When Tommy Mick, an electrical engineer, rented an apartment in Canton, Michigan, near his work, little did he know that the deal came with his future wife. Jennifer Drechnowicz was the property manager at the complex—and in charge of events, which made it easy for the pair to get to know each other. Then came a date to a Tiger’s game and well, it wasn’t too long before a trip to the Silver Lake Dunes found Tommy down on one knee proposing.
Photos: Nicole Marie Photography
Jennifer, who’d fallen in love with Traverse City while attending the Great Lakes Culinary Institute at Northwestern Michigan College, knew she wanted to be married Up North at a rustic-themed event. While searching venues online Jennifer came across BlueBridge, and she and her mother made an appointment to drive north and check it out. “It sounds corny,” Jennifer says, “But as we were driving there a huge rainbow spread across the sky. My mom said, ‘Maybe it’s a sign.’”
As it turned out it was. BlueBridge was set up for a wedding that day and Jennifer fell in love with the woodsy venue. The centerpieces for that day’s wedding were even sunflowers, the flowers that Jennifer had dreamed of having at her wedding. Add to all of that ambiance, the fact that the ballroom and chapel are both onsite, meaning that out-of-town guests wouldn’t have to navigate an unknown area. Jennifer and her mother were sold.
The weekend of the wedding, the bridal party and many of the guests stayed at the old timey mom ’n’ pop Ellis Lake Resort located 500 feet through the woods from BlueBridge—lodging that added to the event’s rustic Up North theme. The rehearsal dinner was at the hip and relaxed Blue Tractor Cookshop in nearby Traverse City.
After the picture-perfect wedding that included cocktails and appetizers after the ceremony, followed by fun, relaxed food like pulled pork sandwiches and white cheddar macaroni and cheese, the guests and bridal party toasted s’mores at BlueBridge’s campfire. “Everyone was over the moon about the food and the venue,” Jennifer says.
Stuffed (and sticky) with s’mores, the couple and their close friends and family went back to Ellis Lake Resort for a bonfire that lasted late into the night. The next day, many of the guests took the opportunity to explore boutiques, shops, restaurants and wineries in and around Traverse City. The exhausted but happy newlyweds, however, were content simply to curl up together in their little log cabin on the shore of sweet Ellis Lake.
This wedding is featured in the 2017 issue of MyNorth Wedding.
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Sunflowers and chandeliers combined to give the ballroom casual elegance.
Jennifer’s mother, Liz Drechnowicz, made the rustic cake—she has a cake business called Dailey Sweets. She also made cupcakes, apple pie and apple crisp for dessert.
The bride and her bridesmaids had their hair and makeup done at Traverse City’s Epiphany Salon.
Flowergirl Claire Kalahar and ringbearer Kaleb Ownes.
A fun way to collect Best Wishes.
The bridal party from left to right: Danielle Mick, Jessica Owens, Lauren Earl, Mirah Dailey, Hillary Kalahar, Jessica Lincoln, Brynn Cavanaugh, Krista Mick, Hannah Cavanaugh, Claire Kalahar, and Justine Marcantel.
With the chapel on site, the logistics are simple at BlueBridge.
