Our wedding ceremony was held on the shores of Lake Michigan at Jean Klock Park in Benton Harbor, Michigan. A sand path leads down to the beach – perfect for an aisle! – and from the sand, you can gaze out over the expansive lake and even see the St. Joseph lighthouse. When Bryan and I first started talking about where our ceremony could be, it didn’t take us long to land on this space.
(Shout out to my mother, who spent many May evenings driving around to different beach locations and texting me photos to help us make our decision!)
I wanted our ceremony to feel very intimate, colorful and bohemian. My Aunt Darcy contributed so much by crafting what has since become recognized as The Most Beautiful Floral Arbor Ever Made.
In the months before the wedding, I collected blankets, rugs and quilts to lay on the sand for our guests to sit on. I found some beautiful Kantha quilts on (you guessed it!) Etsy in a shop called Jaipur Handloom, some bright rag rugs for a steal at a dime store in St. Joseph and some heirloom quilts courtesy of my parents’ basement. Bryan and I stood on an Aztec-print rug I purchased from an antique store in Michigan last year; it usually lives in our guest room.
My aunt, uncle and friends generously set up the wedding site while I was getting ready and taking photos. I’m so thankful that they were willing to help out and alleviate me of that pressure!
We (ok, my mom) tied our wedding rings to a handkerchief I purchased at the Woodruff Place Flea Market in Indy earlier this summer. Bryan’s nephew – our nephew! – Cason carried the hankie to us during the ceremony.
After the ceremony, once Jimmy announced Bryan and me as “Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt,” Bryan and I walked back down the aisle to a pair of vintage-style red coolers filled with bottles of champagne and sparkling lemonade. Bryan popped a bottle of bubbly, poured a glass for himself and me and invited our guests to join us for a toast. It was a fun way to celebrate with our guests and live in those magical beachy moments a little longer.
(I found the coolers on sale at Crate and Barrel for $40 a piece!)
All in all, the ceremony decor was simple and easy – but definitely beautiful. Just as I imagined!
Jillian Wyatt 