The Tandale Nature Barn Wedding of Libby and Zach: April 26, 2025
Our Mike Staff Productions Experience
We could not recommend Mike Staff Productions more. Everything was absolutely incredible. We booked our three top services less than 4 months out from our day, and the Mike Staff Productions crew was incredible with assuring us that we would be able to have a great team and great service. They were absolutely correct. Dennis, Jen, and Madison were the best. They did a great job of making everyone feel comfortable, made pictures/videos super fun, and were very professional. We LOVED our experience.
Our Love Story
Zach & I met in September of 2019 in our non-verbal communication class at Eastern Michigan University. I was 10 minutes late and took the last seat available – a seat right next to Zach. We were assigned to a semester-long project together, which gave us an excuse to talk outside of class. This quickly grew into us spending every class talking to each other and meeting up before class to walk together. By January, we were inseparable and spending every day together. On February 12th of 2020, right before the world shut down, Zach asked me to be his girlfriend. In March, when the pandemic hit, circumstances led me to moving down to his parents’ home in Toledo for what was intended to be a month of lockdown. That month turned into an entire summer, which felt more like some grand adventure than strict quarantine. Over the next 3 years, we continued to grow closer and stronger. By the end of 2022, we were talking about getting married and looking at rings. He asked my little brother and sister if they would be okay with him proposing on our family trip for Scotland planned in 2023. On this trip, he asked both my parents for their permission. A few days later, in front of the Kelvingrove Art Museum in Glasgow at sunset, he knelt down and asked me to marry him. It was perfect.Our Wedding Vision
We didn’t have a very clear vision when we started – we kept hopping between a more elegant or more rustic approach. After some thinking, we decided to go somewhere in the middle. An elegant, but still rustic barn with a romantic, storybook wedding day. It was perfect.Our Favorite Wedding Moments
We have two!- First is the moment we saw each other at the aisle (we chose not to do a first look for this reason).
- Second is the second round of more private romantic pictures we went out to take as the sunset over the venue.
Wedding Videography Experience
We wanted a wedding video for a few different reasons. The first was to have a way to share our day with those who couldn’t attend. The second was to have a way to re-live our wedding day. We knew it would fly by, and we wouldn’t get to see every little moment of a 175 guest wedding. We love watching it and getting to be in those moments again (or for the first time!).Wedding Photography Experience
We LOVED working with our wedding photographers! Dennis and Jen were so much fun, had great ideas for pictures, and were super professional! Our wedding pictures are incredibly important. The day flew by in the blink of an eye, so having those physical, visual reminders allows us to experience it a little more each time we look through them.Our First Dance
We danced to ‘Die With A Smile’ by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars. We chose this song for a variety of reasons, but one line in particular really drew us in. At one point, the song says, “if the whole world was ending, I’d wanna be next to you”. This line was very true for us, along with the entire song, because of a plethora of very difficult life events we went through. During all of these, we would find solace, comfort, and happiness in each other. Even when it felt like the whole world was ending.Our Wedding Planning Advice
Cross-reference planning tools and reviews! Different planning tools with give you different timelines to work from, tasks, and vendor reviews. Cross-checking these is the best way to make sure you’re tailoring your wedding planning needs to the time you have to plan and the style of wedding you’re planning.Libby & Zach’s Wedding Vendors
- Ceremony & Reception: Tandale Nature Barn
- Florist: Art in Bloom
- Wedding Cake: Sweet Little Hullabaloo
- Wedding Dress: The Wedding Shoppe
- Menswear: Joseph A Bank
- Bridal Party Dresses: Kennedy Blue
- Wedding Planner: Weddings by Ashleyy
- Hair & Makeup: Hair: Ashley Greer
- Makeup: Drake Artistry Collective
- Invitations: The Knot
- Officiant: Ben Haenke