Northern Michigan Weddings: On The Green At Shanty Creek
Northern Michigan Weddings: Emily and Jade celebrated their union at Shanty Creek Resorts last summer, June 23, 2012
Northern Michigan Weddings: Emily and Jade never imagined having an outdoor wedding—until they visited the four-season Shanty Creek Resort, located in the charming Northern Michigan town of Bellaire. Although the couple is from Michigan—she is from McBain and he is from Manton—their first Northern Michigan introduction didn’t occur until adults, when they rented a Shanty Creek condo for a snowboarding weekend. Wintry landscape and all, Emily knew they had found the spot for their June wedding, “I wanted to do something no one I knew had ever done. We checked out a lot of venues, but it wasn’t until Shanty Creek that I knew we’d found the place. Everything is just so perfect Up North.”
Perfect indeed. Their wedding day was graced with beautiful weather; sunshine and 76 degrees greeted the couple, who took pictures before the ceremony so as to not make guests wait for the reception. Familiar with Shanty Creek, Andrea Bogard of Northern Art Photography led the wedding party around the resort’s beautiful grounds, capturing pictures to last a lifetime.
Shanty Creek’s wedding planner worked with ideas Emily gathered from the Traverse City Opera House Bridal Show to evoke a feeling of elegance and grandeur throughout the wedding. Emily’s stairway descent from above the Bellaire Ballroom to the ground-level Bellaire Terrace ceremony created a dramatic entrance; her purple and green bouquet sparkled with rhinestones as she walked the aisle to her groom. The couple shared traditional and short, hand-written vows before a white trellis built by Jade’s father, which Emily and Jade plan to place in the garden of their own home someday.
Throughout the Bellaire Ballroom reception, elegant touches of the wedding’s purple and green color scheme dazzled beneath twinkling lights. White table linens and chair covers draped and tied with eggplant organza runners and sashes, and a variety of tall centerpieces made of purple orchids and crystal hangings captured the fanciful aura, while splashes of green silk roses kept the summery feeling of the June wedding.
The Shanty Creek–catered dinner impressed guests, as did the four-tiered white wedding cake with strawberry jam and chocolate frosting, also catered by Shanty Creek and embellished with green and white cymbidium flowers from Custom Creations, the florists who designed the bridal bouquets, floral arrangements and centerpieces.
Before the night was over, Shanty Creek had granted one last wish to the couple and allowed Cinderella and her prince to dance well past midnight in their ballroom.
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Arm-in-arm, the bride and her father walked down the stairs. (Northern Art Photography)
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Bride and groom vowed "I do" in front of a trellis built and decorated by the groom's father. (Northern Art Photography)
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Bride Emily Yonkman and groom Jade Woodcock at their June 23rd, 2012 wedding. (Northern Art Photography)
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Friends and family gathered for the ceremony on a sloping lawn in front of the Bellaire Ballroom where the reception was held. (Northern Art Photography)
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Glass coasters etched with the word "Love" made lovely parting gifts for guests. (Northern Art Photography)
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Groom, groomsmen and fathers of the newly-weds struck a cool pose with views of Lake Bellaire in the background. (Northern Art Photography)
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Inspired by the wedding colors, Sandy at Custom Creations designed full bouquets of purple hydrangeas, polar star roses, green fuji mums, green hypericum berries and purple mini carnations. (Northern Art Photography)
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Ornate centerpieces of green silk pomander rose balls and chandelier-like crystal hangings. (Northern Art Photography)
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Shanty Creek designed a four-tiered wedding cake and decorated it with green and white cymbidium flowers from Custom Creations. (Northern Art Photography)
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The bride kicked back with the groom and his dapper groomsmen on seats of crushed red velvet. (Northern Art Photography)
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The bride threw her bouquet to the brides-to-be (not pictured, the men's hilarious tussle for the bride's garter) (Northern Art Photography)
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The bride was stunning in her dress—also from To Have and To Hold in Traverse City. (Northern Art Photography)
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The bride's bouquet featured purple flowers, while the bridesmaids' green-toned bouquets popped against their purple dresses. (Northern Art Photography)
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The newlyweds chose "Wanted" by Hunter Hayes for their first dance. (Northern Art Photography)
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The purple printed flowers on the wedding programs matched the invitations and thank you notes. (Northern Art Photography)
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The wedding party on the bridge at the entrance to Shanty Creek. (Northern Art Photography)
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The wedding photographer captured a sweet kiss between Jade and Emily. (Northern Art Photography)
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Three different centerpieces adorned the elegant dining room, including this one of silvery white branches and purple orchids. (Northern Art Photography)
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