classic birmingham community house wedding

Classic Birmingham Community House Wedding. Detroit, Michigan wedding photography at the Westin Book Cadillac hotel in downtown, Detroit and Birmingham Community House located in Birmingham, Michigan provided by Kari Dawson and her team.

Birmingham Community House Wedding-0

When I arrived at the Westin Book Cadillac last weekend for Chris and Andrea’s wedding day preparations I was greeted with a big warm welcome from Andrea’s mom and each of her bridesmaids. Ladies! You are the friendliest bunch of gals I have had the pleasure of spending a wedding day with! Thank you for making my team and I feel like part of the bunch! All of the girls were ready with their hair and make-up complete and relaxed in their cute pink bridesmaid robes. I’m such a sucker for pink. Andrea’s bridesmaids each chose their own dress for the wedding day and their selections came together beautifully. Their dresses created a soft color palette of champagne and blush pinks and all of them had sequins of some kind which made everyone look so glamorous! Andrea gave each of the girls a pair of earrings and even though they each wore the same pair, even the earrings looked unique on each lovely lady.

The bodice of Andrea’s dress (besides VERY TINY) was a fitted sweetheart shape and I adored the simple elegance as it dropped below her waist then opened into gorgeous layers in a mermaid style. This dress was made for Andrea! I love that Andrea wore most of her hair down. Her make-up was truly stunning and her pale pink lip was the perfect finish. Chris and his groomsman all wore a pale navy suit with crisp white shirts. Chris donned a navy bow tie while the rest of the guys each wore long navy ties. I am currently obsessed with Cognac details for men so I loved that the suits had cognac buttons and the guys all wore cognac color dress shoes. Their socks were a fun polka dot, too!

Andrea did reveal her nerves at all that afternoon. But, as I finished her Bridal Portraits, she heard Chris’ voice as he approached for their first look and she stopped in her tracks. Nothing else mattered in that second. Andrea was ready to see her groom! Wait until you see their First Look! These two are the cutest! Andrea covered Chris’ eyes before he had his first peek at her and when he finally did see his Bride, his face was priceless. Chris was elated and emitted so much joy when he saw Andrea. Andrea giggled a little and said it felt a little like a first date. They both even shed a tear or two. The room where Chris and Andrea shared their first look is my favorite thing about the Westin Book Cadillac and suited them and their style perfectly.

I may have mentioned my incredible luck with the rain a time or two. It was supposed to rain ALL day on Saturday. It rained all morning. It rained on my drive into Detroit but the skies cleared before I parked; thank you, Jesus! The rain stayed away during Andrea’s preparations and their couple and wedding party portraits downtown. It poured almost the entire way back to Birmingham but as luck would have it, it stopped before we had to get off the party bus. Not only did it remain dry for the remainder of their portraits, it didn’t rain during their outdoor ceremony and it didn’t rain when we finished up family formals and portraits after the ceremony. I even managed to sneak Chris and Andrea back outside after dinner because it cleared up again long enough for us to play on this darling patio that is full of string lights. So much fun. Everything came together beautifully at the Birmingham Community House and the food was delicious. Their ceremony was so lovely and personal. They both shared emotional vows that they each wrote. As they excited made their way back down the aisle as Mr and Mrs they were serenaded by a classic vocalist that sang Andrea’s Grandfather’s favorite song that he sang personally at his children’s weddings. I always adore when couples find unique ways to personalize moments of their wedding day and that one was so precious.

Andrea’s facial expressions are probably my favorite thing about their entire wedding day. The way she sometimes scrunches her nose when she laughs, or peeks out the corner of her eye at Chris, and the softest expression she wore when she snuggled up during portraits. Chris and Andrea, I pray you always look at each other the way you did on your wedding day. Never forget the small things that pulled you two together in the first place. Love well. Fight hard to stay connected. Don’t forget to go on date nights. Lean on those who love you most when things get tricky. Happy honeymooning!!! xoxo – Kari

Complete list of wedding day vendors at the end of this post.

Birmingham Community House Wedding21