Diana & Ryan’s Chapel Wedding

Diana & Ryan’s wedding was a beautiful summer estate wedding in Michigan with lovely blues, cream, sage green and gentle earth tones. Their ceremony took place at the most charming little chapel in the middle of a field which held such an intimate feel. With details such as a vintage car and poolside first look their day was nothing short of amazing!

Diana and Ryan’s wedding took place at the Felt Estate in Saugatuck, Michigan this past summer.
Blue was the common color theme, from the bridesmaid dresses to the Groom’s suite and Diana tied it all together with her blue Manolo’s. The ceremony took place in front of the small chapel on the grounds of the Felt Estate and the reception took place under a tent on the property. -Kelly Sweet Photography

How did you two meet? What were your first impressions of one another? Diana: Our first encounter was the last stop on my annual ladies “Bow Brunch” where we basically wear bows in our hair and have a brunch bar crawl. We stopped at a bar that a friend of mine owns and most of my gal pals do not recall my first encounter with Ryan after a few too many bow-mosas, but I recall every detail. Including meeting Ryan for the first time when my friend introduced us and thinking “who is this cutie and why have I never met him?” We laughed for most of our first encounter together and it was more than the bows we were sharing amongst friends but it was because Ryan was a silly soul with a very sweet heart and I was charmed by his warm demeanor. We met again a few times before accidentally reconnecting through one of the dating apps and thats when things finally took off for us.

I would be remiss not to mention that our first date was really special to us as well. My mom passed away when I was 14 from Parkinson’s and have since become involved in fundraising efforts for the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Our first date was a charity effort the the foundation. Ryan was so graceful and lovely to everyone he met that was also involved and instantly got a peek behind the curtain of my life. He was so lovely and kind that I knew that night for sure he was a great guy.

Ryan: We met surprisingly not through a dating app but in the real world by being social people, but did not starting actually dating until we reconnected through a dating app. My first impression of Diana was that she was smart, assertive, knew who she was, and the funniest person in the room.

Tell us a funny story relating to your wedding day or relationship! Ryan: As part of the traditional exchanging of gifts to each other on your wedding day, Diana got me a beautiful card; however, the card had a blue background and she only had a blue pen to inscribe a note which made it difficult to read. Our second shooter photographer got pictures of me reading the card and I look confused by the message, when in fact I just could not read the note without squinting my eyes.

Diana: Ryan’s mother handed my uncle who was our officiant for the ceremony a little bottle of Holy water 5 minutes before our not super religious ceremony. She asked him to give us an extra blessing during the ceremony. My uncle is very much not a priest, minister or any other holy blessing official.

What was your favorite part about planning your wedding? Ryan: Listening/going to see some of the live bands when trying to decide which one to pick. Live music was so important to us for our reception that it was fun trying to find a band that could play our differing tastes in music.

Diana: I had a few favorite parts of the process, especially since the planning stages unexpectedly lasted so long. One of my favorite parts was finding my perfect dress, the drama, the glitter! I also loved the process of picking out the flowers and working with our amazing vendors. We found some of the most lovely people with so much talent, it was really fun seeing the whole process with the different experts coming together to make the day special for us. I am BIG plant gal so the greens and flowers were important to me and super fun to work with our incredible florist on bringing our vision to life.

Putting the pieces together and being able to see everything come together in such a perfect way make it so worth the time and makes me want to do it all over again!

Describe a hurdle you had to overcome in your relationship or during your wedding planning. The most obvious (and something most couples likely experienced) was dealing with the changing restrictions pertaining to COVID protocol. However, the changing requirements forced us to continue to reevaluate what was important for us as a couple for our wedding and it resulted in exactly what we envisioned.

Diana: Ryan stole my idea! 😉 No couple can plan around a global pandemic but boy did Ryan and I do our best! No one would have known when Ryan proposed in September 2019 that we were headed into such a life changing time. We went through so much in that year with wedding planning and many other challenges life threw our way during that time. It put our relationship to the test so early on and it really showed us that when the going got tough we came together and were even stronger than before.

When one of us were feeling overwhelmed the other person would always step up and be there. To look back it was really beautiful and we feel so lucky to have had one another during that time. (I am teary just thinking about it!)

When all was said and done, our vendors were incredible and every single one of them shifted dates and was able to work with us for our new date in July 2021. It almost felt too easy! Then when July rolled around the Michigan mask mandate lifted the day before our wedding and it felt like even more of a celebration as a result. Not to mention our venue The Felt Mansion was absolutely incredible with how helpful they were with the entire process and how much uncertainty we faced so often. They made it as stress free and possible and we were so thankful for that.

If you had one piece of advice for other couples, what would it be? Ryan: plan your ceremony and reception around what is important to you and your partners and what you want to be the focus of your day. For example, if you do not want/need to have a flashy cake to cut, just get some that is visually acceptable to cut and move on to focusing on the important stuff.

Diana: I agree with Ryan! Make it your own wedding with things that mean a lot for YOU as a couple and not anyone else. If you want to keep your beautiful bouquet and not toss it out to the gals at the wedding, then do you! Add any fun element that makes the day special between you as a couple or take anything out that doesn’t feel right for you either.

Also don’t sweat the small stuff for the wedding! At the end of the day, it is amazing if everything runs smoothly but you have a whole life ahead of you. Don’t let one day make you lose sight of the most important stuff.

Any special ways you incorporated your family or family history into your wedding day? For us, incorporating our family history, and our history as a couple was very important for our ceremony. For example, for our unity ceremony we did a potting ceremony where we placed new soil in a plant, that was grown from a cutting, from a plant that was Diana’s great grandmother’s. The plant is probably over 80 years old! For our family members who were not present, most importantly Diana’s mother, we placed a photograph with a flower on an empty seat in the front row to honor her.

Diana: I also wore the ring that my mom wore as a necklace on her wedding day, which was incredibly special to me to have her memory alive and with us despite her absence. The song I walked down the aisle was the song my mom sang to us every night before bed, “Somewhere over the rainbow”. For one of our readings, my sister read a very special quote from the ever famous Winnie the Pooh who was special to us as children. Ryan’s uncle Victor also read a beautiful Bible passage which was special to us.

Our families were able to stay at the Felt Mansion the night before the wedding and the night of the wedding so that was really special to us as well.

What is the most honest thing you can say about love? Ryan: I never stop learning new ways that I love my wife. Even in the times where our relationship is facing challenges, my love never wavers, but grows.

Diana: There will be challenges but when you love someone you never want them to hurt so you find ways to work through those challenges. Love also requires respect, being present and making sure you are taking care of yourself so you can give your all to your partner! Love is never perfect but that is what makes it so beautiful are all the little imperfections.

What part of your wedding day was/is most important to you? For Ryan, the most important part was to make sure that Diana had her moment to walk down the aisle (although very long) so she could have her moment to be the center of attention in her beautiful dress. And making sure both of us took time to enjoy the amazing celebration we planned.

For Diana, the most important thing about the wedding was that we got to celebrate this very special day with our loved ones, while remembering the ones who couldn’t be with us. It was devastating for me to think that calling off our wedding or only having a small ceremony would prevent us from gathering our friends and family together for this occasion. We felt so blessed that our wedding celebration could happen. So I wanted to make it the most wonderful time for everyone that went out of their way to be there.

The fact that our photographer Kelly was able to capture so perfectly every single detail in the most stunning photos is something I will cherish forever.

What is the best thing you’ve learned from one another? For Ryan, I have learned to be more open and honest about my feelings and not be afraid to share those feelings with my partner.

Diana: I have learned how to be a little more patient from Ryan because on most occasions he is exhibits the utmost patience with me. I’m so thankful for that trait in him because I can imagine it can be challenging at times. 🙂 I have also learned from Ryan what it feels like to truly and fully trust someone and know that they always have your best interest in mind.

What is your favorite thing about each other? Ryan: I love Diana’s never ending compassion for people and a desire to help anyone in need. She is constantly thinking of others and how she can provide even a little bit of help.

Diana: My favorite thing about Ryan is how much he loves showing me how much he cares with the little things. He genuinely cares about my feelings and it shows in how thoughtful he is. He truly has a big heart and anyone who knows him would say the same. He also has one of the best laughs because when you hear it across the room you know exactly where it came from and its definitely contagious.

Photographer: Kelly Sweet
Venue: The Felt Estate
Stylist / Planner / Designer: Kaitlyn Majoy
Floral Designer: Simplicity Floral Design & Events
Dress Boutique: Aisle Chic
Dress Designer: Lazaro
Cake Designer: Holland Cakery ‘n’ Sweets
Makeup Artist: Girl on the Glow
Hair Stylist: Girl on the Glow
Men\’s Formalwear: Groom – Suit Supply
Groomsmen – The Black Tux
Film Lab: Goodman Film Lab
Invites/Stationary – Second City Stationery
Bridal Shoes – Manolo Blahnik
Engagement ring – Picard Jewelry
Catering – Kangaroo Kitchen
Band – Great Scott