MyNorth Wedding 2023: The Homestead

The Homestead

BY

BY ELIZABETH EDWARDS

BY GRACE PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTOS

CAPTURED

Adeline Sanchez & Joe Conner

When it comes to wedding ceremonies, three times was the charm for this couple. After their January 2020 engagement at O’Sheas Casino in Las Vegas, where the two had first met, Joe and Adeline quickly made plans for a large wedding the following October. Although the couple lives in California, where Adeline is from, Joe is from Michigan and introduced Adeline to Northern Michigan on family visits to Petoskey and Traverse City. Adeline fell in love with the area, and decided that she would love to be married in Northern Michigan—particularly in the autumn when the leaves were at their peak color.

Immediately after their engagement, the couple flew to Detroit where they met Joe’s parents, and headed north to check out venues. “We put a thousand miles in on one weekend,” Joe recalls. It was Northern Michigan in midwinter (a novel experience for Adeline), a season when it is hard to imagine azure waters and fiery foliage. Nevertheless, when they drove through the gracious entrance to The Homestead, they knew they’d found their venue. “Everything was covered in snow but it felt just right,” Adeline remembers.

That “just right” feeling grew when they met Sandy Luthardt, event sales manager at The Homestead. “We really hit it off with her—from the beginning we felt as though we’ve known her for a long time,” Joe says. As the couple flew back to California, they were already imagining their October wedding at The Homestead.

Then came the Covid-19 shutdown that put those plans on indefinite hold. But the couple wanted to have a child (and be married when they did) so they eloped to Glacier National Park for a small, intimate ceremony. That was wedding number one. Being legally married didn’t keep the Conners from dreaming of that big destination wedding at The Homestead. After juggling logistics—which included making sure that all the vendors they’d originally wanted were still available—the couple settled on June 3, 2022. By this time, baby Westin had come and was eight months old. But wait—there was one more small hurdle to overcome: Adeline is Catholic and Joe is Lutheran. Although they planned to have a Lutheran pastor re-marry them at The Homestead, they had attended the Catholic pre-nuptial process. In May, three weeks before their ceremony at The Homestead, they learned that for their marriage to be sanctified by the Catholic Church, it needed to be in a sacred space—meaning a church. Shifting gears one more time, Joe and Adeline arranged to be married in Traverse City’s Lutheran Church the Tuesday prior to their Homestead wedding, by Pastor Michael Goers, the same pastor who also graciously agreed to repeat the ceremony the next weekend. Check that off as ceremony number two.

When wedding number three finally came, it was a bluebird day without a cloud in the sky. In reality, however, it was a week-long celebration rather than just a day. The 107 guests came from all over the country, all of whom stayed on The Homestead property. Throughout the week they enjoyed the resort’s beautiful beach club with its pool wedged between the mouth of the Crystal River and sandy Lake Michigan beach, as well as charming Cafe Manitou and its outdoor bar. From the rehearsal barbecue at the quaint Camp Firefly right through to the après wedding brunch at CQ’s in the resort’s village, all of the festivities took place at The Homestead. In between those events, of course, was the stunning wedding ceremony at the top of a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. To the delight of the guests, the trip up was via chairlift. Guests enjoyed cocktails and music courtesy of Brian Wright of 2Bays DJs at the top of the hill prior to the moving ceremony. There, the two wed for the third (and final) time, with cobalt blue Lake Michigan in the background and baby Westin gurgling in the arms of Joe’s parents.

After the ceremony, guests rode the lift back down to the resort’s nearby Mountain Flowers Lodge for a plated dinner (choice of filet mignon, chicken,vegetarian and vegan entrees)—a dinner that, the couple agrees, was absolutely delish. The newlyweds opened the dancing to the blend of Jack Johnson’s songs “Better Together” and “Angel.” After that, the party flowed late into the night, as The Homestead staff replenished appetites with pizza and cookies, and the team at the resort’s pub, Whiskers, went above and beyond to accommodate the after-party.

The entire week was perfect thanks to many elements, and the couple especially credits The Homestead’s Luthardt with “being at the heart of everything.” It might have taken three ceremonies to feel like their marriage was complete, but the couple would do it all again to make the final one happen. “We were blessed. The whole week was amazing,” Adeline says.

We were blessed. The whole week was amazing.

Wedding Notebook

The Homestead

Accommodations

You’ll feel at home in one of our resort hotels or in the spaciousness of a privately-owned villa or a home. Rates span a wide range but all are available on attractively priced wedding specials. So you can choose a level of luxury that suits your mood and your means.

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 a vast bay and towering dunes. Here, at The Homestead, you’ll feel waves of emotion wash over you, as you discover the most wonderfully romantic setting in the place chosen by Good Morning America as the "Most Beautiful Place in America". You'll choose one of three wedding venues with unmatched style and beauty. Each promises a succession of memorable moments you’ll treasure forever.

To learn more, please 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.

Catering

We’ve carefully paired our menus with our community. They include seasonally fresh food from local farms and awardwinning wines from nearby vintners. To that we add sparkling table settings and seemless service for fabulous dining on the most important day of your lives.

Bay Mountain Ceremony

A Suite at Little Belle

Event

Almost touching the sky, and fresh as the flowers that scent its terraces, Bay Mountain offers panoramic views of Lake Michigan and Glen Lake. Your ceremony and cocktail reception can be there, dinner in the valley below at Mountain Flowers Lodge where you'll find the warmth of stone and pine logs with country gardens and a sparkling waterfall. Accommodates 160.

Camp Firefly captures the charm of the north woods with welcoming ponds, a pine-paneled great hall, covered porch with an outdoor fireplace and wildflower-lined patio overlooking a waterfall and pond. Accommodates 60.

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 from outdoor brick terraces a cozy café. Accommodates 40.

NEW! "Mountain Village" featuring an all new grocerant, restaurant, outdoor grill and bar, stage, dance floor and fire pits. And, a massive stone fireplace and curvilinear celebration table that's perfect for your rehearsal or brunch.

You and your guests will enjoy the resort’s many amenities - beach, pools, tennis, golf, kayaks, stand up paddle boards, fitness center, skiing, and snowboarding. Your man and his groomsmen might enjoy golf at Manitou Passage Golf Club or Mountain Flowers Par 3. You and your bridesmaids are sure to enjoy Spa Amira which overlooks Lake Michigan and offers lighthearted fun around a pool. Then, bathed in natural light beside Lillyjade Salon's reflecting pool, you and your bridemaids locks will be coiffed and colored, your nails and toenails buffed for the Big Day.

You can welcome your guests in a variety of ways. Your rehearsal reception, and brunch can feature sophisticated soirees or picnics to go.

Wood Ridge Road

Glen Arbor, MI 49636 231-334-5000 231-334-5300

Camp Firefly

Mountain Flowers Lodge

Lillyjade

Choose One. You won’t be wrong.

Shhh…

We’ve quietly created unique new sites for weddings and receptions that are spectacular in any season of the year. They blossom in the spring, shine in the summer,color in the fall, and sparkle in the winter. And, they meld the majesty of Lake Michigan with the beauty of Leelanau. Choose your season ... wines will flow, flavors will swirl, and your day, your perfect day, will be made.

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.

weddings and receptions. with the beauty of Leelanau. sparkle and your day, made. first sight.

receptions. Leelanau. day, thehomesteadresort.com | 231.334.5000

weddings and receptions. with the beauty of Leelanau. will sparkle and your day, made. first sight. thehomesteadresort.com | 231.334.5000

Shhh…

Come see. It’ll be love at first sight. 231.334.5000

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

Glen Arbor, MI 49636 | thehomesteadresort.com | 231.334.5000

Glen Arbor, MI 49636 | thehomesteadresort.com | 231.334.5000