I found my venue and went to my first bridal show - whew!!

I am soooo excited that I have officially made my very FIRST decision regarding our wedding!!

I found the venue ( I am now taking a bow...) for the ceremony and the reception!! Oh yeah - an all in one deal! Let me tell you...this has been an ordeal!

There are soooo many amazing places in Michigan to host a wedding - that it is hard to even know where to start or what type of wedding do you want to have.

Formal and classy

Casual/laid back

The Beach

Rustic.

Ahhhhhhhh......my brain hurts just thinking about it again!

Michigan is surrounded by lakes - which means you can have gorgeous beach weddings in any part of the state - except of course the middle of the state.

**** which by the way - is exactly where my hometown is - the EXACT middle of the mitten- no lie! We have a sign/monument to prove it****

Oh..and the country clubs, museums, resorts- all GORGEOUS! Don't worry ladies - I am going to highlight these places as we go! In fact going to the Grand Traverse Bridal Expo I was able to make A LOT of contacts - so expect some pretty stunning venues to be featured!

Don't even get me started on the photographers, florist, and the yummy, yummy cake bakers!

Okay, okay....I'll get to the point and let you in on my venue of choice.
But not before you know my criteria! Hey there was a lot of thought that went into this....

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Cam and Mike's criteria!!

Nature had to be a big part

We wanted to have an in-state destination wedding

We wanted to be able to have the option of having an outside caterer

Definitely wanted to bring our own alcohol

Be able to have a late night reception and not have to close down at 10pm.

Are you ready......

We picked Frog Pond Village!! ( Right outside Traverse City)

I really don't think these pictures do it justice! They actually have a virtual tour on the website so there wasn't a lot of pics.

These are pics that show just a little piece of the grounds.

There are 2 chapels and this one is called the Tadpole chapel

This one below is the bullfrog chapel - this is the one we are getting married in. Awesome thing is that it has a roof but NO sides! Unless its a tornado and then they might put the flaps down. Actually the pic shows it with the flaps down! That sucks....

Same thing with the the reception area. It has a roof but the sides are completely open to the outside! Best of both worlds! It has heat and air-conditioning

Its very rustic (love it!) - and this pic wasn't set up for a wedding - it was just showing the chair covers.

How cool is this - fireplace in the building with seating in front of it! However, I am going to put that ultra cute wicker ( pottery barn like) seating arrangement outside!

This is a bad pic but what I wanted to show you was the bar that is set up on the patio covered in twinkle lights. I love that the bar is outside! You can have it inside too - if you want. I don't want!

Well- I didn't get to all the great info from the Grand Traverse Resort Bridal Expo - but we have plenty of time. Of course, if you have a question about it just email me!

CAM