Welcome and Introductions!

sarajenae13

Hi Ladies, Mine name is Sara and I'm the new Mod of the board! Hopefully we can bring some life to this board! 

I'll introduce myself first, I'm Sara, I'm getting married 11-11-11 at Castle Farms in Charlevoix. My colors are Orange and Blue. I'm a pre-med student at the University of Michigan and will be applying to Med Schools shortly after the wedding! My fiancé's name is Jon. 

OK Who's next, I know the Northern Michigan Brides exist! 

ktravis12

Hi! My name is Katie and I am getting married 6-2-12.

We are getting married in Mio MI at my fiance's parents cabin. My colors are eggplant (purple) and champagne. My fiance's name is Ryan and we have been together 8 years!! 

southofnormal

Dennis and I live in the Ann Arbor area and have decided to get married outside at the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse on 9/24/12. It will be very simple, small and affordable. This is the second and last marriage for both of us. ;-)

hellerc1

Hi I am Christy and we are getting married on 9/17/11 at my parents cabin in Branch Mi. I currently live in New Zealand and planning from here! I was born and raised in Lansing, have family all over MI and cousins and brothers that could be of help for TC brides.

ashlyh15

My name is Ashly. I am freshly engaged and am still trying to decide on a locatoin. My fiance and I got engaged in france, and we are staying here until September of this year. We are planning our wedding to be on July 26th, of 2013 (when we both graduate) Because I am from Upper Michigan, I am really starting to lean towards a Castle Farms wedding. I think the pictures online look AMAZING and it would be a beautiful wedding. It seems to be a cool idea to have the castle scenery because it may bring back a touch of europe I also have not decided on colors yet. I would like something sort of unique..... I like pink (real unique I know) and my fiance likes blue. I am hoping I can intertwine these colors somehow , but I am open for any ideas !! 

Please share your thoughts......

Jaymes1010

My name is Jaymi and we are getting married on Mackinac Island 10/1/2011. I am having trouble with planning so I would love any and all  Mackinac Island advice

FutureMrsMcPike

Ashly... pink and navy look AMAZING together!!!  Check out the section in here on weddings by color, it definitely helps.  I would also Google pink and blue weddings and go to Images, it'll help get your mind going about all sorts of great ideas.

Happy planning, if you need anything we're all here!  I have just over 4 months to go so all my big stuff is done, just the little details now and I'm happy to lend any advice or ideas 


Amy

slipkase

Hi I'm Kasey and... I'm not engaged yet. Though we are very close -- we've been togther 6 years, have decided on the ring, and know we want to get married in the Petoskey area in the summer of 2012. I live in Los Angeles, though grew up in Petoskey and have a ton of family there. And though I don't have a ring, I already know my colors: yellow, black and white, with Tiffany blue as an accent color. Oh, and I already have my shoes.

Calistic

Hi everyone,
Have been stalking the board here and figured it was about time I introduce myself. My name is Paige and My Fiance's name is Tim. We got engaged May of last year, he proposed on a vacation up in the munising area in front of a beautiful waterfall. We are getting married June 11th 2011 at the Homestead resort. We are sticking with a "spring" type theme. our color is mostly purple (my dress has purple crystals on it and his shirt/tie are purple) but we don't have a wedding party, so that is about as far as the color is going lol. I look forward to reading more from everyone in the future.

emmy_nicole

Hello Everybody!!!

My name is Emily Moore and I was born and raised in Charlevoix MI so we will be returning to the area for the wedding. My fiances name is Mike and we currently live right oustide Vail CO. I am excited to be returning to MI, but this planning from a distance thing is sort of hard! We have set the date for AUG 25, 2012. We will be getting married on the pier in Charlevoix. Still looking for a reception area that is perfect. I dont want to do something traditional--no offense to anybody please--we are just so not the traditional castle farms, perry hotel couple. I have looked into so many places and I just feel like I keep getting shot down! (if anybody has any ideas, please let me know!)

Colors are still being talked about--we just got engaged on Christmas--so this is all sort of new to me. The light house is red, so we want to have red as a color, but not focus color. We are thinking a liime yellow and royal blue, and turquoise with hints of red. Any thoughts on that??

alright I guess that is enough for now. anythoughts or ideas would be wonderful. Good luck to everybody. I cant wait to start some wedding talk!!

emily

john2373

Hi everyone!

My name is Kim and my fiance's name is Mike.  I'm a resident physician currently living in Detroit, MI...planning from 4 hours away has been less than ideal so far!  We are getting married at Castle Farms in Charlevoix on 10.06.12!!  We are having a "peacock" theme, but most of the colors will be teal and silver.  I definitely don't want to go overboard with all of the feathers!

I would love to use these boards to find out more about the vendors up there. This is what I have thought so far:

Caterers: I think we are going to go with Catering by Kelly's.  We still have to do our tasting, but I know they do a good job and are easy to work with because a few of our friends have used them.  I looked into BJ's catering, but I don't really think they are right for our event.  I am also interested in Sweetwater Catering, but I am not impressed by their website (because I am planning from a distance, this is important to me!), and I am not sure they can even do catering without a kitchen, as is required at the Castle.

Photographers: I am struggling with this one.  I want someone who can do a little bit of every style...traditional, edgy, photojournalistic, artistic.  This seems to be very hard to find!  Any suggestions?

DJs: So far, I have only talked to Experience DJ's and I think we are going to go with them.  They are really nice and have TONS of music.  Also, very reasonable prices!

Florists: I'm actually going to attempt to DIY all the decorations/bouquets. Sky's the Limit in downtown Petoskey does a great job though!  

I'm sure there are other huge areas I am forgetting, but I would love to get everyone's opinions!

*Kim

daniellerenee14

Hi Everyone!
This is my first time looking at the boards so I thought I would introduce myself. My name is Danielle and my fiance's name is Josh. We are from WAY up north in the U.P., we are getting married September 3rd of this year in Josh's hometown of Calumet and having our reception in Houghton at local hotels 7th floor banquet facility that over looks Portage Canal and my neighboring hometowns tree filled hillside, I can't wait for those fall colors!!!

spalko

Hello!

My name is Sarah and my fiances name is Tim. We got engaged April 3 of this year in front of the Mackinac Bridge and will be getting married May 26, 2012 at the Ramsdell Theatre in Manistee.

Our colors are purple, black, and white and since Tim is in the Army (and currently deployed overseas), he will be wearing his Class A's uniform. I am sooooo excited to marry my sweetie!! Happy planning everyone

kateostahowski

Ooh, it's so good to see some activity on the northern michigan board

I'm Kate, and my fiance Andrew and I are getting married in Traverse City at Bower's Harbor Inn on June 26th this year.  We're going with a monochromatic 'blue' wedding color theme since I'm a long-distance bride (I now live in Texas!) and it's too tricky to color-match from afar.  Mixed in with the blues will be accents of silver, ivory and spring green. 

Nicole1282

Hi ladies!

My name is Nicole and my fiance's name is Will. We're currently living in Texas, but I grew up in Michigan. Since I was a little girl, I wanted to get married on Mackinac Island. It's a little difficult planning from so far away though! We just started the planning process, so very little has been decided so far. We're planning on having our ceremony at the Somewhere in Time Gazebo, but no ideas for the reception yet. Our colors will be jewel tones, but we haven't decided exactly what colors to go with yet. My dress is gold, and I think the jewel tones look so pretty next to it. I was so happy to find this board! I knew there had to be other Northern MI brides out there!!

Nicole1282

Oh, and I forgot, we're getting married Aug. 11, 2012. :-)

slipkase

emmy_nicole, have you thought about checking out some of the art galleries in either Charlevoix, Petoskey or Harbor Springs? I've been thinking of something off the beaten path like that and wondered if any of those locations were accomodating. Not sure what the building codes are, but a ceremony on the roof of one of those places would be amazing (depending on the roof, I guess) with a reception down in the gallery. I'm crossing my fingers that it's possible!

If you do look into it, please share!

Good luck, ladies!

kwortman80

Hi!

I'm Katy, and I'm engaged to Ed.  We're looking at September 2012, but haven't picked a date yet.  We're also flip-flopping (mostly me) between getting married in Chicago or nothern Michigan.  I'm from Ann Arbor, but spent a lot of time in northern Michigan growing up.  My parents have a cottage in Mancelona, and Ed and I both really enjoy spending time up there.  

Chicago venues are depressingly expensive or depressingly bland, but I'm a little concerned about cost being a limiting factor for some out of town guests if we decide on N. Mich.  If we have it in Chicago, less than half the guests will have to travel, but if we do it in Michigan, everyone will!  Today I'm definitely leaning toward northern Michigan.  I'm sure our nearest and dearest will make it either way, which is what Ed keeps telling me.  

I'm still checking out ceremony/reception venues (over the internet), so any suggestions would be awesome.  So far, I've liked Shanty Creek, Elberta Life Saving Station, and The Peninsula Room (Bowers Harbor Inn) the most.  Hoping for something not too cutesy.  

littleamber84

Hello! I'm from eastern MI, but getting married at Castle Farms.  We are bringing a caterer with us, and the castle doesn't allow cooking on site.  Does anyone know of any churches, schools, community centers... anywhere that we could rent a kitchen in Charlevoix?  Our date is 5-19-12, colors are pewter with white and green flowers and foliage.  Boring I know, but classic and easy. 

Leo379

Hi, my name is LeAnn and my fiance's name is Tom, we are probably the oldest on here and have been married the most times, it will be my 2nd and his 4th but we are high school sweethearts who had not spoken in 40 years. We got engaged 7/16/2011 and are planning a 9/2/2012 wedding. We are thinking the Homestead, don't want to have to worry about the details too much, just the important stuff like finally marrying the person we have loved all of our lives. We are planning on doing the ceremony at sunset, since it is the sunset of our lives, so it will be later in the evening, not real traditional because we are thinking a dinner before the ceremony and then drinks, music after the ceremony. At our age, no reason to be traditional I guess! Tom proposed to me at Sleeping Bear Dunes, it was wonderful! But even though we are not wanting to have to sweat the details too much and the wedding will be small, still have to make decisions!

ramisenh

Hi, my name is Rachel and my fiances name is Patrick. We are getting married 7-7-12 in the UP. When we were trying to decide on where to get married, we considered lots of options. I'm from southeast Michigan and he is from Milwaukee, WI. We currently live in Calumet (WAY up in the UP) and decided it would be easiest to plan here and is kind of a central point for both of our families. We are getting married at a church in Calumet and having the reception at the university where I work. Our colors are black, red, and ivory and I'm doing a TON of DIY projects. We've been together for over five years and have lived together for the majority of the time so it feels like we are already married at times...

alannascott80

I am pretty new to being engaged and this site. It would be nice if I could network with other brides in the UP of Michigan. Things are so different up here especially having to do with availibility and pricing. I just moved in with my fiance in Champion,, but have been living in Marquette. We are planning to have the ceremony and reception in our yard for 75 to 100 people with a middle eastern theme. I plan to keep expenses to $5000. I'm sure I can do it!!! I feel like the lone bride in all my friend circles, so it would be nice to meet another beaming bride to be!

M&BAug03

Hello My name is Bridget and my Fiances name is Mike  we are getting Married 08/03/2013 in Elberta MI on the Beach and then our Reception  at the Life Saving Station!!! Our colors are Orange and Blue with little bit of Yellow!!! We live in Pinconning MI and i would be nice to hear of different places up there so I can know where to go for the Cake and DJ and all that other fun stuff!!!

slipkase

Engaged now! Looking at next August in Harbor Springs. I wish there were more Northern Michigan brides around here and some more activity! I'm planning from Los Angeles and would love to bounce ideas off you ladies.

Bridget -- I had a friend (actually, he'll be our best man) who got married at the Life Saving Station. I'll try to check in with him on what vendors he used.

M&BAug03

 Slipkase:    That would be great....I bet it is hard to plan from all the way over there.....I am having a hard time with just being 3 hours away. Good luck and can't wait to hear of some good places!!! 

slipkase

Bridget, here's what our friend had to say about what vendors they used!

"for tents, tables and chairs you have to use Rip-n-Run because they have a contract w/ the lifesaving station and they won't let you use anyone else - just know they are VERY hard to get in touch with over the winter.

for a DJ, we used someone out of Traverse called Selective Sounds.

our guitarist that played during our ceremony and cocktail hour was a guy out of Lansing, he was awesome and very reasonably priced - Robert McCloy http://robertmccloy.com/

our caterer was Jim Barnes with Crystal Lake Catering - his food is amazing! he does come off as a bit scattered, but he is really good at what he does.


cake - we got our cake in Traverse at a place called All Cakes All Occasions - it was the most delicious wedding cake i have ever tasted! http://allcakesalloccasions.com/Flavors_and_Pricing.php"

They didn't recommend the person they used for flowers, so you may want to look around a bit on that front. Good luck, I hope all of this helps!

M&BAug03

Thank you so much that will help out a lot. Do you know who they had for the flowers? I have talked to some one really quick so I just wanted to see if that was the same place. Thank you so much this will help me out big time!!! 

KerRee20

Hi there! I have a suggestion for a local photographer...his name is Paul Retherford and his pictures are amazing! I believe he is out of the Petoskey area.  We have hired Paul to capture our wedding on June 27th, 2012 on Mackinac Island and I am more than impressed with his pictures as well as his personality. We have yet to meet him in person because of it being a destination wedding, but I have great vibes from him already and am not worried one bit about him not meeting our expectations on our day.  Hope that helps!

KerRee20

Hi there! My name is Kerri and my fiance's name is Ryan and we're getting married on Mackinac Island on June 27th, 2012!  We are so excited to get married especially on the island.  We vacation there every summer so there was no surprise when we chose it as our location.  It is a destination wedding, seeing as how we live 4-5 hrs away.  We will be staying the entire week while our guests will leave the morning after the wedding. There will be 25 immediate family and friends attending, which I feel, will make the occasion that much more special.  It is soon approacing and I feel like I have a good amount of work done so far.  Any advice for weddings on the island will be greatly appreciated! Good luck on your upcoming nupitals!

Jenthephotochick

Hi everyone!

I'm planning a vow renewal ceremony on 5/24/2013. It's our 10 year anniversary. Time has flown by sooo fast. We've got two kids - a boy who's 6 and a girl who's 18 months. We're planning on maybe renting a resort in Houghton Lake - you know, a small place with three or four cabins - and inviting friends and family to stay the weekend with us as well as attend our vow renewal. I'm trying to make it as cost-effective as possible, but it's hard when there's already a great big expense in the resort.

Anyway, more about me... I'm a wedding and portrait photographer, website designer, and graphic designer. My business is called "The Photo Chick" and I design websites, advertising, and such for my husband's company "A Hired Geek". 

So I guess you could say I'm addicted to weddings. lol.

My theme for the vow renewal is a bit of shabby chic and thrift store elegance. We'll be using reclaimed and homemade items to decorate. 

I can't wait!!

Anyway, since I am indeed a wedding photographer, feel free to ask me questions! I've got no problem divulging industry secrets, tips, and tricks to brides-to-be. It's one of my favorite subjects, obviously.

Snugglebunny2011

Hi Everyone,

My name is Hope and my fiance's name is Ted. We are high school sweethearts for over 20 years ago. This will be both of our 2nd weddings and hopefully the last. We have picked the date of June 22, 2103. We are hoping to be able to have the wedding in the town we met in Roscommon, MI. It is surrounded by many lakes and it has a beautiful scenery for a wedding. We are just having issues on deciding on our colors. I would like to have a light blue and he likes red and maybe add a touch of either cream or a soft white to color touch. I have never planned a wedding as my first one was a JP wedding and needed to be done quick before anyone could intefere in the plans. I sure could use all the help I can get and suggestions as we will be paying for the whole thing ourselves. We have planned on a potluck reception as we do not want any gifts but we can always use cash but then who couldn't. If anyone can give us some suggestions on figuring out if the colors would go good as we have been hearing that our colors will not go well we would appreciate the help.