Alex and Alex’s Wedding (New Year’s Eve)

All of the photos featured in this post, with permission, were taken by the talented team at Jeff Borisen Photography. (Thank you for allowing me to share your work on this blog!)

 

Our New Year’s Eve celebration was a very special one this year. Our dear friends, Alex and Alex, tied the knot and officially became a Mr. and Mrs. just a few hours before 2016 arrived.

If you have been following the blog over the past year or so, then you have seen this same-name duo mentioned several times. They’re two of our very best friends! Scott and I met Alex while I was dancing for the Detroit Pistons, and we eventually met Alex when she introduced him to us one Sunday at church. Needless to say, their relationship escalated quickly and the four of us instantly bonded as a couple of couples.

Scott and I were honored to both be in the wedding party (I was Co-Matron of Honor and he was Co-Best Man), and I am excited to finally share the details with you!

Just two days before the wedding, we rehearsed how we were going to walk down the aisle and got a first look into the beautiful venue, The Colony Club, located on Park Avenue in Downtown Detroit. It’s a gorgeous historic building with a breathtaking, gold-hued hall and ballroom.

(This picture was taken downstairs in the lobby.)

Once everyone felt comfortable with how the ceremony was going to run, we enjoyed dining in the private area (upstairs) at Mex for the rehearsal dinner. (I’ll share some of my personal pictures and more stories soon!)

The bride and groom closed the night out with a toast while distributing gifts to all the bridesmaids and groomsmen. Family and friends in attendance definitely felt the love and excitement, and everyone was thrilled for the wedding day to arrive.

 

Alex and Alex’s Wedding

Our group of bridesmaids met at the bride’s house the morning of the wedding, and after a quick Starbucks run, we were on our way to Detroit via party bus! We arrived on a chilly December morning, eager to get inside and up to the Bridal Suite at The Westin Book Cadillac Hotel.

We entered the room to find mimosas, a platter of fresh fruit, a veggie tray, and chicken salad sandwiches to help get us through the day. Her sweet wedding coordinator also left a bride survival kit for emergencies that we ended up tapping into.

Our little group all dressed alike, with the bridesmaids in soft sleep shirts, a Victoria’s Secret surprise from the bride. Alex wore an adorable white Betsey Johnson vintage ruffle robe to get ready, and she already had a bridal glow going even before touching her hair and makeup.

It wasn’t long before our hairstylists arrived, and we spent the day relaxing and chatting away until it was time to get dressed and take pictures while getting ready.

Alex looked absolutely stunning. Her makeup was flawless, and I was impressed that she had a calm, steady hand to do it herself. She was by far the coolest, go-with-the-flow bride I had ever seen on their wedding day.

Someone would bring something up to make us cry every now and then, but for the most part, our group held our emotions together and we were ready to help our bride down the aisle towards marrying the man of her dreams.

While the girls finished primping, it was time for the groomsmen to join Alex for photos in the hotel lobby. They shared a drink to toast to the day, and killed time (out of sight from the bride) before it was time to bus over to the venue.

We got wind that the groom was a little more nervous than the bride. And by a little, I mean a lot. His uptight behavior was endearing, and his anxiousness turned to excitement as soon as he was finally able to call Alex his wife.

They were a lively bunch, all from different stages and ages of friendship. It was fun to get to know them at the events leading up to this special day.

As we walked towards the elevator to head downstairs for photos, it finally hit me that the wedding was here! Everyone looked so beautiful and elegant, and we were only a few short hours from walking down the aisle.

After bouncing around floor to floor, we were led outside to take a series of fun photos.

It was freezing in our thin strapped dresses, but very much worth it.

I’m looking forward to seeing more!

We hustled back to the warm entrance of the hotel as soon as we could, and then popped back out for one last photo. It was such an honor to stand as Co-Maid (Alex prefers that term, even though we’re all married now) of Honor, next to her sister.

We huddled close together to keep warm and then went back upstairs for a few moments to relax before our ride picked us up (in style, I might add). We had one last toast before we were on our way to the venue and escorted our bride into the secret suite to freshen up and enjoy a few appetizers before everything began.

The ceremony was a real tear-jerker. It was a comic relief to have the ring bearer and flower girl, niece and nephew to the bride, standing up there with us, and I’m happy they were there to make me laugh as I was trying to cover my ugly crying face throughout the majority of it.

The bride and groom wrote their own vows, and both were done with such sweet sentiment and a bit of humor. It was perfect. Towards the end, the bridesmaid standing behind me lost it and took us all down with her. We were all sobbing messes!

It was an emotional but wonderful ceremony, and guests were escorted out to enjoy cocktails and appetizers soon after.

As the new Mr. and Mrs. snuck out to take pictures, the bridal party mingled with guests and got a sneak peek of the room the reception was set to be held.

We said hello to friends, talked about the ceremony, and laughed at how we couldn’t keep it together towards the end. Love was certainly in the air!

Unbeknownst to the rest of the bridal party, the guests, or the couple we were there celebrating, I joined Dana (the bride’s sister) and the Best Men in one last plan of attack before the start of the reception. We planned a special kind of toast that involved our own rendition of their love story in a series of songs. It totaled over ten minutes in length, and guests were completely taken by surprise… as was the couple.

(We love you guys, thank you for putting up with us and understanding our sense of humor!)

Going off of the New Year’s Eve theme, the room was set with a countdown to midnight and masquerade decorations.

Black, white, and gold filled the room with gold branches, white flowers, candelabras, and clocks decorating the tables.

Each setting was complete with a black or gold mask, black for the men and gold for the women.

Everything came together beautifully, and it felt like we were invited to to a fancy dinner party.

A plate of filet, crab cakes, mashed potatoes, and vegetables were served for dinner. It was delicious, and I finished plenty full!

As dinner wrapped up, the newlyweds walked over to cut the cake before the party started. I adored the simple, elegant design and “At Last” cake topper. We predicted both would be more nice than naughty when it came to feeding each other, and we were right.

Next came the traditional first dances, and everyone gathered around the dance floor to watch the couple dance, followed by Father of the Bride and Mother of the Groom dances. All of the parents and family members looked so pretty and handsome.

Before long, the lighting dimmed to a deep red and the music got faster and louder. The clock was getting close to striking midnight, and everyone was having a blast!

One by one, guests retreated back to their seats to grab their masks and spent the next few hours dancing the night away!

All of the photos used in this post were shared as a sneak peek, so I’m anticipating a lot of great gems to surface when the full collection is debuted. It was a party for sure!

Right after midnight, the groomsmen picked the couple up and had everyone chanting “Alex”. It’s safe to say that the term applies to both Mr. and Mrs. here!

Being a part of this wedding has been a wonderful experience that flew by for Scott and I.

Tying the knot on New Year’s Eve will always be a reason for these lovebirds to celebrate the ball drop a little more each year. Congratulations to you both!

We love you so much and wish you a lifetime of happiness!