high school (Greenhills School in Ann Arbor) but didn’t start dating until we reconnected as undergrads at UM.

Describe your wedding: An intimate and fun celebration of love! About 100 people. We wanted the people we love the most in the world and who we knew would continue to be a part of our lives for the long haul.

What made your wedding special? Being surrounded by your best friends and family is the most amazing feeling. We also stayed true to who we are and focused on what was important to us, and that showed in all aspects of our wedding day. We tried to stay as local, sustainable and seasonal as possible. We chose flowers and food that were seasonal and locally sourced from Michigan farmers, featured beer from our favorite local breweries, and hired vendors who were from the area. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Also, our best man and maid of honor are siblings. Before Malcolm and I knew each other, we were both simultaneously best friends with the VanHemert siblings. They are the funniest people we know. Our wonderful friend from college officiated our wedding, and Malcolm’s Aunt and Uncle did readings during the ceremony. Intimate, honest, funny and emotional, it was perfect.

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Decor:
My mom and I did everything ourselves with many items sourced from Hollander’s paper supply in Kerrytown (410 N. 4th Ave., Ann Arbor, 734-741-7531, hollanders.com).

Invitations:
Rock Paper Scissors (216 S. Main St., Ann Arbor,
734-531-6264, rockpaperscissorsshop.com).

Rehearsal dinner:
Zingerman’s Roadhouse (2501 Jackson Ave., Ann Arbor) with farm fresh flowers from the garden of Amanda Meurmann (Gnome Grown Flower Farm, 4705 N. Delhi Rd., Ann Arbor). Cookies from Zingerman’s Bakehouse (3711 Plaza Dr., Ann Arbor).

Sunday Brunch:
EAT Catering (1906 Packard St., Ann Arbor, 734-213-7011,
eatannarbor.com).

Rings:
Custom designed matching gold bands from Urban Jewelers in Ann Arbor (since closed).

Afterparty:
Bab’s Underground (213 S. Ashley St., Ann Arbor, 734-997-0800, babsannarbor.com).

Cake/sweets:
We opted out of cake. Instead, the chef at The Greyline created a desert served immediately after dinner that included handmade raspberry and lemon sorbet with an almond biscotti. Our late night snack included an array of Washtenaw Dairy Donuts – Malcolm’s favorite donut shop since childhood.

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Jessica & Austin

Married May 24, 2017

Austin:

Three words to describe your partner: Faith in God, beautiful, driven.

What was your first impression of your partner? Beautiful.

What was it like seeing her walk down the aisle? I cried.

Jessica:

Three words to describe your partner: Faith in God, handsome.

What was your first impression of your partner? God loving, “Rock” as in rock solid person, soul mate.

How did you meet? University Lutheran Chapel.

Who popped the question? He did.

Three words to describe your expectations for the wedding: Joy, family, fun.

Three words to describe the wedding itself: Awesome, my dream, parents.

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Wedding reception venue:
Kensington Hotel
(3500 S. State St., Ann Arbor, 734-761-7800, kcourtaa.com).

Wedding venue:
St. Luke Lutheran Church
(4205 Washtenaw Ave., Ann Arbor, stlukeaa.org).

Cake/Sweets:
Sweet Heather Anne
(920 N. Main St., Ann Arbor, 734-913-2025, sweetheatheranne.com).
Heather Anne’s background in fine art and love of local food inspires her elegant and whimsical cake creations. She and her team of cake artists make highly personalized cakes and sweets for events of every kind.

Photographer:
Sudeep Studio
(1527 Packard St., Ann Arbor, 734-769-0014, sudeepstudio.com).

Music/entertainment:
ANI Band.

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Flowers:
Sweet Pea Floral Design
(122 S. Main St., Ann Arbor, 734-717-8684, sweetpfloral.com)
Specializes in thoughtful, unique, and modern floral designs. They
especially love to create bouquets and unique floral decor for weddings in Southeast Michigan.

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