1. Real Weddings

Mary-Elizabeth & Travis: An Outdoor Wedding in Hartland, MI

M-E and Travis kept their cool while planning their summer celebration, relying on talented friends and family members to help them create a memorable

M-E and Travis kept their cool while planning their summer celebration, relying on talented friends and family members to help them create a memorable wedding. THE BRIDE Mary-Elizabeth (M-E) Kuzma, 25, a social-work graduate student THE GROOM Travis Pierce, 23, construction THE DATE July 5 July 5 is a pretty important day in the lives of M-E and Travis. It's the date they shared their very first kiss (the summer before Travis' senior year in high school), the date that Travis proposed (during a trip to North Carolina), and the date they chose to become husband and wife. And even though their lucky day fell on a Monday, they decided to go ahead, planning an outdoor ceremony at the groom's family home.

M-E and Travis married in his parents' backyard; his family spent countless hours working on the landscaping, adding colorful flowerbeds and a romantic gazebo to the already impressive lawn that slopes down to a bubbling stream.
M-E wore an ivory A-line, Chantilly-lace-covered gown with a halter neckline by Watters Brides.
Each of M-E's five maids wore a periwinkle georgette dress with an empire waist and chiffon overlay.
The party had already started at the Grand Ledge Opera House, where 100 guests mingled on the lawn and sipped a sampling of lemonades (like mint).
A summer feast (think salad with a raspberry vinaigrette and grilled chicken) was followed by dancing and then slices of the four-tier white wedding cake iced with a textured finish.
Inside, gerbera daisies floated in tall and short rectangular vases and blue glass bowls on the guest tables.
Though they are both practicing Seventh-day Adventists, M-E and Travis were married under a chuppah that they created with bamboo poles, gauzy white chiffon, and countless gerbera daisies.