1. Real Weddings

Sheila Marie & Jovon: A Fall Wedding in East Lansing, MI

New York transplants Sheila Marie and Jovon wanted to return to the place where they first met to say their vows. With a team of helpful family member

New York transplants Sheila Marie and Jovon wanted to return to the place where they first met to say their vows. With a team of helpful family members in Michigan, the couple was able to plan their wedding long-distance with ease. The Bride Sheila Marie Westfall, senior publicity coordinator The Groom Jovon E. Shuck, equity stage manager The Date October 2 After falling in love and graduating from Michigan State, Sheila Marie and Jovon moved to New York City to begin a life together after college. Naturally, a Central Park proposal beneath a brilliant canopy of autumn leaves soon followed. Inspired by the season, the couple set their sights on East Lansing for an autumn wedding the following year.

The Ceremony Decor
Sheila Marie and Jovon let Mother Nature provide the backdrop for their ceremony. The couple married in the appropriately named Anniversary Garden of Michigan State University's Horticulture Demonstration Gardens. Awash in dusk's golden sunlight, the couple exchanged personalized, heartfelt vows surrounded by family and friends. Our ceremony was the most important part of the entire day, the bride says.
The Music
Dance lessons not only yielded a flawless first dance for the couple to Frank Sinatra's Our Love is Here to Stay, but for Sheila Maria and her father as well, who took to the floor during My Girl. While tunes like The Chicken Dance were deemed taboo, the bride and groom did get down to fun, timeless classics including The Time Warp and Ballroom Blitz.
Sheila Marie and Jovon left the wedding cake duties in the hands of both their parents. The bride's only requirement was that the confection be square and decorated with fresh alstromeria and calla lilies. The three-tier dessert turned out to be wedding white cake with a raspberry filling in one tier, chocolate with Bavarian cream in the next, and Kahlua fudge in the last.
Sheila Marie added her owns sense of style to her bridal ensemble. Inside the bodice of her strapless ivory ball gown, she had the seamstress sew a heart-shaped swatch of her mother's wedding gown. It was so I could carry a piece of my parents' happy marriage with me through my own wedding day, says Sheila Marie. The bride also created her own veil from ivory organza and satin ribbon for a simple, sophisticated look.
The Formalwear
The Guest Book
Sheila Marie knew exactly what she wanted for the bridal bouquet: Her two favorite flowers, of course. Her florist incorporated gold and burnt-orange alstromeria and calla lilies, accented with hypericum berries. Her attendants carried lilies in similar autumn colors, while a junior bridesmaid walked down the aisle with a sweet pomander ball of alstromeria.
The Ceremony