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Page 2 — Wedding guide –– february 2013
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WEdding
guidE
PuBLiShEr
Elizabeth Gorske
Managing Editor
Eric Young
EditoriaL Staff
Sherry BarnumTim Barnum
Greg BucknerKevin BunchJessie Tobias
Thomas Williams
adVErtiSing SaLES
Laurie BlamerJama Gates
Anthony KachirosCarla Reeves
Tracy Pardue-Smith
CoMPoSition
Sharon EhlertJesse Karbowski
Cover Photo of Colin and Michelle
o’farrell, courtesy of Simply Love
Photography by Sarah Killackey
Sharing wedding photos in the digital age
By Eric Young
Photos. They’re a huge part of everywedding. Most brides want to captureevery moment they can so they can goback through those photos later and remi-nisce.
And while most people will hire a pho-tographer or two for their wedding, some-times that isn’t enough.
People have frequently looked for waysfor their guests to share their own photosof that special day with the bride andgroom. A common theme in the past hasbeen to leave disposable cameras on all thetables. Guests take photos and leave thecameras, and the bride and groom developthe film and get many more memories —some of them less than appropriate.
But as technology has improved, andmore and more people carry smart phoneswith cameras, the disposable camera hasbecome a thing of the past. Now the key isto find a way to access all of those photosthat everyone else has taken. Thankfully,there are many options.
A great option that I recently saw wasused at the wedding of one of my bestfriends. The photo sharing app Instagramhas become extremely popular recently.The neat thing about Instagram is that youcan use hashtags to allow people to easilysearch for photos. A hashtag is the “#”symbol followed by some text. For exam-ple, #JohnAndJane2013.
My friend then had signs around thewedding and reception asking people touse that hashtag when they posted theirphotos to Instagram. Then he could easilysearch for the photos, as could everyoneelse, and they could see everyone’s photosof the event.
Another possible option for photo shar-
ing would be to create a Facebook pagespecifically for your wedding. This couldserve a dual purpose because you couldprovide people with information on thepage leading up to the wedding, such aslodging, itinerary, and other things.
On the day of the wedding, you couldonce again share the group’s URL and askpeople to post their photos to the page. Weencourage the bride and groom to posttheir own photos during this time too, sopeople can follow your progress through-out the day.
If all of this seems like a lot of work,there is an application that can do most ofthe work for you. If you have an iPhone oran Android phone, download the freeapplication “Flock.”
When you launch Flock, it will ask youto enable location services and to give itaccess to your address book.
Flock will then scan your address bookto find other people that are using the serv-ice. It then uses the location data and timestamp on your photos in your phone todetermine when you took photos in thesame location as one of your friends. Itthen flags those photos and asks if youwant to share them.
In addition, you can see all of the photosthat your friends took during that time inthat location as well. The app does most ofthe work — you just need to tell it whatphotos to upload.
See Sharing, page 10
february 2013 –– Wedding guide — Page 3
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Couples mixing tradition with new reception trendsBy Kevin Bunch
Couples throughout northeast Michiganhave been looking to put their own spin onthe tradition of a wedding reception, addingnew trends and activities to what is tradi-tionally an evening of food, family anddance.
Jessica Zettle, owner of West Branch’sGlass Slipper, said she has seen receptionsgetting bigger than ever.
“It used to be okay that it was in a hallwith a few touches, but now, with theseshows on TLC and things getting bigger inthe wedding industry, they want people tobe awed,” Zettle said. “They want things tobe beautiful.”
While reception halls are still commonon her end, she said more brides have beengoing with linen tablecloths and chair cov-ers, as well as all-inclusive formal dinners,where the food is prepared for all theguests.
Shelly Kammerzell, owner of Antiques &Uniques in Au Gres, said her couples usual-ly go with beach weddings or tent wed-dings, aiming for a “shabby-chic” style.She said they go for candles in mason jars,trees, homemade chandeliers, and paperlanterns.
For food, Kammerzell said she has seenher brides choose food stations, where aspecific portion of the meal is given out ateach station. She acknowledged the tradi-tional plates of food are still a regular partof wedding receptions, though. Dinnerselections tend to retain the traditionalcombination of meat and potato dishes
with vegetables.Additionally, she said dessert bars are a
popular choice, where all the guests canpick out their own treats. Cupcakes insteadof a wedding cake are also a popular trend,she said, as is having some bits of entertain-ment for the guests.
Both women said photo booths, whereguests can toss on costumes and accessoriesto get some pictures, remain popular sightsat receptions, as are the traditional dances— the father-daughter dance, the weddingparty dance — but Zettle noted that she’s
seen bridal parties go a bit further.“A trend I’m seeing more of, is people
seeing bridal party dances, where they learndances ahead of time to wow their guests,”Zettle said. “For the first dance, they bustout something cool and do a choreographeddance.”
Zettle said couples are also planningmore elaborate entrances than in years past,while Kammerzell noted that traditionalparty favors are falling to the wayside,being replaced with individualized itemssuch as mason jars with a name and seat
location written on it.Other people are still opting for a more
traditional feel to their weddings, however.LouAnn Doak with the Pinconning CheeseHouse said their banquet hall sees weddingreceptions regularly, and their clientele hasa preference for traditional, homemade foodin an outdoorsy setting.
“When people walk in, they want goodfood, entertainment, and a drink,” she said.“You’re coming to a wedding to see familyand friends.”
All three women said they have noticedgrooms becoming a bit more active in thereception planning, though they eachacknowledged that the bride has far moreinput.
“Generally the groom comes to a coupleof the meetings,” Kammerzell said. “I don’twant to say they have no input, but theygenerally like to have a little bit (of input)in terms of color, where the reception is,and the cost. A lot of grooms try to have agroup function prior to wedding in night ormorning, as well, so the grooms are some-what on board.”
“When you think about how much moneyis being invested in it, yes, the grooms wantto be involved,” Doak said. “A lot morekids are paying for their own wedding. Fora few, Mom and Dad are still paying, butthe majority are doing it themselves.”
For music, all three also said that couplestend to go with DJs over live bands for costreasons, though Kammerzell said she hasseen some couples bring in a band theyknew from college or that has some specialmeaning to them to play at their reception.
Page 4 — february 2013 –– Wedding guide
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Personalization the way to go for groomsmen giftsBy tim Barnum
When your buddies agree to stand in yourwedding party, they might not say it, butthey’re expecting something in return.
And who can blame them? They have topay to rent a tux, oftentimes pay for a hotelroom and travel expenses, and dedicate timefor rehearsal and the wedding festivities.
Sure, you can thank them. But today,groomsmen gifts are expected, and accord-ing to wedding professionals, the giftsshould be personalized in some manner.
Joyce Branham-Hill, the owner ofBranham’s Jewelry in West Branch, saidpopular gifts usually include some sort ofmessage.
“Things you can get engraved, or mono-grammed, are probably the big thing,” shesaid.
Branham-Hill said groomsmen giftschange over the years, but some are alwaysa safe choice.
“It just goes in spurts and spurts,” shesaid. “A lot of people are still doing theglass mugs – the beer mugs. We canengrave those. That’s always a popularone.”
At the Silver Lining in West Branch,Samantha Fabbri said they also receivemany orders for engraved items.
“Usually the flasks and the money clipsare big ones, or a beer stein, those kinds ofthings,” she said.
Fabbri added in-store catalogs for giftsalso include items such as pocket watches,pen sets and wallets.
Knives are also a popular choice, accord-ing to Vicki Carlson at Ink & Thread inWest Branch.
“A lot of times they’ll have namesengraved on knives,” she said. “And thenwe also have flasks. Those are probably themost popular that we do for groomsmen.”
Some places will also engrave items thatwere purchased elsewhere, Carlson said.
“A lot of times, with the knives, the guyswill pick them up themselves and bringthem in for us to engrave,” she said.
Whether a groom is buying flasks, mugs,knives or money clips, personalizing thegifts is important, Branham-Hill said.
“They can remember it,” she said. “Theyhave the sentiment on it.”
No matter what the groomsmen look like,and no matter who is getting married, thereis usually one constant—the groom has noidea where to begin.
“I think he knows that he needs to getsomething, and you try to talk them through
and figure it out,” Fabbri said. “Everyone’sdifferent.”
Luckily for a confused groom, he canfind help in the store where he’s shopping,and from the lady who will soon be hiswife.
“I think the girl tells him what to get,usually,” Branham-Hill said. “I thinkbecause the brides have gotten so muchmore into doing stuff online, that there aredifferent trends they are probably aware of.”
Fabbri added that most grooms-to-be usu-ally seek advice from their future brides, orelse they are lost.
“I’m going to say 98 percent of the guyswho come in don’t know what they’re want-ing unless their fiancée or something has anidea,” she added. “They don’t really know.They just know they have to get some-thing.”
Always at “That Table”By thomas Williams
Let me just say that I hate weddings. Foryour traditional weddings, a woman spendshundreds to thousands of dollars on a dressshe will wear once — hopefully — thenkeep in a box to remind her of her happyday. Her bridesmaids buy dresses they willonly wear once, but for a different reason.Brides usually pick bridesmaids outfits sothe other girls will not outshine them.
The guys get to rent tuxedos and neverhave to think about the garments again.This does not really seem fair to me.Except for how uncomfortable the rentedtuxedo shoes are.
There are a lot more ridiculous thingsabout weddings, but this column is notabout how silly I find weddings, but howmy feelings affect my wedding experience.
I am not saying I do not respect theinstitution of marriage. I am always quietand respectful during the ceremony andallow the couple and the other people atthe church to enjoy the experience. It is thereception where my dislike for weddingstakes hold.
Since I am always seated with friendswho share the same feelings about wed-dings, we always become “That Table,”even when I am a part of the wedding. Youknow what table I am talking about. Manyof you might even have sat at “ThatTable.” It is the most obnoxious table ofthe evening. It is the table that, after a cer-tain point, can no longer maintain deco-rum.
It’s not that we get drunk and set thingson fire or start fights. Thankfully, I havenever been at a wedding that could be fea-
tured on a two-day “Jerry Springer” spe-cial.
We just lose the ability to act like “civi-lized human beings.” That was an actualquote from a friend’s grandmother.
So what if one of my friends strippeddown to his undershirt and went and gothis shorts and sandals out of the car? Itwas the end of July and the air condition-ing was broken. Who cares if my date hada little too much champagne, kissed thebride’s grandfather full on the lips andasked him if he would leave his wife forher?
There was even one time when I mighthave imbibed a little too much and decidedI did not mind dancing — which I hate.That night I was at “That Table That DrankAll the Beer.” What can I say? It was agood Irish wedding. If you watch the video
tape, done by the bride’s uncle — who wasnot sitting at our table — you see theimages start to wobble a lot, and the end ofthe video was shot from his chair.
I guess there is a tipping point for somepeople. There is that moment when it justgets to be too much. I’ve gotten better atreining myself in as I have aged, but it islike the young child in church who,halfway through the ceremony, starts to tryand wiggle out of his church clothes.
I like to compare it to a fish tank filter.Eventually, something holding back somuch needs to be cleaned out or it eventu-ally spills over.
I wish I could say I will someday be aperfect wedding guest, even helping tohold back the people I am sitting with at
See taBLE, page 7
february 2013 –– Wedding guide — Page 5
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Picture perfectThe dos and don’ts of engagement pictures
By Sherry Barnum
You finally have the ring, so why notshow it off?
Engagement pictures can be a perfect wayto showcase not only the gorgeous ring, butalso your love for each other.
But before rushing out and picking outmatching outfits, take some of this advicein- to consideration.
Sarah Killackey of Simply LovePhotography in West Branch said couplesshould wear something they are comfortablein.
“Be you! If you are more casual, T-shirtand jeans with a simple scarf is perfect,”Killackey said. “If you like to dress up, gowith a dress, blazer, and accessorize.”
“Definitely accent each other!” Killackeyadded. “If he’s wearing a blue shirt, youwear white with a blue scarf or a blue neck-lace.”
Killackey said brides should choose aphotographer who suits their style.
“Ask for examples of engagementimages,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to askyour photographer for style tips and feel freeto go that day and get your hair and makeupdone at a salon, or ask if they have an ‘on-hand’ hair and makeup girl.”
Killackey said if you are unsure of youroutfits, send a picture to your photographer.
“Get their input,” she said. “Go on loca-tion for your session.”
“What suits you in nature? Downtown,barns, fields, woods? Go where you love,”she added. “Researching different poses thatyou would love to try can help set yourengagement photos apart from the rest. Justmake it your own.”
Although there are many dos when get-ting engagement photos done, there are also
many don’ts you want to watch out for. Killackey said one thing she stresses
when getting photos done is not settling for‘your friend who has a nice camera.’
“Remember, these are your engagementphotos,” she said. “These photos are whatyou display on your walls, save the dates,invitations, and at your wedding.”
“Don’t wait until the last minute to getyour session done,” she added. “Allow your-self enough time for the session to be done,edited, prints and save the dates to beordered.”
According to Killackey, there are must-have shots that every couple should getwhen having engagement photos done.
“Always, always, always get a traditionalshot –– older generations love these,”Killackey said. “Make sure to get many thatare happy, smiling, you’re so in love, andsome that go for the more romantic, passion-ate feel.”
“Remember –– these are what you showyour parents, grandparents, and friends,” sheadded.
Killackey said details matter.“Get a shot of your hands interlocked, a
closeup of you kissing, and your ring byitself,” she said. “Don’t be scared to showoff your Pinterest to your photographer andtry the different poses out!”
“Don’t be scared to say no,” she added.“If your photographer is not suited to yourneeds and a friend or family member pushedfor you to choose them –– say no!”
Killackey said if your session doesn’t turnout the way you’d like or your poses do notshow what you are, ask for a re-shoot orrefund.
“Don’t be afraid to tell how you feel orwhat you want. Once again –– this is yourday,” Killackey said.
Do:• Be You! Wear somethingyou are comfortable in andthat you would normallywear. If you don’t then youaren’t being you! • Accent each other.• Bring at least two out-fits: one casual outfit andone dressy outfit.• Ask for examples ofengagement images.• Research different poses.• Get traditional shots.
Don’t:• Don’t settle on your pictures.• Don’t have your hair cut the day of a portrait. Schedule hairappointments at least a week in advance for a more natural look.
• Don’t wait until last-minute toget your session done.• Don’t be afraid to ask your pho-tographer for style tips.• Don’t be afraid to show yourphotographer your Pinterestboards and don’t be afraid to trydifferent poses.• Don’t be scared to say no.• Don’t be afraid to tell how youfeel or what you want.
Photos courtesy of
Simply Love Photography
–– Sarah Killackey
Page 6 — Wedding guide –– february 2013
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A wedding and its wondersBy Colin o’farrell
A wedding can be described a hundreddifferent ways. Some people will say it isthe most nervous they have ever been intheir lives. Others will say it is just a bigparty, another excuse to eat, drink andcarry on. For some it can be an importantunion of two families, desperately hopingthat their children’s vows can inspire peaceand stability for both sides (see LouisXIII’s marriage to Blanche of Castile, KingEdward II’s to Isabella of France, PamAnderson to Tommy Lee). In the end,what we all hope is that it can be describedone way, as the “happiest day of our lives.”
The day I married my Shelly was defi-nitely a combination of all of those feelings(we’re desperately hoping our union willsolidify our stranglehold over Scotland),but above all else –– the laughs, the drinksand the dancing –– it felt like a reunion.Not the type of reunion where you go backto spend time having cocktails with thesame guys who once hung your underwearfrom a flagpole (they are just drinking clubsoda now, because the freedom of collegewas a bit too much for them). This was areunion of friends, family, co-workers, andof a couple with the very place they firstbegan their lives together. This was a daythat hopefully mattered just as much to somany of the other people involved.
My wife and I were humbled and blessedthat almost 200 people attended our wed-ding on Sept. 1, 2012. That’s 200 differentstories of who and why and where theycame from. Here are just a few.
the 15-Year reunionMy Uncle Jeff passed away about a
month before our wedding. For as long asI can remember, he had lived in Californiawith his wife and two sons. My mother’sside of the family has always been fortu-nate to live in relative proximity to eachother: grandparents, three sisters, their hus-
bands and six cousins all never really morethan three hours’ travel away. (Give or takethe harsh winters my grandparents wouldspend in Florida, because why not?) Theonly outliers were the oldest brother andhis family, comfortably inhabiting arespectable living on the West Coast.
The last time I remember seeing myuncle and his family was for my grandpar-ents’ 50th wedding anniversary some 15years ago. The entire side of my mother’sfamily gathered for a brunch and simplephoto shoot. The portrait taken still hangson a wall in my parents’ home, a solemn
reminder of how common the middle partwas in a 13-year-old boy’s hair, as well asa cautionary tale of how faint opportunitiescan arise when every single member of afamily can gather in one place, at one time.It just so happened that during same monthas our wedding, my Grandmother Millieand Grandfather Al, 87 and 86 years of agerespectively, were also celebrating their65th wedding anniversary. As a nod totheir love and dedication, and a tribute tothose who carefully guard the secret of along-term marriage, we were able to findand play a version of their favorite song
(“Honey” by Kay Starr –– thanksYouTube). Though it took a minute forthem to recognize exactly what it was theDJ was playing, we would like to think thatfor those two and a half minutes they weretransported back to a time where theirfriends and family could gather around,share a meal and some laughs, and cele-brate the union of a young couple in love.
The presence of my aunt and twocousins culminated in a family gatheringthat had been almost too long in the mak-ing. While the names on the invitationswere meant to celebrate my wife and me,there was a tremendous sense that this daymeant so much more to so many others.Even though my uncle was not able to seeit, the presence of his legacy was morethan my family and I could ever haveasked for.
the cook and the co-workerBen the banquet cook is a jovial and
jolly spirit who enjoys a good joke almostas much as a good drink. One of my lastingmemories of working with Ben was thetime he told me how he had returned homelate one night, reeling from the effects of anight spent at his favorite watering hole,and never quite made it to his bed. Hislarge frame and withered wits had decidedthat the floor adjacent to his bed was justas good a spot as any. Later that night, asa severe storm ripped through the Mid-Michigan area, a massive branch was dis-lodged from an overhanging tree, slam-ming through his bedroom window, “Rightwhere my stinkin’ head would have been,man!”
To this day I could not honestly tell youif this story is true or not. Neither myfriends nor I were ever able to confirm thetale, as Chateau la Ben was not necessarilya place young college students would(thankfully) ever really visit. To this day,
Photo courtesy of Michelle O’Farrell
Michelle and Colin O’Farrell stand outside Buck’s Run Golf Course in Mount
Pleasant, where they met in college.
See WondErS, page 12
february 2013 –– Wedding guide — Page 7
Nontraditional guest books provide keepsakes for a lifetime
By Sherry Barnum
Every bride wants to make her weddingday her own, whether it is making yourown decorations or adding special touchesthroughout the ceremony to show yourstyle.
But what about changing up the wayguests sign in at the wedding?
The days of the traditional guest bookare quickly fading as websites, such asPinterest, give brides new ideas to remem-ber their special day and everyone whoattended.
Ashley (Hamilton) Smith of WestBranch was married in May 2012 anddecided to go the “nontraditional” way fora guest book.
“I decided to go with a ‘thumbprint tree’at my wedding versus a traditional guestbook because I felt like the traditionalguest books that are used are tossed in abox and forgotten about,” Smith said.“Whereas our thumbprint tree, which alsoincluded our last name and the date of ourwedding, could be hung on display in ourhome, so that people who shared our spe-cial day with us are never forgotten.”
Smith said she saw the idea on Pinterestand automatically fell in love with it.
“They had many different ideas as far asa thumbprint guest book, but the tree wasmy favorite,” Smith said. “I felt like itwent with my wedding theme the best andwould look best afterwards in my home.”
Smith said she had a friend paint out abig tree with lots of branches on a canvas.
“We then set out different shades ofgreen ink for the thumbprints, a pen forthem to sign their name next to theirthumbprint, along with wet wipes for themto wipe their hands afterwards,” Smithsaid. “I received lots of compliments onthe idea, and although I was worried aboutpeople not wanting to get inky fingers eventhough the wipes cleaned it off, no oneseemed to mind.”
Smith said the only disappointment shehad with going with the thumbprint tree isthat people are so used to seeing your tra-ditional guest book, she noticed that theyhad quite a few people overlook the tablewhere the thumbprint tree was.
“Almost a year after our wedding andit’s still fun to look at the canvas hangingin our entryway and reminisce about thatday and the people that shared it with us,”she added.
As for bride Audrey (Daniels) Bischoff
of Tawas, the nontraditional route was away to display her engagement pictures,which held a special meaning to her andher husband.
“When I was gathering up all the finaltouches for my wedding, I of course con-sidered buying a traditional guest book,”Bischoff said. “But then I started thinkingto myself how outdated and unnecessary aguest book really was.”
“In this day and age, I don’t really needan exhausting list of everyone who was atmy wedding along with their streetaddress –– I already have their address,that’s how they got invited,” Bischoffadded. “It’s in a 10-page Excel file on mylaptop.”
Bischoff said she considered doing whather older sister and thousands of otherbrides had done, and going with a largematted photograph that everyone couldsign and then keeping it as a keepsake to
hang on the wall.“But, then I visited my older sister’s
home. She has been married seven yearsnow, and the giant scribbled-on weddingphoto is dusty and taking up wall spacethat she would rather have allotted to fami-ly photos, and pictures of her beautifulchildren,” Bischoff said. “Her life hasmoved on to a new phase, and yet the giantphoto still remains. It has sentimentalmeaning to them as a couple, but reallydoesn’t do anything for their home decor.Not only that, but the idea of the mattedphotograph has gone the same route as theMacarena.”
Bischoff said she wanted something new. “Four months before our wedding, we
got together with our photographer and didour engagement photos,” she said. Our firstdate had been going on a horseback ridetogether, on our horses that we had eachowned since childhood. We talked our pho-
tographer into a horseback photo sessionoverlooking the AuSable River.”
Bischoff said the engagement photosmeant a lot to them since they commemo-rated their first date, their shared interest inhorses, and they were also able to get pro-fessional photos of their beloved childhoodpets, who are not getting any younger.
“The pictures turned out absolutelyamazing! I wanted to somehow put themall on display so that all of our friends andfamily could see all of our beautifulengagement photos,” she said. “That’swhen I came up with the idea to make aphoto book. I went on Walmart.com andcreated a photo book with all of ourengagement photos.”
Bischoff said she left blank pagesthroughout the book, and added lyrics fromthe chorus of a love song both she andJason like, “Something That We Do” byClint Black.
“I was very pleased with how it turnedout. It wasn’t very expensive, $25-$35,”Bischoff said. “It was a great way to shareour beautiful engagement photos with ourguests at the wedding. And now I have awedding keepsake that I can keep on thecoffee table for now, and then later transferit to a bookshelf to make room for photosof our next big adventure.”
Bischoff said she would recommend it toany bride who is looking for a way to adda personal touch to the old, traditionalguest sign-in.
Photo courtesy of Two Fish Photography
Audrey and Jason Bischoff ride their horses during an engagement shoot. This picture is an example of pictures used
throughout her photo guest book.
the reception, but I cannot promise any-thing.
For all the future brides and grooms outthere, when you are planning your ceremo-ny, make sure everyone is going to becomfortable and do not drag everythingout too long. The longer things go, or peo-ple have to wait around for you, the morelikely people are to reach their tippingpoint.
TableContinued from page 4
Page 8 — Wedding guide –– february 2013
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The secret life of wedding DJsWhile they keep the reception going, DJs try to keep the spotlight off themselves
By greg Buckner
After all the stress and months of plan-ning culminates in a beautiful wedding cer-emony, it’s time for everyone to get readyand let loose at the reception.
While your Uncle Steve and Aunt Lindaare out on the dance floor boogying downto Bob Seger, people are toasting to thenewly married couple and old friends aregetting a chance to catch up after yearsapart. But there are others who are busyworking overtime while everyone is enjoy-ing the evening.
Those people are wedding DJs.While everyone is dancing the night
away, the DJs fly under the radar as theykeep the night going. According to ClifHolland, who owns Holland Entertainmentwith his wife, Jessica, the less attention theDJs draw to themselves, the better thenight will go.
“The couples we work with realize howmuch work and planning we do when wework a wedding reception, but the night isall about them,” Holland said. “If I dosomething like slip up when announcingthe names of the people in the weddingparty, then all the eyes go off the weddingparty and onto me. You don’t want thathappening. I still get butterflies when Iannounce the wedding party, because it’ssuch a special moment, but I’m so nervousabout trying to not mess up anyone’sname.”
Since starting Holland Entertainmentseven years ago, Clif said he gets thosebutterflies every time he works at a wed-ding and his love of music led him to hisstart his DJing career.
“I started doing this just because of thepure enjoyment I get from music,” he said.“You can hire these big companies andthey’ll send you some DJ you don’t get to
know, but my wife and I take great pride inadding a personal touch and really gettingto know the couples we work with.”
While he has a day job working atRichardson Ford in Standish, Holland saidmuch of the time he’s not at work is dedi-cated to his other profession.
“Once we have a wedding booked andwe’ve met with the couple, we typically sitdown about one or two weeks before thewedding and lay out how the whole nightwill go,” he said.
Holland said he tries to schedule thenight down to the last minute, just to makesure the night goes off without a hitch.
“Our job is to make sure things gosmooth,” he said. “We lay out the lineup ofthe night as best we can. We scheduleevery dance, we work with the couples topick the songs they want for each dance,and try to follow a playlist to make sureeverything goes just right.”
While he said he tries his best to fullymap out the night, you have to be ready toswitch things up if needed.
“You sit down with the couples andthey’ll tell you whatthey want and don’twant,” Holland said. “But, my wife is real-ly good at reading a room and seeing whatpeople are responding to. If people arereally responding to '80s music and aregetting out on the dance floor, you runwith that for a while because the more youget people involved, the more they’ll talkabout and remember the night.”
Holland said sometimes you even haveto go against what the wedding couplewants in favor of keeping the whole roominvolved.
“The bride might ask you to play a cer-tain song that ends up clearing the dancefloor, so you have to try and get those peo-ple back out on there without going againstthe wishes of the bride and groom,” he
said.With a catalog of more than 28,000
songs, Holland said he’s prepared to makea change at the drop of a coin.
“We use the streaming service Rhapsodyto purchase all of our songs, but now wecan also pull up a song on my wife’s smartphone and be ready for pretty much anyrequest,” he said.
In order to build that impressive musiclibrary and purchase the three sound sys-tems he has at his disposal, Holland saidhe had to make a sizable investment overthe years.
“Just from when I started up to where Iam today with all of the lights, music and
other equipment I’ve had to purchase, I’veinvested about $7,000 to $8,000 in thewhole setup,” Holland said. “But, just likeanything else, you’ve got to invest moneyif you want to make money.”
He said he typically charges anywherefrom $500 to $700 for a wedding recep-tion, but that price can change, as he hasexpanded his coverage area and sometimeshas to charge more for travel expenses.
“We do a lot of weddings around theStandish area and other places around herebecause since I work there, I know a lot ofthe people in the area, but we go pretty
Photo courtesy of Clif Holland
Clif Holland gets the crowd dancing at a wedding.
See SECrEt, page 10
february 2013 –– Wedding guide — Page 9
Plan your dream wedding with the help of these local area businesses.
Local wedding planners note small moves toward ‘green’ weddingsBy Kevin Bunch
While trends toward environmentallyfriendly weddings have not been particularlyprevalent in Northeast Michigan, coupleshave made a few moves to try and reducethe impact their weddings have on theenvironment.
Shelly Kammerzell, of Antiques &Uniques in Au Gres, said she has seenbrides interested in downplaying theirenvironmental impact by moving to recy-cled paper plates and napkins for theirreceptions, while avoiding plastic cups and
water bottles when possible.Those couples will also separate out the
trash for recycling bins, and will recycleanything they can, she said. For the wed-ding itself, they tend to give out birdseedto throw instead of rice or bubbles.
Kammerzell said there is only so muchthey can do given the nature of a tradition-al wedding, however.
“I think it’s hard to do one of those ‘savethe earth’ type weddings,” she said. “(It’shard) to have a reception in a hall andthink you’re saving the environment.”
LouAnn Doak at the Pinconning Cheese
House said they do not see many peoplecome to their hall interested in it either,though since they use normal silverwareand glassware for their receptions, she saidthey are not filling landfills with plasticsand other non-biodegradeable items.
Jessica Zettle, with the Glass Slipper inWest Branch, said she has seen bridesshooting for more environmentally-mindedparty favors.
“I have one bride giving away seedpackets as a favor, for certain kind ofthings people can grow afterward,” Zettlesaid. “Her centerpieces are green, with tiny
trees (guests) can take home, becausethat’s part of what she’s giving to guests.”
She said she has also seen couples opt-ing to spend their party favor budgetinstead on causes near and dear to them,from medical research to environmentalprotection.
Zettle said local caterers getting theirsupplies from local farms is also moreenvironmentally sound, since there is lessin the way of pollution from transportation,but noted that most couples simply hire acaterer and entrust them to do their job well,rather than personally managing the food.
‘Crashing’ your special dayHow to spot wedding crashers and prevent them from ruining your wedding
By greg Buckner
You’ve walked down the aisle, and nowyou’ve finally gotten to your reception andyou’re ready to unwind and celebrate yourspecial day.
But as you scan the buffet line duringdinner, you notice two guys that you’venever seen before shoveling down plates offood and taking advantage of the open baryou’ve been so generous to stock with yourown money.
It’s at this moment that you realize youhave a problem on your hands. Weddingcrashers have infiltrated your wedding.
While the film of the same name por-trayed wedding crashers as good-naturedpartiers who just want to enjoy a good timeand find their way home with one of themembers of the bridal party, the truth isthese people can throw off months’ worth
of planning and create quite the unneededheadache on your wedding day.
While wedding crashers can come in allforms, let’s take a look at the main culpritsand how to deal with the situation:
The plus-one: You receive an RSVP forthe wedding for “Cousin Mark and Guest.”When Mark gets to your wedding, hebrings his latest flavor of the week, whohappens to scream “Freebird!” at the DJand starts hitting on your 16-year-oldnephew after spending some time at theopen bar.
Solution: Kindly ask the bartender tostop serving the crude woman in the leop-ard-print dress and tell your cousin thatunless he controls his date, the DJ will askover the speaker system if Mark and hisdate, the registered sex offender, couldplease make their way to the dance floor.
Children: You were so happy for your
friend Stephanie when she had her son afew years ago, but she isn’t the toughestdisciplinarian, and now little Steve hasbecome quite the handful. During the wed-ding ceremony, he starts screaming until hismom lets him play Angry Birds on hersmart phone.
By the time you get to the reception, he’sgrabbing the wedding gifts and shakingthem to see what’s inside. Solution: A pre-emptive measure would be to include onyour RSVPs that the wedding will be an“adult-only affair.” If it’s only little Stevethat’s a problem, debate on how good offriends you are with Stephanie and if shewould unfriend you if you stuck her in theback corner table with creepy Uncle John.
Complete strangers: You recognize themajority of the people at your wedding, butyou know you didn’t invite the gentlemenwho scream “Shots!” and have more gel in
their hair than the cast of “Jersey Shore.” Turns out, these fools happened to be
staying in the hotel your reception is at, andthey decided they could “totally score atthis wedding, bro!”
Solution: Make sure you have an eagle-eyed friend at the main entrance of thereception with the guest book in hand tothwart such attempts. If someone happensto sneak through, either go the route ofsilently escorting them out or go with pub-lic humiliation. Whichever method fits yourstyle.
There can be many different types ofwedding crashers that you should be on thelookout for, but if you take the appropriateprecautionary measures and have a solidsupport group ready to handle whateverissues pop up on your wedding day, you toocan be free of Owen Wilson and VinceVaughn wannabes.
Page 10 — Wedding guide –– february 2013
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I’ve used Flock a couple of times, and it’s a really neat application. However, the prob-lem that I noticed is that the app will not function without location services turned on.On my iPhone, the app doesn’t seem to be smart enough to only use the GPS when theapp is running. Therefore, my GPS is always going, which in turn drains my phone bat-tery very quickly.
So when I do use Flock, I tend to turn location services on and off to conserve battery,thus taking a lot of the automatic functions out of the application, as well as much of theappeal. But for an event like a wedding, it could be neat to use and then turn off at theend of the night.
There are likely hundreds of other options available to people for sharing photos in thedigital age, so we suggest you search around to see what option might work best for you.But there are certainly a lot of better and cheaper options than the outdated days of dis-posable cameras.
SharingContinued from page 2
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much all over the state,” Holland said. “We’ve gone everywhere from Traverse City toAlpena to as far south as Flint. I even had a woman who went to one of the weddings wedid and she liked our work so much, so she wanted us to come down and do a weddingin North Carolina. But I couldn’t take the five days off work that it would require to trav-el down there and do the gig.”
While it takes a lot of work to do what he and his wife do, Holland said the joy he getsfrom being part of someone’s wedding day is more than enough repayment.
“One of my favorite things we do is an ‘anniversary dance,’” he said. “We ask every-one who’s married to come out on the floor and we start with the wedding couple andthen ask those who have been married five years to leave the floor, 10 years, and so on,until we get to the longest-lasting couple. We did one wedding last year in West Branchwhere there was more than 5,000 people, but when we did that dance, there was six cou-ples still out on the floor when we got to the 50-year mark. That’s such a rush for me thatit gave me goose bumps. That’s why I do what I do.”
For more information on Holland Entertainment, visit their Facebook page atwww.facebook.com/Holland-Entertainment or call 989-450-0753.
SecretContinued from page 8
february 2013 –– Wedding guide — Page 11
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however, I would like to think that thepowers that be spared Ben that night, sothat he could one day be the man to cookon our wedding day.
I worked with Ben for almost four yearsat a banquet hall/golf course. Seeing thatmy main job responsibilities were to pres-ent all banquet food in an efficient and pro-fessional manner to the guests, my fate wasalways intertwined with those who pre-pared anything and everything edible.From charity gatherings to golf outings,from weekly buffets to 300-person wed-dings, Ben would make the food, and I(flanked by a carefully recruited host ofWhittemore-Prescott-educated friends/co-workers) would serve it to the ever-hungrymasses.
I don’t recall exactly how it began, mostlikely through a casual whisper along thelines of, “Hey man, make sure I get a pieceof that stinkin’ wedding cake.” Thus begana regular tradition of procuring a singlepiece of wedding cake from the happy cou-ple (unbeknownst to them) for the sole pur-pose of benefitting Ben’s belly. And so itwent on, that as soon as the newly mintedbride and groom finished taking the firstcut of their multi-tiered work of art, thestaff of servers and food runners woulddescend upon its remains to provide piecesto the room full of guests, with one piecealways sneaking its way back into the bow-els of the kitchen. When I remarked onetime to Ben that this reminded me of theisland natives in “King Kong” having tomake a sacrifice to the titular great best, hemerely laughed, most likely because hismouth was full of cake.
On the day of my own wedding, I madethat sacrifice one more time. While thistime it was my cake, the rest of the routineplayed out quite the same. I’d like to thinkthat this time it felt a bit more special, hav-ing the groom give just the slightest ofthanks in the form of a heavily frosted pas-
try.The life of a cook, server, waitress or
food runner is hardly a celebrated life.Much like the CIA, you only ever hear ofthem if something has gone wrong. Ben,his boss Peter, and the countless otherhappy souls who worked hand and foot toprovide for us on our wedding day werereunited with many people who knewexactly how easy work can be when youtake the time to celebrate the little things inlife, such as cake.
the couple and the golf courseI met my wife at the very place that we
would end up being wed (full disclosure:she wasn’t actually my wife when I mether). When working with someone in theservice industry, you can usually assumethat they are at least somewhat selfless, ORthey can pretend that they are selfless toscore a worthwhile tip. It was obvious frommy first conversations with my Shelly thatshe was without a doubt as caring andunselfish as she was blonde and beautiful.Not only did she spend her evenings serv-ing food and waiting on many of Mid-Michigan’s elite socialites, but she spenther mornings working at a day care, dili-gently cleaning up the messes of other peo-ple’s children. (Seriously, who does that?)
Our courtship happened through no faultof her own. That is to say, it was 100 per-cent my evil doing. At that time in myemployment, I had earned what littleresponsibility could be awarded to thosewho were worthy. And by worthy, I meanpeople who hadn’t quit and had been therethe longest. This allowed me the tiny privi-leges of scheduling certain people for shiftsthat happened to involve my diligent super-vision. Shelly was one such person whoalways happened to find herself workingunder my watchful eye. For those of youthinking that sounds like a total abuse ofpower, rest assured you are absolutelyright.
It wasn’t long, through sheer overexpo-sure and power of personality, that webegan a relationship that has lasted to thisvery day. As our love grew, we wouldcasually discuss what and where and whoour wedding might involve. Something thatseemed to have almost decided itself wasthat we knew we wanted to return to thatbeautiful place where we met. Granted, ifwe had met at a Hooters, or a Trailer ParkBoys variety show, the decision would nothave been that easy. The fact that the ban-quet hall/golf course in question is a beau-tiful wooden building with a wall full ofwindows overlooking Lake Fisher (hometo many of my golf balls and a club or twoof Ben’s) made it a very serendipitouschoice.
While no place can ever be perfect (Iwas asked “Do you know who I am?” notonce, but twice while waiting on customersthere back in the day), the memories thatwe had already shared in this cornerstoneof our youth made the day we exchangedour vows that much more special. Ourwedding day reminded me of the selflesscollege girl I had met so many years earli-er. While we both had our list of demandswhen it came to our special day, we foundourselves worrying more about all of theothers who would be sharing the day withus. Those who thrive in the service indus-try must come to terms with the fact thattheir needs are secondary to those of theguest. Why some people (both server ANDguest) never realize this fact is a tragedyunto itself.
Though it was “our” day, it wouldn’thave been the same if those who cameweren’t made as happy as we could havepossibly made them. That was not onlymy biggest concern, but one shared by mycaring and selfless bride-to-be. We bothmet in the context of doing our own littlething to help others (and pay rent) andwere married in that same beautiful place,
happy as can be that we were able to sharethe feeling with friends and family. Fromthe day we first met, she has been my co-worker in life, clocking in every day toshare the ups, the downs, the laughs and thecries, for as long as life keeps cutting us acheck.
DISCLAIMER: My groomsmen will callshenanigans on my claim that I “cared forothers” solely because of the cost of theirtuxedos. This did not stop any of them,however, from admitting how much they alllooked like Jon Hamm –– Paul Newman forour older readers –– on our wedding day.
honorable MentionsThe bearded friend who traveled all the
way from the shores of Orange County,Calif.
The Vanilla Ice one-man cover band thattraveled from the Arizona desert.
The bridesmaid who many found fasci-nating simply because she was from theUpper Peninsula.
The collection of “worst” friends whomade up the groomsmen, and assortedguests who, among them, would make funof the groom for being so pale, pushed thealcohol capacity to the limit, and gave thegift of Chef Boyardee spaghetti cans as awedding gift.
The wedding photographer who knewexactly the type of characters and creaturesshe would be required to photograph for anentire evening.
The groom’s sister, who tirelessly imag-ined and developed all things creative, fromthe save the dates to the invitations, to thewedding video.
To our parents, whose love, caring,financial investment and sense of humormolded two people who would like nothingmore than to grow up to be as happy asMom and Dad. Their story could fillanother three pages alone, but I’m not get-ting paid for this, so it will have to wait foranother day.
WondersContinued from page 6
