Tammy Fiegehen / Tammy Fiegehen Photography
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Mallory Kent and Brent Krmpotich married on the grounds of Stokely Creek Lodge, their favorite getaway destination for years before the wedding.
For years, Mallory Kent and Brent Krmpotich have headed to Stokely Creek Lodge at Goulais River to cross-country ski and mountain bike.
So when the Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, couple decided to get married, the choice of a wedding site was easy.
“We love Stokely because of the setting, the outdoors, and the food is amazing,” says Mallory. “We didn’t look anywhere else for a wedding venue. I always knew it would be at Stokely. We have a group of five couples who go there together, and three were married there in the past few years.”
Getting married in the summer of 2014 under tents on the lodge lawn felt just right to them. They spoke their vows not far from the double-branch falls and the forested, mountain trails of the Algoma Highlands that attract them in every season. The wedding party and most of the guests stayed at Stokely, which offers destination-wedding packages, and a number of the guests also were captivated by the location; they plan to return.
By choosing a wedding location that they treasure and love to visit, Mallory and Brent set their stage for a popular trend in destination weddings – venues close enough to home for at least annual romantic visits that spark old memories while creating new ones.
Wendy Horde / Soul Photography
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Claire and Danny Neal were tickled to get married at Stokely Creek Lodge in Ontario. To them, the lodge and grounds were a hidden treasure, private and romantic.
That story resonates with many couples. “Weddings are not necessarily held where couples live or work anymore,” notes Maria McKechnnie, owner of Northland Special Events in Duluth. “They pick a place that is notable in their relationship, and it stays a special place.”
For Mallory and Brent, picking Stokely gave them an extra perk – one they’ll enjoy when they return this coming Valentine’s Day. “Since the wedding, Stokely is more familiar,” says Mallory. “We know the staff better and our friends know the place.”
When Claire and Danny Neal married at Stokely, they added a “time capsule” to their return plans. Using 100-year-old wood from Claire’s family farmhouse, Danny carved a box with a heart cut out of the lid. They placed vintage white wine inside – chosen with the help of a local liquor store near Stokely – and wrote letters to each other the night before their wedding. On their wedding day, those letters were slipped into the box.
“Our letters will be read at Stokely, of course, five years from now on our wedding anniversary as we enjoy our wine,” says Claire. Then they will add more wine and two new letters to await their 10th anniversary … at Stokely, naturally.
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Lacey Criswell / Lace/Hanky Photography
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Katie and Bryan Dahl enjoy the shore at Lutsen Resort on their wedding day.
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Lacey Criswell / Lace/Hanky Photography
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They returned to Lutsen in October with their 9-month-old daughter, Alice, and posed beside the arch where the couple said their marriage vows.
In Minnesota, Katie and Bryan Dahl searched for a wedding site that they planned to adopt as their own special place. Both of them spent a lot of time Up North while growing up.
On a trip up the North Shore with friends, they decided to look at wedding venues along the way.
On a whim, they checked out Lutsen Resort, a place they’d never visited. As they headed down to the Lake, Katie spied the lodge and the bridge over the river there. She was smitten with the cozy, authentic feel.
They married the Labor Day weekend of 2011 on the resort lawn overlooking Lake Superior, dining in the lodge and sharing a bonfire on the shore with their guests. They visited with friends and family all during the long weekend.
Now they’re resort regulars, returning every year. Last year they brought their 9-month-old daughter, Alice.
“We love the idea of making memories as a family,” Katie says. “It was so special, sitting on the same Adirondack chairs with her, and taking a picture under the arch where we were married.”
Matt Lien / Matt Lien Photography
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Brianna and Justin Miske on their wedding day at Bluefin Bay on Lake Superior.
Brianna and Justin Miske fit the mold for choosing a wedding site that will become their regular retreat. Although she lives in Lakeville, Minnesota, Brianna had a long attachment to Tofte and Bluefin Bay on Lake Superior, having visited there frequently with her parents. Justin proposed to her at Split Rock Lighthouse, so marrying beside Lake Superior seemed only natural. Bluefin’s cove – enhanced by a wooden arbor that Brianna’s dad built for the ceremony – created the perfect combination of a locale they loved and a place to spend time with wedding guests. On the wedding weekend, they enjoyed their favorite activities, including hiking and visiting Grand Marais. Brianna and Justin returned for their first anniversary. And again the year after that.
Now they’ve broadened their seasonal options. “You can go out even in the winter. It’s cold, but there is a fireplace inside,” says Brianna. “Even when it’s cold up there, it’s beautiful.”
Mariah says many of the couples she helps find the right wedding destination want more than a one-day venue. “They may want to bring their children and grandchildren there.”
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Jess Oullis Smith / Oullis Photography
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Barbi and Erik Heidemann had their wedding at Lutsen Resort in Minnesota. They return each year.
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Jess Oullis Smith / Oullis Photography
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A little more than two years ago they began bringing baby Grace (now 2 1⁄2).
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Jess Oullis Smith / Oullis Photography
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Next year the reservation will be for four – daughter Elliana, not yet in the Lutsen photos, is now 6 months old.
Barbi and Erik Heidemann, who live in the Twin Cities, have taken that advice to heart. They chose Lutsen Resort for their wedding with the idea of returning every year. For the last six years, they’ve visited at least each Memorial Day and often more frequently. “We can’t stay away that long,” Barbi says. “When we check out, we’re making reservations for the next year.”
The trip now includes their two children. “It has become a tradition. Some day the kids will figure out why,” Barbi laughs. They look forward to the kids enjoying hiking, skiing and kayaking.
Nancy Burns, who owns Lutsen Resort with her husband, Scott Harrison, has grown accustomed to these kinds of returns. “Many couples get engaged here. Some come back for their wedding or a romantic getaway. Often they return for anniversaries.”
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Hannah Stonehouse Hudson / Stonehouse Photography
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Annalisa and Cody Bermel posed at the Bayfield, Wisconsin, waterfront for their wedding reception at the Bayfield Pavilion.
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Hannah Stonehouse Hudson / Stonehouse Photography
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Annalisa walks by the sailboats. Annalisa wanted part of their day to be spent by Lake Superior.
Annalisa Bermel of Minnetrista, Minnesota, picked her wedding venue long before she met her future husband.
In high school, before she even started dating Cody, she chose Bayfield, Wisconsin, where she’d vacationed with her family since she was 5. She calls it her “little paradise.”
Fortunately, Cody saw it the same way after visiting. “I dragged him there, and he loved it, too. It started to become our place to go,” Annalisa says. Her family purchased land in Bayfield, further securing her attachment there. Cody proposed to her on the family property.
Having long-term friends in the community, they were invited to hold their ceremony in the old part of Erickson’s Orchard in front of row upon row of apple trees. A ravine in the distance parted the trees to provide a glimpse of Lake Superior.
“Bayfield constantly keeps pulling me back,” Annalisa says. She and Cody will be taking their frequent visits one step further. Theirs will be the first house built on the family property, a place Annalisa, a real estate developer, envisions as a multi-generational project.
Their house will be “the first chapter in the storybook,” says Annalisa.
Soon they’ll return to their wedding destination again – this time for good.
Author Molly Brewer Hoeg and Richard Hoeg started their own marriage tradition. Right after their Duluth wedding, they detoured to the Dairy Queen on London Road and arrived at the reception with ice cream cones in hand. “Not only do we repeat the quest for ice cream on a regular basis,” says Molly, “but our daughter, Karen, followed suit on her wedding day” (as you can see in the photo of Karen and Matt Kennedy).
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Ingrid Young Photography
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