A Greenery-Filled Vintage Ann Arbor Celebration: The Real Wedding of Sarah Andrus-Piper and William Piper

Sarah and Will bonded over Marvel movies, unused film degrees and their love of dogs after meeting on Bumble in 2018. William proposed on Sweetest Day even though he was too nervous to get the words out and their dog was uncooperative. "It was sweet and personal, even though he was too nervous to actually say 'Will you marry me?' while he was down on one knee," Sarah gushes.
 

Due to COVID restrictions and bridal party members living out of state, Sarah went dress shopping with just her mom. "I went in knowing I wanted lace, and that I would prefer some sort of sleeve. I wasn’t sure what to expect from my appointment, and was blown away by their selection," Sarah raves. "I tried on a handful of dresses before finding my perfect dress." Sarah ended up picking a vintage-style dress, which aligned with her love for history.
 

Going into planning, Sarah and Will knew they weren't going to be able to have the larger indoor wedding that they had originally imagined due to COVID guidelines. After hearing the horror stories of COVID postponing weddings from her brother and his fiancée, Sarah knew what she wanted. Sarah explains, "I was very cautious when I was booking my vendors to make sure I was working with compassionate people who cared just as much about making my day a success as their bottom line." Reading positive reviews and connecting with the vendors was most important to her and Will when booking their vendors.
 

For special touches, Sarah tied in her career as a librarian into their reception. "We ended up including some hardcover books on each table
as centerpieces with electric candles and mercury glass votives, and our escort cards were designed to look like they came out of a card catalog," Sarah says. Her mother also helped make the invitations for her day with pearl accents and custom wax seals. Sarah's dad also made them a guest bench in place of a guest book, so they could place it in their backyard where Will proposed!

 

What we love

Sarah and Will honored those who came before them during their celebration. "We attempted to create a 'family tree' by stringing family wedding portraits around a tree by our ceremony, but the threat of rain meant we had to put them inside. We were able to have generations of wedding portraits from both of our families, and it was really nice to see the grandparents and family that couldn’t be with us on our special day," Sarah recalls. She also was able to wear her grandmother and great-grandmother's jewelry for her big day.
 

 

Advice from the couple

Sarah advises, "Plan your day. When all is said and done, yes, we wanted our family and friends to be happy. But it was so important to Will and myself that our day was something we could look back on and know it was ours. You don’t want to look back in five, ten, fifty years and realize that you planned your wedding around someone else's wishes."
 

 

 

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