WEDDING SERVICES - VENUE - PHOTOGRAPHY - ELOPEMENTS - ALBUMS
The wedding party "jump" is a classic fun portrait to do, especially with a larger wedding party lined up and jumping in perfect timing. We worked with the monochromatic details to give this portrait a bit more creative flair for this wedding party jump portrait. It worked out nicely with the orange barn, golden sunest sky, and burnt orange bridesmaid dresses at Jenny and Patrick's wedding in Glen Ellyn over the weekend.
This week we look back to Chris and Melinda's 2007 wedding for our Wedding Photo of the Week. Their wedding was at Willow Harbor Vinyards in Three Oaks, Michigan. It was a beautiful location with acres of open green space, horse barn, vineyards and private lakeside spot for the ceremony. Southwest Michigan has many barns and vineyards available for weddings, but this was one of our favorites. They had lovely and curious flower girls for their bridal party, and also lots of young nieces and nephews in attendance. We love when kids are ate weddings because for us they are fun and always cute as can be! However, we understand some couples and parents, might be apprehensive about including kids. We think the barn, farm or vineyard wedding is the perfect solution. At Willow Harbor the kids all had a lot of fun running around and playing all day. We think regional locations like this are always great for weddings that have lots of children. Outdoor games and fun activities can be set up just for them, so they can go have fun (optimally with older teens or college adults supervising), and then adults can have fun too not hearing their kids complain about being "bored" at the wedding all day.
© Wedding Creativo Photography
--> See more pictures from this Michigan barn wedding in the Featured Weddings on our photography website.
When Chad and Kate first contacted us they were living in South Korea. We could hardly imagine how in the world this Indiana guy and Virginia gal ever found us, much less that we would be fortunate enough to join them for their destination wedding at a flower farm in northern Michigan.
They are both amazingly talented and creative people, Kate in visual arts and Chad with music, and they brought so much of who they are into their wedding plans. Field of Flowers Farm in Lake Leelanau was chosen as the venue not only for its beauty and unique appeal, but also because it was located next to the town of Leland where Kate's family spent many summer vacations. It is indeed a beautiful part of the state with several small lakes dotted along the eastern shores of Lake Michigan. The whole county seems to be dedicated to the recreational enjoyments of vintage Americana: drinking lemonade on the porch, boating late into summer's twilight nights, and playing old-fashioned backyard games of croquet and bean bags...all while being surrounded by cherry farms and wine vineyards.
Since they were planning their wedding literally from the other side of the world, the bride and groom were lucky to have such great family and friends to help out. Chad designed their wedding blog, and along with the help of Kate's mother, made the invitations. Bridesmaid Casey did a fantastic job with hair and makeup. The groom's talented friends, David, Megan, Partrick and Emily performed the ceremony music, and Chad and his friends also performed a barbershop quartet birthday serenade during the reception.
The fashions were summer vintage styles befitting the relaxed outdoor farm wedding ambiance. The bride wore an adorable vintage short dress that she spotted at Bygones Vintage Store and had reconstructed by Charla Bjostad at Pleiadz Bridal Design in Richmond, Virginia. For the bridal party, it was a J Crew affair, with the ladies in light gray knee-length dresses and the guys in cool seersucker suits and blue Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star sneakers. Oh, and our favorite accessory was the bride's heart-shaped sunglasses.
For professional planning help, they called on Kris Rundblad and team at Merry Makers, with the delicious dinner by Grandview Catering, handmade vintage-style cakes by Robin Smith's One of a Kind Edible Art, and barn decor and flowers by the venue owner Christina Pfeufer. Clay Macauley officiated the ceremony and Sound Productions DJ rocked the dance floor.
It was a wonderful wedding and we would highly encourage Chicago area couples to consider regional destination weddings at the farms, wine vineyards and cozy lakeshore small towns around our Midwest region.
This month we are celebrating three decades in business, and are taking a look back at some of our favoite wedding pictures throughout the years.
Our Daily Photo today is one of our all time favorites from the Y2K era (remember when we all thought the computers would crash and nanobots would destroy us all?!?!?...here's Anne on a tractor at her parents' horse ranch home.
© Wedding Creativo / Giorgio Ventola Inc.
We've been asked a few times lately about rural places for weddings such as barns, farms and vineyards. They can be lovely alternatives to traditional venues and you might even consider making near-destination weddings down-state or to neighbor states for a fun getaway weekend for your guests. They also generally make for a relaxed day, especially when ceremony and reception are both held at the venue and guests need not travel to any additional locations in these usually unfamiliar countryside areas.
Here are suggestions in the region closest to Chicago area:
Lynfred Winery (Roselle, IL)
http://www.lynfredwinery.com/priv.html
Whyte Horse Winery (Monticello, IN)
http://www.whytehorsewinery.com/winery/winery.php
County Line Orchard (Hobart, IN)
http://www.countylineorchard.com/weddings/staging/events.html
Hoosier Grove Barn (Streamwood, IL)
http://www.hoosiergrovebarn.com/
Vehe Barn (Deer Park, IL)
http://www.village.deer-park.il.us/Vehe_Barn_Rental.htm
Danada House - horse stables (Wheaton, IL)
http://www.danadahouse.com/
Millcreek and Blue Dress Barns (Southwest Michigan)
http://www.millcreekbarn.com/aboutus.html
There are a lot more vineyards that have weddings in areas throughout the region in southern IL & IN and northern MI, so if you are open to having a near-destination wedding these would be good to look into as well.
Chateau Pomije (Guilford, IN)
http://www.cpwinery.com/weddings.html
Chateau de Pique (Seymour, IN)
http://www.chateaudepique.com//index.htm
Spirit Knob Winery (Ursa, IL)
http://www.spiritknob.com/events.html
Ravissant Winery (Belleville, IL)
http://www.ravissantwinery.com/banquet.htm
Gill's Pier Vineyard & Winery (Leelanau Peninsula, MI)
http://www.gillspier.com/banquet-room.htm
Black Star Winery and Farms (Suttons Bay/Leelanau, MI)
http://www.blackstarfarms.com/events/
Michigan's lakeshore and Traverse City area is loaded with wineries - certainly make for a great weekend getaways for newlyweds too!
© Giorgio Ventola / Wedding Creativo Photography