Friends,

It's been a minute. Wedding planning, working, honeymoon prepping and organizing a new house is no joke. But as most of you know, I just got married.

To say that day was a dream is an understatement. I know it's the old "cliche'" bride thing to say, but truly it was the best day of my life. Now, getting life back in order from Italy (post to come on that) I wanted to share with you a short wedding recap including some sneak peek photos from the best photographer in the world...Ali Dixon with Ali Marie Photography. Oh, and don't you worry, once she sends us the rest you know I will displaying them with another post to share with you all.

So for now, enjoy this short glimpse into our big day!

More to come,
Danielle

1. The Dress
I snagged my dress last November from Bella Bridal Gallery. I fell in love with all Martina Liana designs. To me, they are the perfect blend of sexy and elegance. This was the 9th or 10th dress I tried on and fell completely in love. It was a very fitted (definitely had to watch the wine and carbs pre-wedding) with the perfect amount of lace and bling. I added the coordinating cathedral veil as well for an added bridal touch. But most importantly, Sam loved it. The first words (through his tears) at the alter were a simple "Wow...you look amazing."




2. The Venue
Searching high and low through the city of Detroit, we landed on The Masonic Temple. It was everything I wanted-old school charm with beautiful views. They even let us on the rooftop to take a few photos (keep reading for that). Their events coordinator, Melanie, was a dream to work with. She was so easy to get a hold of and really made the small details work out great with our planner Carrie with Touch of Elegance! Teamwork makes the dream work, right? Plus, great food and bar doesn't hurt either!




3. The Video and Photo
The video was done by Lee Thomas Films. Friends, if you haven't seen his work...please drop what you're doing and check it out. It was a treat to have them a part of our day capturing all the moments. We are anxiously awaiting the footage!

The photo was done by Ali Marie Photography. Ali and I met in college back in the day at good ol' GVSU. Once I realized she was such a skilled photographer, I immediately wanted her to capture our weekend. We had her as the main shooter and she brought in another to help her out. Brides, do this!  Having a second shooter made sure we didn't miss a single moment. We can probably all agree these photo's are amazing. Just like the video, we cannot wait to see the rest of them!

Also, I can't forget to mention we had the best photo booth vendor ever! Fancy Flash did a great job customizing our template, bringing fun props and sending us all the photos right after Safe to say, it looked like everyone had a great time!




4. The Bridal Party
Besides having these crazies part of our day- they didn't look half bad either. The girls dresses were a mixture of Hayley Paige Occasions. They looked bomb! The guys rented their tuxes from The Tux Shop on Woodward. We decided on the slim navy suite with ties while Sam rocked the bow tie. I loved the way it all came together.



5. The Hair and Makeup 
Can we just say this was one of the highlights of my day? Just my gals getting ready and drinking champagne made for one fun morning. Hair was done by Crissy Battaglia of 6 Salon. She does my hair on the regular and her squad nailed it. I went with (thanks to her solid recommendation during my trial) a more higher-romantic up-do.

Let's take a moment for the makeup...hot damn did we look good! Danielle Paquin and Kristina Perillo are the makeup gods of all gods. They came in fully loaded ready to glam us up and were amazing to work with as always. Danielle has done my makeup countless times and I knew she would be the best person to turn to for this special look!


6. The Flowers
Michael B Anthony was the man of my dreams when it came to my floral arrangements. I wanted lots of gold, candles and hints of Fall colors. He was not only amazing to work with, but the everything came together perfectly.


7. The Band
Yes, we had a band. I love a live band. I believe it can change the mood of your celebration. L'USA rocked the night away. They came with all the bells and whistles in terms of a party atmosphere. Also, they let allowed us to give them some audio when it came to some traditional Italian dances and out first dance!


I hope you enjoyed the pictures and recap. We can't thank our vendors for being so amazing to work with. More photos and wedding bliss to come!


*This was not a paid sponsorship or paid posting. These were chosen specifically based on experience, reviews and research by my own doing. All opinions are my own.