Lindsey and Joe hosted their wedding at Vale Royal Barn in Fenton Michigan, the beautiful ceremony location was on a dock right on the private lake. 

About Vale Royal Park in Fenton; We are a rustic, prairie style wedding venue situated on 8 acres near the historic city of Fenton. Close to US 23 but secluded in beautiful fields and surrounded by woods, you'll find that nature provides the ultimate setting for your celebration. You'll especially love the natural river lined with willows and wildflowers, so bring all of those ideas you've been pinning on Pinterest! The Vale Royal Barn is the perfect place to transform those visions into reality.
 
Our unique and private estate becomes yours exclusively for three days, allowing you plenty of time to create that vision. Why rush your special day? We say milk it! Begin with the use of our historic Dairy Barn!  

During their wedding ceremony we shared bits of their love story and reminders of why they chose each other to be their life partner. I believe your wedding ceremony should be a celebration of your lives thus far, all the moments that led you to be standing in front of each other and ready to begin again as a married couple. 

To Lindsey and Joe, thank you so much for choosing to work with me, it was an honor to stand with you. 

To Vale Royal Barn, it was a beautiful day to host a wedding, thank you! 

Photographer: Mikayla at CheBella Photography.​

It was a warm summer day full of sunshine for their wedding at Prestwick Golf Course. As guests made their way to the wedding ceremony site the couple prepared to walk down the aisle. 

For their wedding ceremony those shared bits of their love story, celebrating their journey to the aisle and the reasons they chose each other as their partner. They chose beautiful wedding vows to read to each other; 

Today, surrounded by all of your loved ones, I choose you to be my husband. I am proud to be your wife and to join my life with yours. I vow to support you, inspire you, and love you always. For as long as we both shall live, I will be by your side–for better or worse, in sickness and health, for richer or poorer. You are my one and only today and every day.

And one of my favorite readings was shared; 

To Love Is Not to Possess," James Kavanaugh "To love is not to possess, To own or imprison, Nor to lose one's self in another. Love is to join and separate, To walk alone and together, To find a laughing freedom That lonely isolation does not permit. It is finally to be able To be who we really are No longer clinging in childish dependency Nor docilely living separate lives in silence, It is to be perfectly one's self And perfectly joined in permanent commitment To another—and to one's inner self. Love only endures when it moves like waves, Receding and returning gently or passionately, Or moving lovingly like the tide In the moon's own predictable harmony. Because finally, despite a child's scars Or an adult's deepest wounds, They are openly free to be Who they really are—and always secretly were, In the very core of their being Where true and lasting love can alone abide."

photographer: John Richmond Photography 
venue: Prestwick Golf 

What a beautiful way to start a new year, a wedding in downtown Holly Michigan. The kindest couple scheduled a sweet little coffee shop signing with me and we chose to use Battle Alley in Holly Michigan to meet up at. 

They gathered their closest friends and family and we even did a first look. The bride wore a beautiful wedding gown and the groom was dressed in dashingly in a suit and winter coat. 

As the family watched on the bride entered the cutest little side street decorated with shops and bistro lights she tapped the shoulder of her groom and he turned to see her and the emotions all spilled over. They embraced each other shared a few words and we began their wedding ceremony. A short and sweet little wedding ceremony was performed and then we signed the marriage license to make it legal. 

It was a beautiful way to start the new year 2023! 

This weekend I stood with the sweetest couple who are so clearly meant for each other. But as many couples often do, they had nerves going into the ceremony. The groom especially told me that he often get's nervous and standing in front of a lot of people is not going to help. 

We talked about how to write the ceremony in a way that gave them the fewest speaking parts and I offered advice on how to settle into the moment and really focus on each other and that I'll be there offering reassuring smiles. 

As we moved through their wedding ceremony I could see both of them ease into the moment and really focus on each other. They would look at me and I would give them that reassuring smile and they did it, they made it through their ceremony with joy and happiness. 

While signing the license afterwards I heard the groom say, the ceremony was actually the calmest he had felt all day. The anticipation of the moment can be so much more overwhelming than the actual moment. Plus, holding your partners hand is such a reassuring feeling, it really does help. 

To all the couples who are nervous about their wedding ceremony I have this advice. Read your ceremony beforehand, make sure it is right for you, don't be afraid to change it until you love it. Then read it again, really know your ceremony and what to expect. Reassure yourself that its 20 minutes and you don't have to look at anyone except your partner if you want. 

Sarah and Justin gathered their closest family and friends to host their wedding at the Grand Belle in Holly, Michigan. The groom wore the best grey converse and the bride had on her perfect white sneakers. Sarah's lace covered wedding dress suited the venue perfectly. 

The venue the Grand Belle just outside of downtown Holly, Michigan is a beautiful refurbished barn and grounds. The ceremony takes place just in front of the barn on the grass lawn. With the wedding party entering the ceremony from the huge barn doors and then taking a walk down the grass covered aisle to land at the perfect spot just under the big maple trees. 

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One of my absolute favorite things about their wedding was their grandmothers who served as their flower girls. Let me repeat that...GRANDMOTHERS AS FLOWERGIRLS! As a person who just adored my own grandmother I would relish the opportunity to relive my wedding and have her be my flower girl, she would have loved that! 

The lesson here is to hold your family front and center can be a beautiful thing, creating the most amazing memories of your wedding day, not just for the two of you, but for your family as well. Support from your community whether it be family by blood or your choosing is nothing we take for granted. 

Congrats to Sarah and Justin! Thank you for choosing me to be your wedding day Officiant.