1. Real Weddings

Julie & Vince: A Black-and-White New Year’s Eve Wedding in Clinton, MI

Julie and Vince were both at a bar on New Year’s Eve when they saw each other from across the room. Julie told her sister she thought he was cute, and

Julie and Vince were both at a bar on New Year’s Eve when they saw each other from across the room. Julie told her sister she thought he was cute, and when Vince could tell Julie was checking him out, he told his friends he had to say hi to someone. He introduced himself to Julie and before they were pulled away by their friends, the two made plans to meet up again at midnight. The Bride Julie Jurczak, 29 The Groom Vince Chavez, 31 The Date December 31 They found each other on the street just as the countdown to midnight began and have been together ever since. Before the two took off on a vacation to New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji, Vince bought a ring. He proposed to Julie on a secluded island off the coast of Fiji after a candlelit dinner on the beach. The couple decided to marry on New Year’s Eve and used a black, ivory, and gold color palette to decorate their formal wedding.

Julie and Vince bought a rotating photo-frame card box in which guests dropped their cards.
To prepare for their first dance, Julie and Vince took private dance lessons -- they danced a samba to “Put Your Arms Around Me,” by Natasha Bedingfield.
The couple had two requirements for the centerpieces: They had to look traditional and couldn’t obstruct the view from the opposite side of the table. Their florist went with anemones, hydrangeas, Vendela roses, Queen Anne’s lace, white lacy ivy, and variegated pittosporum. Black, ivory, and gold ribbon hung from all the arrangements, which were finished off with iridescent glitter.
During their ceremony, Julie and Vince wore an oversized rosary, called a “lasso,” as a Latin Catholic tradition. Vince’s father’s side of the family had passed it along to them as a gift.
The bridesmaids carried bouquets of anemones, Queen Anne’s lace, and stock accented with Swarovski crystals and sprayed with iridescent glitter.
It was Vince’s idea to book a mariachi band. The group arrived at the start of dinner and performed over the course of the meal, taking requests and having fun with the guests.
Julie and Vince gave their guests day planners for the New Year. The favors were labeled with a note: “Wishing you 365 days of happiness!”
Vince wore a simple boutonniere: a single anemone accented with Queen Anne’s lace.
Even though the wedding had a formal style, Julie and Vince still wanted to be festive for New Year’s Eve, so they ordered party hats for the guys and tiaras for the ladies.
Julie and Vince went to a concert at The Fox on one of their first dates, so a picture in front of the famous Detroit theater was a wedding-day must.
Julie’s nieces, the flower girls, wore ivory dresses with black lace accents that coordinated with the bridesmaid dresses.
To match their color palette, Julie and Vince chose a shimmery gold, three-tiered cake and a cursive “C” cake topper.