A Chic, Lavender-Filled Backyard Wedding in Chelsea, Michigan

When it came time to wed, Shannon Emmons (26 and a registered nurse) and Lucas Daniels (28 and a director of photography) chose to marry at the groom’s childhood home on Cavanaugh Lake. “It’s my favorite place to be,” Shannon says. As guests looked on from vintage chairs and wood crates, the couple made it official in a unity ceremony that called for bottles of red and white wine. “We combined them to make a unity rosé,” she explains. At cocktail hour, the couple’s German shorthaired pointer, Cooper, inspired the evening’s signature “Coopcumber Kisses” cocktail, which was made with a refreshing mix of gin, pureed cucumber, lemon and elderflower. A second drink dubbed “Lakehouse Lemonade” mixed lemonade, rosemary, raspberries and vodka. Antique china and succulent-filled teacups dotted round dining tables, while nearby trees were decorated with DIY dream catchers. Rather than calligraph paper escort cards, Shannon wrote each guest’s name on pieces of salvaged slate collected from Lucas’s parents’ front porch during a recent renovation.