Destination Wedding
Toledo Wedding Photographer
Ashley and Eric
Ashley and Eric chose Charlevoix, Michigan for their destination wedding in May because that is their favorite vacation spot. This beautiful little tourist town with an actual population of about 2,500 sits between Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix. The rich history can be found throughout the town and especially in the downtown area where the Weathervane Terrace Inn was. That is the hotel where most of the wedding guests and I stayed.
The Wedding Rehearsal
For Destination Weddings, I always arrive the night before. This ensures that I get to where ever I need to be in time on the day of the wedding. If possible, I try to arrive before the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner and photograph them as part of My Destination Wedding package. Ashley and Eric’s rehearsal was at their wedding venue, Dhaseleer Event Barn.
The ceremony was up on the hilltop overlooking the beautiful rolling hills of the countryside. The rehearsal was also on the hilltop which was already for the next day’s wedding ceremony. The rehearsal dinner was held at the Antrim-Newman Cottage that was rented for the week. This was one of the cottages where some of the family stayed for the wedding.
Can you guess how many weddings I photographed of the people in the next picture? If you said all three of the couples, you would be correct!
The Wedding Day
The next morning, I met Ashley at Panache Hair Studio in Downtown Charlevoix. This was where Ashley had her hair done by the owner, Beckah. Panache’s apprentice Laura did Ashley’s makeup.
After the hair salon, we headed back to the cottage where Ashley was staying. I took a few shots of Ashley’s jewelry, shoes and her DIY wooden flowers bouquet on the front porch of the nautical themed rental cottage.
After a quick food run to get the bride a little something for lunch, I headed over to the cottage where the groom and his family were getting ready. The groom’s tux was from Ticknors Men’s Clothier. His blue socks with pink flamingos and palm trees fit Eric’s personality to a tee!
The Wedding Venue
After the groom was ready, I headed over to Dhaseleer Event Barn where I met up with the bride. Ashley was ready to finally put on her wedding dress from Atlas Bridal Shop. The venue had a little room hidden away from the reception area where the bride was able to finish getting ready and still be hidden away from the wedding guests that were arriving.
The Wedding Ceremony
Finally, it was time for the ceremony to start. Of course, it had been absolutely beautiful all morning. When it came time for the ceremony to begin, the skies got cloudy and the wind began to pick up. It was definitely chilly up on that hill! The groom’s uncle performed the short ceremony. After the guests threw their flower petals at the bride and groom, they scurried down the hill and into the rustic barn where the reception was held. The bride and groom and their immediate families stayed back to get a few photos.
Ashley and Eric chose not to have any wedding attendants and everything was at the Dhaseleer Event Barn. Therefore, there wasn’t a need for wedding transportation. After we took a few photos at the venue, I drove the couple to downtown Charlevoix. We took some fun and romantic photos at the marina on Round Lake and also at the nearby park. 
The Wedding Reception
After our photo excursion to downtown Charlevoix, it was time to head back to the barn for the reception. We stopped outside to take a few more shots then headed in for the party. The grand entrance was followed by dinner. The bride and groom chose to serve pies from Grand Traverse Pie Company instead of cake. Their dances were in reverse order. They started with the groom dancing with his mother. Then the bride danced with her father. Finally, the bride and groom had their first dance as husband and wife. Gregg from Bugbee’s DJ Plus kept the crowd dancing all night long. The couple even had a special guest sing Jimmy Buffet’s “Margaritaville” to them. 
Congratulations Ashley and Eric. Thank you for allowing me to capture the memories of your wedding day!
For more information about Kurt Nielsen Wedding Photography, including pricing, please visit my website at: www.kurtnphoto.com.
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