Behind the Scenes: The Honards Get Married!

I am so excited to share some highlights from our wedding back in September with everyone!

Sean and I got married on Sunday, September 3 at the Felt Estate in Holland, Michigan. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day, and everything about the day was absolutely perfect. (So it works out well that our first dance was to Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect”!)

Holland is about 45 minutes west of my hometown of Grand Rapids, and while neither of us really have any strong ties to it, the venue we found there was beautiful, unique, and exactly what we wanted. And they had a Sunday on a holiday weekend still available for 2017 (hello cheaper venue cost!), so we booked it right before we moved to Cincinnati.

One thing that I loved about the venue is that we could get ready on-site. It’s an old mansion that the city now owns, so there were plenty of rooms for everyone to get ready without having to drive around in a formal dress or suit! Plus, both of our families stayed in the mansion overnight!

Yes, my dress was pink! When I started looking at dresses, one thing I kept saying was that I didn’t want a strapless dress, because I didn’t want to be constantly pulling it up all evening.

Then… I found this dress. I had been gravitating toward the colored dresses (champagnes, pinks, etc.), so I pulled this one on a whim, even though it was strapless. And once I tried it on, I threw the whole “no strapless” idea out the window!

One of my best friends (and bridesmaids!), Kenzie, did my hair and makeup. I loved that she had a special role in the day, in addition to being a bridesmaid. Plus, she’s one of the few people I trust to do my makeup and not make me look like a clown!

I’m not sure how, but I managed to convince Sean to wear a pink tie during the wedding. We got them from the same company where we got the bridesmaid dresses, so they were the same color pink! I loved the way the navy suits and the pink ties looked together.

Sean, the groomsmen, and the fathers all wore the same suit, and Sean had a vest to distinguish himself.

Yes, we got married in the middle of a fountain!

This was one of the biggest selling points for us on this venue. It was a little tight up there with all of the bridesmaids and groomsmen (we had 6 on each side!), but after a little bit of Pinterest research we decided we were going to do it. And good news—no one fell in!

Originally, we decided we were going to save some room in our budget by cutting out wedding favors. It’s a small thing that no one really cares about, and I don’t know if I remember a single favor that I’ve ever gotten at a wedding.

Then January rolled around, and with it, the Girl Scout Cookie Program. I work at Girl Scouts and ordered so many cookies this past year, and thought more and more about incorporating them into our wedding as favors. I talked with our Senior Director of Program and Product Sales, and she helped me make it happen!

Any time we had a damaged box of cookies, they set them aside for me and Sean, and we only had to buy a few boxes in the end because we got so many for free! With the cost of the boxes, I think the whole thing only cost us about $100.

The boxes all had a single flavor, and the options were Thin Mints, Tagalongs, Do-Si-Dos, Trefoils, or Samoas. It was so fun to see everyone comparing what cookies they got and trading with their table!

Our wedding cake was so good. We literally ate all of it the next morning. If you’re in the west Michigan area and have never had Cakabakery, add it to your list.

We’ve also decided that a $45 cake twice per year for each of our birthdays is 10000% worth it, so I’m looking forward to my birthday in February even more now.

There you have it! A little peek behind the scenes at our wedding this past Labor Day weekend. It truly was the happiest day of my life!

The Details:

Photographer: Wedding Tales
Venue: The Felt Estate
Dress: Stella York 6025 in Peony
Hair & Makeup: Kenzie Clark
Hair Flower: Etsy, NoonOnTheMoon
Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Azazie in Pearl Pink (L-R in Bridesmaids photo: Bonnie, Haleigh, Vanessa, Cherish, Hillary, Flora)
Suits: Blue Suit from The Black Tux
Ties: Azazie in Pearl Pink
Officiant: Dream Day Weddings
Catering: Above & Beyond Catering
Cupcakes: MyKakes (no longer in business)
Cake: Cakabakery
Florist: Picket Fence Floral & Design
Band: Bluewater Kings Band
Favors: Girl Scout Cookies in Pink Boxes from Paper Mart
Bridesmaid Entrance: “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran (Vitamin String Quartet Cover)
Bride & Father of the Bride Entrance: “Yellow” by Coldplay (Vitamin String Quartet Cover)
Recessional: “Mmmbop” by Hanson (Vitamin String Quartet Cover) (yes really)
First Dance: “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran