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THE PE RFECT FLOW FOR A G BEAUTI ERS AND LO OWNS, CA FUL BEA CH WEDTIONS DING
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VOL 2
A P O R T F O L I O TO V I E W VOL 2 presents Shore Magazine’s Bride issue article “Dress of the Dunes” which required my services for wardrobe and jewelry selection, on figure styling, as well as locating the perfect vintage parasol prop.
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SHORE MAGAZINE
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RECEPTIONS
GREAT IDEAS
PHOTOGRAPHY, BEAUTY, HONEYMOONS, MONEY AND MORE
Regal Venues
Bridal Shower ALTERNATIVES From the Kitchen to the Spa GIFTS FOR THE COUPLE
THAT HAS EVERYTHING
THE PERFECT GOWNS, FLOWERS AND LOCATIONS FOR A BEAUTIFUL BEACH WEDDING
FEATURE
Dress of 32
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the Dunes
Back to the Beach BY HEATHER AUGUSTYN
Want all of the romance and natural beauty of a beach wedding without all of the expense of destinations like Hawaii or Tahiti? The shores of Lake Michigan offer everything, and more, of these popular sites. It’s easy to bring family to share in sunshine and love, if you consider the special needs of a beach venue. Shore Bride talked to some regional wedding experts on how to make a sandy destination perfect for that special day.
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LOCATION Beach weddings can take place on a public beach, private home beach, or even on a private lake beach in our region. Bruce Rowe, public information officer for the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, says that having a wedding on a public beach in the dunes is something that has been done many times and is as easy as obtaining a permit. “It can be a very nice setting,” Rowe says. “They can be done in the national park, but you have to get a special-use permit from the chief ranger
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The big bridal bow is back, but with a twist. The highlight of this tapered ivory gown is so obviously the beautiful regal blue obi sash, accented with a rhinestone brooch. By Forever Yours, $1,495.
What’s a beach wedding without a mermaid gown? This one comes with an asymmetrical skirt and tiered tulle underskirt. By Sophia Tolli, $849.
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office for a $50 fee. This will enable the wedding to take place in an area open to the public. If extra services are needed, such as use of a picnic shelter, then there may be an extra fee.” For that champagne toast or a glass of wine with guests after the nuptials, Rowe says to know the rules first. There are only four beaches in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore that allow alcohol: Lakeview Beach, Kemil Beach, Central Beach and Mt. Baldy. LODGING When having a beach wedding, consider how the family will be involved in the event, and where they will stay. The Sans Souci Euro Inn offers beach weddings on their private lake located on a 50-acre nature retreat in New Buffalo, Mich. The facility offers lodging for up to twenty wedding guests (in addition to children) in the suite wing, two vacation homes, and two lakeside cottages. The grounds can accommodate up to 175 guests, and New Buffalo offers a vast number of hotels and B&Bs for these guests as well. Most other beach towns also offer ample lodging, as a result of being a tourist destination year round. But make sure to book a hotel for guests, as well as your venue, at least a year in advance due to the influx of visitors. Sans Souci Euro Inn owner, Angie Siewert, says they are usually booked up for weddings a year in advance because the entire facility is typically rented out for guests. PLANNING Sans Souci’s Siewert and her staff assist the couple with their wedding, but says that the planning is really up to them. “The bride and groom really decide the composition of the weekend and we help along the way. They
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This ultra-feminine gown comes with a ruched bodice, corset back, sweetheart neckline and a tulle skirt. By Sophia Tolli, $1,075.
make all the decisions, but we suggest and help along,” Siewert says. Couples may want to secure a wedding planner to help with the nuptials, however, since the beach can present unique conditions. This will help to reduce the unknown.
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WEATHER If it were sunny and warm every day of the summer, it’s likely everyone would have a beach or outdoor wedding. But the reality is, it rains. Siewert says that it is essential to plan for inclement weather. “We have no inside facilities for 150 guests, so we recommend a tent is rented. If there are only twenty people, then no tent is necessary, but these weddings are rare,” Siewert says. “It’s important not to have a wedding in the hot summer months. Can you imagine standing outside in a black tuxedo in 100-degree weather? So we recommend weddings in May or June, or September and October.” Many locations may offer indoor facilities to accommodate groups in the event of bad weather, so make sure to prepare for the worstcase scenario in advance of the big day. Even having a backup location that may not be near the beach at all can be a good plan. SETTING The beach offers much of
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photography by mitch ranger photography, with assistance by ryan pavlovich talent by paige de jong of reality models & talent, kalamazoo, mich.
its own appeal and styling by patte lau setting, and tailoring hair and makeup the beach to the by kim ricketts personalities of the shot on location at oval beach, saugatuck, mich. couple can be done all apparel provided easily with some by memories bridal, stevensville, mich. tasteful flowers and props. Judy Chaplin, owner of Shady Lawn Florist in Chesterton, Ind., says that there are a number of possibilities for beach environments. “We’ve done weddings at private homes because there is a yard to use, or a retaining wall. Then we will use pots of summer flowers. One wedding incorporated a gazebo, others had a platform or grass, and they made an aisleway. We used glass containers with flowers to line the aisleway and then we hung some glass containers to match in the gazebo, with ribbons hanging down. It was beautiful.” Pam Rhodes, manager of Crown Party Rentals in Crown Point, Ind., says that there are many options regarding equipment for the beach wedding, and in the company’s forty years of business, they have a lot of beach wedding experience. But Rhodes warns that tents on the sand are not the way to go, so utilizing area facilities, combined with equipment, is the solution. “A tent cannot go into the ground without stakes, and stakes pull out from the sand,” Rhodes says. “For larger weddings we can do a pole tent on more solid ground to accommodate 300 to 400 people, with dance floor and lighting. But we’d recommend using a pavilion if one is available, or putting garden chairs on the sand. We do have a colonnade, which is a favorite. It’s made of resin plastic and is hollow so it’s lightweight. It is an arch with Roman pedestals that can be extended over the couple or wedding party and we can set it up to handle some wind. We also offer garden arches made of white lattice.” Candles can be difficult outdoors, says Rhodes, but there are other beautiful solution alternatives. “We can do glass containers of colored sands that are poured together, instead of the unity candle. This still has the symbolism of unity, but you don’t have to worry about wind blowing the candle out,” Rhodes says. If you prefer to incorporate some of the natural surroundings in the floral plan, Chaplin says that there are varieties of native plants and flowers to choose from, but you should also be aware of the weather. “We offer bear grass and lily grass that coordinate with the grasses at the beach and have more of a natural appeal. But we also recommend using roses or lilies that are more traditional and flowers that will stand up to the heat of the beach,” Chaplin says.
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SANS SOUCI EURO INN 19265 S Lakeside Rd New Buffalo, Mich. 269.756.3141 www.sans-souci.com
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TOP FIVE BEACH WEDDING DESTINATIONS
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LAKESIDE INN 15251 Lakeshore Rd Lakeside, Mich. 269.469.0600
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TWIN GABLES INN 900 Lake St Saugatuck, Mich. 800.231.2185
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INDIANA DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE Office: 1100 N Mineral Springs Rd Porter, Ind. 219.926.7561
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ORCHARD INN & SUITES AND SUITES OF SAUGATUCK 560 Campbell Rd Saugatuck, Mich. 269.857.5000
WARDROBE & ON FIGURE STYLING
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