|| Dan & Allison || Lightfoot Bay Wedding

Dan & Allison

September 10th, 2016

Dan and Allison met in a dingy basement apartment in Seattle. Brought together by mutual friends, they fostered their friendship for six years, until something shifted. Soon enough, Dan was packing up his Subaru and driving 1,200 miles just to see Allison. After four years of dating, they decided to declare forever in the woods of Allison's roots: Skanee.

I've known Allison for a while personally through her pilates studio in Marquette, Bird On A Perch. When these two met up with me over Dead River coffee to discuss wedding photography, I was quite literally dancing around happily. They're the perfect blend of adventure and humor, aka my ideal clients and better yet, my ideal friends! They're all about camping, hiking, traveling, biking, fancy food, saunas... just about everything yooper and adventurous.

The ladies began their day getting ready at the Henry Ford Bungalow in Pequaming, a ghost town eight miles north of L'Anse. Pequaming was an important port for the logging industry. It began under Charles Hebard and HC Thurber, but eventually was purchased by the Ford Motor Company as wood used to be integral in automobile production. When Henry Ford himself came to visit the quaint lumber town, Allison's grandfather was the mason responsible for laying down the brick to the lake from his bungalow.

The ladies' morning was complete with Jean Kaye's pasties. For my non-yooper readers, the pasty is a highly regarded Cornish food, essentially being a handheld meat and veggie pie completed coated in crust. Pasties were brought to northern Michigan while the copper and iron mining industries were booming in the 1800's. Stories say miners would hold their pasties along the thicker seam of crust with their blackened hands and then chuck that part down the mines once finished. 

The boys began their day at the ceremony site: the Lightfoot Bay Land Preserve in Skanee. Huuuuge shoutout to my second shooter, Michael, who not only outdid himself with beautiful documentation, but successfully found his way to this place in the middle of the woods with no cell signal ;) Upon Michael's arrival, Dan literally popped out of his tent in his tuxedo.

Originally the weather was questionable. Everyone found shelter beneath tall pines and within the cabins from the cool drizzle, but by the time the ceremony began, the rain held off and the skies set the mood with a calm overcast. 

The bridal party doubled back to the bungalow once more for photos (and beer). 

Dan and Allison chose the Whirl-I-Gig as their reception venue partly because Allison's grandfather also did all of the stone masonry at the site!

It's always a big bonus when my brides and grooms opt for golden hour photos!

Photographer: Emma Tembreull || Second Shooter: Michael Johns || Ceremony Venue: Lightfoot Bay Land Preserve || Bride's Hair: Erin Price - Fawn Studio || Bridesmaids' Hair: Molly Szczepanksi || Bride's Dress: BHLDN || Bride's Ring: NIXIN on Etsy || Groom's Ring: Paul Zozem on Etsy || Florist: Flower Works || Catering: Jim Riley || Pasties: Jean Kaye's Pasties || Cake: Huron Mountain Bakery || Reception Venue: Whirl-I-Gig || Band: Dave Brotherton Band || Transportation: Checker Transport