Jessi and Steve’s wedding at Warehouse 6 Events in Holland, Michigan was one I had been waiting for since their engagement session. These two are seriously so adorable together, and have a passion for craft beer that I love so much. They really made beer the theme of their wedding down to brewing their own!

When I arrived at Warehouse 6, Jessi was telling me about what gifts Steve had given her and just how sweet and thoughtful he is. He had each of her bridesmaids give her a gift throughout the morning to keep the day stress free, fun and full of love. It was so well planned out, from some Tito’s to calm nerves, some Sugar Babies for something sweet, and a comic to make her laugh.

When Jessi was ready, she put on her dress. As soon as her sisters were done buttoning up the back, you could just tell she was getting anxious. After everyone was all dressed, Jessi’s dad came in for a first look AND BOY DID HE MAKE ME CRY! I love first looks with dads, it’s something so special and full of love. After the first look with Jessi’s dad we headed over for the first look with Steve at Windows on the Waterfront, which is a beautiful park right across the street from Warehouse 6.

Jessi and Steve’s first look was so cute and I know it was so special to them. Just seeing both of their faces, it was something that they both needed before the rest of the day. After their first look we got the majority of the family pictures out of the way and then went into wedding party portraits. Let me tell you, Jessi and Steve picked out a fun wedding party, they had me laughing the whole time. The best part was when I told Jessi’s side that they had to one up Steve’s side with portraits and boy did they deliver (we’ll I honestly think it was Steve that made it, but we’ll give credit to the ladies). Once we had all the wedding party portraits done we sent them on their way back to the venue so we could take couples portraits.

I asked Jessi how her and Steve met, this is what she said “We met on plenty of fish.com! We met at a brewery and then went to dinner and closed down the place. We talked the whole night, laughed, and we both went home smiling!”

I of course asked her how the proposal went, it’s seriously so cute. “Steve and I had been dating for four years and I was starting to wonder when it was going to happen. But he told me "not this year" during 2017, on day one of 2018 he proposed. We were opening Christmas gifts and he said a small box was last. It had a beautiful carved wooden box inside, PERFECT FOR A RING, it was a music box that played a favorite melody of mine. He opened it and there was no ring. My emotions were high and so about 10 minutes later I stopped him and said you had me going with that box. You made me think things! He goes, "Oh...did you think you were getting this box?" And he got down on his knee and proposed. In our home, wearing pajamas and we promptly celebrated with breakfast food. It was perfect!”

It is a tradition in Jessi’s family to have a shot before the ceremony. Jessi shared one with her mom and two sisters and then were joined in afterwards with a wonderful group of ladies for an extra shot. The ceremony was outside Warehouse 6 on their outdoor patio, with a beautiful wooden backdrop and some hops of course. Jessi and Steve’s ceremony was pretty short, they had a good friend and Steve’s old boss officiate and he did amazing. They had a beer pouring ceremony with two amazing beers from Grand Armory Brewing, a raspberry ale and a peanut butter stout created the ultimate PB&J beer.

After the ceremony, Jessi, Steve and I walked down to Big Lake Brewing for a celebratory beer and some portraits along the way. They wanted to get all the formal portraits out of the way before the ceremony so they could just enjoy some time alone together before the rest of the evening. I always try to get couples to take 10-15 minutes for themselves (with a photographer or not) after the ceremony, and Jessi and Steve really took that to the next level.

The reception was even more fun, with the whole venue decorated with different growers, beer bottle carries and of course pretzels! Jesse and Steve cut a cheesecake instead of a traditional cake and everyone went crazy over the amazing donuts! The formal dances were all sweet in their own way, Jessi and Steve danced to The Time of My Life (you know, the song from Dirty Dancing) and it was so sweet and fun to watch. After the formal dances they danced the night away and everyone was out on the dance floor!

Jessi and Steve, thank you a million times over for being so incredible, from your engagement session to your wedding day. I am so beyond happy that I got to be there to witness the beginning of your next big adventure together. I wish you both the best, and hope to have a beer again together soon!

Photographer: Sydney Marie Photography

Venue: Warehouse 6 Events

Caterer: Adeleine Leigh

Donuts: Sprinkles

Cheesecake: Grand Rapids Cheesecake

DJ: DJ Senez Rodriguez

Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Azazie

Tuxedos: Bunny Tuxedo

Bride’s Dress: Renee Austin