Shinola Hotel Wedding | Chelsea & John Henry

Chelsea and John Henry had a gorgeous Shinola Hotel wedding, inviting their guests to celebrate alongside them in downtown Detroit, Michigan. Thanks to beautiful photos from Alicia Frances Photography, let’s relive their day!

Design Elements for this Shinola Hotel wedding

Color Palette

Their sage green and taupe color palette was striking and sophisticated, but timeless.

Inspiration and Event Goals

Chelsea and John Henry’s Shinola Hotel wedding was going to be chic and understated. Chelsea wanted to use a neutral color palette of taupe and sage green, with modern pops of black throughout the design. We kept things timeless and elegant!

From Design Mockup to Reality

Here, you can see the digital mockup I sent to the couple as part of their stationery design process. You can see each element included, at scale and in reference to the other elements.

This is part of every proof round! Then, we take what was on screen and it translates to real life.

Save the Dates

Chelsea and John Henry’s save the dates featured a custom illustration of their venue, the Shinola Hotel. This was front and center for guests, in a sage green envelope!

Invitations

Their invitations were so beautiful!

Letterpress printing in black ink

Details card on sage green card stock

Taupe envelopes with hand calligraphy for the guest addressing

Envelope liner, featuring the same artwork from their save the date

Vellum wrap

Black silk ribbon

Personal Touches

Hotel Welcome Bags

John Henry grew up in Illinois, so the couple had a huge group of out-of-town guests. They love Detroit and wanted to showcase the city they call home together!

They personalized the welcome bags to the nines, right down to the custom golf balls with their monogram!

I designed a hotel welcome note for them with their weekend itinerary as well as favorite local hotspots.

They opted to keep the bags themselves more simple and I designed a custom sticker with their monogram. This way, the event branding remained consistent but the bigger investment went toward the golf balls and other goodies inside the bag.

I partner with affiliate platforms where commission may be earned based on clicks and/or purchases. Thank you for supporting my business in this way!

Best Man's Birthday Gift

It was John Henry’s brother (and best man) Greg’s 40th birthday the same weekend as the wedding.

It also happened to be Kentucky Derby weekend, AND John Henry happens to have a large collection of bourbon.

As a gift, the couple commissioned me for engraving on a commemorative Kentucky Derby bourbon bottle, as a birthday surprise for the best man.

Special moments like this for the people who are closest to you are what matter most. Celebrate them and honor them, too! After all, a wedding is a celebration WITH them – not just the two of you.

Getting Ready

Chelsea and John Henry got ready separately but both really brought the glam!

The couple had help from their moms (and Chelsea’s beloved grandmother), and Chelsea did a first look with her dad.

First Look

Chelsea and John Henry shared an intimate, tearful and heartfelt first look and got out any of their pre-ceremony jitters.

Guest Welcome & Signage

The Shinola Hotel wedding entrance is on the first floor, but the actual event spaces are upstairs. Chelsea and John Henry wanted to make sure guests were guided to the staircase or elevator to head to the event, but didn’t want to have a true directional sign, with an arrow on it.

To accomplish this, I designed their welcome sign to fit on a slim easel in the main lobby area, right next to the staircase and elevator. In t his way, it made it clear that guests should go toward the sign (and then realize they needed to go up!), without something quite as overt as an arrow-clad sign.

This sign didn’t specifically say “wedding” on it. With this choice of wording, they were able to use it the night before at the rehearsal dinner and welcome party, too!

They served champagne BEFORE the ceremony! Such a fun way to welcome guests and start the evening on a celebratory note. Likewise, the ceremony space is down a hall from the pre-glow area. So, I created another sign that guided guests toward the Birdy Room, where the ceremony was to take place, champagne flute in hand.

Ceremony

Their ceremony was beautiful, officiated by a family member in the light and airy Birdy Room. This conservatory space makes any Shinola Hotel wedding a stunner.

Reception Design Details

Details, details, details!

All of these details coordinated with what guests had received in their save the date and invitation suite prior to the big day. This is what event branding feels like in action – cohesion from start to finish!

Seating Chart

During cocktail hour, guests found their seating assignment on a gorgeous, oversized mirror. I designed it and executed the assembly of all the elements. The top featured laser-cut acrylic lettering to coordinate with their stationery, and then the guest names were featured on a series of cards, all mounted to the mirror. Their florist added blooms and candles to further enhance that interactive moment.

Cocktail Hour

I created signage throughout the cocktail hour space to indicate a memorial table, cards and gifts, as well as a polaroid guest book!

The bar featured a 3D laser-cut acrylic sign I created with their signature cocktails and other drinks, paired with elegant cocktail napkins I designed, showcasing their monogram.

Dinner & Tabletop Decor

This couple treated guests to dinner by candlelight, surrounded by beautiful flowers. They’re dear friends of ours, and we were honored to join in the fun to celebrate their love!

Chelsea hand made each guest’s place card with stamped clay. This sat atop the sage green menu I designed at each person’s seat.