Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Real Michigan Eco-Wedding {Sand Ceremony, Sustainable Reception Venue, and DIY Antique Mason Jars)


Today's wedding is courtesy of the talented and super sweet photographer, Misty Minna. Misty was kind enough to share the beautiful wedding of Donna and Adam with us, who married in Grand Rapids, Michigan in September of 2011. If you are interested in doing a sand ceremony, this couple had a lovely one, which you'll find pictures of below. I also love the fact that they made so many eco-conscious choices: they married in a local park, used flowers from an organic market, and held their reception at a restaurant that supports local farmers. (Misty gave me a whole synopsis of this entire wedding, which I've included at the end of this post for your perusal.) Thank You Misty!


















FROM MISTY: Donna and her sister worked very hard on all the DIY details of her weddings. They hand painted mason jars to give them a blue antique look. The small cups or wine glasses they bought online at Beau-Coup. They bought the rest of the details; pictures frames, little diamonds, silk flowers and tulle at Hobby Lobby and Michael’s, local craft stores. For the twigs and sticks used at ceremony and reception, Adam went out into the woods behind their house and chose branches, sanded them and sprayed with a clear coat to prevent flaking.

They used an organic market, Horrocks for the flowers. The reception was at San Chez, a downtown tapas restaurant that uses local farmers for produce and has sustainable business practices. Their wedding invites were also printed on recycled paper. They chose to have a sand ceremony, which is popular in Michigan. Donna and Adam ceremoniously poured various colors of unity sand from separate containers into one special container, the unity vase, symbolizing their coming together as one. It symbolizes the joining of their two lives into a single stream with their individually colored sands joining as one in the Unity Vase. Plus, it can be preserved unlike a unity candle.


All Photography By  Misty Minna Photography





 

7 comments:

Rev. Carleen Burns said...

I was the officiant for Donna & Adam's wedding. They were a super sweet couple, and Misty's images of them are wonderful. Great wedding that I was so pleased to be a part of!
Thank you for giving them this special recognition for all their hard work.
Rev. Carleen Burns
Kalamazoo, MI

Valerie (Pieceful Wedding) said...

This wedding is beautiful! I love their use of environmentally friendly details! Also the sand ceremony is absolutely amazing and such a wonderful way to express love!

Wedding Flowers Co said...

Super nice decoration, all of the flowers are amazing! beautiful bride!

Kelly Green said...

The bridesmaid dresses look really beautiful and special....

Jennifer said...

Thank you everyone for your sweet comments! I'm so glad you all loved this wedding as much as I did!

Alyx said...

lovely decorations! love the bridesmaids dresses

Unique Wedding Invitations said...

Fab styling! I love the concept of a sand ceremony instead of the usual unity candle - very unique!

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