9 minute read
9 ELEGANT DETAILS GRAND TRAVERSE
from Mynorth Wedding 2021
by MyNorth
There’s No Stopping Love
With large indoor gatherings either discouraged or illegal since last spring, the 2020 wedding season was like no other. Couple after couple who’d spent months planning the biggest event of their lives, found themselves scrambling to come up with new, outdoor venues for their weddings. But for many, overcoming obstacles only made their commitment to each other stronger—and their big day sweeter. This issue features two such stories, including how two couples—Annie and Matt Murtha and Jenna and Cole McClelland—ended up finding their dream wedding venues in their search for safe, outdoor spaces. But this issue also features three pre-COVID weddings, sure to spark joy and ideas for those special days when the pandemic is behind us.
Here’s to hoping and praying that pandemic weddings are a thing of the past by next summer (but if they aren’t, this issue has you covered with ideas!). Here is a trend I think we’d all love to see continue: Grooms are all in on the planning of their weddings. Gone are the days when their main function was the bachelor party. Today’s grooms are doing everything from taking dancing lessons to purchasing custom tuxedos (if the bride can make a to-do about choosing a gown …! ). As I found, too, in my interviews, these new husbands have as much fun reliving their wedding day as their wives.
This issue is brimming with real-life stories of real love and the planning details that reflect it. Their shared moral? Be safe, but don’t stop loving.
ELIZABETH EDWARDS, MANAGING EDITOR, MYNORTH WEDDINGS
contents
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ELEGANT DETAILS
GRAND TRAVERSE RESORT AND SPA
OTSEGO RESORT
THE HOMESTEAD BOYNE MOUNTAIN RESORT
MISSION POINT RESORT
INTIMATE VENUES
ENGAGEMENT PHOTO INSPO
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MyNorth Wedding is produced by MyNorthMedia. Advertising and editorial offices at: 125 Park St., Suite 155, Traverse City, MI 49684. 231.941.8174, MyNorth.com. weddings • special events • private parties
12 miles from beautiful Downtown Traverse City.
Serving high-end, seasonal pastries and confections using
local ingredients
Justin Hankins Photography
445 E FRONT ST � TRAVERSE CITY
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© Rayan Anastor Photography
Full service wedding reception services to go along with the most beautiful Crystal Lake views and value in Benzie County. We have openings for 2021
Crystal Lake Golf Course 8493 Fairway Dr. • Beulah, MI
Weathervane Terrace Inn & Suites A castle for your overnight stay
Our Conference Room seats 25-30 and is a great place to have your catered rehearsal dinner or after wedding brunch.
3 miles from Castle Farms Only rated hotel in downtown Charlevoix Free continental breakfast and high speed fiber internet Largest seasonal outdoor heated pool • Indoor hot tubs and fireplaces 32" Flat screen TVs in all rooms Group discounts available
www.weathervane-chx.com • info@weathervane-chx.com 111 Pine River Ln., Charlevoix • 231.547.9955 Located in the heart of Old Mission Peninsula’s rolling vineyards & cherry orchards, Mission Table is an amazing estate that is perfect for an intimate wedding reception.
Mission Table is the original house of the Stickney estate built in 1880, with incredible views of West Grand Traverse Bay. An award winning culinary team & a professional staff that anticipates your every need, will create memories that will last a lifetime. We can accommodate ceremonies & receptions from 20–100 guests.
For more information please contact our Event Director, Barbara Olson | 231.944.6984 | Barb@nubco.net 13512 Peninsula Dr, Traverse City, MI 49686 www.missiontable.net
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3 It's All in the Details
Ten elegant ideas for your Northern celebration.
1. Couples’ Cocktails Personalize your bar menu with signature drinks. Have fun naming them, but make sure to list the ingredients so guests know what
they’re ordering. PHOTO BY JANELLE ELISE PHOTOGRAPHY
2. Personalized Napkins Share fun facts about your relationship, a trivia-style quiz or two
truths and a lie! PHOTO BY JANELLE ELISE PHOTOGRAPHY
3. Smooch a Pooch Include your pet in your big day as a ring bearer, flower girl or just a friend to walk down the aisle with. PHOTO BY TYLEE SHAY PHOTOGRAPHY
4. Custom Illustrated Invitations A beautiful way to introduce your guests to your wedding destination.
PHOTO BY DAN STEWART PHOTOGRAPHY
continued on page 7
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5. Chocolate Wedding Favors You can’t go wrong with a sweet treat from a local chocolate shop.
PHOTO BY SAMANTHA NICOLE PHOTOGRAPHY
6. Wine Country Decor Use wine barrels to create elegant displays with flower bouquets,
pictures or candles. PHOTO BY NORTHERN ART PHOTOGRAPHY
7. Bridal Party Shawls Winter weddings are so romantic. But goosebumps are not. Order matching wraps for your bridesmaids. PHOTO BY SAMANTHA
NICOLE PHOTOGRAPHY
8. Signature Tree Instead of a traditional guest book, have your guests sign their names along the tree branches. Then frame and hang it at home.
PHOTO BY DAN STEWART PHOTOGRAPHY
9. Place Card Stamps Help wait staff easily know which dish to serve each guest by putting meal selections (fish, beef, vegetarian, etc.) on place cards
using stamps or stickers. PHOTO BY TYLEE SHAY PHOTOGRAPHY
10. Rustic Centerpieces Bring the outdoors in with unfinished natural wood slices and fresh
flowers. PHOTO BY NORTHERN ART PHOTOGRAPHY
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WEDDINGS WE LOVE
STORY BY ELIZABETH EDWARDS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY NORTHERN ART PHOTOGRAPHY
TERRAH HANKS & CHAD TAYLOR | SEPTEMBER 5, 2020
Chad and Terrah had their first kiss on September 5, 2007. Thirteen years to the day, and three beautiful daughters later, they were married at the Grand Traverse Resort in Traverse City. Their wedding was worth the wait.
While the couple lives in Eaton Rapids, they chose Traverse City for their wedding as they have a cottage on Old Mission Peninsula’s East Grand Traverse Bay. They wanted to treat their guests to a weekend on the bay that has become so precious to them. And, lucky for them, Grand Traverse Resort has a beach club on East Grand Traverse Bay. Moreover, it was big enough to handle their guest list with aplomb. Topping it off, the resort staff was also nimble and helpful enough to handle a pandemic wedding. Did we mention that it was pandemic wedding … on horseback?
The horseback part was always a part of the plan. Terrah's family owns Sundance Riding Stables in Grand Ledge, and both Terrah and Chad are rodeo contestants—she is a barrel racer and he is a steer wrestler. Horses are such a big part of their life, that they wanted them in their wedding—Terrah and her father would ride down the aisle side by side; her father would then give his horse to Chad to ride out on after the ceremony. Molly Schroderus, GTR’s wedding coordinator who was involved in the wedding’s initial planning stages (she later handed the reins over to Event Coordinator Steve Baehr), ok’d it to happen at the GTR’s beach club. If Chad and Terrah could get the horses to the beach, why not?
The reception was initially planned for the resort’s Governor’s Ballroom. Then came the pandemic and its moratorium on large indoor gatherings. One of the resort’s outdoor venues, the tented plaza, offered a partial solution. The trouble was, the tent wasn’t big enough. So Schroderus and her team offered to tent the patio portion of the plaza. “They said, ‘Listen, you have been through thick and thin with us … we are going to make this happen,’” Terrah says.
With the reception venue solved, the wedding went seamlessly. The night before, guests were shuttled to the resort’s Turtle Creek Casino for an evening of gaming. The wedding day began with a golf scramble for the wedding guests at the beautiful Wolverine Golf Course, one of the resort’s three championship courses. 4
The ceremony on the beach club deck brimmed with the couple’s personal touches. Terrah and her father, Terry Hanks, rode out of a grove of trees and down the aisle to Chad (and yes, she chose a wedding dress with a stretchy lining so she could saddle up), to the music of Nashville-based, renowned harpist Phyllis Taylor Sparks, who is Chad’s aunt. Sparks brought her very special 23-karat gold-leaf grand harp for the occasion. The officiant was a close family friend, Jason Pendleton, and in lieu of unity candles, the couple burned their brand into a log beside a bonfire. But without a doubt, the most important part of the ceremony were the flower girls—their daughters Zadah and Attikah—and their third daughter, Aspen, who shared ring-bearing duties with her cousin, Cammon.
From the ceremony, the guests and bridal party proceeded to the tented plaza for a plated dinner followed by dancing to the tunes of DJ Cam Ridley, a longtime friend of Terrah’s. But first came a special treat for the guests—a performance by Chad and Terrah, who had taken dance lessons beforehand. While guests watched in delight, the pair twirled and dipped to a medley of songs by Blake Shelton, The Lacs and Nate Kenyon, put together by Chad’s uncle, Nick Sparks, a grammy-award winning recording engineer and producer based in Nashville.
By the time the resort-baked red velvet cake was cut, everyone knew Chad and Terrah’s wedding would live in their memories forever. Zadah summed it up best when she said to her mom: “That was the best day of my life. Can we do it again sometime?”
resources
Venue, Plated Dinner, Cake | Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, grandtraverseresort.com
Photography | Andrea Bogart, Northern Art Photography, northernartphotography.com
Videographer | Benjamin Foote, Benjamin Foote Cp, benjaminfootecp.com
Gown | Sofia in Ivory/Champagne by Morilee Purchased at Pierre’s Bridal, Prom & Tuxedo, pierresbridal.com
Hair, Nails & Makeup | Ledges Hair Salon; Grand Traverse Resort & Spa, Janell Marie Artistry, facebook.com/ledgeshairsalon; grandtraverseresort.com
Dance Studio | Our Dance Studio, choreographed by Louis Soma, facebook.com/ourdancestudio
Dance Music | R&S DJ’Z
See more photos at MyNorth.com/GrandTraverseResort21 Know an engaged couple? Send them MyNorth Wedding magazine at ShopMyNorth.com/Wedding21
