Mynorth Wedding 2015: The Homestead

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The Homestead

STORY BY ADRIENNE ROBERTS  PHOTOGRAPHY BY VAN DE STEENE PHOTOGRAPHY

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Nadia & Mike n&m

NADIA SAFI MIKE STOHRER AUGUST 1, 2014

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THE HOMESTEAD, GLEN ARBOR

hen Nadia Safi met Mike Stohrer at a mutual friend’s Lake Michigan summer home, they bonded over their love of Michigan summers and the water. So when it came to planning their wedding five years later, they knew they wanted to get married beside that huge, romantic pool of freshwater blue.

The Homestead, a resort on Lake Michigan located in the Leelanau Peninsula’s charming town of Glen Arbor, fit their wish list. Besides being right on the water, The Homestead is surrounded by the breathtaking Sleeping Bear Dunes and, only a few miles north, the peninsula’s rolling wine country. All it took was one trip up to the resort’s ceremony venue Bay Mountain, with its view of Sleeping Bear Bay and the Manitou Islands on the horizon, to seal the deal: Nadia and Mike looked at each other and knew this was where they wanted to be married.

Nadia tried on over 30 dresses before choosing a form-fitti g gown with a lace overlay and beaded belt (for a touch of sparkle!) “I love how the dress is both laid-back and formal,” says Nadia. “It fit in perfectly with the earthy feel of The Homestead.” For the bridesmaid dresses, Nadia chose varying shades of purple to create an ombré effect that would stand out against The Homestead’s lush greenery.

In keeping with the casual, yet elegant ambiance of their event, Nadia and Mike hosted a pizza buffet and bonfi e on The Homestead’s beachside Manitou Cafe the night before their

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wedding, letting people kick back and hang out before the wedding. The day of, while Nadia got her hair and makeup done at the resort’s onsite Lillyjade salon, Mike invited his groomsmen and other guests to a golf outing at The Homestead’s Manitou Passage Golf Course—complete with prizes and a trophy he carved by hand in the shape of Michigan.

In the late afternoon sun, 160 guests rode chairlifts up to the ceremony site overlooking the serene waters of Lake Michigan.

As Nadia’s mom walked her down the aisle, Matt Giraud, an American Idol finalist and Nadia and Mike’s good friend, played the piano and sang, “I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You” made famous by Elvis Presley. “Everyone was so surprised to see Matt,” says Nadia. “It was a treat to have him play at our wedding. He was able to capture the love Mike and I feel for each other.”

A cocktail hour followed the ceremony at the top of Bay Mountain. Afterward, guests took chairlifts back down to the base of the mountain and stepped inside the enchanting Mountain Flowers Lodge. Lavender roses and black lanterns with white candles twinkling inside them added a romantic glow to the lodge.

As Matt Giraud continued to entertain during the reception, guests dined on their choice

of chicken, steak, or butternut squash ravioli and then dug into the four-tier vanilla funfetti cake with butter-cream frosting. Guests were soon dancing, and the combination of an open bar and a great DJ made it more like a trendy club than a wedding, says Nadia.

As the summer sun sank behind the Manitou Islands, the newlyweds knew their wedding had been everything they’d wanted it to be: casual and intimate yet elegant—and a celebration of summers on Lake Michigan.

PHOTOGRAPHY: VAN DE STEENE PHOTOGRAPHY, 734.218.4286, VANDESTEENEPHOTO.COM VENUE: THE HOMESTEAD, GLEN ARBOR, 231.334.5000, THEHOMESTEADRESORT.COM

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Opposite page: The bride wore drop earrings and a necklace that offered an understated sparkle to complement her beaded belt and rhinestone Badgley Mischka shoes. Flowers by Premier Floral. The bridal bouquet was an elegant, full bouquet of white hydrangeas, white garden roses, white ranunculus and soft lavender freesia wrapped in white satin. This page, clockwise: Just married on Bay Mountain with Lake Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Bay in the background. The Homestead’s wide, sandy beach was the perfect setting for a post-rehearsal dinner bonfire with the wedding guests. Lavender-colored Toms made fitting bridesmaids’ favors. Chairlifts up to Bay Mountain. American Idol finalist and friend of the newlyweds Matt Giraud performs. Hair by The Homestead’s onsite salon, Lillyjade.

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Clockwise: The bridal party: Brittany Slattery, Holly Stohrer, Melissa Secco, Lindsey Reed, Nadine Safi, Bride, Nadia and Mike Stohrer, Dan Stohrer, Jon Willis, Jason Buss, Firras Safi, Dani Safi. Photo ops abound at The Homestead. A pictureperfect thank-you note in the making. Each table was named for a city in Michigan that the couple is connected to. The newlyweds’ first dance was to “God Gave Me You,” by Blake Sheldon. Mike made the Michigan-shaped “guestbook.”

Nadia and Mike did a trash-the-dress shoot on the beach the day after the wedding.

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Mike initiating his bride into his favorite game.

The morning of the wedding he and 29 friends and family members golfed at The Homestead.

Escort cards for the Michigan-themed wedding.

View from The Homestead’s Manitou Passage Golf Club. Mountain Flowers Lodge, where the reception was held. Another scene from the après-wedding trash-the-dress shoot. Sherry from Cake Connections made the traditionalon-the-outside/funfetti-on-the-inside cake.

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Wedding Notebook THE HOMESTEAD

accommodations You’ll feel at home in one of our thoughtfully appointed guest rooms or enjoy the spaciousness of a privately owned condominium and exclusive setting of a vacation home. Stay in an historic Inn, a rustic retreat inside a modern, hilltop lodge or a romantic getaway nestled in the woods or on top of a lake-facing hillside. Choose a level of luxury that suits your mood and your means. We offer a seasonal range of rates, attractively priced packages and no minimum stays.

A ceremony at Bay Mountain

We invite you to visit a special place where generations of lovers have shared whispered promises, their faces caressed by Lake Michigan breezes, hearts touched by the vision of shimmering islands, souls stirred by watercolor sunsets over Sleeping Bear Bay and the world’s largest moving sand dunes. Here, at The Homestead, you’ll feel waves of emotion wash over you, as you discover the most wonderfully romantic and luxuri-

A suite at Little Belle

ous setting for your destination wedding. We’ve borrowed nature’s gifts to create three wedding venues with unmatched natural beauty. Each promises a succession of memorable moments you’ll treasure forever.

To learn more, we invite you to call us. We will send you information filled with wonderful photos and warm reviews from recent brides. And, we will invite you to come for a visit. When you do, you’ll see that your perfect wedding, like your love, can begin with a look and a touch.

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catering

We’ve carefully paired our menus with our wedding settings, creating cuisine that complements your style. To award-winning local wines, fresh food from local farms and pastries made from “scratch” in our kitchens, we add sparkling table settings and expert service from unassuming staff. These are The Homestead’s ingredients for fabulous dining on the most important day of your lives.

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event facilities

destination services

Mountain Flowers Lodge

Almost touching the sky, and fresh as the flowers that scent its terraces, Bay Mountain offers panoramic views of majestic Lake Michigan, Glen Lake and the Manitou Passage.

Guests of up to 180 can be seated here for a ceremony followed by a cocktail reception on another beautiful terrace.

When it’s time to dine and dance, we’ll whisk you and your groom from the peak to the valley below where you’ll find Mountain Flowers Lodge surrounded by country gardens and a sparkling waterfall. This timbered great hall seats up to 180 guests.

A bouquet’s throw from the beach, Café Manitou inspires Thoreau-like vows in an intimate, shoreside setting with endless blue views of lake and sky. Outdoor brick terraces welcome up to 50 guests, and an adjoining bistro accommodates the same.

Camp Firefly captures the charm of the north woods, inside and out. Celebrate your day with up to 90 guests on a landscaped patio overlooking a pond, surrounded by a lush lawn, friendly forest and wildflowers, then dine in the rustic Great Hall of an Adirondack-style lodge set beside a waterfall and pond.

Café Manitou Ceremony

Café Manitou

You and your guests will spend each carefree moment enjoying the resort’s many amenities while surrounded by the beauty of nature. Beach. Pools. Tennis. Golf. Kayaks.

Fitness facilities. Ski runs and trails. Men enjoy “swinging” bachelor parties at our Orvis® fly fishing school or our Dave Pelz Scoring Game School. Ladies find bliss at Spa Amira, overlooking Lake Michigan, offering therapeutic massage, and lighthearted fun for bridesmaids around a spa pool. Then, bathed in natural light beside Lillyjade Salon's reflecting pool, their locks will be coiffed and colored, their nails and toenails luxuriously buffed for the Big Day. You can welcome your guests with a beachfront bonfire–S’mores and sunsets are included! Or with a pizza party at Beppi’s, a sports bar. Your rehearsal dinner, family get-togethers and wedding party luncheons can include sophisticated restaurant soirees or picnics to go. And, you can send your guests home with a bon voyage brunch.

Wood Ridge Road Glen Arbor, MI 49636 231-334-5000 231-334-5300 Events Phone thehomesteadresort.com

Camp Firefly

Camp Firefly

Event Coordinators Barb Ellis & Elizabeth Curlew

Event Rooms 3

Reception Capacity Up to 180

Guest Rooms 225

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Viewtiful Weddings

Shhh…

We’ve quietly created stylish new sites for weddings and receptions.

They meld the majesty of Lake Michigan with the beauty of Leelanau.

Choose one…flavors will swirl, wines will sparkle and your day, your perfect day, will be made.

Come see. It’ll be love at first sight.

Glen Arbor, MI 49636 | thehomesteadresort.com | 231.334.5000

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