Real Wedding 2009 | Jan & Dan

It's hard for me to pick a favorite event when friends & family ask, simply because I like elements from each wedding we work on - no matter how involved we get. From our planning and management clients, to our set-up clients, each bride-to-be has great taste and we love to show it off on the blog! However, Jan & Dan's wedding I'm going to gush about a little. The flowers! The dress! The location! It was all gorgeous.

When I met with Jan & Dan last June, they wanted a beach wedding on the shores of Lake Michigan. Unfortunately the only way to get a tent & rentals, plus the food down to their beach was to rent a barge and ship it all in via waterway. No joke. Since the cost was way over budget, we did the next best thing and created the reception space under a canopy of trees on their property. It was beautiful, easily accessible and it turned out perfectly!

I cannot stress enough that working with the budget you have set (instead of splurging on a barge, in this case!) makes everyone happy in the long run. Instead of renting the barge to be right on the beach, they hired one of the best deejays from Chicago, had an amazing vegan dinner and kept the drinks coming all night long. It was a marvelous party that their guests will remember for years to come!