1. Real Weddings

A Vintage Inspired Wedding at Sweet Wedding Chapel and Fellowship Hall in Columbiaville, Michigan

Amber Craig (25 and a store manager) and Steven Hosner (26 and a machinist) met in the 8th grade when introduced by friends. They had a short middle s

Amber Craig (25 and a store manager) and Steven Hosner (26 and a machinist) met in the 8th grade when introduced by friends. They had a short middle school relationship but remained friends for a few years. Although they lost touch for some time, they reunited a year after graduating and dated on and off for some time. The two both love the Disney movie Up, so Steven incorporated it into his proposal by tying a single balloon around the ring box. They wanted to their ceremony to be in a place that held many memories for both of them and settled on the spacious backyard area of Steven's childhood home. It was filled with the beautiful outdoor greenery they imagined for their wedding and was close to the reception venue of Sweet Wedding Chapel and Fellowship Hall. Inspired by the old beauty of vintage weddings, Amber and Steven decorated the venue in dark matte gray and purple with a variety of their favorite flowers as centerpieces. They included rustic touches for a comfortable atmosphere, adding pictures of old family weddings and antique books to their decor. Guests were invited to a buffet of home cooking style entrees like fried chicken and chicken Alfredo. After dinner, friends and family could gather around the photo booth and take pictures to hold in their wedding favors, vintage spools that had earlier served as their place card holders. At the end of the night, rather than toss the bouquet, Amber and Steven had all of the married couples dance and the one who had been married the longest received it.

Amber and Steve wanted a unique way to create their wedding invitations. They incorporated the plum color seen throughout their wedding in a floral stitching around the edge of these handkerchiefs.
For her bouquet, Amber chose tulips, roses, hydrangeas, snap dragons, spider mums, cabbage flowers and wax flowers. She then had the florist added pearls throughout her bouquet.
The groom wore a single light plum colored rose as his boutonniere to accompany his dark plum silk pocket square. Pinned to his pocket was a grape soda bottle cap from his childhood, much of which could be seen at the candy bar in their reception.
Amber chose her lace mermaid gown which later inspired her choice in bridesmaids dress. The girls wore plum purple dresses with lace straps that matched those on the brides gown. Their bouquets were filled with ivory and deep pink flowers.
To tie into the casual atmosphere of the backyard venue, the groom and groomsmen wore relaxed with charcoal gray suits. Their plum purples ties matched the bridesmaids dresses and their light pink rose boutonnieres were also used in the bouquets.
Amber and Steven wanted to have their ceremony in a private outdoor area and decided on steven's spacious backyard. The area was deep green all around with a beautifully landscaped area to serve as the altar.
Hanging jars decorated with lace doily were set up on either side of the aisle. They were filled with baby's breath and a variety of small light flowers to add to the already existing natural beauty of the backyard.
Private Backyard Altar
Ceremony First Kiss
Private Backyard Newlyweds
Plum and Gray Reception Decor
Amber and Steve handmade the name cards for the reception. Each vintage spool was decorated in small purple detailing and later doubled as the guests favors. The clip was the perfect size to hold the pictures they took in the photo booth.
The bride and groom brought in a lot of personal touches to their reception decor. They used the deep plum and gray for their vintage atmosphere and accented with old hard cover copies of classic books and black and white photos of their old family weddings.
Amber and Steven's favorite dessert is strawberry shortcake so they went for a 5-tier strawberry shortcake wedding cake. The naked layers were lined with fresh strawberries and topped with a handmade portrayal of the bride and groom.