Megan + Tevyn — The Encore at Meadow Brook Hall

i do {weddings}

An outdoor summer Meadow Brook Hall wedding in Rochester, Michigan provided by Kari Dawson, top-rated Rochester wedding photographer her team.

The postponement…

Some weddings are planned once. Megan and Tevyn planned theirs four times. What began as a 2020 celebration became a beach elopement near Traverse City, then a postponement, then another — until finally, two years into their marriage, they gathered everyone they loved at Meadow Brook Estate for what they called The Encore. By the time that day arrived, it wasn’t just a wedding reception. It was a couple who had already proven, quietly and without an audience, that they meant every word.

The encore…

As Megan and Tevyn’s newlywed year carried on, it became clear that the third time they planned their wedding for 2021 that it wasn’t quite safe enough to together their family and friends pushing their big celebration until 2022. Is the fourth time the charm? Well, for this lovely couple it was! They donned the event: The Encore. Finally, after being married for two years they got the celebration they had been planning for and dreaming of at the Meadow Brook Estate. And it was another incredible day of sunshine, their family, and their closest friends.

How it came together…

I love discovering how a wedding day comes together in a manner that is similar to the guests. The same way that I love finding a song titled buried in the lyrics. Or a book titled woven into the plot. The invitations go out weeks before the event and I get a fresh peek at them at the start of my day. Then as my mental list of photos progresses I get to see the invitation come to life. But for Megan and Tevyn, their inspiration was woven into their wedding day and my heart exploded (so did theirs when they saw it) when I found it just like a song title buried in the lyrics.

The inspiration…

Tevyn proposed to Megan at Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum in Seattle under a floral glass installation that is huge and hangs from the ceiling. The photo of their proposal was displayed next to their cake which Sweet Heather Anne turned into a cake that was an actual work of art. The colors and the glass flowers were duplicated by their cake artist and draped the layers of their cake. Once you see it, you can clearly see how everything else came together. From the invitations to the ties the gentlemen wore to the bridesmaid’s dresses, florals, and more. Ever thought a wedding cake could be the pièce de résistance that brings the vision for an entire event together? It was magic and I loved watching Megan bolt from the front of the venue to the dance floor as soon as she noticed it.

The enjoyment of the encore…

From there they strolled to their cocktail hour to greet their guests. They opted to skip the traditional ceremony and go right into enjoying their people after having already been married for two years. The evening was perfectly planned for them to entertain and enjoy their favorite people all in one place… finally. Megan and Tevyn I have enjoyed every second of the last almost 31 months (lol) of planning and replanning and preparing for you to both finally get that celebration you dreamed of. Thank you for trusting me with all your memories!

Wedding day vendors are provided at the end of this post.