"A sunset-soaked yacht club wedding with Croatian soul. A day filled with color, music, and the kind of joy that feels bigger than words."

The morning started at the club where both sides of the wedding party were getting ready. The bride and her bridesmaids were in the bridal suite upstairs, surrounded by coffee, breakfast, and this bright mix of color. The bridesmaids wore dresses in greens, yellows, and peaches, while the flowers echoed the same sunset palette. Deep oranges, pinks, and yellows. It felt joyful right from the start.

The guys were also upstairs, tucked into the pub in the tower. Dark wood, lake views, and just enough space for a dozen conversations happening all at once. At some point, I noticed the groom quietly sorting through a few personal items: cufflinks, a watch, small things that most people probably would not think twice about. But every single one of them carried meaning. Each was a quiet nod to his father. Nothing flashy, nothing for show. Just something real that was with him through the day.

Soon after, the couple shared their first look in the garden just outside the club. It was quiet. Just the two of them and this brief pause where everything else - timelines, nerves, the waiting crowd - all disappeared. A moment to breathe, to really look at each other, and to settle into the day together before anything else happened.

Right there in the garden, they exchanged personal vows. No microphones. No audience. Just the two of them speaking directly to each other. Honest words that were funny, candid, genuine, and at times surprisingly profound. The kind of vows that somehow felt both completely spontaneous and deeply considered. You could see the weight lift off both of them afterward. Like something important had been said that would carry them through the rest of the day, and probably a lot longer.

With portraits wrapped, there was one more stop before the ceremony. The Venetian Room inside the club was filled with close family and friends for a Croatian send-off. An accordion player set the tone as the room filled with singing, dancing, and the kind of joyful noise that spills out from one generation into the next. It was chaotic in the best way. Full of life, full of history, and impossible to stand on the sidelines.

The ceremony was held at Historic Trinity Lutheran Church in Detroit. This grand old space has stood through more than a century of stories, and on this day, it became part of one more. The light through the stained glass. The quiet hum of anticipation. The simple beauty of two people standing side by side, promising the rest of their lives to each other.

Then back to the Yacht Club for cocktail hour on the patio, with the lake stretching out in every direction. The sun slowly dropped, casting everything in that soft, golden summer light that always feels like magic but never lasts long enough.

Dinner rolled straight into dancing and the kind of celebration that never really lost steam. A sax player jumped in for a while, lifting the energy even higher. The kind of dance floor where nobody stays in their seat for long and nobody wants the night to end.

It’s always strange how quickly a wedding day disappears. You show up in the morning, and before you know it, you are watching the final songs, the last drinks, the hugs goodbye. But this day did not feel like it was winding down. It felt like the start of something. The beginning of a story that will echo for a long time.