The Wedding Story of Shannon and Brian Sharer

Brian had one special proposal in mind for Shannon, a woman that first caught his eye and later his heart after meeting her at 5th Avenue in Royal Oak, Michigan. His 31st birthday was approaching but he shrugged it off as if he didn’t want anything special.  The couple decided to simply invite a few friends to the park for the day to grill out. “We were there for a while before any of our friends showed up and I kept texting to see where they were,” Shannon says. “While we waited Brian took me for a walk along the lake and over to a gazebo where he got down on one knee and proposed. Brian was sneaky though...one of our friends was hiding while he proposed and took pictures of the whole thing! That small get together of friends for his birthday bbq became a big group of friends and family showing up to celebrate our engagement! Brian had sent an invitations to all of our family and friends weeks before his bbq asking them to come surprise me for our engagement. It was awesome to say the least.”
 

Initially opting for a wedding with 30 of their closest friends and family in St. Lucia, they decided instead to have a small, backyard wedding at home. The next step was planning.  However, Lisa didn’t have many ideas so she did what any girl would do - she turned to Pinterest and wedding websites for inspiration (including WeddingDay’s Facebook page)!  Deciding on Belle Isle, a conservatory in Detroit, for their wedding ceremony was easy.  Brian loves Detroit and Belle Isle is a place they frequently picnicked at while dating.  For everything else, Lisa put in a lot of research. This included finding her dress too!   Lisa says. “I think more often than not girls think they know exactly what they want in a dress, then you try that dress on and it’s not the feelings you thought you were going to have. That was me! I went to 3 different bridal shops and tried on LOTS and LOTS of dresses but something was missing with all of them. They had parts and pieces I liked but they were never the full package! So I took to the internet and found my Essence of Australia wedding dress first on Pinterest, but as we all know not all the links send you to a site where you can buy. I kept digging and found the year it was made and the name of it. I called around from shop to shop looking for this dress but no one had it!  I found it on a site called Tradesy, I was super skeptical about buying a dress someone else owned, but it was never worn and it was THE ONE! I had to make some alterations naturally, my favorite was my gold belt!

Gold is actually a favorite color of Shannon’s and she found many ways to weave it into the wedding decor. She says, “I love gold! So much! It was never a trend to me so I added gold touches everywhere I could. From my belt, to spray painting our gold Initials at the head table, gold table runners and my gold garter, I even found blush champagne with gold labels!  It’s just my favorite!” Shannon used her D.I.Y. skills to ensure she left her gold mark too! She spray painted gold branches for the centerpieces, the initial block letters and picture frames. She also made the dripping crystals that hung from the gold branch centerpieces and hung all the lights throughout the backyard.

As for the bouquets, Shannon used a private florist she found through her coworker and had her incorporate roses. For the centerpieces, she ordered Hydrangeas, roses and white fillers and her aunt helped to arrange them in vases. The floral choices certainly completed the gold and blush look she has always loved so much!

What we love

For those of you considering alternative or creative options for your reception, take note! Shannon was able to create a unique, memorable and comfortable wedding event for her guests by using her own backyard!  Shannon says, “from what I’m told [my wedding guests] loved the ambience when the sun went down and all the lights lit up the yard, and since it was at our home there wasn’t a time people had to leave so most of our guests stayed till midnight or later and drank and danced! It was awesome!” We also love her advice for brides-to-be: “Don’t forget to take time out for just you and your man!! Date nights with no wedding talk, it will be the best thing for you to just take a breather, weddings consume a lot of your time and energy.”
 

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