haley & Kane // aurora cellars, lake leelanau, MI

Winery Wedding in Northern Michigan

The Inspiration

Haley & Kane are a fun-loving couple with a sweet story (more on that to come) and an approach to planning that mirrors Haley’s approach to her career in education administration. Build a good team and let them work their magic. They chose one of the loveliest venues in northern Michigan, one of the best bands in the state, and an entire vendor team known for excellence, from floral to catering to hair and makeup and more. Combined with perfect weather and the brown bag favors at night’s end, this wedding was what dreams are made of.

Cocktail Kickoff

Nothing says, “welcome to our wedding” like shelves of custom cocktails on a stroll to the ceremony tree. These special concoctions were named for the couple’s beloved pups and invitation artist Jes Married created a bar sign with the dogs’ hand-drawn portraits to tuck among the blueberry spritzers.

This moment also introduced the color palette of the wedding day design in the form of textured blush & mustard yellow water goblets. Pops of yellow Anthropologie vases on barrel-top cocktail tables, yellow pillows and throw blanket on a blush couch, and yellow vases on a blush floral linen brought a fun vibrance to the lawn during cocktail hour which followed a showstopper ceremony under the iconic graceful willow tree.

Tented Soiree

In the early days of Haley & Kane’s relationship, before they made their affection public, they used the word “pineapple” to say “I love you”. That story was referenced often thru the day and pineapples are now their thing. As a nod to this part of their story, Jes Married added a small pineapple graphic at the bottom of their menu.

When we started designing with Haley & Kane, the color palette was a romantic blush & gold. Thru a few conversations, it evolved into a more punchy palette of blushes and mauve with playful pops of mustard yellow – easily one of my favorites to see come to life thru the mauve drape backdrop for their head table, the glorious floral by Sweetwater Floral, and place settings layered in detail. Matte blush gold rimmed plates topped in mauve menus and set off with mustard linen napkins anchored the look. Gold flatware framed the composition and ombre blush wine glasses paired with champagne flutes of sparkling rose stood out nicely against the centerpiece greenery and floral. Blush taper candles on cut glass stands and coral scripted table numbers on white acrylic finished the tablescape beautifully.

Island Thyme Catering, Tonic & Lime Bartending, and Simply Sweet by Jessica teamed up to deliver a refined dining experience.

Evening’s Sweet Light

Haley changed from her lace gown to a sparkling long-sleeved look after dinner and the pair slipped out to the vineyard for photos just before dusk. One of those moments in the vines became a magazine cover for the annual Traverse Magazine wedding edition.

A vintage VW photobus, an impressive dessert bar, an evening bonfire and an epic band entertained guests thru the evening. One of our favorite details came at the end as guests were departing to catch shuttles back to the hotels. We handed them a brown lunch bag with a cute thank-you sticker on it. Inside was an Uncrustable peanut butter & jelly sandwich and a glass bottle of Diet Coke, personalized with Haley & Kane’s names. In the shuttles were pineapple bottle openers so the late night favor could be enjoyed on the ride.