that is all about you!
Want all your friends to wish their wedding photos looked as good as yours? Want to blow your family and friends away with how great you look in your wedding photos? Want to be able to share your wedding day with generations to come and feel the emotion of the day in every photo and every turn of the page in your wedding album? We understand and know how important that is to you because it's just as important to us.
Every shot is about you! Our photographers will get to know you and everything you're looking for in your wedding day photography. So no matter what style of wedding photography you want photojournalistic, candid, artistic, classic or traditional or a mixture of each, our award winning wedding photographers will have your ideas and vision in mind.
Limelight - Michigan wedding photography. Wedding photographers for your Michigan wedding.
Michigan wedding photography and wedding djs
Don't go into planning your wedding blind folded. Plan with perfection with Limelight's
fun and easy planning process.
Creating the perfect planning process is an ongoing challenge that the wedding professionals of Limelight take on every day. Constantly learning and improving on ways we can assist our brides and grooms in creating their perfect wedding day. Taking ideas and traditions that have been a part of a wedding for generations, but at the same time personalizing each wedding to make it the bride and grooms one of a kind wedding.
Now that you're a Limelight couple, what's next in the wedding planning process?
Now that you have chosen the perfect location for the ceremony and reception, wedding dj , wedding photographer, officiant for the wedding ceremony, and all your other wedding professionals, it's time to start putting the wedding day together. This is where Limelight and our wedding planning professionals come in to start making this process fun.
At the time of your Limelight reservation, you were assigned an account in the Limelight Planning Center. Using your log in credentials, this will take you into your account where you may begin organizing some of the information we'll need. Your officiant for the wedding ceremony, your Dj for the reception, and your photographer will all need different input from you. Your LPC account will be a great way to keep all of this information organized as well as help your wedding professionals do their very best on the day of your wedding. CLICK HERE to log in to your account.
You may begin inputting information the day your account is created. An initial meeting is always encouraged for us to get to know each couple a little better. Learn more about their vision of the day and start talking about the many options the bride and groom will have. You are welcome to set up a phone or in office consultations anytime by calling our office at 517-709-7409 or by using our convenient online appointment scheduler.
As we get closer to the day, Limelight brides and grooms will have the opportunity to meet with their planning professional 90, 60, and 30 days out from the wedding date. Each appointment will be filled with helpful advice, options for each part of the day and events, discussing how long things take and working together to build the perfect timeline for the wedding day. Feel confident knowing your day has been planned correctly and the day will be perfect.
Wedding planning timeline to help our Brides and Grooms have the best wedding planning experience possible. Everyone's wedding is unique but this helpful guide should help everyone.
Just got engaged -
Sit down with all parties who will contributing financially and come up with a budget. Discuss who will be making deposit payments and final payments as a portion of the total amount for each service will be required for a retainer or deposit.
Start gathering names and addresses from parents and friends for your guest list. Discuss a total number of guests that is related to your overall wedding budget and be firm when sticking to that number. A guest list is the quickest way to go over budget and can be one of the more difficult parts of the wedding planning process.
Don't choose just one wedding date. Try to narrow it down to two or three. Availability with your favorite venue or vendors may not work out with your first choice. Have a few in mind so finding your perfect venue is a little easier.
Start researching locations for your wedding ceremony and reception.
Limelight brides and grooms have the LPC (Limelight Planning Center) to help them stay on top of things and all the planning info in one place, however, a lot of brides and grooms find many benefits of creating a wedding web site. You may include things like maps, electronic rsvp's, the story on how you met, photos and so much more. If you would like to set up a wedding web site and you're not sure where to start? Ask our wedding professionals how LImelight can help you create your perfect wedding web site.
12 months before -
After researching venues and finding the perfect one, book it! Helpful advice when making decisions, if a business meets everything you're looking for and budget and you feel a good connection, don't walk delay in reserving your date. Many times you will go back later and they already booked that date with someone else. Now the process starts all over.
Begin researching photographers and DJ's. Again, please don't delay with this. The best photographers and DJ's will get booked up a year out or sometimes even longer. With Limelight, we have a great team of DJ's so we can service multiple weddings on the same day but many don't have those resources and are only able to do one wedding in which their calendar fills up quickly.
Begin the selection process of the bridal party. Keep in mind that there are ways to incorporate friends in your wedding without them being in the actual bridal party. Have them read a verse of scripture, poem, or words of wisdom during the ceremony, have them be ushers at the wedding ceremony or greeters at the wedding reception. Think of unique ways to ask each person if they want to be a part of your wedding day. Girls can be a little easier when it comes to stuff like this, but guys don't feel completely left out. Groomsmen invites can be just as fun. Be creative!
Begin shopping for wedding dresses. Make sure that you have plenty of time to do this, as it can take anywhere between 8 months to a year for the alterations and measurements to be done correctly. You will want to shop at a few different locations, just to make sure that you as the bride are seeing as many options as you can, allowing you to find the perfect dress for you.
Book a block of hotel rooms for out-of-state guests. This allows for all of your guests to be in one general area. Waiting can lead to the hotel rooms being scattered all over the hotel, or there may not be enough rooms to book due to them already being occupied.
11 months before -
Plan the decorations for your ceremony and reception. Having most, if not all, of the decorations figured out can be such a stress reliever. With all of the color schemes and ideas coming together, it makes the feeling of getting married even more surreal. Already having the venue selected, this will give you a better idea as to how the decorations will look.
Set up an appointment with your florist to decide what types of bouquets and centerpieces you need. This doesn't just give you an even better idea of how the ceremony and reception will look, but this will give the florist plenty of time to make your ideas come to life. Flowers are a big part of any occasion, especially your wedding day!
What is one thing that everyone looks forward to after the ceremony? Food. So it's time to book a caterer. Whether you decide to go with chicken or beef, or even buffet style, set up an appointment to meet with a few different caterers, just so you can see what each company is like. This is also the time to book a caterer so that your guests can RSVP with their food selection.
10 months before -
Finalizing the guest list can be a little tricky, but it's something that has to be done. This will help with the seating chart, if that is what you decide to do for your reception. Narrowing down the guest list will also help the caterers to know how many people will be served during dinner, as well as how many tables there will be.
Haven't set up your gift registries yet? This would be the perfect time. Gift registries allow the guests to know a number of different store that they could purchase a gift for you from.
Search for an officiant or have a friend or family member get ordained to perform the ceremony. Set up a few different appointments before your wedding day to make sure that everyone is on the same page with how the ceremony is to be performed.
Choose ceremony and reception music. Test out your playlist a few times before the big day so you know what music is best during dancing versus dinner time. Be sure to separate the different types of music if you are having them played at different times. for example, if you would like soft, classical music played during dinner and then old school hip hop played later in the night. Also, if there are specific songs that you need played or would not like to be played, make the Dj aware of this.
9 months before -
Order your gown and have any necessary alterations done. This is the latest that we recommend that you order your dress. Some alterations are a little more time consuming than others, so this would be the time to get them done, to make sure that the seamstress gets everything done in time for your to walk down the aisle.
8 months before -
It's time to order your hair accessories. Whether they be headbands, beading, hair clips, or even hairspray, this is the time to order everything to make sure that they arrive to you on time for your trial run and for the big day.
Along with hair accessories, you also need to order your jewelry. Jewelry is a very important part to completing your perfect wedding day look.
Plan and book your honeymoon, whether it is outside of the country, or just across the state! Warm, tropical locations tend to be a lot busier, no matter the time of year. This allows you to book your stay for the time that you have planned for your honeymoon. Along with booking your room, make sure you plan and book the activities you plan on doing, because those may fill up quick too.
Edit, print, and proof your wedding invitations. Don't forget the envelopes and stamps! By doing this, you have plenty of time to redo them if you find that they aren't exactly how you imagined they would be. Print out a few extra just incase! You never know when you may need to re-mail one or two.
Run a few trials on your hair and makeup so you can test out products and make tweaks to your final look. Other than your wedding dress, everyone notices your hair and makeup! You may have on look in mind but once you have tested it out, it may not be what you want anymore. It is always a good idea to test things before finalizing anything.
6 months before -
5 months before -
Make arrangements for any rental items, such as chairs, tables, linens, etc. Taking care of this will ease the stress of wondering where you would get all of these items from. Also, this lets the company that you order from get everything in order to make sure that everything is perfect for your special day.
Arrange any additional sound equipment you'll need to provide music for the ceremony and reception. It is ALWAYS a good idea to make back-up sound equipment, just in case the main equipment malfunctions or fails. Be sure that the DJ knows how to work the sound equipment and is comfortable using it. Test the equipment before your wedding day, to ensure that it works properly.
4 months before -
Choose the groom's attire and make the necessary alterations. The groom's suit or tux doesn't take as long as the bride's wedding dress when it comes to alterations, but it is always a good idea to get them into the seamstress so that there is plenty of time for the alterations to be done correctly.
Purchase and other bridal accessories including shoes, lingerie, and garter. Again, this allows enough time for the packages to be sent to you. If you don't like them, then you still have plenty of time to return the item and order a different one.
Send out your Save the Date cards. Guests will be able to put the date of your wedding in their calendars, as well as book flights and hotel rooms if they are needing to travel far.
3 months before -
Book all accommodations for your wedding night. This includes the hotel room, transportation, luggage, etc. Be sure that all of this is either planned out or booked in advance, that way you won't have to worry about the night of!
Start shopping for your wedding bands. It can take a week or so to get them sized right, Of course you'll already have the engagement ring, so shopping for the wedding band should be a cake walk.
2 months before -
Finalize the menu with your caterer. Don't forget about the drinks! If alcohol is not included in your catering bill, be sure to ask about bringing in your own.
It's time to mail out your formal invitations. Address, stamp and mail them out! The Save the Date cards are informal, as opposed to the actual invitations. Include the names of you and your significant other, as well as the time, date, and location of the ceremony.
6 weeks before -
Confirm the number of bouquets, centerpieces, and boutonnieres with the florists. The Florists have more than likely already started getting your flowers together, and giving them a definite answer allows them to finish up with your order.
4 weeks before -
Finish any DIY projects. Having gotten all of your homemade projects done, you won't have to worry about consuming any more of your time. The hard part is done!
2 weeks before -
Get your local marriage license lined up. Taking this step ensures that you and your significant other are to be married, and it takes away from having to worry about it the day of!
Create a wedding day schedule and pass it out to all important parties (including your photographer and DJ). Having a set plan that everyone knows about helps to keep everyone in check and allows for the day to run smoother. This can also include any important activities or request per the bride and groom.
Give a final guest head count to your caterer. The caterer will then be able to make sure that they have to proper amount of food to serve to all of your guests.
Finalize the seating chart for your reception. This gives you the ease of knowing where everyone will be seated, and it allows you to place everyone where you think they will be most comfortable.
Confirm with all of your vendors' arrival or delivery time for the day of the wedding. This goes hand-in-hand with the schedule that was given to everyone. Share this information with the venue so that they also know when all of the vendors will be arriving to set up.
Have a trusted friend or family member handle all forms of payment for the vendors to be paid on the wedding day. If you don't want to worry about to hassle of paying everyone the same day, try and make payments ahead of time, to save you some headache. Some companies accept payment plans.