Green Weddings in Michigan

When it comes to eco-friendly weddings, Michigan brides have the world at their fingertips. With the largest fresh water coastline in the world, and a seemingly unlimited supply of locally grown products, Michigan’s natural splendor provides plenty of opportunity for the environmentally conscious bride to show her true color - green!

Exceptional Events will help brides select the absolute best green products and environmentally responsible wedding vendors - from organic flowers and centerpieces to recycled invitations, your guests will be amazed at just how elegant a green wedding can be.

We’ll also work with you to select cuisine from top local farmers, like Michigan-grown apples and cherries, and organic wines, coffees, and cheeses. Even wedding fashion can be environmentally friendly - have your groomsmen and bridesmaids wear an outfit they’ll use beyond your wedding, and for the yourself, consider a vintage dress or a gown designed with the environment in mind.

When the party ends, your eco-friendly wedding can have a life of its own - recycling after the reception, arranging carpools for guests, and a honeymoon at an eco-resort are all great ways to do your part to help our planet. And giving trees as wedding favors is a fantastic way to save the environment, while giving your guests a lasting memory of your big day.

West Michigan Wedding Photographer - Jennifer Mayo Studios

Located near the Lake Michigan shoreline, Jennifer Mayo Studios wedding photography has been featured in magazines, like the Knot and Brides, and on theknot.com. For Michigan brides, Jennifer Mayo Studios is the premier beach and vineyard wedding photographer, and their artistically diverse team travels to Northern Michigan, Detroit, Chicago, and around the country to capture urban architectural and natural landscapes.

Jennifer Mayo Studios’ wedding photos are delicate and rich, always alive and in the moment. Jennifer attributes her artistic eye to her children, seeing the world through their lens and translating that awe inspiring vision to her photography - sunlight coming through a window, creating rainbows, the feel of touching snow for the first time. “ It might sound silly,” she said, “but these little things that I used to disregard have reconstructed the way I think and the way I see.”

These Jennifer Mayo Studios wedding photos are taken from a recent Exceptional Events wedding -
Jennifer holds a degree in art and design from the University of Notre Dame, and has studied under photography legends, such as Denis Reggie, Yervant, and Joe Buissink. Combining her artistic background and personal passion, Jennifer says, “we take a documentary approach to photographing every wedding. My single piece of advice to every couple on their wedding day is to just have fun and live in the moment. As long as you're happily married at the end of the day and you enjoy every moment, planned our surprise, we'll capture great images for you to enjoy for the rest of your lives.”

In designing your big day, Exceptional Events will help Jennifer Mayo Studios capture each breathtaking moment of your wedding. “In our experience working with Exceptional Events,” Jennifer said, “all the details were managed to perfection and the staff's direction of the timeline for the day allowed us to focus on photographing in real-time rather than directing people all day long. From an aesthetic standpoint, Exceptional Events designs unique and sophisticated celebrations that are visually breathtaking, which, of course, makes capturing beautiful images that much easier for us. We always look forward to working with the Exceptional Events team.”

Michigan Wedding Dresses

Dresses - they are a changing, and Metro Detroit brides are on the cutting edge of trends in modern wedding gowns. Michigan’s diverse styles and beautifully varied seasons often call for more than one dress design during the course of the evening.

And while a classically elegant wedding gown will always be a hit, there’s no reason you can’t change it up, even midway through your big day. Many Michigan brides are opting to change dresses between the ceremony and reception, allowing you to wear a luxurious princess gown to the ceremony, and a sleeker dress to the reception.

Other brides are opting for convertible wedding dresses, with detachable bottom skirts. These convertible wedding dresses offer a quick and easy way to change into something shorter for dancing at the reception, while retaining the style of your gown.

For a sampling of hot wedding dresses this season, visit Brides.com, and check out naturalbridals.com to view convertible dresses from Morgan Boszilkov.

Whatever style dress you choose - or should you choose more than one style - Exceptional Events will help you find your favorite designer and select your dream gown, ensuring your dress is uniquely you, no matter how many you wear.

*Photo courtesy of Jessica-Johnston Photography

Michigan Wedding Music with Panache Entertainment

As the weather cools and Michigan brides shift from outdoor ceremonies to churches and classic ballrooms, nothing adds that extra level of elegance and warmth to your wedding like live music.

For Metro Detroit brides and for weddings throughout Michigan, Panache Entertainment specializes in string quartets, jazz combos, and live bands for your ceremony and reception. Based in Bloomfield Hills, Panache Entertainment has helped set the standard for live wedding music, with a network of over 350 talented, classically-trained performers to suit almost any musical need.

Working with Panache’s versatile musicians, Exceptional Events will design a wedding the perfectly suits your unique style or religion, helping choose music that matches your wedding theme and satisfies your taste. During the ceremony, Panache Entertainment’s professionals keep a fresh pace, welcoming guests, building anticipation, and celebrating your big day, showcasing the bride and groom every step of the way.

Then, when the lights go down and the party begins, Panache Entertainment boasts a wide range of live band options for your reception. Available styles include top 40, classic, big band, dance, and so much more. Enjoy this sample video of one of Panache’s top bands, The New Deal -

Westin Book Cadillac Weddings

As reported this morning in the Detroit Free Press, the Westin Book Cadillac's grand opening is today, giving Metro Detroit brides yet another glamorous wedding destination in southeast Michigan. The restoration of the Westin Book Cadillac is helping revitalize downtown Detroit, bringing trendy accommodations to the Motor City.

We recommended the Westin Book Cadillac as a Michigan wedding venue in our July 2nd blog post. Now that the $180 million renovation project is complete, let Exceptional Events design the wedding of your dreams at this Italian-renaissance-style historic landmark, and be one of the first brides in Michigan to celebrate your big day at Detroit's newest old hotel.

Michigan Fall Weddings

Michigan brides are blessed with some of the country’s most beautiful autumn colors and delicious local harvests, perfect for integrating seasonal style into your fall wedding.

Brides can use the cool, crisp weather and fall atmosphere to their advantage in a variety of ways, like holding a ceremony or reception in an old barn, at a vineyard, or in an orchard.

Michigan brides can also include local products, like apple cider, as well as trendy seasonal wedding favors, like caramel apples or maple syrup, adding personal flavor and a touch of your community.

Fall is the perfect time to include some of Exceptional Events’ favorite wedding elements - dramatic crystal chandeliers and fall inspired floral arrangements are both ideal matches for historic settings with wood grain accents or a rustic fireplace.

Most important for Michigan’s fall brides - we’ll make sure your wedding matches your personal style. Traditionally lighter summer colors and glamorous ballrooms will still be a hit, as long as the wedding matches your season of love.


*Photo courtesy of Arising Image

Ann Arbor Wedding Cakes from Zingerman’s Bakehouse

Part of Ann Arbor’s famous Zingerman’s community of businesses, Zingerman’s Bakehouse is a southeast Michigan institution, custom designing gourmet wedding cakes for Metro Detroit brides. Zingerman’s team of artisan bakers uses traditional baking methods and only the most flavorful ingredients, and they most certainly understand how to add modern flair to your Michigan wedding cake.

Exceptional Events is committed to designing intimate, personal weddings, and one spectacular element that can help make your wedding memorable is an individualized wedding cake. No matter what your wedding theme, Zingerman’s Bakehouse will design and bake a fun, elegant cake that perfectly matches your unique taste - both in style and flavor. Zingerman’s prides themselves on making beautiful wedding cakes that “taste good too,” giving your wedding guests plenty to rave about.

And as a full-service bakehouse, Zingerman’s is on the cutting-edge of all the latest wedding trends, like groom’s cakes, gourmet cookie trays, cupcake spreads, and any other sweet you can imagine sinking your teeth into. As Zingerman’s says themselves, “[we’re] driven by our passion for great bread and pastries and a desire to share them...” Once you get a taste of their wedding cakes, we’re sure you’ll share their passion too.

For a sampling of cakes, visit Zingerman’s wedding cakes page.