Our Real Detroit Wedding: May 5, 2018
“We loved the Mike Staff Productions staff. Everyone was amazing and they all went above and beyond to make our wedding perfect. I would recommend them to anyone. When we picked out our vendors we knew that we wanted to bundle them together. The main reason we went with Mike Staff was that it was so easy to work with one company for everything. The other major bonus with Mike staff is the fact that they have staff on call just in case anything happens. As a bride, that made everything way less stressful because I knew that we would have a DJ, Videographer and Photographer no matter what. Thank you so much to everyone who worked on our wedding.” – Happy Bride, Bailey
Our Love Story
Cody and I met in 2013 at a Fraternity party. I went with a few friends and Cody was there with his brothers. As the night went on my friends disappeared and left me alone. While I was standing alone I looked across the room and I saw Cody. Now I usually wouldn’t go up to strangers to introduce myself but Cody was different. Cody and I both have red hair, and I know that doesn’t sound like a big deal, but when only 2% of the world’s population has red hair it is something worth talking about that brought us together. I got up the courage and went and talked to him just because of his hair color. Once we got past the initial meeting we knew that this was going to be something big and that we had so much in common.
On June 24th, 2017 Cody and I went to Holland, Michigan for a car show. After the show ended Cody and I decided to go to the beach and swim in Lake Michigan. Before we got to the beach Cody said he knew of this beautiful place that we could go to see the lake and the lighthouse. So, we walked up a ton of steps and onto a beautiful landing overlooking the lake, the harbor and the “Big Red” Lighthouse. Once they arrived at the top, their friends met them. I was unaware of the plan and just thought it was a coincidence. They took a group picture of the 5 of them and then Cody suggested a picture with just himself and I. Before the pictures ended Cody kneeled and began to tie his shoe. Bailey thought the pictures were over and asked if anyone else wanted to get their picture taken at the spot. The group looked concerned and said ‘no.’ When Bailey tuned back to face Cody, he said ‘I have a question for you!’ Immediately Bailey knew what was going on and began to cry. Cody asked ‘Will you marry me?’ and of course Bailey said ‘YES!
Wedding DJ Experience
The song we choose for our first dance was “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by Sleeping at Last. Early on in or relationship, Cody and I had fallen in love with the show “How I Met Your Mother.” On the show, every time they take a road trip, they listen to the original song by The Proclaimers on repeat. It has always been a song that we have both loved. It always gets played on every road trip and it is our go-to Karaoke song. So, when the time came to pick a 1st dance song, I had stumbled across the Sleeping at Last version and we knew it was perfect.
My niece Ava was the flower girl and the hit of the wedding. She is 3 years old and danced her heart out all night. My mother had been teaching Ava to do the hokey pokey for months before the wedding. So, when our wedding DJ played it, the dance floor was packed watching Ava show off her moves. It was the best song to bring everyone to the dance floor and it of course made Ava the star of the night.
Wedding Videography Experience
When we started wedding planning, we knew that we wanted a wedding video. We both wanted it to remember all the details from the day as well as the ability to be able to relive it repeatedly. Tyler was our amazing wedding videographer. He understood the things about our relationship that were important to us and helped highlight them on video. In our highlight video there is a section that talks about our getaway car and how it belonged to Cody’s late uncle, and that is why we used it. Every time I watch the video it makes me cry and I am so happy that we have that footage. It is also amazing to see our entire ceremony on film, because I was so filled with emotions a lot of small details I didn’t remember. Being able to have the video was a great way to see all of the little details come together.
Wedding Photography Experience
Our wedding photographers were great. We used Chris for our engagement pictures and they turned out wonderful. I think Chris was the perfect wedding photographer. Every time I spoke to him he had exciting new ideas and thought for great pictures. He knew the vibe that we wanted for our pictures and made sure to get every detail. He even brought a few of his own props to the venue to make our rings and other things pop. Maddison was so amazing with all of the small details. She brought in a ton of great ideas and she made sure to strut her stuff of the dance floor. I could not be happier with our photographers.”
Our Uplighting
Our wedding colors were Royal Blue and Coral. We used both colors in our uplighting and it really completed the look. The uplighting made the entire room feel like a part of the party.
Our Wedding Memories
When thinking about our wedding we wanted our guests to walk into the room and think of us. Our wedding was simple and elegant with a touch of vintage flair. Our love for cars was included in our table numbers, our guest book and our center pieces. We wanted to show what made Cody and I’s relationship great. We are both very big on traditions so we made sure to include a lot of things from our families.
The biggest example of that was our cake topper. The cake topper that we used was Cody’s grandparents. They used it in the 1940s and both figures had brown hair. In 1985 Cody’s parents used it and had it painted to represent their hair colors. We knew that when it was time for our wedding we wanted to use it but we had to make sure that the hair colors were correct. It was a wonderful way to include and pay tribute to his grandparents who could not be at the wedding with us.
Bailey: “My favorite moment from the wedding was sitting at our head table with our bridal party. It was so amazing to sit and look out a crowd of people who came just to celebrate our marriage.
Another favorite moment was the first look. Being able to see Cody before the ceremony made me feel so much better. I got to take a moment to just be with him for a few minutes and relax. Not to mention that we got almost all our pictures out of the way before hand so we didn’t have to keep our guests waiting at the reception.”
Cody: “My favorite moment was when we were first announced as a couple at the altar, and then walking down the aisle, hand in hand, back to the getaway car, getting in, and driving off. My other favorite moment was walking out into the reception hall as a couple, especially to the song we chose, which was Hall & Oates’ “You Make My Dreams.”
Bailey and Cody’s Wedding Vendors
- Wedding Venue: Solitude Links Golf Course and Banquet Center
- Bakery: Cakes Our Specialty
- Florist: Beautiful Beginnings
- Dress: David’s Bridal
- Menswear: Men’s Wearhouse
- Mike Staff Productions: Wedding DJ, Photography, Videography & Uplighting
