Destination weddings are
the nuptials du jour,
and Northern Michigan
is high on the hit list

By LORI HALL STEELE
Up at Old Mission Lighthouse, beneath a rose-entwined arch, a barefoot German couple pledges to have and to hold, serenaded by a backbeat of Great Lakes waves. Down the road at Bryant Park beach, newlyweds are dancing the bridal dance, framed by tiki torches and a sandy shoreline.
      Just another couple Kodak-moment marriages up north. “Couples from out of the area love the bay. Up north offers a peaceful, romantic, relaxed atmosphere you just can’t get in a city,” says wedding planner Sandy Herbert, of Creative Event Planning in Traverse City.
      Throughout summer, the Traverse City region is rife with beach brides and vineyard grooms. Destination weddings are the nuptials du jour, and Northern Michigan is high on the hit list, not only for the drop-dead-gorgeous geography—who can argue with sugar sand, rolling woods, bling-bling sunsets?—but also for the misty water-colored childhood memories.       “So many people who’ve summered up here every year —from St. Louis and Chicago and Baltimore and Cincinnati and Detroit—they feel that this is like home,” says Charlevoix resident Edith Gilbert, the grand dame of etiquette, who wrote The Complete Wedding Planner.
      Barefoot grooms kiss the bride at such public altars as the dramatic bluffs of Leelanau’s Peterson Park or the intimate Acme Park. Outdoor weddings always include some risks: Mother Nature may throw a tantrum (sturdy tents are wise for rain and shine) and extras may gather round. For ensured privacy and a sense of sweet tradition, more and more betrothed are tying the knot at family cottages along inland lakes and Lake Michigan.
      Beyond the water’s edge are the grooms with a view. Couples go all-out lavish at area golf courses, country clubs and high-rise resorts. Many wineries host marriage ceremonies, often with heartbreakingly beautiful backdrops of rolling vineyards and something-blue waters. The décor ranges from rustic red barns (Ciccone Vineyards, owned by Madonna’s dad), to pillared mansions with Hollywood-starlet staircases (Black Star Farms) to windswept French-style elegance (Chateau Chantal).
      For holy simplicity, many head to the altar of one of the region’s classic one-room churches. The Old Mission Congregational Church, a white clapboard sanctuary with an unpretentious steeple, is one large room that holds about one-hundred guests, and when the newlyweds step outside, they’re greeted by Grand Traverse Bay.
      Planning a wedding from afar isn’t a Hurculean task—wedding planners know the ins and outs of which beaches work, which florists can round up chocolate-colored roses, and where to get those sturdy tents. Many resorts, inns, country clubs and wedding facilities have on-site planners who can guide or do the legwork themselves.
      The region’s wedding vendors rank with the cosmopolitan elite, though with decidedly northern élan. Cake artists here have worked with brides from Traverse City to Hong Kong. Interlochen Arts Academy virtuosos team up for world-class chamber music. Chefs from Hattie’s and Windows whip up everything from whitefish pecandine to herb-infused port tenderloin with tart cherry barbecue sauce.
      Though there’s plenty of opportunity up north for upscale, lavish weddings, many tend to be intimate, tender nuptials, often with classic water, woods and hills in the picture. “We do a lot of simple weddings, very down-to-earth weddings, yet very elegant beautiful affairs,” says Tricia Frey of Traverse City’s Events by the Bay.

Published in Traverse City magazine

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