An Intimate, Rustic Celebration in Dexter, Michigan: The Real Wedding of Lauren and Brandon Bernard

After meeting in 2017 from being employed by the same company, Lauren and Brandon started dating. In May of 2021, Brandon asked Lauren's mom to get her out of the house for a little while to set up his perfect proposal. While Lauren and her mom were out shopping, Brandon filled the basement with white balloons, candles, rose petals and a light-up sign that said "Marry me". Of course, Lauren said "yes!"
 

"I always knew I wanted a black wedding dress. It wouldn’t be me if I got married in any other color than black," Lauren admits. "With black wedding dresses becoming more popular, I knew it wouldn’t be hard to find one but oddly enough I was struggling." Luckily, Lauren's sister-in-law, Zahra, recommended Becker's Bridal, who came through with that beautiful gown she's wearing! When Lauren's stylist pulled this beautiful tulle dress, Lauren knew it was the one without even trying it on! Once she was in it, Lauren started to plan her hair, shoes and whether she should wear a veil or headpiece.
 

Knowing she wanted her black dress to be the highlight of her wedding, Lauren and Brandon didn't want the color scheme to become too dark. After lots of Google research on how to make the venue feel light, Lauren and Brandon settled on a color scheme that was mostly white with some green foliage with plenty of light. Thankfully, the planning team knew how to perfectly style the venue, as they worked there!
 

When it came time to plan for the wedding, Lauren and Brandon knew they wanted to keep the wedding small and simple. The venue being an all-inclusive vendor was another major plus. Not only did they help with the planning and catering, the venue offered floral design as well as rentals and linens! With their extensive knowledge of their own venue, the team was able to curate a beautiful space for Lauren and Brandon to be wed and for all their family and friends to celebrate with them.
 

 

What We Love

No matter what happened, Lauren and Brandon stuck to themselves and what they wanted for their wedding day. "We wanted our day to be for us and only us, not for someone else. We talked about every detail of our wedding day with each other and discussed how we wanted things to 
happen and not how they are supposed to happen," Lauren shares. In fact, they did a lot of non-traditional things to keep their wedding the way they wanted. They didn't include a bridal party, so they arrived and got ready together before committing their lives to one another!
 

 

Advice from the Couple

Lauren and Brandon advise, "Focus on yourself and what you want as a couple, not what others want/expect from you. It was the greatest thing we did. It made our wedding truly ours and we wouldn’t change a thing."
 

 

 

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