This couple used design elements that were that were inspired by elements of the Northern Michigan lake house, which included birch trees and moss, mushrooms and even stones.
Kristen Brandon and Kristen Brandon met through a blind date set up by mutual acquaintances in 2017 while they were both living in Chicago. After the couple’s friends attempted to arrange for them to get together at social events, only to have one of them leave each time, they urged Brandon to consider a move. “I have his first text screenshotted and we still laugh because he completely forgot to say who it was and just asked me out with no introduction,” Kristen admits.
In the year 2019, to celebrate her birthday celebration, Brandon surprised Kristen with the opportunity to visit Iceland. They rented a cozy chalet in the mountain, where Brandon was getting ready to propose. He set off candles all around the cabin, and the couple danced slow to their favourite tune as Brandon dropped close enough to propose. the couple celebrated with the New Year two days later as a married couple.
Kristen and Brandon decided to tie the knot to be married in Northern Michigan, where the bride’s family lives in Torch Lake; she has invited the family of Brandon’s in the lake every summer and the location had significance to them. They invited 135 guests witness their wedding ceremony in the Emmanuel Episcopal Church located in Petoskey, Mich., and then a reception with a tented setting in the EK Preserve in Boyne Falls. The couple collaborated together with Ann Travis and her team at Ann Travis Events to design a rustic wedding, with a color palette of earthy colors delicate pink, soft peach the mossy green, and some subtle navy.
A River Runs Through It
Brandon spent morning fishing for trout in the river right on site within the EK Preserve together with groomsmen and ushers prior to being ready to get married.
The Handsome Couple
Kristen was wearing the first wedding dress she’s ever attempted to wear–an A-line, corset Graziana Valentini dress with floral embellishments changed to make the sweetheart neckline. After examining a range of styles and narrowing her options to two choices She decided that she wanted the dress she chose to wear as if it was something she would pick in the real world. “I’m sure I would have been happy either way, but I felt like ‘me’ in that dress and was so comfortable all night long,” Kristen declares.
The dress was completed with herringbone necklace in gold and a matching necklace from Bony Levy. The grandmother’s thin jewelry made of gold on her left hand as a way of make her part of the big she, but she was not able to be present.
A Colorful Clutch of Blooms
The bride carried an organic, hand-tied bouquet of spray roses for the season, ranunculus, garden roses white berries, greenery and autumn foliage. The arrangement, created with the help of Bloom Floral Designs and tied with a pink silk ribbon, which held an antique blue brooch that was given to the bride by her grandmother. “This brooch has been passed from bride to bride in our family, so it was so special to be able to include it in my bouquet,” Kristen declares. “My favorite detail however, was the strands of pearls we trimmed from my mom’s wedding veil and intertwined into the silk ribbon so that they fell down over the front of the arrangement and hung over my hands as I walked down the aisle.”
Beautiful Boutonnieres
Alongside the blue tuxedo of groomsmen, with black lapels and the black bow tie the groom also wore gold cufflinks with his initials; Kristen gave them to the groom on the day of the wedding. The final touch? A boutonniere which spoke to the bouquet of the bride.
Cinnamon and Navy
Kristen chose the shade of cinnamon roses of Jenny Yoo and urged her bridesmaids for an elegant floor-length gown in their preferred style. “Our wedding was September 4, which can be warm and still feel like summer or cool and feel like the start of fall,” she declares. “I wanted a color that wouldn’t feel too summery if it was cool–or too wintery if it was a hot Labor Day weekend.”
Kristen was also able to ask her eight closest students from the college she knew who weren’t present in the bridal celebration to dress in blue shades to represent the bride’s “something blue.” The groomsmen donned navy suits and ties that matched with Brandon. They also matched the couple’s three nephews as well as two nieces, who wore dark blue to serve as flower girls and ring bearers.
