Kristina and Rahul’s Wedding: May 21, 2022
“We are beyond satisfied with our experience with Mike Staff Productions. Both our photographer and DJ were excellent. Special thanks to them for making our day even more special than we could have ever imagined.” – Happy Bride, Kristina
Our Love Story
If you know Rahul and I, you know we are both social butterflies so it will come to no surprise that we sparked a conversation that is still going strong today. I was looking to move to Detroit and visiting my sister and brother-in-law and they invited me to go to a brewery for dinner and drinks with some of my sisters co-residents. Lucky for me Rahul was one of those co-residents.
When he arrived he sat a few seats away next to my brother-in-law. We were introduced and then never really seemed to stop talking… shocking, right?
Rahul planned to propose to me on the Detroit Riverfront at sunset. We often walked our dog, Kelty, there. He planned it so well that I really had no clue it was happening. He was wearing sweatpants so I would not think something was happening. Well he was right, I was so oblivious I refused to go on my own proposal walk.
I had been working the weekend and was tired so I asked to take a nap instead. He was adamant that I should go on a walk and I was not sure why it was so important. He finally realized I legit was not going. His mom, sister, and brother-in-law were already there waiting to surprise me so he took Kelty on the walk to go get them.
He instead placed the ring on Kelty’s collar and when he came back told me Kelty’s new dog tag had ripped. I got up to look at it and found an engagement ring instead and looked at Rahul who was on one knee proposing. I felt so bad, of course the one time I do not go on a walk is the time he was planning to propose. Kelty stepped right in to help Dad out and now we are officially a family of three.
Our Wedding Vision
We really wanted a Spring wedding. We love Spring in Michigan with the new blooms and it would also allow us time to plan. We went with a floral theme. I decided pretty early I wanted the bridesmaids to be able to pick their own floral dresses. I had picked my bouquet and let the girls use that as inspiration for colors and let them each pick their own floral dress. Rahul knew he wanted the guys in Suits and we thought having all the guys in different floral ties would be fun.
Everything else was intended to be minimalist and modern to allow for the floral theme to be the focus. We did simple vases and floating candles with greenery on the tables. We added the outdoor lighting to the lower ceiling to make it feel like you were enjoying time on your patio without risking having an outdoor venue. One of my favorite touches was our After the Tone Guest Book, which was a retro phone that our guests left voicemails for us on and will be printed on a vinyl record for us.
Our Wedding Photography
Holly was a true blessing. From her outgoing personality and her attention to detail, she was the kind of wedding photographer you dream about. We loved working with her and she had so many great ideas for photos that we would have never thought of ourselves. When we got our photos back we were just amazed by them. Her ability to capture the special moments of not just us but our guests is such a gift. She truly told our love story in her photos and that takes real talent.
Our Wedding DJ
I don’t even know where to start. From the pre-wedding meeting to the actual day, Matt, our professional wedding DJ, was phenomenal. We had a couple of songs and special dances we knew we wanted. He took all of our must-haves and understood our vibe and style of music and ran with it. Our guests were on the dance floor from the moment he started playing music until the very last song, they were even chanting for an encore!
Our Favorite Moments
My favorite moment was being announced at the reception and seeing those we love and care about on the balcony above cheering us on. Our guests stayed on the balcony to watch our entrance, cake cutting and first dance. We could hear them singing along to our first dance song and it made that moment so special to us. My other favorite moment was our photographer stopping traffic on Jefferson Street and having us spin around in the street. Those pictures were so fun and all the people in the cars were honking and cheering for us. Gotta love Detroit!
Our Wedding Planning Advices To Couples
So many people thought my mismatch floral theme wasn’t going to work but I had a vision and ran with it. We received so many compliments after the fact. This day is whatever you want it to be. Make decisions together and have fun. I am so thankful to have a significant other who helped me plan this wedding. Planning can get stressful but just remember some of the greatest moments are the one’s you did not plan on.
Kristina and Rahul’s Wedding Vendors
- Ceremony Venue: S.S. Peter and Paul Jesuit Church
- Reception Venue: Atheneum Suite Hotel International Grand Ballroom
- Florist: Viviano Flower Shop
- Cake: Pastry Chef from Atheneum Suite Hotel
- Wedding Dress: Brides for a Cause (Portland, OR)
- Reception Dress: Lulu’s
- Men’s Suits: Indochino
- Guest Book: After the Tone
- Beauty: Beauty Bar
