A Wedding Immersed in the Natural Beauty of Lake Michigan
A Wedding Immersed in the Natural Beauty of Lake Michigan
Heather Rosencrantz & David Ludington
Wedding Day: August 31, 2019
When natural beauty innovator and creator of Dirty Girl Farm, Heather Rosencrantz, planned her late summer wedding to Dave Ludington, in Petoskey Michigan, it was no surprise that she brought nature and beauty into every aspect of their special day. The wedding took place at The Bay View Inn, a historic Victorian venue in Lake Michigan.
Heather is well attuned to the power of nature to heal and beautify. As the founder of the twenty-four year strong skincare and wellness brand, Dirty Girl Farm, she is dedicated to crafting organic, vegan, and gluten-free products and deeply understands the healing qualities of natural elements. She started her career as a botanist and harnessed this knowledge of plant-life to develop healthy, non-toxic skincare that has grown from a single product to over 400 items and a customer-base nationwide.
“Dave has a long family history on and around the Great Lakes and particularly Lake Huron. His family was one of the early settlers of what is now Harbor Beach, making lakeside the perfect location to propose and to wed,” explained Heather.
Her dress, by designer Maggie Sottero, included accents of Swarovski crystals and pearls in a champagne color and was designed to tie into the natural and historical surroundings. The timeless feeling of the dress blended well with the historic inn and the design was elegant and simple, as to not over power the garden and the lakeshore. Being an outdoor wedding, the sparkle from the beading caught the light with slight movements. The shape of the dress and flow of the fabric was comfortable and effortless and great for walking along the beach.
Michele & Company Fine Jewelers custom designed the bride’s earrings, which had a vintage feel and matched the elegance, color, and sparkle of the dress.
Heather naturally took an eco-friendly approach to her selection of flowers by working with a local female farmer specializing in organic plants who used the lakeshore as her color palette. She selected air plants, succulents, and garden-grown flowers combined with driftwood elements for a natural and earthy look inspired by the surroundings. The arrangements gave a natural beach feel to the tables that were coupled with driftwood; the blue-green color also reflected the surroundings.
To help the memorable day stay with their guests, the couple also gifted an array of Dirty Girl Farm products that were inspired by the area – Lake Michigan and Petoskey Stone hand wash and body wash sets.
Finally, in order to achieve her wedding day glow, Heather developed a skincare routine from some of her favorite Dirty Girl Farm products:
Liquid Facelift is great for quick fixes if you don't have a ton of time to work on your skin pre-wedding. Hyaluronic acid, retinol/vitamin A, and of course the lupine is what makes it work wonders.
To get ready for my wedding, I am hydrating like crazy and working on naturally lightening sunspots. Since I'm an older bride, I want youthful-looking skin. Vitamin C Serum is a perfect go-to for any sun damage and helps create that bride-to-be healthy glow I wish to achieve!
Moth bean is my secret skincare weapon leading up to my wedding. I turn to it because of its ability to speed up collagen production and cell renewal while decreasing wrinkles. And the best part? It protects from free-radical damage while gently exfoliating the skin’s surface to help with acne.
Pearl Polish is one of my favorites due to its composition of extracts rich in amino acids, collagen, and minerals that enrich and hydrate my skin. It even helps decrease age spots, freckles, discoloration, and acne, as well as an evening out skin tone, leaving skin radiant like a pearl!
Website: https://www.dirtygirlfarm.com
Photography: Vanessa Longuski