Pure Michi-Wed

Our wedding adventures continued yet again this past weekend. So far we've been fortunate that many have been in the Indianapolis area, but this wedding was up in Michigan. While that may sound like more of a hassle, it was actually rather nice. Leslie was in the wedding (the bride was Leslie's maid of honor), so that meant a higher level of involvement on our behalf anyway. Couple that with the distance and this became more of an event than most of the weddings have been so far.

It started with us taking Friday off so we could head up to St. Joseph, MI on Thursday afternoon. We boarded Leo with a lady down in Plainfield and headed north, our usual traveling dinner, Jimmy Johns, in hand. Our first stop was at the bride's house where Leslie would be staying for most of the weekend. I hung out there for a bit, talking with Leslie, the bride and her sister, and their parents. I took off soon though, as I didn't really want to participate in the pillow talk and giggling that would inevitable ensue. My lodging for the weekend was at a hotel in South Bend, just a short half hour drive away.

And what a drive. It's relaxing drive through the country filled with vineyards and orchards. In fact, I think I could have made it from St. Joe to South Bend holding my breath, breathing only when a vineyard was in sight. It really is a beautiful place, and I'm not just saying that because Tim Allen has me brainwashed.

The next day, Friday, was filled with girly things for Leslie. They had their nails done and finished up a few wedding details. I, on the other hand, had a much more relaxed day. I slept in at the hotel, watched some Netflix, and then headed into St. Joe around noon. My first stop was at Nye's Apple Barn on my way in. I didn't really have any plans for the day, so when I saw this little place I just had to stop. The most interesting product I saw was their Barf In A Jar Salsa. I didn't end up getting that, but instead got the one shown to the left of the picture - Cranberry Habanero Salsa. Supposedly it makes a good pork marinade... so we'll see how that turns out another time I guess.

From there I visited Silver Beach Pizza for lunch per Leslie's recommendation and was glad I did. I bellied up to their patio bar, had a few drinks as the breeze blew in, and ate some delicious pizza while reading a book. The weather was perfect and it was a great way to spend the afternoon. I eventually walked down to the beach and finished my book there in the sand. I can see why Silver Beach is so well loved - it's beautiful! Plus, it's on the lake, so none of that nasty salt water you usually have to endure when you go to the beach.

Oh, and at one point two deer decided to run down the beach. So that was something I'd never seen before.

Before long it was time for the rehearsal, so I packed up and headed to the church. The wedding party did their practicing (it was nice to be one of three people at the church with zero responsibilities) and then we headed to dinner. (I'm not including pictures of the rehearsal... spoilers, ya know.) The location they had picked for dinner was pretty impressive. There was a cocktail hour out on the lawn before dinner, and luckily the weather cooperated and made it a great evening to be outside. We had fun talking, laughing, and trying to keep kids from going for a swim in the fountain. Then dinner time arrived and we headed inside. I had a the filet mignon and Leslie had pasta - both were excellent. The girls also got their bridesmaids' gifts at dinner and certainly had a fun time opening them and trying them on.

The Soonly Weds!

After dinner it was back to the house for the girls and back to the hotel for me. Or at least eventually. I decided to take my time and make a stop at one of the parks overlooking the lake for a bit. I watched the sun set and the stars come out - a very relaxing detour indeed.

The next day was wedding day! The ceremony wasn't to start until 3:30, so I had a little time to hang out again. I headed into St. Joe around 12:30 and decided to check out downtown. It's very cute with lots of little shops and people walking around. Many people had their dogs with them, so clearly it's a pretty cool place. Plus I think the most common thing I saw shops selling was ice cream. Definitely my kind of town. After some time there I headed to the church to change into proper wedding attire (I don't think shorts would have been completely appropriate).

And before you know it, boom - wedding time. (Again, I'm not posting spoilers... err, pictures, I mean.) It was a beautiful wedding and everything went smoothly. Plus they got married at the end, which is always good! Then it was off to the reception. Since Leslie was busy doing wedding party things, I was mercifully scooped up by some friends we'd made during another trip to St. Joe. They took me in and hung out with me during the cocktail portion of the reception while pictures and all that other wedding party goodness went down elsewhere. And speaking of party, I was lucky enough to be placed with some of the bride and groom's church friends during dinner and we were "that" table. Yep. We made toasts to everything, ate the flower garnishes off our plates, and were generally awesome for the entirety of the meal. You're welcome, everyone else. Leslie and I danced the night away and, in our usual style, closed out the wedding and stayed after to help clean up afterward. Because that's who we are. And also the hotel was really close, so no hurry to leave.

My "date" to the reception

Thus ended the Michigan Wedding Extravaganza! We had lots of fun on this little mini vacation (or at least I know I did) and were so glad to witness two great people get hitched. Congrats you guys! We wish you the best and can't wait to see yo' lovely faces (and come visit yo' lovely town) again.

Us and the Newly Weds!

Oh, and on a completely unrelated note, the blog passed 10,000 views since the last post! Thanks so much for reading our little blog and keeping up on our lives. We love you all (or at least most of you?) and hope for another 10,000 over the next year. Thanks again!