Michigan Wedding Weekend Recap

What a wonderful weekend in Michigan! I have a ton to blog about- this is the first of a few tonight. Mr Pug and I left for Michigan after work. We dropped the puggies off to be boarded then hit the road for Lansing- our halfway point! The blocked rooms for the wedding were fairly expensive- $145- so we decided to just stay there one night. I was pretty pumped to get away and see a new state!

We left Lansing in the morning and drove about four hours north to Harbor Springs, where the wedding was. It's a gorgeous town on the lake... or so I've heard, since it was pouring rain most of the time! My friend sent me the forecast, "high of 60, chance of rain." I said, "ugh, that's miserable!" And Mr Pug said, laughing, "Yea, but we'll be LUCKY for 60 with rain for our March wedding!" So true, Mr Pug... so true.

Don't we clean up nice? Note that this was an actual attempt to curl my hair. I might need to pay my wedding stylist extra...

Another one of Mr Pug and myself... I got my shawl and dress from NY&Co where I work nights... discount, cha-ching!

Here is Mr Pug with one of his best men, D. D is one of my FAVORITE people and an amazing friend. He's also the best public speaker I have ever seen- he's going to be "the closer" at our wedding!

Mr Pug is the kind of guy who needs to see things work in order to be open to them. So this whole wedding really changed a lot of our wedding plans. It was beautiful and inspiring! So I thought I'd go over everything for you all, in bullet points :-)

• The hotel we stayed at was literally an Inn. No internet, no irons, no hair dryer. Mr Pug made the mistake of asking why my hair was frizzy... YIKES! I'm sure these were details the bride told her gal pals... but not something the groom would think to tell his friends. Mental note: provide amenity info... and also maybe check it out for myself next time?
  
• They gave us koozies and a map when checking in- very cute!
• The rooms were beautiful- and huge!
• The couple planned to have an outdoor ceremony- and apparently had no rain plan!! They found a small church in town last minute that let them hold it there. This made Mr Pug sure that we should have our wedding in a church- and I agreed. It just felt right! But that's for another entry...
• The couple each prepared little something to say one another at the beginning of the service. The bride's started with "Dear Diary... today I marry my best friend." Annnnnd cue tears. It was beautiful!
• After the wedding we went straight to the reception- it was a gorgeous, one room building with a stage... sort of like a really, really classy auditorium. I believe the lawn out front was where they had planned to have their ceremony. I wish I had taken a photo as we walked in- it was too dark when we left.
  
• Appetizers were passed for the first hour of the reception- the bacon wrapped scallops were a hit!
• The flowers used were assorted wildflowers. There didn't seem to be a color theme- her shoes were pink, and the flowers, napkins, etc were assorted bright colors.
• This was the bathroom: GORGEOUS! There was only one toilet per gender, but with it being this beautiful, who could complain? Yes.... that's my champagne.
  

• The reception was very casual- no champagne toast, no specific dances, etc. There was a fabbbbulous band playing which inspired us to add a ton of Motown music to our DJ list.
• For dinner, we were served lamb. I only eat chicken, so I requested vegetarian. Vegetarian was the lamb meal- minus the lamb! LOL! So I was a little hungry... but don't worry dessert solved that...
• There was NO WEDDING CAKE! Can you believe that? I've only heard of it, not seen it. They served an "adult" milkshake that tasted a lot like Kahlua was in it... delicious! They also served an amazing cookie.
  

• I was for sure ready for another...
  

• The centerpieces had a childhood photo of the bride and one of the groom sticking out of them. I had previously asked Mr Pug to do this and he said it would be too embarrassing- but seeing it done changed his mind! He said he'd do it... "but I don't want to copy them." I believe we'll do a 3-picture frame (small) with table number in the middle and childhood pictures of us on either side. I can't wait to DIY them... frames, that I can handle!
• There were two bars and wonderful waitstaff.
• They also had a photobooth! It was a huge hit- all these guys who would poo-poo it if their fiance suggested it (including Mr Pug) became obsessed seeing it in action! The bride and groom had a copy of each picture strip put in a guestbook by one of the two attendants, and we then got to write a nice note to them beside our picture. You can tell we are a little sauced...
  

Whew! That is a list and a half! There were so many details to remember. We had a blast and really enjoyed experiencing their wedding. Here I am with the groom:

And here is the bride, playing along with the band on stage! How fabulous is that!!!

After the wedding, we head over to one of the two bars in town. They kept trying to do last call, and Best Man D kept convincing them to just wait a little longer. Eventually Bride and Groom walked in... how can you close down when these two are there!?

Get a little too much booze in me and I sleep. I actually fell asleep at the bar... bad form, bad form. That's when Mr Pug knew to take me home. I promptly fell asleep with my glasses on. Miss Pug... always keepin' it classy.

When I woke up in the morning, I found that something was missing. Something sparkly. But that will be a whole 'nother entry tonight....