Our Real Detroit Wedding: September 23, 2017
“Choosing Mike Staff Productions was a wonderful decision. It was nice having three of the major services at one place. Everyone worked so well together and really complemented each other, in both personality and professionalism. We would and have already recommended Mike Staff Productions to lots of other people looking for the wedding services you offer. I really loved just knowing everything was in one place. Our team – Craig, Holly, Tyler and Bob – were amazing. We can’t thank them enough for being with us on our special day and helping to make it so perfect.”
The Proposal
“Anthony proposed on Christmas day 2015. It was so great, we had already opened gifts in the morning and we were relaxing before a family dinner. He told me he had something else and to close my eye’s and he would be right back. Sitting there in my pajama’s, he gets down on one knee, tells me to open my eyes. When I opened my eyes, he had a ring in his hand, and asked ” Will you marry me?” I looked at him SHOCKED and said ” Are you serious right now?” Of course, I said YES! We hugged and kissed each other and our daughter. He is SO good at surprising me. He had been looking at rings on the couch next to me for awhile and I never had a clue. We called our parents, got dressed and went to the family dinner. It was such a great day, I love Christmas, so this just gives me another reason to love it so much.”
Our Wedding Day Vision
“Our vision for the wedding was to be nice, fun, and filled with people we love in a wonderful setting. We took little bits and pieces from all the weddings we have been to and rolled it into one. We wanted a place we could set-up the day before, have the wedding the next day, then clean up the following day ideally. It became very clear that we preferred a “3 day or weekend ” rental. We enjoyed the laid back feel of a barn venue for that reason. We also wanted a place we could have all our events in one place. We wanted different types of backgrounds for pictures without having to leave as well. The Vale Royal Barn and Inn checked off all of our boxes, plus a million more.”
“The owner, Valerie is beyond wonderful and incredibly helpful. We booked before the barn even had bathrooms and have loved watching it be shaped into the wonderful place it is now. We enjoyed we could make it as fancy or natural as we wanted. We knew we wanted to get married in September because we were both born in September. Almost 1 year apart. We wanted a wedding date around the same time so we could have one epic week every year. His birthday was three days after the wedding, mine was exactly seven days. I think we accomplished our goal of kicking off our epic week the best way possible.”“Our shoes, are very “us”. At a past wedding we attended, the bride had custom converse (our ring bearer’s parents wedding to be exact). I always loved that, and loved that she was in comfortable shoes for the reception. I am NOT a heels type of lady. They just aren’t my thing, even though I am short. I love converse and I knew I wanted to do something similar. Anthony doesn’t enjoy the shoes that come with suits, or fancy shoes in general really. So he was a fairly easy sell. We both wanted very comfortable shoes for the whole day. I went on the Converse website and customized our shoes. The color yellow was one of our wedding colors. We really love the fall and fall colors in Michigan. We live in Ann Arbor, so we choose navy accents because we love Michigan Football. On the sides of our shoes we had our wedding date 9.23.17 embroidered. Our daughters shoes are a little different They are the more traditional low tops and have red, white and blue accents. Hers say “Barker” on the sides. I call Anthony “Barker” sometimes, so it fit and was cute. I love that it is something special made for just the three of us and a keepsake I can wear often if I chose to.”
Can’t Imagine Life Without Our Wedding Video
“I’ll be honest at first, getting a wedding video wasn’t a ‘must have’ on our list. Now it’s a ‘can’t imagine life without it’. One reason we chose to hire a wedding videographer was because sadly life isn’t promised. Since our wedding date, we lost people very dear to our hearts. Not only seeing how people interact but being able to see their smiles, and hear some of their voices is priceless. I would choose this every day, every time. It makes me tear up because it’s a wonderful memento. Tyler did a amazing job. He captured so many incredible moments and feelings and the video allows me to relive my best day every time I watch it and I can’t thank him enough for that.”
Meet the Flower Girl & Ring Bearer
“Our Flower Girl was our 5 1/2 year old daughter . She is the light of our lives. She fills our house with tons of laughs and love and we couldn’t be more proud of her. We love her beyond measure. She was VERY excited about the wedding, and dressing up and having her hair and makeup done. She has been there with us for most of the planning. So it was a big day for her. Our Ring bearer was3 years old and is the son of some of our very good friends. He is their oldest, and he is incredibly smart and wonderful. We think the world of him and love him dearly. His dad was one of our groomsman. I think both of the kids had a good time, despite that it was 90 degrees at the end of September. They did a wonderful job and looked so cute! They are both such great kids. Our ring bearer even asked our daughter to dance at the reception and she shot him down! Poor little buddy! No worries though, he was on the dance floor soon after. Such a fun memory.”
Our Dance Floor was HOT!
“When it came to our dance floor, DJ Bob had it movin’ all night! Bob did a wonderful job keeping people dancing all night, even though it was SO hot. As for our first dance, we choose “Thinking Out Loud’ By Ed Sheeran. We choose it because it’s a wonderful song, not only about love now, but as you age and love forever.”
Our Wedding Photos
“We had a great time with both our wedding photographers. It was 90 degrees that day, everyone was dripping! They were working hard to get fabulous pictures despite the abnormal heat in September. They both were a lot of fun. Craig even was working on his birthday. I would highly recommend both of them.”
BONUS: Aleah and Anthony also had their Engagement Photo Session done with Mike Staff Productions!
Aleah & Anthony’s Wedding Vendors
- Ceremony & Reception Location: The Vale Royal Barn
- Wedding Cake: Cupcake Station, Ann Arbor
- Wedding Services: Mike Staff Productions Wedding DJ, Photography, Videography
- Wedding Dress & Alterations: David’s Bridal & The Bridal Project
- Bartenders: Slinging Sister’s
- Catering: Sherry’s Catering