“I hope she doesn’t blow away.”

Good news, she didn’t blow away! For Gigi + Jake, the day couldn’t have been more beautiful (although it was very windy) and the venue couldn’t have been more perfect.

“The Inn at Bay Harbor in particular was a dream that I had ever since I first visited the hotel; I was laying at the pool one day with my mom and had witnessed a wedding going on at the same time, and I distinctly remember wishing I could get married here some day. Jake made my wishes come true not only when he asked me to marry him, but when he agreed that the Inn and right on Lake Michigan made total sense for us.”

Choosing the perfect venue is just the beginning. So much to consider from decorations, to place settings to the fine details; it takes months to plan and when the day finally arrives, it’s all very emotional.

“I didn’t start to feel butterflies until I put my dress on! I was anxious in the sense that I couldn’t wait to see how everything looked; me in my dress, the reception set up, Jake, the ceremony set up, everything. I feel like I was waiting in anticipation for everything to finally come to life and it was so exciting for it to be happening. I was feeling a little overwhelmed with all the attention I was getting but I was surrounded by my best friends and family all morning; and then even more later in the evening, so it was a good type of overwhelmed – I was overwhelmed with happy emotions! “

Those special moments, of course, include all the friends and families who have joined you in celebration but those quiet moments for the bride and groom to share alone always seem to be the ones that stick out most in their minds.

“Our first look was so nice because it gave us both time to take a breath and really spend time together; we hadn’t seen each other all morning, we’d been sleeping in different places the entire week; it was a combination of excitement and relaxation when we saw each other; like we’re here and it’s the big day but being around you makes me feel more at ease.”

“Our sunset photos on our boat were so much fun; we had planned to do these if the weather cooperated, which it did, but we came aboard to a surprise, our friends had decorated the boat with balloons that said ‘Best Day Ever’, lights, string confetti, everything. It was so cute! Aside from that though, it was a nice break to be with just each other for a few minutes and take the whole day / night in. The sun was setting, the boat looked great, we had a scotch and a beer and felt really in our element.”

For Gigi + Jake, there were so many awesome moments throughout the day; the ceremony, the speeches, the dancing and overall great time, it was hard to nail down just one thing that was most memorable.

“The ceremony by our dear friend John was absolutely amazing, it hit all the emotion notes: funny, sentimental, heartfelt – he did such an amazing job and we both felt that really set the tone of the wedding.

The maid of honor and best man speeches that followed were both amazing as well – we have such amazing friends and everyone in that room could really feel how tight knit we all are.

The first dance was anything but heartfelt, it was awkward and we both were nervous to dance in front of people however, I bet if you look back at photos you’ll see smiles on both of our faces because we were simply laughing at how awkward we are in these types of situations.”

Gigi + Jake, you certainly planned and pulled off one that was “Heartfelt, Fun and Beautiful.” Congratulations and may God bless your marriage.