A Handcrafted Michigan Wedding: The Real Wedding of Maddy and Leon Thelen

Photos ByJohnson Photography, LLC

Written By

Chrysa Keenon

Date

October 16, 2019

Categories

Tags:

We love a heartfelt engagement story–but it's even better when it's handcrafted, too! Maddy and Leon met at Michigan State University, and when it came time for a proposal, Leon handcrafted wooden Marquee letters with what would be Maddy’s future initials, ‘MKT’! She says, “He set up the letters in our backyard. When we got back from dinner he asked if I wanted to go for a walk and he led me back there and asked me to marry him!”

Maddy’s gown is a dreamy delight thanks to Becker’s Bridal! She says the choice to go there was easy because the boutique is only ten minutes from her house. When it came to decision making, Maddy says, “I had a rough idea of what I was looking for because I knew I wanted lace, but the style of the lace I wasn’t sure on. I tried on a couple of styles to see what I would like the best.” We’re so happy with what she found!

Maddy immediately started looking at venues to book for a wedding date. She had some vague ideas for what she wanted, but left everything else up to learning along the way! “Pinterest was the root of probably seventy percent of my inspiration,” Maddy notes. “For the rest of my ideas, I looked through various wedding magazines. Facebook Bridal pages also helped me get additional inspiration.”

What we love

This couple crafted and created a lot of pieces to make their wedding unique. The centerpieces and table numbers were wooden and crafted into the shape of the state of Michigan that the bridal party got to take home. For a familial touch, Leon and Maddy teamed up with their family to create their circular wedding arch. She says, “The arch was definitely my/our favorite part of our wedding because we worked on it together and with loved ones. Now our arch is in Ludington at The Lake House Venue! I also liked that for our guest book we took a live edge piece of wood, cut it into 4 pieces, had everyone sign in sharpie, and then we plan to turn it into a ladder shelf for our home.”

Advice from the couple

Maddy urges brides not to wait when they start booking for their weddings! “It's okay to be overwhelmed in the beginning, but it's important to not let that feeling turn into procrastination. Book everything as soon as possible. I crammed all my bookings of vendors into the first two months of being engaged so it was a few weekends/weeknights sacrificed meeting with vendors. But in the end, I got all of my number one choice vendors and had the rest of the year to just focus on details.”