Michigan-Northern

Suggestions for wedding weekend in Traverse City

Hi everyone,
I am planning my wedding for October 2011. However, I am quite anti-wedding planning  and not very interested in the wedding itself. We are thinking of having a private ceremony by ourselves and then inviting approximately 30 or so close family and friends to Traverse City to celebrate with us that weekend. 
We are thinking of having a "reception" at North Peak Brewing Co. in the private room. They have a party menu with several options which seems like it will be nice to give our guests options and have a nice, casual relaxing dinner with drinks.  I also have a friend who makes cakes so I will have that part covered.
My fiancee and I are very into beer and wine tasting, as are many of our friends and family we plan on inviting.  My only problem is that I am not very familiar with the TC area. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to organize having our guests participate in winery tours/tastings? Also, does anyone know of any spots we could continue the party after dinner and do some dancing, etc? We basically just want to have a fun, laid-back, celebratory weekend with our closet friends & family!
Thank you in advance for your thoughts! :)
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Re: Suggestions for wedding weekend in Traverse City

  • Roxygrl2002Roxygrl2002 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    As for the after party- Kilkenny's is always hoppin' with live music on the weekends although it gets extremely crowded. Also, there's some new club downtown near front street. Apologies, but I'm not sure of the name.
    Wine tastings - it really depends on which peninsula you would like to traverse- Leelanau or Mission. I am more familiar with Mission Peninsula Wineries, but both peninsulas have great wineries. You may want to contact a place such as Black Star Farms to inquire about a wine tasting. Also, Right Brain Brewery has fantastic, unique beers to discover. Good Luck.
  • edited December 2011
    Leelanau Cellars is a great vineyard, with free tastings most days of the week.
  • edited December 2011
    Many of the winery's on both peninsula's offer free tastings, or generous tastings for around $5. I would suggest planning on keeping everyone in as few vehicles as possible, the winery's on either pen. are spaced out and it is best if you can continue the fun in the car with music and stories. There are places that will do wine tours for you with a small bus, might be worth looking into. Or just borrowing/renting a couple of vans and having a great dd.
    My favorite is leelanau cellars- they offer free tastings of all of their wines, and they have a great, large selection as well as a nice restaurant attached.
    Enjoy!
  • sunnydee14sunnydee14 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    There are several bus/trolly type services in the area, Celtic is one of them, that will do wine touring for a group. Another great place is the Vineyard Inn in Suttons Bay, they have a bistro and could accomidate a small wine themed wedding on the bay if you wanted. They also have their own bus and limo service just for wine touring. As far as going out at night, you should go to the top of the park place hotel at some point...its fabulous!
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