Taylor & Grant

This wedding was exceptionally fun to plan and produce. Seeing the final images and being able to appreciate all of the details coming together in such a playful and bright way is the most rewarding thing at the end of wedding season! Without further ado, enjoy these images from the amazing Clary Pfeiffer! Taylor and Grant, thank you again for the opportunity to work with you to plan your amazing wedding! It’s a memory I will always cherish.

This wedding was also published on Style Me Pretty! Here are some words from the editors of SMP themselves (I’m blushing!)!

“There's always something about every wedding we publish on SMP that absolutely stops us in our tracks! For this one, it's the stunningly bold contrasting color palette. I mean... that orange and red bouquet against her crisp white gown, it just doesn't get any more beautiful than that. Sincerely, Ginger Weddings and Events designed every detail of their day flawlessly, from the intimate outdoor ceremony to the sailcloth tented reception. Katie Wachowiak made their organic-chic floral dreams come true with every lush arrangement. See all the pretty unfold at the full gallery - taken by Clary Pfeiffer Photography!”

Photographer

Clary Pfeiffer Photography

Videography

Timeless Media Productions

Floral Design

Katie Wachowiak

Wedding Gown

Pronovias

Ceremony Venue, Reception Venue

Cherry Basket Farm

Bride's Shoes

Stuart Weitzmen

Bridesmaids' Dresses

Self-Portrait

Bridesmaids' Dresses

Shona Joy

Catering

Epicurean Catering

Hair and Makeup

M.O. Hair and Beauty

Groom's Attire

Suit Supply

Groomsmen's Attire

The Black Tux

Rentals

307 Events

Bride's Headpiece

Jannie Baltzer

A Wedding with a View Paul & Josef

With our home base being in Northern Michigan, we are fortunate to get to share the beauty of "up north" with our clients, who come from near and far. Last September we had the honor of helping to create a special day for Paul & Josef, with especially breathtaking views. Verterra Winery is the only wedding destination with views of Lake Michigan to the north and Grand Traverse Bay to the east. "Sky and water as far as the eye can see," made for quite the jaw-dropping backdrop!

We loved the personal touches that made this wedding unique to the couple, and hope you enjoy this little snapshot of this spectacular day in September, through the lens of the talented team at Weber Photography. 

Wedding Planning, Design & Management: Sincerely, Ginger Event Design & Production/ Photography: Weber Photography/ Venue: Verterra Winery / Floral Design: Stems & Sprigs / Entertainment: Weekend Comeback / Catering: Mabel Gray / Stationary: Holly Thomas Design / Rentals and Decor:  307 Events / Reception Venue: The Parlor

Secret Gardens of Summer

We can already feel spring getting ready to make way for summer, and it has us day dreaming about this ethereal Secret Garden shoot we worked on last June. 

Delicate blossoms, dreamy light, fanciful gowns - insert sparkles emoji here! 

It's just the inspiration we need to gear up for the coming of June, and all the simple pleasures that come along with it. We're determined to appreciate these little things - the sun on our faces, the soft, sweet fragrance of fresh flowers, the stunning silhouette of a bride in her priceless gown  -  even during our busiest of days. Cheers to enjoying the little things! 

Styling and Planning: Sincerely, Ginger Weddings / Photography: Cory Weber / Floral Design: Katie Wachowiak / Stationery: Ciarra Claire / Hair and Makeup: M.O. Hair and Beauty / Dress: Kate McDonald / Rentals: Monstrey MacDonald / Location: Brys Secret Garden

Home is Where the Heart is

It's full speed ahead at SGW headquarters, so we thought we'd take a minute to update you on where exactly our headquarters are! 

Earlier this year, we packed up our things and moved into a sweet new office within the historic Grand Traverse Commons campus. The sign is now up, the boxes unpacked, the throw blankets are laid gently over our chairs - we are home! 

The natural light that spills into our office is such a gift! Not to mention the character of the historic building itself. This new spot is just oozing with inspiration.

Who knew a reincarnated State Hospital could be so incredibly lovely? It makes perfect sense, actually, when you consider Dr. Munson’s philosophy that “Beauty is Therapy.” The Founding Medical Superintendent believed that "if patients were surrounded by a beautiful environment, from the architecture to the campus grounds, their emotional and mental state would be uplifted." This was part of the moral treatment movement, which was revolutionary at the time. 

The history of this Northern Michigan Asylum is quite interesting, and their historic tours are a popular activity if you're looking for something unique to enjoy with family and friends! 

We are truly grateful for the restoration of this Traverse City treasure we now call home. 

Spring Inspiration Shoot Shared on The White Wren

"Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much." --Helen Keller

Collaborating with talented folks in this industry is what keeps my job so incredibly rewarding and interesting. It allows me to continue to push myself and grow, all while being a part of creating something beautiful. The White Wren has recently shared one of these collaborations with their readers, and it is such a breath of fresh air and a lovely sign of spring. Enjoy! 

We played around with two palettes; the one above incorporating vibrant watermelon tones, and the one below showcasing a timeless, neutral feel.

Which one is speaking more to you  today?!

Styling and Planning: Sincerely, Ginger Weddings / Photography: Cory Weber / Floral Design: Katie Wachowiak / Stationery: Ciarra Claire / Wax Seals: Wax Seals, Artisaire / Custom Linen Boxes: Wedding Story Writer / Hair and Makeup: M.O. Hair and Beauty / Dress: One Oak Bride / Table Top Rentals: Emerson James Rental / Linen: Latavola Linen / Featured: The White Wren

LAKE MICHIGAN BEACH WEDDING FEATURED ON CARATS & CAKE

We've got some fun news for you today! The blissful beach wedding we had the pleasure of helping create for Lauren & Adam has been featured on Carats & Cake. What an honor to be able to showcase the beauty of this special couple, Lake Michigan, and northern Michigan in general through the lens of the gifted Cory Weber. Here are a few snaps from this ethereal October day in Leelanau County. We hope the world enjoys his breathtakingly beautiful photos as much as we do! You can see the full feature on Carats & Cake here.

Wedding Planning, Design & Management: Sincerely, Ginger Event Design & Production/ Photography: Weber Photography/ Venue: The Leelanau School/ Floral Design: Bloom Floral design / Entertainment: Mainstreet Soul & Festival Strings / Catering: Grandview Catering/ Cake: Aunt B's/  Stationary: Silver Fox Calligraphy & Holly Thomas Design / Rentals and Decor: Serradella Vintage & 307 Events

Vision Board

Cory Weber Photography

I was completely one of those twelve year old girls who cut up magazines and created collages of cell phones, lipstick, ballerinas with perfect form, and the word "sexy" and glued it all together, stuck it on my wall. Back then it was for fun, but I can see now how creating those collages helped me refine what I loved and wished for. As an adult, I've been creating vision boards on Pinterest for several years now. You can see 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and now... 2017! 

Photos are not my own, for a specific source for each image, please see this link. 

It's fun to see how my dreams and tastes have changed. The constants: family first, inspiring work, energetic social life, travel, healthy living. This year, in my quest to rise, my hope is that these other dreams will naturally follow. For the first year EVER, I started out January 1st without anything I wanted to change about myself. 

I woke up on January 1st with no weight I "needed" to lose, no credit card debt, no goal to buy a home (ZING), no resolving to create a healthy boundary for work, no urge to have another baby, or to plan a specific trip, or to grow my hair out or, or, or. 

Accept yourself, and expect more from yourself. -- Gretchen Rubin

How freeing is that! I'm excited to rise to the next level this year. To find more flow in my creative work, to get to the next level in with my fitness goals, to put my phone down more often. I don't know about you but I see zero social media in that vision board! 

So, CHEERS! To squeezing more life out of everyday. 

2017: My Word for the Year

Good Morning! Reporting here from my dining room table at 7:00 am. How is your new year going? For me, I definitely feel the renewing energy that comes with January 1st. In the past, I've done every right of passage for the new year. Resolutions, vision boards, letters to my future self, extremely intense goal setting with tracking, a word of the year, and simply defining the values I want to operate from. Clearly, I am big on self development and genuinely find joy in this process. 

Some may say that resolving to make a change or set a goal arbitrarily on January 1st is a surefire way to set yourself up for failure, but I disagree. My personal view is that the tradition of starting a new year is a gift. For a clean slate, fresh start, new page. I don't know about you, but I am always interested in an extra chance to extend grace to myself. 

I usually start thinking about my goals for the new year at my birthday (November 20th). It gives me a trial period for my new goals and gives me a jumpstart on the year. :) A few weeks ago a friend asked if I had any specific goals for the year. For once in my life, I said, "I actually only have one goal! To wake up earlier than my kids every day". If this strikes you as funny, take a look at the below quote. 

"Your level of success will seldom exceed your level of personal development, because success is something you attract by the person you become" ---Jim Rohn 

Let's look at that again. Success is something you attract by the person you become. I realized this year more than ever that taking care of myself and devoting TIME to my personal development was the key to the improvement of my business. As a mom of two little guys, time is hard to carve out. A few years ago I resolved to wake up earlier and I loved it. But then, I was pregnant, and tired, and then wedding season, and then, and then... you get the picture. 

My word for 2017 is rise. I want to literally rise, earlier everyday. Figuratively, I want to rise to the person I want to be in every area of my life. What better time that 6:00 am to spend 90 minutes doing things that will directly improve my well being? For the past two weeks I've been rolling out of bed around 6:00, brushing my teeth and heading straight to the coffee grinder. You may remember me posting about The Miracle Morning. More than just a book, it's a program with a simply designed morning routine (the SAVERS). I do not follow this exclusively, but most days I incorporate all six activities. 

Here's what my morning looks like currently. But unlike my prior, my rigid self, I am open to changing this as the morning unfolds. 

1. Brush teeth, get warm clothes on and brew coffee. Drink a giant glass of water. Turn on a playlist on spotify. I can't stand a silent house!

2. Fill out the Five Minute Journal. I write the best things that happened the day before, 3 things I'm grateful for, what would "make the day great", and my personal affirmations. This knocks out "scribing & affirmations" for the Miracle Morning Routine. (p.s. I used to use the 5 minute journal app, but I have a strong preference for the physical journal!)

3. After I do my affirmations, I pour the coffee and get seated for a guided meditation. I currently am using aaptiv, but there are a million guided meditation apps. I only meditate for about 10 minutes. Currently, I suck at this but that clearly means I need to do it! When I put music on, I connect to my bose speaker. When it's time for the meditation I simply switch the app. The simplicity of it makes this much less of a hurdle! 

4. Visualization. Admittedly, this is something I am still getting comfortable with. Visualizing yourself achieving your most coveted goals is scary, actually! Remember this quote? BYE. It's perfect and I am obsessed with it. 

it is our light not our darkness that most frightens us

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other

people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of
God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.

—Marianne Williamson

5. I read for as long as I want to, or can from a non-fiction book. I love non-fiction so this is so fun for me! Here is what I've been reading lately. :) 

Then, the kids wake up and chaos ensues! No, really. Remy just woke up so I'm going to hit publish and change a diaper. Love and peace to all! 

Joy Comes in the Morning

The first rule of blogging is never to say, "oh my goodness it has been so long since I've written on this blog!". But hey, it's true. Hi everyone! I've felt a subtle tug to return to writing, to return to sharing more of the behind the scenes of my life and entrepreneurial journey with you all. In the last few months I have had several new friends (clients, team members and acquaintances) comment on how they first discovered my work and story through this blog. It's been about two years (!) since I've posted anything personal on this site but I'm really looking forward to finding my footing again. 

If you're new to this space, welcome! My name is Rachel, I am a wedding planner, designer, mom, wife, red wine drinker, people-pleasing introvert, aspiring morning person, vegan, dancer, self-development junkie, and hopefully your BFF. I founded Sincerely, Ginger back in 2011, with not much else than a dream. A dream to spend my days serving engaged couples, sharing what little I knew about weddings and design. A dream to have more time with my soon-to-be-born son, Rowan. A dream to build a legacy for myself that was focused and driven by the things that matter to me. 

I thought it would be fun to start this new series by reflecting on 2015 and 2016, looking at past goals telling you about my new ones. A little preview... it's been so much more of a wild ride than I ever could have imagined. Amazing clients, financial success, recognition in my field, a new baby, but also there has been tragedy, illness, client relationships that haven't been what I expected, nights of working where I didn't see my kids or husband, and a serious bout of anxiety. It hasn't all been perfect, but it's been joyful. Thank you for your encouragement. I am 100% positive I couldn't do it without you. 

From Remy's newborn session with Cory Weber. Those boys are my life!

Katherine & Andrew Engaged

Happy Monday! I'm so excited to share this little sneak of engagement photos with you that we took literally 24 hours ago in Grand Rapids. Alyssa Mc Elheny is officially my hero. Thought it would be fun to share my favorite black and whites. Check out her blog for the rest. Enjoy! 

Thanks again, Alyssa! Can't wait to see what magic happens June 27th. :)