Our Real Detroit Wedding: January 13, 2018
“Our Mike Staff experience was great! From handpicking our wedding DJ, through the wedding day. We received helpful emails between, Kyle Z and Daniel were both professional and talented. We will (and already have) recommended Mike Staff for a painless process and wonderful people to work with.” – Happy Bride, Tatum
Our Love Story
Kyle I met by swiping right….TINDER! I’d say we selected for each other, but that’s only a half truth. I picked him for one of my best friends, as he was “her type” and “she’d love him!” She had met someone just a few weeks prior, but I felt it necessary to keep Kyle in the wings in case things didn’t work out for her. Lucky for me, they did work out for her, her now husband, and subsequently myself and Kyle.Our proposal was real life, and completely us. I had just driven back to Michigan from Florida, was hangry, tired, wanted nothing more than a shower, was wearing a TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) shirt and leggings. Kyle insisted on showing me how he wanted to set up gardens in the back yard. He told me he made a sample stepping stone since I had mentioned making one with our dog’s paw prints.He walked me across the yard to a stepping stone that said Tatum, Will you marry me? 4-9-17. I stood there reading it over and over again before turning around where he was down on one knee. From what he later told me, he said really wonderful things, none of which I heard. One dog was jumping on me, one was standing behind me, and the third was showing me a stick he just found. I bent down and hugged Kyle, he stood up, and in the process asked me, “So, is that a yes?” I responded, pointing at the ground, “can you do that again real quick?” He got down on one knee again, I still have no idea what he said, but I said yes.
Our Wedding Vision
We knew we wanted to get married in the winter, with a lot of classic and wintery elements, however, I also like sparkle.
We chose black, silver, and gold, with wood and greenery to tie the elements together. Kyle and I made most components of our wedding. He built farm tables for us to use, together with my MOH, my mom, and his mom, we assembled centerpieces with birch, pinecones, sequin runners, branches, greenery and A LOT of candles. The day before the wedding we had a dozen helpers to help us bring the whole space to life. Some inspiration came from Pinterest (of course), but it came together with our ideas, and those of a few friends and family members.
Our Wedding Video
Our video sums us up perfectly as a couple. There’s a lot of humor, happiness, family, and friends. There are tiny snippets that I would have never dreamed to be caught on camera that are my favorite things to see in motion. The video truly shows the fun we had, and even better shows the fun people had even when we weren’t next to them to see it. The video was edited beautifully with music, and to highlight the important events of the day for us to relive. Listening to our best friends speeches won’t ever get old.
Our Mike Staff Productions DJ
DJ-Kyle played EVERYTHING that had guests up and moving. Our dance floor was HUGE and filled the entire night. All the guests raved about song variety, and choice. “Shut up and Dance” is a personal favorite that had a lot of people on the floor.
Louis Armstrong – “What A Wonderful Word” was our first dance song. Kyle and I didn’t have a song and weren’t really passionate about a specific song for a first dance…there are just too many good options. The song was Kyle’s grandparent’s, none of which are living anymore, so we thought that would be a nice way to bring them into the day. I also suggested we do our first dance by candlelight truly surrounded by all of our guests. It’s was perfect.
DJ-Kyle covered all bases with making our reception memorable. He pronounced bridal party names correctly (a first for many of them which they still talk about), he helped us coordinate our candle lit first dance, assisted in a surprise dance I wanted for myself and my mom, and kept people moving the entire night.
Our Favorite Wedding Memories
Tatum: For me it’s virtually impossible to choose a favorite moment…there were MANY. A few of those include….
- Kyle seeing me for the first time. (We did not do a first look)
- We had a fantastic talent of a violinist play our ceremony and cocktail hour. She learned to play Elvis Presley’s “I can’t help falling in love with you” specifically for me to walk down the aisle to, per my request. As our guests moved from cocktail hour to the reception she played the full song and we had our first, first dance.
- Our actual planned first dance.
- Eating my favorite chips and salsa on the party bus in my dress, which the groomsmen declared “the bravest thing they’ve ever seen”
Kyle: I’d have to say our dance in the cocktail hour room. It was just us.
Tatum and Kyle’s Wedding Vendors
- Wedding Dress: The Wedding Shoppe
- Ceremony: White House Wedding Chapel
- Reception: Packard Proving Grounds
- Violinist: The Urban Violinist, Kym Brady
- Day of Coordinator: Amanda Jo
- Make Up: Kelsey Marie Claire, Freelance
- Catering: CC Catering
- Bartending: Miss Mixology
- Hotel and shuttle: Hampton Inn, Shelby Township
- Rings: Ace Diamond Jewelers, Dearborn
- Mike Staff Productions: Wedding DJ & Videography
Don’t trust your wedding to anyone else. Mike Staff Productions would be honored to bring your vision to life. Let’s get started!
