PALAIS ROYALE SOUTH BEND INDIANA NEW YEARS EVE WEDDING: MELISSA MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY: MO + MEL

 How often can you say you had the best years of your life on the same day? If you have a NYE wedding of your dreams you can! And I can say that Mo + Mel were highlights of my 2023 + 2024 season. They ended my season and kicked off my next with one heck of a party with an epic New Years Eve wedding at the Palais Royale in South Bend Indiana. In doing so,  I think they created a new category of wedding! I call it a micro destination wedding! I know, I know, micro weddings and elopements exist (and they considered those as an option for their wedding day) but when you want your friends and family to be there, a micro destination could totally be the right fit! Especially if it’s NYE!  I don’t know if the term even exists, it may, but to me, a micro destination is a destination wedding that’s just far enough to make a weekend of it. A spot that’s not your norm, (like these two are from Chicago, but did South Bend Indiana. Lake Geneva is a great one. I have one in a couple months that's at Starved Rock. A micro destination is where most guests could hop in the car after work on Friday and stay the whole weekend. This is genius for a NYE wedding because people want to stay somewhere (to avoid driving that night) anyway. If there’s ever a party wedding it’s on New Year’s Eve. May as well extend it and have it at a micro destination!

**A key way to make that work is having the lodging be on the premises or in this wedding’s case, it was across the street. (:

I don’t know if micro destination weddings are already a named thing, but I’m claiming it. (:

These two are truly some of the most vibrant, full of life, and FUN, people you'd ever meet. They also almost broke the internet with their viral proposal (themed after 10 Things I hate about you) and again with their engagement photos when we took a vintage boat down the canyon of sky scrapers downtown on the Chicago river for our Mama Mia meets old world Chicago vibed session. (They love movies!) So I had been lookin' forward to these two's wedding all year long, and all weekend long when the festivities took place. Mo + Mel, I adore you guys!! Couldn't have picked a better couple to close and start a year with! Congrats!!