The Solitude Links Wedding of Kelly & Ryan: June 01, 2024
Our Mike Staff Productions Experience
“Mike Staff was one of the best choices we made while planning our wedding! They were professional, experienced and all around wonderful people to have helping us capture this day!
- Chris was our lead photographer and he captured some of the most beautiful pictures we’ve ever been in. I can’t wait to frame them for our house!
- Randy was our DJ and he did such a great job honoring our requests for music, understanding our taste in music and he had that dance floor packed all night!
- The team approach was one of our best decisions in wedding planning because everyone kept us on schedule and they worked wonderfully together with minimal coordination from us.
Truly, truly cannot thank them for their work and expertise for our wedding!” – Happy bride, Kelly
Our Love Story
Ryan and I met 6 years ago at my sister’s wedding. Ryan and her worked together at the Detroit Tigers and he secured a last-minute invitation to the wedding up in Traverse City. He came to talk to me during the dollar dance and from there we had little interaction throughout the wedding, but after the wedding at the hotel bar, he came back up to me and we talked for almost 2 hours that night.
From there, I went downstate to see him and we started dating 3 weeks later. We spent the first year doing long distance, me in Traverse City, Ryan in St. Clair Shores, and after 1 year together, I moved downstate and in with Ryan. After 4 and half years of dating, Ryan proposed! He originally had plans to propose to me at Greenfield Village during Christmas, but back in 2022, a large ice and snow storm prevented us from going as I left earlier than planned to get up north to see my parents for Christmas. Ryan drummed up plan b and after my company’s Christmas dinner, we both came home and he proposed out on our balcony that was decorated for Christmas.
Our Favorite Memory
Seeing each other for the first time as I walked down the aisle was so special. We also enjoyed the first dance. After all the hustle and bustle of the day, the rush of emotions during the ceremony, it was so special to stop and share this moment together. It really felt like we were the only two people in the room!
Wedding DJ Experience
Our wedding DJ, Randy, had the dance floor packed all night long! He played music all generations and music interests could dance to, while also honoring the music Ryan and I like to listen. Every time I wanted to take a breather, another fun dance song came on and I don’t think I left the dance floor all night. He also managed time so we could do a last dance just the two of us before the wedding was over.
Our first dance song Love of My Life by Sammy Kershaw. Ryan and I love to put on music and dance in our living room and this was a song he played for me shortly after we moved in together and it quickly became our song.
Wedding Videography Experience
Oh my gosh, we were sobbing the first time we watched our wedding video and full ceremony! Having this video for the rest of our lives will be something we cherish and we can’t wait to watch our wedding video on every anniversary so we can always relive these moments over and over again.
Wedding Photography Experience
The wedding photos are what we knew we would invest more in. They’re everything and I can’t wait to print them! Chris, our wedding photographer, was phenomenal at managing us throughout the day so we got the photos we wanted and he prioritized us throughout the entire day. His experience really shined and we got so many compliments about how he really blended into the space and didn’t interrupt or intrude on moments, but still managed to get all of his shots. (Gallery below)
Our Wedding Planning Advice
Prioritize what’s important to you and what will make the night so much fun. It’s so easy to think you have to have all these things to make a wedding, but we knew when our guests look back on this day in 5 years, they’re not going to remember the food or if the centerpieces were expensive floral arrangements, they’re going to remember the time they had. So that’s why we prioritized booking a venue that we loved, a DJ that would pack the dance floor and a photographer/videographer that would capture our memories. Everything after that we did ourselves and it was better than we ever expected. Also, stay by each other throughout the entire night. It goes way too fast.
Wedding Vendor List
- Wedding Venue: Solitude Links Golf and Banquet Center
- Florist: Sam’s Club
- Wedding Cake: Royal-T Cakery
- Wedding Dress: Bella Bridal Gallery
- Suits: Men’s Wearhouse
- Bridesmaids: Azazie
- Hair & Makeup: Absolute Beauty
- Invitations: Shutterfly
- DJ: Mike Staff Productions
- Photography: Mike Staff Productions
- Videography: Mike Staff Productions.