lease let me be the first to say hello and welcome to our inaugural issue of nearlywed! Words cannot express how thrilled and excited I am to be writing this letter! Launching nearlywed has personally and professionally been one of my most challenging and rewarding achievements.

When I decided 18 months ago to expand from covering West Michigan as Grand Rapids Bride to covering the entire state, I certainly didn’t have any idea what a journey it would be. Let’s just say I’ve felt every emotion possible — ending with complete joy that you are finally holding this issue!

The past 18 months have taken us from a team of one (it’s me, I was the one) to a team of six amazing professionals. The dedication of this group of people has been the greatest part of the journey. And to each of them I owe all my gratitude:

Rebecca Voigt, our Editor, took an idea and turned it into the most elevated and elegant vision that exceeded anything I could have dreamed up. I will forever be grateful to her for constantly making us a better version of ourselves.

Haley Bieniewicz, our Social Media Manager, has curated an audience of loyal followers who show up consistently to be a part of our story. Her ability to create content that makes people love us is unparalleled and we are so grateful for her creativity and insights.

Jim Nissen, our Design Director, has taken his 30 years of magazine design experience and created the ultimate combination of high fashion editorial meets sourcebook — all while making it look easy. Jim’s enthusiasm is contagious and his dedication to “do whatever it takes” is rare.

Jake Stroburg, our Director of Business Development (and, more importantly, my husband), has provided the guidance, support, and invaluable insight over the past 23 years that have given me the confidence to get here. Thank you love.

As you flip through the pages of our first issue, please know that we have continually had YOU in mind when creating this brand. We want you to always feel inspired, find excitement, become more educated, and mostly find connection with the perfect vendors for your perfect day.

We are so grateful to have you here and hope we exceed your expectations with what we have created!

elcome to nearlywed! Creating the debut issue of this magazine has been a true labor of love, and what started as a dream — a vision of creating a magazine that would inspire and delight couples planning their perfect Michigan wedding — is now a reality. Our hearts and souls are in every page of this magazine, and we’re honored to be part of your wedding planning journey.

Wherever you are in the planning process — from just starting to look at engagement rings to selecting your vendor team to finalizing the details of your walk down the aisle — in our pages you’ll find a wealth of ideas and inspiration to help you tell your unique love story. To start, we bring you Something New, where we share what’s happening now and next in the wedding world, including a professional dog trainer who will help your pup be part of your wedding day, a bridal shop with a powerful mission, and ideas for adding cannabis to your wedding bar service. Next, we help you plan all the details of your day with stories on everything from creative menu cards and out-of-this world florals to honeymoon-ready rental cabins curated by blogger Gina Valente of Moody Cabin Girl.

Turn to our features and the inspiration goes into overdrive. For “Garden of Delights” we worked with some of the state’s most talented cake artists and Abby Rosenbaum of Abby Rose Photo and StudioStudio to create a floating flora, confectionary dreamscape. If you’re on the fence about wearing a veil for your wedding day, don’t miss “La Voilette”. If fashion photographer Michelle Cuppy’s stunning images don’t convince you to say yes to a veil, we don’t know if anything will. Finally, for our cover story, “Lavender Haze”, we sweep you away to Lavender Hill Farm in Northern Michigan for a look at some truly exquisite wedding gowns. Photographed by award-winning photographer Lians Jadan, the Provençal vibes are undeniably romantic.

Speaking of romance, this issue features some insanely gorgeous real weddings. From our featured couple, Pia and Matt’s, vibrant, family-focused celebration to more than 40 pages of wedding galleries, these Michigan weddings all have one thing in common — they are beautiful celebrations of each couple’s individual love story.

After all, celebrating love stories — theirs and YOURS — is why we created nearlywed. Thank you for joining us on this journey.

Dog training found me six years ago and became the happiest accident. My degree is in social work and psychology. When I first graduated, I worked with teenagers in a rehabilitative setting and quickly decided to get a dog to train for therapy work with my clients. I set out to research and find a trainer who could help me achieve this goal. When I got my puppy and began training classes, I fell in love with the process. I started volunteering as an assistant trainer, and a few months later I was offered a position as a dog trainer for a pet store. I built up my skills there for a couple years and when the pandemic hit, I decided to branch off and create a business offering in-home private training lessons. Since then, we have grown and partnered with several other local businesses. We now offer private training sessions, group classes, day train lessons, and Wags & Weddings.

In the first year of starting Captivated Canine, I had a number of good friends getting married. Some of those friends had dogs they wanted to be in their weddings. Since I have experience with dog training, I offered to handle their pets for their wedding events. I ended up taking photos throughout and posting them online. They quickly went viral and I had a number of people reaching out to me asking how their pets could be in their weddings too. Wags & Weddings was created to fill this growing need.

My goal is to make it simple and effortless to choose to have your pets attend your wedding. I provide transportation, pet wedding attire from tuxedos to flower crowns, posing for photos, and of course keeping pets well behaved throughout the event. Every wedding package includes a consultation where we can meet a month or so before the wedding day to discuss the timeline, vision, and of course to ensure the pets are comfortable with me. Every wedding is a little different. Some couples would love their dogs in the ceremony, wedding party photos, and featured entertainment for cocktail hour while others are just looking to have the pets there for quick family photos. Whatever the vision is for your pets at your wedding, I want to make it as easy as possible. 

The most important thing is to ensure your venue is dog friendly — many venues are, but they may also have rules about dogs being off property by the time food is served. It is very helpful for couples to consider how their dog does with crowds and high energy environments. For more sensitive, nervous pups, having some quiet family photos away from the ceremony space can be ideal. For happy-go-lucky dogs, they might even be featured entertainment for the cocktail hour. Get creative and make it your own. I am happy to help provide ideas based on your dogs’ personality and needs. We know how important it is for all your loved ones to be there for your special day — let us handle the furry ones!

To learn more visit captivatedcanine.com.

nna Warner-Mayes has seen it all. Back in 2008 when the former singer and mom of five was first diagnosed with thyroid cancer, she never imagined that her cancer journey would inspire her to become a successful entrepreneur.

Although singing wasn’t her full-time job, Warner-Mayes sang at church, sporting events, weddings, performed a couple radio jingles, and was once flown to New York as a finalist to play the lead in Miss Saigon on a national tour. But her battle with cancer resulted in a severed nerve to her vocal cord, leaving her unable to sing again.

“I didn’t have a voice for six months, and that’s when I started going to Sephora and Macy’s and Nordstrom and started trying on lipsticks,” says Warner-Mayes, a now 10-year cancer survivor.

Wanting other women to feel the same, Warner-Mayes created The Lipstick Journey, a line of bespoke liquid and cream lipsticks. “It took 18 months of working with a cosmetic chemist to perfect the color and texture of each lipstick, but we finally got it right,” she says. Beautiful hues such as Brave, a bold red; Fresh, a soft nude pink; and Strong, a deep berry plum, reflect just a handful of the emotions those battling cancer go through.

Giving back to those fighting cancer as well as cancer survivors is the core of everything Warner-Mayes does. For every lipstick she sells, she donates one to someone who is fighting or surviving cancer. Through the sale of The Lipstick Journey’s products, Warner-Mayes has also donated to organizations dedicated to fighting cancer, including Imerman Angels, Fighting Pretty, and Twist Out Cancer.

“This is part of my quest to help cancer thrivers not feel alone in their journey because it’s helped me not feel alone in mine,” she says. “Every time I feel like I can’t do this anymore or it’s too hard or I’m tired, I remember why I started this.”

To glam up for your wedding day while simultaneously giving to the fight against cancer, visit thelipstickjourney.com.