Frankenmuth Brewery: Lauren & Jeremy’s Modern Elegance Wedding
The road to Lauren and Jeremy’s beautiful wedding began in October of 2020 when I had the joy of photographing Jeremy’s proposal to my cousin, Lauren. It was such a sweet event to witness, the tears were flowing behind the camera just as they were in front from Lauren’s genuine surprise and overwhelming emotion. It should be noted I would likely be crying even if the bride-to-be was not a beloved relative of mine, I tend to be a ridiculously sentimental person and have been known to choke up during father-daughter dances of weddings I’m photographing… Flash forward a few months when Lauren contacted me to ask if I would photograph their wedding in late June 2021- woohoo!! I was a bit hesitant to say ‘yes’, not because of the event itself but because I would be 37 weeks pregnant with my third child on that day. After formulating contingency plans with Lauren in case Baby A should arrive early, I accepted the honor and was over the moon excited to be able to share my cousin’s whole wedding day with her through my lens.
Wedding week arrived with no sign of baby’s earth-side debut, however, the forecast called for a solid week of rain scheduled to start smack on Lauren and Jeremy’s wedding day. Of all the times that the meteorologists are wrong, why, oh why, could this have not been another one of those incorrect predictions?!? June 25th dawned and sure enough, it was raining early morning before my husband, Mike, and I hit the road towards Frankenmuth where the wedding was held. Mike was a good sport and played the role of my assistant throughout the day- being my chauffeur, carrying equipment and being the gopher for his very pregnant photographer wife. Thanks, babe!
We arrived to the Brownstone Haus, a beautiful rentable home in Frankenmuth which served as a perfect back drop for getting-ready pictures as well as the first-looks and most of their portraits as the rain foiled our original plans to shoot at the Frankenmuth boat launch. If you are planning a wedding in Frankemuth, I would highly recommend the Brownstone Haus! This is a beautifully restored American Four-Square home in amazingly close proximity to downtown Frankenmuth. The facility has immaculate modern updates that mix perfectly with preserved historic touches. Photographers will be delighted to have this space as a backdrop for getting-ready photos as it is clean with lots of natural light and furniture that lends nicely as props. Making this home even more appealing is that it can be used to host small wedding receptions, showers, brunches and more. The carriage house in the backyard is an even more incredible space that adds tenfold value. Click on the link above to see more of this incredible property.
At the Brownstone Haus, Lauren had her hair and makeup done upstairs while Jeremy was sequestered below until their first look. We were able to get beautiful portraits in each location without them ever catching a glimpse of one another. Due to the rain, we had to reconfigure the planned shooting locations as the rain showed no sign of stopping but it all worked out and their portraits were just as pretty as if there had been not a cloud in the sky.
Lauren was an absolute vision of bridal elegance in her Lillian West gown from Jenna in White, located in Berkley, MI. Pure perfection from head to toe. After she descended the stairs to where her father was waiting, they had a sentimental first look followed by Lauren reading a letter she had penned to her parents that hit all of the feels, thanking them for all of their love and support throughout her life and setting an amazing example of a strong marriage.
The covered porch on the front of the house kept them out of the rain for their first look and while my hair looked a hot mess thanks to the humidity, Caidy of Caidy Marie Beauty worked some black magic and gave Lauren a ‘do that didn’t fall or frizz AT ALL. Amazing. Lauren and Jeremy read vows they had written to one another at this time and the laughter mixed in the the hugs, kisses and tears was so much fun to photograph. I admit I wasn’t paying much attention to what the vows were precisely but the expressions on their faces in the photos reveal they must have been pretty epic.
Inspired by Ron Swanson’s favorite libation on ‘Parks and Recreation’, Jeremy purchased a bottle of Lagavulin to share with family at the house before they headed off to the venue. Ron Swanson may love it but the reviews were a bit varied from this wedding bunch, however, it did make for some good laughs and photos if nothing else!
The event space at Frankenmuth Brewery was decorated by Lauren and her mum the night prior and looked beautiful. Early on in our conversations about photography for the wedding that kept coming up was how very little the details actually mattered to Lauren or Jeremy. Things that most brides are so excited to plan were never a big concern to Lauren as this happy couple truly wanted nothing more than to just be married. Having been together since high school, they were more than ready to start their life as husband and wife and everything else was just icing on the wedding cake. Beautiful and creative details are certainly fun to shoot and partake in, but when the love and commitment being made take center stage for the couple, the marriage is stronger and is felt by the guests making the wedding even better. This was one of those weddings and it was awesome.
Lauren came down the aisle with her father and I could almost not see what I was trying to focus my camera on as welling tears blurred my vision as my beautiful cousin walked towards her almost-husband. The ceremony was short and sweet with just Lauren and Jeremy at the altar foregoing a formal bridal party. As the newlyweds walked through the restaurant area of Frankenmuth Brewery to sign their marriage license atop a brewery kettle with each of their best friends as witnesses, tables of people yelled well wishes of ‘congratulations!’ as they walked past. Nothing beats feeling like a local celebrity! From there made their grand entrance into the space to sit at their sweetheart table (my favorite!) and be toasted by the fathers of the bride and groom.
The party portion of the night was stellar with killer music from David Charles Events keeping the dance floor packed all night, full of shenanigans from the couples’ very entertaining friends and family. One of the highlights for Lauren was boogying with her 88-year-old grandfather, and boy can he cut a rug!
The rain never did let up the whole day but that didn’t put a damper on the good times being had indoors in any way. Besides, they say rain on your wedding day is good luck, right?! If that is true, Lauren and Jeremy should play the lotto quite often. But who needs luck or winning lottery tickets when you have someone to hold you tight, protect you and grow old with you? Certainly not these two and that is what made this wedding day all the more sweet to witness.
