A Sunflower-Filled Backyard Wedding in Detroit, Michigan
When the COVID-19 pandemic derailed their initial wedding plans, Christine and Kate decided to get married at home. "We got married in our backyard in Detroit," says Christine. "This was our backup plan after our wedding at Bell’s Brewery was canceled due to Covid. We bought our house in early May 2020. Our wedding was the first time many of our friends and family members saw our forever home for the first time. We were delighted to be able to host everyone and share the home we plan to build a life together in. Kate’s sister is an art student at Northern Michigan and put in many long days painting a beautiful and 'true to her' mural on our garage as the backdrop for our big day."
From having family members take on key wedding-day roles to celebrating their new home and their shared love of beer, personalization was a key part of Christine and Kate's backyard wedding in Detroit, Michigan. In addition to the statement wall mural, fall-inspired flowers rounded out the day's decor. "We had lots of mums for a fall vibe. Fall is our favorite season, it’s when we met! One of our bridesmaids put together our bouquets on a last-minute request. She used hand-selected flowers from many local farms and even incorporated some fronds and flowers picked from our own backyard," says Christine. As for other areas of personalization, "Kate is a member of a classical chamber ensemble and two members of that ensemble played the processional music. It was nice to have so many young artists that we are close to play a part in our day. We also had beer on tap from one of our favorite Detroit breweries owned by good friends of ours. We both love craft beer and were disappointed we couldn’t be at Bells but serving Brewery Faisan beer in our backyard was the next best thing, if not better! We also loved how intimate and small our wedding was. We were so proud to share our home and make our commitment here."
To complement the laid-back feel of their backyard wedding, Christine and Kate donned casual suits for their wedding. "We had originally planned on having matching three-piece suits with Kate in navy and Christine in burgundy but when we pivoted to a backyard wedding we decided to keep the same vibe but make it backyard casual. Kate wore her bespoke suit jacket that was made before we scrapped the original wedding plans and Christine went with a burgundy sport coat. We both had planned on doing Birkenstocks but Kate went with all white vans instead for a fresh look. We had agreed on wearing white shirts and light-colored pants. Christine went with a basic white oxford shirt, slim linen khaki pants, a dress belt and completed the outfit with a floral navy bowtie. Kate wore a silk white shirt and casual khaki pants. We both rolled our pants for a more casual look."
Looking back on the day, Christine notes that, "what’s important is the commitment you’re making in front of all your loved ones. When things get stressful just focus on your partner and know that you’re in it together and what's important is that you have each other. Keep it simple when you can and lean on your friends when you’re able. Our friends and family stepped up in a big way and we trusted them to do so. We are truly grateful for all their help and we felt so loved and seen by everyone involved."