Luxury Backyard Wedding in Michigan | Ashley & Tony - Christa Graham Weddings & Events

Ashley & Tony’s wedding was meticulously planned by the bride-to-be herself. I was hired to simply execute Ashley’s plans–and she did an amazing job at planning! The wedding was planned for November 2020 at The Eastern in Detroit, however as we all know, 2020 had different plans!

In August, I got an email from Ashley that the wedding was moving UP to October! I had to ask for clarification as all my other fall weddings were being DELAYED by a year, not moved up…but nope, I had read it correctly! Ashley & Tony were moving their wedding location to Tony’s parents property north of Detroit and having an outdoor tented wedding. Very exciting…but it’s a lot having to re-plan a wedding in just under 2 months! As it turns out, I had nothing to worry about, as Ashley re-planned and rescheduled everything with such grace and tenacity!

Tony’s parents’ property is gorgeous! There was plenty of space for a lakeside ceremony and a tented reception for almost 200 guests! The tent was a showstopper! The clear panels allowed enough natural sunlight to shine through during the day and allowed the golden lights strung from corner-to-corner to shine out at night, providing a lovely glow.

When the guests stepped out into the ceremony space, they were blown away by the floral arch! The floral staff transformed the tent and ceremony space with gorgeous white flowers, an abundance of greenery, and other decor. Just when I thought they were finished, they added more! The team really took into account how the bride and groom would want it to look and made adjustments along the way.

Ashley was adamant that they NOT have a first look. She wanted Tony to be surprised when she walked down the aisle! I think he had a great reaction 🙂

They warned me that their family knew how to party…and they did! I don’t think anyone stayed in their seats for long…maybe to finish their dinner…but the dance floor stayed packed!