Ivy and Andrew’s Wedding: June 25, 2022
“Overall we had an amazing experience with Mike Staff. Absolutely everybody we worked with was amazing and so kind to us and our entire family. Everyone was also extremely professional and did amazing work for us which we will appreciate forever.” – Happy bride, Ivy
Our Love Story
We have known each other since kindergarten. We actually found out we were in the same kindergarten class a couple of years ago. I moved to a different school for elementary and then we ended up going to the same middle and high school. Near the end of high school we started to become friends again and would hangout all the time. Eventually I went to Michigan State for college and he went to Albion College to play lacrosse and we just casually kept in touch through our whole freshman year of college.
When we both got back from school for that first summer after our freshman year we sort of picked up where we left off in high school and started hanging out all the time again and by the end of the summer we were dating! We dated for 6 years and then got engaged the Thanksgiving of 2020. We headed to my parents house for thanksgiving lunch and then he asked me to go on a walk. We took our dog with us and when we got to the edge of the driveway of my family home he asked me to marry him. My sister and parents were both there taking pictures and then we all went to celebrate with his family as well. It was really special because our entire family was there to celebrate with us.
Our Wedding Vision
I was going for a disco retro vibe, but not too over the top. I wanted a venue that sort of spoke for itself that I would not have to add a lot too and I really think we found that at Motor City Casino in Detroit.
Our Favorite Wedding Moments
- Our first favorite moment were all the speeches. We had both set of parents and three siblings make speeches and they were all just so beautiful. We are really close knit families so to hear their words in front of all our family and friends was really special.
- Another favorite moment for us both was our daddy daughter and mom and son dances. We both took dance lessons with our parents and choreographed dances which was really special and an experience we wont forget.
- Lastly, later into the night when we were dancing with our friends our bridal parties lifted us into the air and we were just dancing and singing with everybody and it was just a really awesome fun night.
Our Wedding DJ
First, our professional wedding DJ was super super nice! One thing I really appreciated is that he kept us on schedule with speeches and dances and stuff, but he also let us have more time with our guests here and there without throwing us way off the planned times. He was just really awesome to work with and played all of our favorite songs! The dance floor was packed the entire night.
We did share a first dance. The song we choose was Lady May by Tyler Childers. We actually heard the song in one of our favorite shows and just thought the words were so beautiful. We also liked the fact that the song was unique from the typical first dance songs.
Our Wedding Photographer
Our professional wedding photographer was absolutely amazing! Greg did our engagement and wedding photos and everything has turned out beautifully so far. We literally couldn’t have asked for a better photographer. We never really take pictures and we let Greg know that and the whole day he was directing us and telling us what to do so we were able to get some really great shots.
Our Wedding Video
Having a wedding video was important to us because we really wanted to capture our speeches and our choreographed dances in a special way and have them all in one place. At first we thought we would just have our friends record the special parts of our wedding, but thinking about it more we knew that the quality wouldn’t be there or some parts could get missed on accident so having a professional wedding videographer was really important to us so we could go back and cherish those memories forever.
Our Wedding Advice
The only advice I have is to not get overwhelmed with all the small details. Of course you want everything to be perfect and look nice, but in the end there were so many things I didn’t even notice because I was too busy having fun with friends and family.
Ivy & Andrew’s Wedding Vendors
- Ceremony Venue: Motor City Casino Ballroom
- Reception Venue: Motor City Casino Amnesia Room
- Transportation: Dream Limousine
- Wedding Planner: Trace Events
- Hair & Makeup: Bridal Beauty Couture
- Mike Staff Productions: DJ, Photography & Videography