sentinel-tribune bridal 2015
TRANSCRIPT
September 18, 2015
BG couple throws
‘I Do Barbecue’
Find your
one-of-a-kind
wedding dress
Variety of Venues:
Find the perfect
wedding spot
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On the cover: Shane Hughes took this photo of Heidi Driver and Brent Graber at their Stone Ridge Golf Course wedding. For more venue ideas, see page 12.Cover design by Scott Williams.This edition was edited by Debbie Rogers.
Inside
Flowers and bouquets bloom in every color in the rainbow ........................................4
Pampering for the bride ................................5
The do’s and don’ts of cake decisions .......6
Couple keeps wedding stress-free .............8
Tuxedos in 50 shades of gray .................... 11
Plenty of places to choose from for the ceremony and reception ............................ 12
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By EMILY GORDONSentinel Staff Writer
Parents often remind their children to be them-selves.
This year, brides are taking Mom and Dad’s advice to heart, searching for colors, fabrics and styles of wedding dresses that speak to their personali-ties.
At Encore Bridal in Bowling Green, owner Lee Welling helps
each bride find a gown that is the perfect fit in terms of design and budget.
“The most exciting news here is that we are now carry-ing David Tutera gowns, a line you can order from instead of picking sample gowns,” she said. “The line is very feminine with a good price point. A lot of lines start at $3,000. You can get a gown here for $500 to $900 when their original price was $1,200 to $3,000.”
Dresses put the i in brides
No need to go to the big city to find a one-of-a-kind gown
Photos by Enoch Wu/Sentinel-Tribune
Hannah Pena, of Fremont, models a wedding dress from Personal D’signs - BBG Bridal in Fremont. At left, Deb Fleckner, of Fremont, shows off formal wear from BBG Bridal. According to area experts, including Lee Welling at Encore Bridal in Bowling Green, brides are searching for colors, fabrics and styles of wedding dresses that speak to their per-sonalities.
(See DRESSES on 16)
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By EMILY GORDONSentinel Staff Writer
Color rules no longer apply when it comes to wed-ding flowers.
Oranges, reds, bi-colors, blues, pinks and corals have all made an appearance in bridal bouquets this year, according to area florists.
The key is to do what the bride wants.
Mini calla lilies and gerbera
daisies have been popular, as has hydrangeas, said Joanne McKenzie, of McKenzie’s Flowers and Greenhouse in Weston.
With the lilies and gerberas especially, “it would go with any wedding color they like.”
She can generally find the colors the bride is looking for, she added.
Roses have some new col-ors, including bright oranges, bi-colors, and hot-pink tipped with a creamy inside, she said.
“Everybody has their own taste,” McKenzie said, who has been in the business 31 years.
She still has books that brides-to-be can leaf through, but many women come in with pictures on their phone from Pinterest.
A bouquet can cost from $75 to $300, based on size and flower selection.
“Most of them aren’t the high range, but once in a while. ...” she said.
She also has opened McKenzie’s Flower Basket in Bowling Green.
“Bowling Green is good with walks-ins,” she said.
Todd Sheets, owner of Downtown Deco in Pemberville, said clutch bouquets are the “in thing” for brides and brides-maids. The flowers are gath-
ered more informally and could include garden mainstays such as zinnias, or dusty miller and mini callas.
“Roses have remained strong,” he added. Stephanotis has remained a bridal staple and he continues to see hydran-gea year round.
This time of year, he’s seeing brighter tones including crim-son reds, plums and burnt oranges.
In the spring and summer, coral seemed to be very popu-lar along with creamy whites, he added.
“We like unique and differ-ent, more so than traditional baby’s breath,” he said about the “filler” used in a bouquet.
“Calcynia is neat” as are aussie greens foliage from
A bouquet of choices
Color bursts into weddings, but ultimately
it’s the bride’s call
Enoch Wu/Sentinel-Tribune
Kelly Andres of Klotz Floral Gift and Garden creates a bouquet of flowers.
(See FLOWERS on 10)
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By EMILY GORDONSentinel Staff Writer
After all the work that goes into preparing for a wed-ding, the bride’s stress levels can be off the charts by the time she’s ready to say “I do.”
Those in the beauty indus-try can help alleviate that stress with professional hair styling, makeup, manicures and even massages to assist the bride in looking and feeling her best on the big day.
Christol Kratzel’s promise of raising the bride’s spirits while getting her photo-ready is reflected in the name of her business, Bliss Salon and Beauty Bar.
Her salon is well versed in the latest wedding beauty trends and can make an idea from Pinterest become a reality in her salon or even by travel-ing to the bride herself.
“Pinterest is really helpful with wedding hair trends. I recently asked a wedding party if they had any ideas and they all pulled up Pinterest boards on their phones,” Kratzel said.
“It makes life a little easier.”Many brides are showing
her Pinterest pictures of celeb-rities wearing soft, messy buns, half-up half-down styles and long, beachy waves or a fuller kind of curl that frames the face, looks that can be achieved using extensions if the bride’s hair type and texture don’t already lend to them.
Various types and sizes of braids have been popular addi-tions to the wispy and whimsi-cal red carpet styles that have been requested by her “bliss-lings,” she said.
“Sometimes brides don’t want to use a hair piece because they want to show off earrings, so a braid is like jewelry for the hair,” Kratzel said. “You can have two or three small strands or a messy side braid. There are so many different kinds to choose from.”
Celebrity style isn’t the only reason for this year’s popular trends, however.
The hairstyles nicely com-plement the bride’s gown as well as the ceremony’s loca-tion, said Annette Dewar, owner of A Cut Above Hair and
Nail Salon.“For a lot of summer brides,
the look has been soft and nat-ural, less dramatic and severe to go with the outdoor wed-ding,” she said. “And you don’t want to cover up the beautiful, dramatic backs of the bridal gowns by having the hair down.”
The soft colors and fabrics of the bridesmaids’ gowns, too, go nicely with the effortless looking hair, nail and makeup trends.
Brides are veering away from a smoky eye and dark lip-stick for a more natural, subtle look to complete their soft ensemble, Dewar said.
A subtly colored nail in neu-tral tones provides the finish-
ing touch, but some brides still opt for tradition with French nails, said.
“A twist with French nails that brides have done is using a blush O.P.I over it to soften it up and look more natural,” she said. “Even if they choose acryl-ic nails, they want them shorter and more natural looking.”
Dewar recommends having brides come in for a practice run a week or two before the wedding to see how her vision turned out and make any last minute adjustments.
“They can bring the veil for us to anchor in. Then we can ask questions like, ‘Do you want a little more height than this?’”
Pampering before the pompHaving hair, makeup, manicures and massages done before the
wedding can be relaxing
Photos by J.D. Pooley/Sentinel-Tribune
Bride-to-be Kayla Wise smiles after having her hair done at A Cut Above in Bowling Green.
Annette Dewar of A Cut Above, works with bride-to-be Kayla Wise.
(See PAMPER on 15)
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By EMILY GORDONSentinel Staff Writer
E veryone’s attention belongs to the bride and groom at a wedding, but their cake steals what’s left at the reception.
That’s why it can be so dif-ficult to decide between fon-dant and buttercream or a tra-ditional style and a funkier one, said Jane Patrzalek, owner of Jane’s Cakes and Confections in Perrysburg.
“Sometimes brides come in and have no clue what they want to do because there are so many designs and patterns they’ve pulled ideas from,” she said. “Usually brides tend to
want something more tradi-tional, but it’s hard to visualize because wedding cakes are so ornate now and over the top.”
Choosing the perfect cake can be overwhelming for the happy couple, but it’s nothing Patrzalek can’t help solve with her 40 years of baking exper-tise.
This situation calls for an artist’s rendering, with which Patrzalek helps brides and grooms to see their idea and tone down what may look “cir-cus-y,” she said.
Pearls, rhinestone ribbons or edible flowers can give a wedding cake the “wow fac-tor” everyone will be expect-ing on top of classic colors like blush pink or ivory, so the
Confounding cakesCake Do’s, Don’ts
DON’T – Wait too long to schedule a cake tast-ing. Most bakeries suggest making appointments seven to nine months before the wedding date. Look for bakeries that offer evening appointments to accommodate busy schedules.
DO - Be upfront about your budget. “It’s like if you try on a $12,000 gown when your budget is $3,000. You don’t want to do that,” Woodbury said. “Tell us what you want and if it’s out of your budget we will work with you to make it less expensive and keep you within your budget. But the bride needs to be flexible.”
DON’T – Order a wedding cake entirely one dark color in buttercream. “If you want an all red cake or a darker color cake with buttercream, don’t do it. You’ll end up with red staining your teeth or your gown,” Woodbury said.
DO – Ask your cake designer if they set up the cake upon delivery. “Some shops bring it in, set it down and go away. We don’t just bring in the goodies; we set the table up, too,” Patrzalek said. “We can do the table in candlelight or make the cake look like its sitting in a cloud.”
DON’T – Cut the cake too late. “The sooner you cut, the better. Cut early in the evening after the first bride and groom dance before you eat dinner. That way, you get your pictures and the kitchen can serve the cake with the food,” Schell said. “Guests are more likely to take cake with their dinner and you’ll be left with less extra cake.”
Bakeries serve up dozens of choices for weddings
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effect is subtle, now showy, she said.
The “shabby chic” look is also in, with lace or burlap touches making a wood grain patterned cake a great choice for a barn wedding.
The “ombre” look, in which a cake starts out white at the top and gradually becomes more and more pink, for example, toward the bottom, is also a popular choice this year, Patrzalek said.
After color and embellish-ments, cake shape and texture can make or break a cake design.
Round cake shapes and tex-ture of any kind are two of the most requested cake styles at Cherry Lane Cakes in Toledo, said owner Cindy Woodbury.
“Diamond impressions, striping, ruffles … anything not smooth is what people want,” she said.
Woodbury made wedding cakes and real buttercream frosting out of her home in Rossford for 16 years.
Now working out of a com-mercial space in Toledo, she has two best-sellers: a tradi-tional style “wedding white” cake with vanilla and almond flavors and a lemon cake that’s perfect for summer weddings.
“People love it because it’s made with real lemons, not yellow lemon flavoring,” she said. “It’s a light cake that’s very refreshing.”
For those who want to let their personalities shine through, a “grooms cake” is a fun option.
“Groom’s cakes” showcase the groom’s interests, from Star
Wars to football, and can be served during the rehearsal dinner or next to the wedding cake at the reception, Woodbury said.
But there’s something to be said about the beauty and taste of a classically styled wedding cake.
At Ideal Bakery in Gibsonburg and Fremont, customers keep coming back for a traditional stacked, white wedding cake, said owner John Schell.
“With a family owned busi-
Enoch Wu/Sentinel-Tribune
Cindy Herr, of Ideal Bakery West, decorates a cake. The bakery, which has two locations in Gibsonburg and Fremont, is family owned and specializes in an icing that tastes like buttercream.
(See CAKES on 14)
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By DEBBIE ROGERSSentinel Staff Writer
E rin McKibben and Dustin Moore’s “I Do Barbecue”
celebrating their marriage was all about sticking to their style: non-traditional and stress-free.
When it came time for a wedding, the Portage couple didn’t want a fairy godmother
waving a wand and — poof — a princess, glass slippers, prince charming and a castle would appear.
“I’m so laid back. He’s so laid back. I don’t like to be the cen-ter of attention,” McKibben said. “Getting married is all about family and friends com-ing together.”
But there was a horse and carriage involved — driven by the bride herself.
With the help of neighbors Debbie Bechstein and Bill Herrig, who own Old Tyme Travel, McKibben learned to drive Clydesdale horses and a carriage to make a grand entrance with her wedding party.
“My favorite parts of the day were seeing how everything came together, my friends and
family being there, and driving the bridal party in the horse and carriage,” she said. “It was a huge highlight.”
Erin and Dustin were mar-ried Sept. 13, 2014 in her par-ents’ backyard on Cloverdale Road in front of 100 family and friends.
They never planned on hav-ing a huge wedding with all the fixings. McKibben said she had watched friends over the years plan for their big day and found the idea exhausting. Looking at flowers, tasting food, trying on dresses – it all seemed like endless errands.
They originally intended to have a destination wedding in East Port Main on Lake Dale Hollow, Tennessee, but when dates didn’t work out for some guests, they decided to tie the
Couple creates casual and stress-free nuptials
I Do Barbecue
Photos provided
This sign welcomed guests to Erin McKibben and Dustin Moore’s I Do Barbecue wedding and recep-tion. At left, McKibben added a gray tie to her dress and peacock feathers to her bouquet. Their dog, Riley, was the ringbearer (opposite page).
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knot near home. Her parents, Terry and Katie McKibben, offered their home, which is just down the road from the newlyweds’ home in rural BG.
Then, one by one, neighbors and friends, started chipping in — a hog to roast, horses to drive, cookies to munch.
The theme was a big, simple barbecue.
For the meal, they pur-chased a pig from Jim Lein, who raised it and roasted it. He also barbecued the chicken. Her parents planted corn that was grilled for the meal.
Her uncle, Rich Blaes, was the officiant. Her parents’ porch served as the altar.
Flo Klopfenstein, a friend of her mom’s, baked beans and created quiche appetizers using milk from the couple’s goats.
Beer and lemonade were iced in troughs. Dustin’s favor-ite snack, chips and salsa, was served as an appetizer.
“And for dessert — we’re not big dessert people — so we did cookies.”
Her grandmother, Faye McKibben, made mountains of them: snickerdoodles, peanut butter and chocolate chip.
Grandmother Jeanne Blaes made centerpieces out of sun-
flowers and cattails, and also bought the bouquets.
Bechstein and Herrig, who provided the horse and car-riage, allowed guests to park on their property, then chauf-
feured them to the wedding site.
For music, McKibben pur-chased Pandora for a month and her dad created a playlist.
The biggest expenses were for a portable, roomy restroom and a tent, tables, chairs, lights and a runner.
She estimated the wedding cost $5,000.
McKibben stressed that she wasn’t necessarily trying to stick to a budget or do a cheap wedding. Stress-free was the key, she said.
“We just had a lot of fun. You’ve just got to have fun doing it. When you have fun, it just makes the day and memo-ries so much better.”
She let intuition and a little Pinterest guide her decisions.
Her dress was the third one she tried on at Encore Bridal in Bowling Green.
“I knew I liked gray, then I saw gray and yellow and thought that really worked.”
She added a gray tie to the boning in the back of her ball
Photo provided
Erin McKibben made bracelets to accent her gown, and for her bridesmaids, mother and mother-in-law.
(See BARBECUE on 18)
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Australia, seeded eucalyptus, hypericum berries and lambs ear, he said.
His bouquets range from $90 to $150 depending on size and flower type.
Kelly Andres, assistant man-ager at Klotz Floral Design and Garden in Bowling Green, said colors change by season.
Now she’s seeing a lot of peach and pink shades, as well as blues, pinks and corals.
“We don’t have a whole lot of weddings this year, but the ones we do have tend to be in those shades,” she said.
The season the wedding is in impacts the flower choices, Andres added.
In spring, it’s tulips, daffo-dils, roses and peonies.
Sunflowers, bold orange lil-ies and gerbera daisies come into play in the summer.
In fall, flowers that come in oranges, bronze, reds and pur-ples are popular.
“Pastels are real big all year,” Andres said. In fact, she did one for an August wedding in pastels.
The cost of a bouquet is very
custom, she said, depending on what the bride wants. Each flower has its own price, she explained.
The cost ranges from $50 to $150, she estimated.
“Every bride is different, each has a different dream,” said Becky Turner, general manager of Ken’s Flower Shop in Perrysburg.
She’s noted a lot of mixed flowers with organic greenery, burlap and twine. “Things to create a lot of texture.” She’s uses thistle, alstroemeria, and stock.
Baby’s breath is regaining popularity, and she has seen bouquets in nothing but baby’s breath.
Six months out is usually a very good time frame to start discussing flowers, because colors can change as can the venue and date.
She said bouquets can range in price from $75 to $300.
Diane Hoefkens, at Obie’s Flowers in Pemberville, agreed that baby’s breath was making a comeback.
She said technology also is impacting weddings; she had a June wedding with a drone to take photos.
“I have a September out-door wedding and I’m pretty sure there will be a drone there too,” she added.
Pinterest has been good and bad for florists, she shared.
“The brides focus on a great idea without thinking through how much time it takes to achieve ‘the look.’ In some cases ‘the look’ becomes very expen-sive,” Hoefkens said.
Photos by Enoch Wu/Sentinel-Tribune
A finished bouquet of flowers is shown at Klotz Floral Gift and Garden. In the top photo, Michele Poturalski, of Downtown Deco in Pemberville, poses with bouquets.
Flowers(Continued from 4)
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By ALEX ASPACHERSentinel Staff Writer
Men in the market for wedding attire have local options apart from the chain stores in larger markets.
The popularity of the classic, black tuxedo has dipped in recent years, making way for more colorful and versatile gar-ments.
Helping plan the attire for men can be a varying experi-ence, said Jamie Zulch, owner of Jamie’s Seams to Fit in down-town Bowling Green. Many either have a specific image in their minds, while others are content to go with the flow.
“They’re either very particu-lar in their tailoring and what they want, or they’re so easy-going they just say ‘Whatever she wants, just put me in,’” Zulch said.
The way it used to be, brides handled everything from their own dress to the accessories of the groomsmen on the other side of the aisle. But that’s changing.
“Now they’re becoming a lot more involved,” Zulch said. “There’s a lot more input in what they’re all wearing.”
But don’t let the change fool you into thinking anything other than the bride-to-be is the focus of the wedding. Most couples start with her choos-ing her gown and move on from there, then selecting bridesmaids dresses before considering anything to do with men’s outfits.
“The bride’s going to get her
wedding gown, you’re going to pick out whatever dresses that the girls are all wearing, and then they sit down and bring it all together with the tuxedos,” Zulch said.
Even the bridal gowns aren’t necessarily traditional any-more, as some women no lon-ger want to go with white or ivory, she added.
“Usually they’ve got a pretty clear head of what they want. If not, I’m here to guide them in any way they need to coordi-nate and put things together.”
Zulch said gray has become immensely popular in men’s suits and tuxedos, a sentiment shared by Albert Swade, who owns Kanag Tailoring and Tuxedos in Maumee.
“The last few years, it’s all gray, gray, gray,” he said.
There’s a lot of range in that shade, enough that some men like to pair a darker gray vest to a more “platinum” gray outer suit, Swade said.
Kanag also offers outfits for children who might have a role in the wedding, as well as women’s tuxedo garments like skirts and pants.
Like at Jamie’s, Swade prides himself on providing top-notch customer service that both said isn’t offered by larger retailers.
“I care about giving them the best service I can,” he said of engaged couples.
Zulch said she meets often with farmers and handles a lot of rural weddings, so she knows a formal setting can make some of them uncomfortable.
“Come in in your Carhartts and I’m still going to measure
you. It doesn’t matter,” she said.
“I think you’ll find with any of my customers, when they leave here, it’s been a really comfortable experience. This is my passion.”
Regardless of their back-ground, Zulch said she’s com-mitted to helping people figure
out what they want, even if they’re not sure at first.
“I want you to have a won-derful wedding. I want every-thing to be complete.
“This is the most special day of your life. You want to look back on it and say, ‘My gosh, look how wonderful everybody looked and felt.’”
Gallant in gray
Shade has bumped black tuxedo to back burner Enoch Wu/Sentinel-Tribune
Suits from Jamie’s Seams to Fit are shown. Gray has become a popular shade.
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By PETER KUEBECKSentinel Staff Writer
While dresses, flowers and other elements of a wed-ding may loom large in the mind of a bride and groom as they plan their big day, pick-ing out the right venue can be just as crucial.
For those proposing to tie the knot in Wood County and surrounding communities, there are a variety of places to
celebrate.• Stone Ridge Golf Club,
1553 Muirfield Drive, Bowling Green.
Kara Higdon, who handles wedding and reception plan-ning at the site, and serves as the in-house wedding coordi-nator who works with brides, said Stone Ridge is “a full-ser-vice event venue.”
One of the features, is that “we can do both, your ceremo-nies and receptions. And pop-ular as far as what potential
So many settings: Area choices
include gardens, golf course, grotto
Shane Hughes/Sentinel-Tribune
The Stone Ridge Golf Course makes a beautiful backdrop for a wedding ceremony.
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brides and grooms are looking for,” meaning they wouldn’t have to travel between the site of their wedding and the recep-tion.
Higdon said that the Stone Ridge ballroom has a patio that opens up to overlook the golf course.
“So it’s kind of a bonus out-door area that the reception can use,” she said.
“We do offer to take the bride and groom out on our course for pictures.”
She added that the bar at the site has its own room sepa-rate from the ballroom.
Stone Ridge can accommo-date up to 250 guests for cere-monies and receptions.
The site also features inclu-sive pricing, so that items like linens, napkins, chair covers and sashes are built into the food and beverage packages.
She also said Stone Ridge has convenient parking, and that there are hotels nearby that offer shuttle services.
• Graystone Banquet Hall and Conference Center, 29101 Hufford Road, Perrysburg.
Becky Kessler, one of the managers of the hall, noted that one of the major features of the Graystone is its size. A former roller-rink, the site can accommodate up to 350 peo-ple, which still leaves enough room for a dance floor.
Couples bring in outside catering to the hall, she said, so that they are not limited to one particular style or menu of foods.
“We also are considered a do-it-yourself hall. We don’t really have a whole lot of limi-tations when it comes to deco-ration. People are more than welcome to bring in” their own decorations or decorators.
The site works with Book That DJ, their in-house DJ com-pany. Graystone also features a number of lighting settings, and has four flatscreen TVs and a projector with a screen.
Kessler said that the chief hall manager, Laura Spiess, also works on weddings.
“She’s just a great informa-tional wedding resource.”
• Schedel Gardens, 19255 W. Portage River South Road, Elmore.
Veronica Sheets, event coor-dinator, said the fact that the gardens is itself an outdoor venue “is often a unique fea-ture,” noting “the beauty of the 17-acre gardens.”
“We do have indoor facili-ties for showers, rehearsal din-ners and a more intimate reception. And then tented receptions are also entertained out here.”
Schedel, she said, does have preferred caterers that they work with, though “we’re not exclusive with anyone. We do have bar options. We have our liquor license here.”
She said that summer tends to be the more popular for reception dates at Schedel. “Actually, June and September are usually my first to go.”
• Nazareth Hall, 21211 W. River Road, Grand Rapids.
Sarah Sears, sales and mar-keting director, said that the site is “a historical building like no other in the Northwest Ohio area. We provide the best cus-tomer service around. Our reviews speak for themselves.”
The site also supports wed-dings.
“We have an amazing out-door ceremony location called the Grotto that was built to be a replica of the grotto in Lourdes, France... It provides a beautiful backdrop for a sum-mer wedding ceremony.”
Nazareth Hall also has an
indoor chapel for ceremonies.Regarding food, “we offer
inside catering, so we do all of our own catering. We provide all of the servers and every-thing. We have some amazing cuisine,” Sears said, prepared
by chefs who come up with “very creative but powerful fla-vor combinations that many people enjoy, so it’s not limited to one ... type of food.”
Photo provided by Capture
Couples can take advantage of the clock tower at Levis Commons for photos or a ceremony setting, through the Hilton Garden Inn in Perrysburg.
(See SETTINGS on 20)
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Perrysburg
419-872-9300
Mon.-Fri. 10-6
Sat. 10-5
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ness, through the generations
you get to see a lot of people
you’ve known for years,” Schell
said.
“People come to us who say
my grandfather made so-and-
so’s cake here years ago so they had to come, too.”
However, his family busi-ness offers some contempo-rary flair to dress up tradition, like incorporating fresh flowers in the cake design in lieu of fake flowers or flowers made out of icing.
There are also six different flavors of fillings to choose from to fill the space in between the cake’s layers at no extra cost, he said.
And, the 93-year-old bakery offers a solution to the long-standing frosting debate.
“We’re able to make our
fondant taste like buttercream,
because many people don’t
like the taste of fondant,” Schell
said. “This gives customers that
fondant, rolled on look with
the taste of buttercream. Now
you can have the look you want
with the taste you want.”
(Continued from 7)
Cakes
By STEVE KNOPPERAssociated Press
A s she prepared to get married in 2009, Meg Keene considered iPods “a small gift from the wedding gods.” Rather than hiring a band or DJ, she and her fiance made their own playlist of Sir Mix-A-Lot, Frank Sinatra and Dolly Parton songs and cranked them on rented speakers.
Today, with phone apps that let brides and grooms instantly play just about any song ever made, Keene counsels caution.
“It’s easier to screw up, hon-estly,” says Keene, 35, an Oakland, California, blogger and author of “A Practical Wedding” (Da Capo, 2011). “People think a great way to DJ a wedding is to set up a Spotify playlist or have a Pandora sta-tion — that tends to not work very well. Putting a playlist on at random tends to just go down in flames.”
Although professional DJs and wedding planners scoff at the idea of do-it-yourself dance-floor playlists, technolo-gy makes it almost irresistibly simple. Many venues have built-in sound systems with ports for phones and laptops or even Bluetooth for wireless audio connections. For more electronically challenged churches and gazebos, couples can rent speakers that can be connected to a small, afford-able mixer and a laptop. Google Cast and Apple’s AirPlay let you control the playlist remotely.
The trick is coming up with a
playlist. There’s an art to it, as the staff at Google-owned Songza has discovered. A year ago, in the middle of wedding season, the staff of six full-time New York curators and a fleet of freelancers realized they had no wedding playlist. They cor-rected that with a dozen spe-cialized lists, from the Marvin Gaye-packed “It’s Your Wedding Day!” to “Rustic Outdoor Wedding,” filled with Avett Brothers and Mumford and Sons. Of course, users can and add their own songs.
“As long as you maintain a consistent mood, you can real-ly mix whatever you want from whatever decade you want,” says Parry Ernsberger, a cura-tion expert at Google Play Music, which oversees the Songza playlists. “Reading the room is important.”
Those who DJ their own weddings run into several chal-lenges. They have to provide different playlists for different settings, from here-comes-the-bride tearjerkers for the cere-mony to cocktail music to dance music. They have to find the right balance between familiar, “YMCA”-type anthems and obscurities that risk clear-ing the dance floor. And they must do all this while greeting guests and making sure drunk uncles avoid face-planting into the cake.
“It can really be pulled off,” Keene says. “But it’s not some-thing that you can sort of look away and be like, ‘That will work itself out.’ It takes some work.”
Keene recommends crafting
a fully formed iTunes playlist, with a beginning, middle and end, including a series of “big, raging dance-party numbers” followed by a cool-down song. Pay attention, she says, to the early part of the reception, when older guests want to hear Benny Goodman’s “Sing, Sing, Sing” or Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say.” Later, friends and family might want to hear Kesha and hip-hop. (She also recommends using iTunes’ cross-fade func-tion to avoid awkward silences between tracks; backing up the playlist on several phones; and depending on a mobile stream-ing service only as a last resort, since Internet connections can be unreliable.)
Not everyone is sold on DIY wedding playlists. Asked for an interview, one prominent New York wedding planner sniffed, “That does not make sense at all. None of our clients have
ever been interested in some-thing like this.”
“Really, my experience? We’ve always hired the profes-sionals,” adds Trudy Baade, president of the American Association of Certified Wedding Planners. “There’s so much to plan.”
But Evan Minsker, 27, spent months making a playlist for his May 2014 wedding — then wrote about the process for indie-rock website Pitchfork. He built a reception soundtrack full of sure things (Outkast’s “Hey Ya!”), novelties (Eddie Murphy’s “Party All the Time”) and lesser-known, Pitchfork-friendly favorites (Todd Terje’s “Inspector Norse”).
Minsker, who lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, highly recom-mends the process.
“It was honestly the most fun and meditative part about putting together my wedding.”
DIY wedding playlist? Doable but demanding
This Google Play Music photo shows selections from the Rustic Outdoor Wedding radio.
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Dewar said. “It takes the stress away to see the final product, to know how you’ll look and that you’re going to be happy with it. It’s like a dress rehears-al for the big day.”
If the bride is still jittery, she can always get an award-win-ning massage to eliminate the lingering stress.
Gretchen Camera from Gallery Salon and Spa, the Sentinel-Tribune’s Best Massage in Wood County Winner of 2014, always recommends a massage to brides who make appointments for their hair and makeup.
“The Friday before the wed-ding, the bride and mother of the bride can get massages, then Saturday get their hair and makeup done with the rest of the wedding party,” Camera said.
The wedding photographer is invited to take shots of the bride, moms and maids pre-paring for the ceremony.
“It’s really fun. We clear off the table so they can bring in Panera and mimosas,” she said. “We’re here to make everyone
feel relaxed and comfortable. We’re happy to let them take
over for a couple of hours because it’s their day.”
Pamper(Continued from 5)
Photos by J.D. Pooley/Sentinel-Tribune
Bridesmaids Ashley Pierce (left) and Samantha Bottesch take a selfie while waiting for Pierce’s hair to set. Below, bride Kayla Wise has her makeup applied after having her hair done. Pierce has her hair in rollers at A Cut Above.
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The David Tutera line that Encore Bridal offers gives brides not only the popular blush pink color so many are looking for, but also soft shades of other pastel colors like blue and green.
“I had one young lady who wanted a hint of yellow. She ended up with a ball gown with a butter color underneath an organza overlay and layers of tulle to soften it up,” Welling said. “It was really pretty.”
Color is one bridal trend where seemingly anything goes, said Barbara Moran, co-owner of Personal D’signs –BBG Bridal in Fremont.
“White isn’t the issue any-more. Not even ivory. We have dresses with lace overlays on top of satin skirts of cham-pagne, light mocha and taupe,” Moran said. “Silver dresses look especially good in winter wed-dings with the snow.”
Moran’s shop carries design-ers such as Alfred Angelo, PC Mary’s and Jasmine, offering
dresses between $800 and $1,000.
The shop does not carry duplicate dresses, meaning if a bride tries on a dress and falls in love with it, she can snatch it up without anyone else get-ting it, Moran said.
Welling’s sample gowns also give brides the chance to wear a design that others won’t.
This year’s styles are cov-eted for their illusion backs, lace tattoos and sleeves, whether they’re short or long, she said.
“BG is a traditional place. There’s more couture in the big cities, but every town will have
girls with flare that want some-thing different than everybody else,” she said. “Samples offer that specialness since each one is distinct from the other.”
However, if a bride really likes a dress but feels that it is lacking a certain something, Welling and her seamstress can help bring her ideas to life by customizing the dress, some-thing that not every bridal shop offers.
“One girl had a sheath gown covered in pearls and dripping crystals. Our seamstress cus-tomized it even further from a square neckline to an illusion neckline in front, with a sweet
Dresses
Photos by Enoch Wu/Sentinel-Tribune
Deb Fleckner (center) models a dress from Personal D’signs — BBG Bridal in Fremont with her daughter Angie Young and granddaughter Ella Young, 3.
(Continued from 3)
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heart cut that put that gown off the charts,” Welling said.
“You’re not going to find that on any other bride in Ohio.”
Brides also want dresses no one else will wear during their destination weddings.
Moran advises brides to make sure their vision of a wedding dress fits the scenery and weather of where they are getting married, whether its on a beach in Jamaica or in the rose garden of the Hayes Presidential Center in Fremont.
“One bride of mine wore a high-low ivory chiffon dress that was great for the beach,” she said.
“It had to be, her groom is a boat captain. She wore that dress with a short sleeved ivory bolero on the boat and it was perfect.”
For glitz and glamour with a personal shopping experience, Ann Arbor’s The Gown Shop now has a Perrysburg location.
The new location of The Gown Shop, located on Louisiana Avenue, opened in August to better serve its Toledo-area clients.
“The Toledo based bride is more traditional and classic, which is what the gown shop is all about,” said owner Stacy Fork. “Low backs, lace and vin-tage styles are what the girls are looking for.”
The shop not only stocks gowns from Mikaella Bridal, Hayley Paige, Blush by Hayley Paige, Paloma Blanca and Tara
Keely, but it also has brides-maid’s dresses to match the romantic designs of the wed-ding gowns.
“We have chiffon brides-maids dresses in blush and
gray,” Fork said.
“Chiffon has always been popular because in the Midwest, people tend to marry in the warmer months. It’s lightweight and less struc-
tured, so you’re able to move freely,” she said.
The Gown Shop’s dresses start at $2,000 and reach up to $6,000.
Brides must make appoint-ments to shop so they can get stylists’ undivided attention and service, Fork said.
“The shop is closed to any-one but them. That’s the expe-rience girls want,” she said. “Sashes, headbands, floral details … everything a bride needs from head to toe, we have it.”
For a second wedding or more casual wedding apparel and designer shoes, clutch bags and accessories, a Change of Seasons Consignment in Perrysburg is a one-stop shop for formal wear worn only once.
“We have the perfect selec-tion for mothers or grandmoth-ers of the bride or groom or a guest of a wedding who wants something a littler dressier than what’s in her closet,” said Betty Hill, owner.
“If the bride wants to mix and match bridesmaids gowns, she can do that here, too.”
Hill’s store also carries dress-es from Bella Amour, brand new gowns from a locally owned downtown Toledo brid-al shop, as well as evening wear from J. Jill, White House Black Market and Banana Republic.
“People who go to David’s bridal will pay $400 to $500, but here you will get that qual-ity at a better price,” she said.
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gown. The seamstress also changed the train so it was all lace and short. The satin waist-band was embellished with a tulle flower.
Dustin’s tie was yellow, as close to a sunflower as they could match.
Her bridesmaids, Lauren Sherman, Megan Ferguson and Ann Benshoff, were on their own for their attire.
“I just told them a hue of gray and whatever’s comfort-able.”
As the big day approached, they added yellow shawls to complement the colors and ward off a September evening chill.
McKibben made her brides-maids, mother and mother-in-law bracelets, and one for her-self, with help from Coyote Beads. She did her own invita-tions and “save-the-dates” with assistance from BG Printing.
The groomsmen, Justin
Wright, Casey Hamilton and Nick Augur, wore jeans topped off with a dress shirt and vest,
from Jamie’s Seams to Fit.
The flower girl was her niece, Skylynn Vogel.
Everyone in the wedding party wore cowboy boots.
The ring bearer needed even less preparation. Erin and Dustin tied the rings to the col-lar of their dog, Riley, an Australian-shepherd mix. Their other dogs are Jade and Brodie.
McKibben is shelter manag-er for the Wood County Humane Society, which was “showered” with donations for her bridal shower. She said she and Dustin, who met in 2006 at the University of Findlay, didn’t
need the basics for setting up a household and named the WCHS as their benefactor.
Dustin is a conductor for Norfolk Southern. His parents are Joyce and Tim Moore and Mike Moore.
There’s only been one sec-ond-guess since the big day. McKibben said in hindsight she probably would have paid for a professional photographer to capture the event.
Still, she’s not disappointed in the three people who volun-teered to take photographs. They all got interesting angles and different shots.
Barbecue(Continued from 9)
Photos provided
The bridesmaids were asked to wear gray dresses and cowboy boots. The yel-low shawls were added at the last minute.
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Erin McKibben learned to drive a horse and car-riage so she could transport her wedding party to the ceremony. At right, McKibben and husband Dustin Moore at their “I Do Barbecue.”
And while most newlyweds on the day after the ceremony are taking off on a honeymoon or opening gifts, McKibben and Moore were shucking corn.
“The biggest thing was the
leftover corn. I didn’t want it to
go to waste, so we spent a few
hours cutting it and freezing
it.”
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She described the building itself as “majestic and beauti-ful. We do quite a bit to pre-serve it” as it was built.
• Riverview Banquet Centre, 405 E. Front St., Pemberville.
Jennifer Schuerman, hall secretary and event manager, said in an email that the Riverview, which is also the location of the American Legion in Pemberville, is “a well-appointed hall with a full kitchen facility available. We can accommodate up to 250 guests and have a generous dance floor space. You can use any licensed caterer to provide your meal. The Legion mem-bers offer a steak and/or chick-en dinner as an option as well.”
The site offers a full-service bar. The hall can be decorated to the specifications of the bride and groom, she said.
“Ample parking is available and outdoor space is possible if desired.”
She noted it is a 15-minute drive from Bowling Green, Genoa, Rossford and Bradner.
• Hilton Garden Inn, 6165 Levis Commons Blvd., Perrysburg.
Information from Brittney Kennelly, wedding and cater-ing manager at the site, noted that the hotel is located in the
open-air Levis Commons shop-ping center, which offers a number of shops and nearby restaurants.
Outdoor ceremonies can be performed at the nearby clock tower pavilion, and the hotel specializes in customized menus; the ballroom at the site has been newly renovated.
All wedding packages include chair covers in the cou-ple’s choice of colors, a bar,
hors d’oeuvres, centerpieces and a complimentary suite on the wedding night. Newlyweds are also welcomed back to cel-ebrate their one-year anniver-sary with another night’s stay.
Rooms for rehearsal dinners and breakfasts following the wedding are also available. Discounts and concessions are available for Friday and Sunday wedding receptions, which the information stated are becom-
ing quite popular.Blocks of rooms are also
available for guests.• Hilton Garden Inn, 1050
Interstate Drive, Findlay.Michelle Slattery, director of
sales, said that she works with the brides from the moment they inquire at the site. She said that she is present the day of the reception.
“I think what makes us dif-ferent is, first off, we’re a new property, so that’s” an attrac-tion.
“We can handle the most people in Findlay in our events venue, which is another great attraction piece for us. I think the Hilton brand alone sets for us something that people rec-ognize and gives them com-fort.
“But it really comes down to our staff,” said Slattery. “I’ve gotten so many emails recent-ly” from brides or their mothers and “they’ve all commented on how wonderful our staff is, how great they work together, and how much of a wonderful evening it was.
“I think there are a lot of things that play into why we have weddings and why we do as well as we do, but I think the biggest part is our customer service.”
Settings(Continued from 13)
Photo provided
Schedel Gardens has 17 acres of beauty in Elmore.
Shane Hughes/Sentinel-Tribune
Tool around in a golf cart at Stone Ridge Golf Course after the ceremony.