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What Makes a Wedding Memorable? Start with a Big Lake...
Lake Superior as a backdrop is one sure way to make a wedding memorable. But other elements can enhance the venue, and couples are taking advantage of the growing number of places from parks and golf courses to traditional lodges that are ready and willing to make wedding dreams come true.
We asked a few newlyweds what, for them, made the Big Lake the perfect place for their big day.
A Casual Island Wedding
At least once every summer since they started dating, Sarah and AJ Milder have traveled from St. Paul to Madeline Island in Wisconsin.
“It is a such magical place, it seems as though you have left Wisconsin and traveled somewhere far away,” Sarah says of arriving to the island by ferry from Bayfield.
So the couple had no trouble choosing the destination for their destination wedding.
“We wanted to share our love for the island and the Great Lake with our friends and family,” Sarah says. “Guests who had never been to Madeline were thrilled we had brought them to such a beautiful place.”
But Sarah, an epidemiologist with Arundel Street Consulting, and AJ, a business development manager for 3M Company, also wanted to infuse their celebration with the laid-back attitude of any island. They chose the beach at Big Bay State Park for their ceremony, followed by a reception at The Inn on Madeline Island. Wearing shoes on the sandy shore, they informed their guests, was purely optional.
The stairs descending from the park’s parking lot to the beach became the “aisle” where Sarah’s father escorted her to the shore where AJ and the wedding party waited – including Sarah’s English setter, Bastian, who took casual one step farther.
“Bastian hammed it up during the ceremony when he decided that instead of standing next to AJ, he was going to plop down in the Lake to cool off,” Sarah recalls. But there was also a touching side that made the day into a treasure.
“The ceremony itself was exactly how I had dreamt it to be. AJ’s uncle performed the ceremony and he has a way with words unlike anyone I have ever met. He had the guests and wedding party in tears.”
After the sun-drenched wedding framed by a sparkling blue Big Lake backdrop, the wedding party’s “limo” was a tractor-pulled wagon that took them to the Inn. “The whole wedding party enjoyed champagne as we were pulled to our wedding reception on the other end of the island.”
The Inn on Madeline Island provided a tent for the outdoor reception, with entertainment provided by the Duluth-based bluegrass band Two Many Banjos.
“The wedding reception was amazing. The food was delicious,” Sarah says.
With so many precious moments for the day, there remains one more thing that the couple holds dear.
“We were thrilled to have brought so many people to this special place to be with us on our wedding day. We had guests from New Zealand, Ecuador and Argentina. It was great showing them the largest fresh water lake in the world, but it was also thrilling to show our Wisconsin and Minnesota guests a little piece of the Midwest that they did not know existed.”
Peninsula Perfect
Jen and Peter Heydlauf of Chelsea, Michigan, love the outdoors and harbor a special affinity for Lake Superior.
In the summer of 2011, they hiked the length of Isle Royale National Park.
In the spring of 2012, they returned to Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula to start a new journey – marriage.
From his student days at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Peter had an idea for the best location.
“He … remembered seeing Keweenaw Mountain Lodge on drives along US-41 with visiting family, so he suggested it,” Jen says. “I checked out their website and thought it looked perfect for what we had in mind – a place with a warm and rustic ambiance where we could have both the ceremony and the reception, in addition to lodging for everyone.”
Peter, a sales representative for General Electric, and Jen, a podiatrist, didn’t go for a visit before they booked the lodge over the phone, reserving space for about 70 guests. A February 2012 trip to the lodge to meet with their pastor and the lodge manager gave them the confidence they had made the right decision.
For Peter and Jen, the “picture” part of their picture-perfect wedding became one of their fondest memories, working with Brockit Inc. and photographer Adam Johnson, based in Hancock.
Prior to the ceremony, the couple took time for wedding photographs in Copper Harbor, Michigan, and on the Lake Superior shoreline.
“(We have) spectacular pictures with amazing scenery, just as we were hoping,” Jen says. “In addition, we were able to have time with our family doing things along the water – including watching a sunset at one of the roadside parks along M-26 during which my brother and I braved the late-May temperatures to stick our feet in the Lake!”
The most memorable moment of the wedding for Jen came when Adam and the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge staff conspired to give them rain.
“Our wedding day started off as a rainy Sunday, and we were very fortunate that … the rain stopped, transitioning to fog, then clouds and finally sun peeked through just in time for the ceremony. After the ceremony, it looked like another storm was approaching and set to arrive late in the evening. We told our photographer that if it did happen, we wanted pictures out in the rain.”
The storm never came but Adam and lodge General Manager Dan Harri joined in cahoots and rigged up a hose to spray the roof of the portico to create the appearance of rain.
“We had awesome pictures produced from their setup,” Jen says. “And I think Dan had a grand time directly spraying the bride and groom with a hose!”
For Jen and Peter, the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge was a perfect wedding spot because in addition to being picturesque, “the fact it allowed us to have everything in one spot was very appealing,” says Jen. “An added bonus was the potential for guests to golf and take time to tour an area were many had never been.”
Site Unseen
Chicagoans Andrew and Angela Robinson wanted to get married in a national park, but which one?
The beautiful Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, headquartered in Bayfield, certainly was close. Only one catch.
“We actually had not been to the national lakeshore or Bayfield,” says Andrew. “We started planning about four months prior to the date and booked everything sight unseen. We looked at other state parks in northern Wisconsin – the location suited my family in Michigan and Angela’s in Chicago – but Bayfield looked the best in terms of accommodations for our guests and venue sites. We trusted that everything would turn out well.
“The outcome exceeded all of our expectations.”
Last year was a busy one for the couple. Andrew worked for the Obama campaign and is state data director for the Illinois Democratic Party. Angela was working for a Chicago non-profit that helps low-income families file tax returns.
It was still a great year to get married, the couple agrees, and the locations turned out most memorable.
Angela and Andrew got married on Meyers Beach, part of the national lakeshore’s mainland property. “The sounds and sights of the water and feel of the sand were an intimate component,” Andrew says. “The setting could not have been better.”
The Big Lake provided a bit of pre-wedding drama as the week progressed with a threat of rain for their wedding day. Angela admits they “didn’t have much of a backup plan” in the case of inclement weather.
“Andrew was so excited that the forecast finally showed a zero percent chance of rain that he read the hourly forecast like it was a thriller novel,” she says with amusement.
For Andrew, the most memorable moment blended the beautiful location with another beautiful vision – “the sight of Angela looking stunning in her wedding dress as she walked down the beach.”
A new venue for 2012 proved to be the perfect match for the couple’s reception and dance. The recently completed pavilion at Apostle Highlands Golf Course is an elegant, yet relaxing, setting for gatherings.
“The reception location was stunning,” Andrew recalls. “We served dinner in the pavilion, then moved to the patio for dancing under the stars. Our guests enjoyed the beautiful scenery and sunset. The staff at Apostle Highlands was fantastic. (Events Manager) Bryan Custer in particular went out of his way to make it a great day for us. Apostle Highlands provided our wedding arch (as seen in the photos – our moms decorated it) and transportation to the beach as well.”
Good Thyme of Washburn catered the buffet, anchored with chicken picatta in a white wine, lemon and caper butter sauce, but featuring local smoked fish, fresh breads and butter and “sassy nanny goat” cheese and caramelized onion tarts and a wide variety of vegetarian selections.
“We asked them for a mostly vegetarian menu,” Andrew says. “Our guests are still raving about it.”
The lakeshore setting created plenty of memories – for bride and groom and for the guests.
“It was also a great attraction for our guests throughout the weekend,” says Andrew. “Our guests enjoyed ferry rides, kayaking and hiking.”
Wedding on a Mountain Top
When Minnesota natives Lisa and Trevor Dugan of Minneapolis planned their wedding, they had a big challenge – coming up with a wedding to match the romance of Trevor’s proposal.
On a trip to Ireland, Trevor surprised Lisa with a stay at a castle and a countryside tour with a falconer. Unbeknown to Lisa, Trevor and the falconer had conspired, tying an engagement ring to the falcon’s tether.
“It was amazing,” Lisa recalls the falconer’s actions. “He flew the hawk through the forest to me, where I was waiting in a clearing … and he landed on my arm. Trevor walked over and clipped off the ring from the tether. Needless to say, the tears were instantaneous. It was beautiful, and romantic, and in true Trevor-fashion completely unexpected and original!”
Lisa, membership and marketing manager for the Hazeltine Golf Club, Chaska, Minnesota, and Trevor, a routing specialist for Slumberland Home Delivery, finally settled on the Summit Chalet on Lutsen Mountain, Minnesota, as the perfect location for their July 2011 wedding.
“We knew we wanted a Minnesota wedding,” Lisa says. “We also wanted to make it a very personal location for ourselves and our guests. The North Shore has always held a very special place in my heart, as my grandparents lived right on Lake Superior in Silver Bay … and it was along those shores that some of my most special lifelong memories have taken place. To me, it’s the only place of anywhere I’ve traveled where my soul feels truly free and rested. … Lake Superior and Lutsen in particular has been a place where our love for each other has grown and solidified.”
The couple have camped and snowboarded at Lutsen – making the mountain a logical choice. “I don’t think there was any hesitation … that on top of our favorite snowboarding mountain was the place we wanted to exchange our vows with our closest family and friends.”
Cinderella had her pumpkin coach, but Lisa and Trevor’s guests had an equally fascinating mode of travel.
“The most memorable experience for us, and the part our guests still talk about, is the gondola ride up to the Summit Chalet where the ceremony and reception was held,” Lisa says. “Within that five-minute ride up the mountain our guests experienced the beauty of Lake Superior, the wildlife below, rivers running, lush tree tops and the prize view: the big blue Lake. Family from Colorado, Wisconsin and guests who have lived in Minnesota their entire lives were awestruck by the vast beauty they never knew Lake Superior offered!”
The destination and the couple’s desires kept the guest list small. That meant, too, that they could add some special touches.
“With just under 100 guests, we were able to personalize it with touches of our lives and our passions,” Lisa says. “Instead of name cards I wrote each guest’s name on a Lake Superior rock from my grandparents’ beach. I invited them to throw the rocks back into the Lake with a prayer of love attached. We also had our guests graffiti-up my first snowboard instead of signing a guest book.”
They made the snowboard into a shelf in their living room.
Trevor is a drummer, and a small drumline played as guests exited the gondola at the top of the hill. Duluth-area musicians Bump and Barbara Jean brought a local flavor.
The metaphor of that Big Blue Lake, though, was the ultimate statement of their love, Lisa says.
“Above all, Lake Superior represented our love, and the spirit of our family who helped intertwine the values learned in nature with the love and respect we brought into our new marriage.”
Claire Duquette of Washburn, Wisconsin, says doing this story conjured happy memories of her Lake Superior wedding at Pikes Bay Marina, Bayfield.