When the coronavirus pandemic hit early last year, my initial thought was “Surely this won’t affect my summer weddings, right?!” Oh, how naive and wrong I was! Summer crawled by without one wedding happening as planned. Even as we inched toward the holidays, Kirsten & Alex were starting to question if their January wedding day would happen as planned. When they made the decision to postpone, they also decided that coronavirus was not going to prevent them from getting married! The hunt was on for an elopement venue! After many roadblocks with public venues, they decided to utilize a beautiful private apartment with views of the Detroit River.
It was important to them for this elopement ceremony to be distinctly different from their postponed celebration but still represent them as a couple. We landed on a Palm Springs/Mid-century Modern design with splashes of Kirsten’s Danish heritage included. Kirsten knew what she wanted and was so easy to work with to execute the final look!
Alex & Kirsten love the Shinola Hotel and it made the perfect setting for the morning of their wedding! They booked suites to allow everyone to get ready for the ceremony, but they also utilized many of the other unique spaces of the hotel for their First Look and formal photos.
Parker’s Alley is right next door to the Shinola Hotel. It includes several local Detroit shops and eateries. Alex & Kirsten, from the beginning of wedding planning, wanted their wedding to feature only local small businesses. Add this to the cool vibe of the alley and you have the perfect location for their formal wedding photos!
With safety being the #1 concern, their elopement was reserved for their closest friends and family members. They still wanted to include as many people as possible in their ceremony, so they had to get creative. Alex and his groomsmen worked hard to set up a microphone, camera, and Zoom meeting in the elopement space. So many friends and family members “Zoomed in” to witness their ceremony! Kirsten & Alex made everyone feel like they were actually in the room by speaking to their Zoom guests after walking back up the aisle! They also planned their formal dances immediately following the ceremony, so their Zoom guests could witness them.
After the formalities were over, Kirsten & Alex enjoyed a catered dinner and danced the night away with their wedding party and close family. I am so happy they still got to have a special ceremony despite having to postpone the larger event to next year. I am even happier that I get to work with them for another year! 🙂
Wedding Pros That Helped Make It Happen
Planner: Christa Graham Weddings & Events
Formal Photos: Stintography
Ceremony/Dinner Location Photos: The Kismet Collective
Floral: GrahamStanton
Baker: Susan Chagas
Catering: SheWolf Detroit
Hair: Robert Skiba
Rentals: Modernly Events
Hotel: Shinola
I realized wedding planning was my passion when, after working a 12-hour wedding day, I came home and was so energized that I couldn’t go to sleep. I had just worked an entire day, on my feet, and was ready to plan the next event instead of heading to bed! In former careers, an 8-hour shift would leave me exhausted. This new-found energy around my work was very welcomed! Now I plan weddings all around the Metro Detroit & Ann Arbor areas.