This past weekend we went to Empire, Michigan for my cousin’s wedding. I was a bridesmaid and we share a special bond because we were both born on our grandmother’s birthday. The morning we left we were supposed to get a ride with Bob’s brother. He informed us that his girlfriend was no where to be found. So, we had to drive ourselves to the airport and pay the ridiculous parking fee. My Mom came with us since my Dad was flying in from a conference. She had surgery on both feet this summer, so we got a wheelchair for her. This helped us get around the airport quickly, but it was a little extra work. In order to get to Empire, we had to switch planes and arrive in Traverse City, about 25 miles from Empire. My Dad met us at the Traverse City airport and we drove to Empire together. The city has one street light, but it is a beautiful place. There are farms and rolling hills, and it is right on Lake Michigan. We stayed in a 100 year old house and the weather was so nice that we had all the windows open. We had the rehearsal and dinner that night, but Bob slept through the dinner because he only had 2 hours of sleep from working the night before. My cousin gave us homemade jewelry and stationary from Gwen Frostic Prints (http://www.gwenfrostic.com ), a local place in town. After dinner, headed to the beach and watched a gorgeous sunset while we had a bonfire and roasted marshmallows. On the way back to the house, Bob bought a 40 oz. beer because we don’t have those in Florida. We watched some of the Olympics on the smallest TV I have seen in a long time.
On Saturday, we got up at 7:30am to drive back to Traverse City to get our hair done. Mine turned out awesome! I was so impressed that it looked just like the photo I brought in. The ceremony was a tearful one, and my cousin looked breathtaking. You could tell how in love she is with her husband. After the ceremony, we took photos at the beach. Having a formal dress on and walking in the sand and freezing water was pretty fun! The reception was at the Town Hall. They did a great job of transforming the space. My aunt made flags, curtains and overlays for the tables in the wedding colors. I enjoyed being a bridesmaid because they brought our food and drinks to us =) The bathroom was quite interesting because there was a toilet right when you walked in and no lock on the door. There was also a toilet behind some swinging doors, but no lock on that either. They had a candy bar, which I think is a really fun idea. My Dad wore a kilt to the reception in honor of our Scottish heritage and he did a Scottish dance with my aunt. My cousin’s husband was a riot to watch, he had some crazy moves. Bob said he will make him a Youtube star!
On Sunday, Bob, my mom, brother, future sister in law and I went to a place called Cherry Republic. (http://www.cherryrepublic.com/) They make everything with cherries because Michigan is the cherry capital of the world. We tried cherry wine, cherry root beer, cherry jam, cherry salsa, cherry BBQ sauce (my fav!), cherry guacamole, cherry chocolate peanut putter, and chocolate covered chili cherries! I definitely recommend these as Christmas gifts! The place had so man funny signs, one said “We don’t know where Mom is, but POP is inside on ice.” Then, we went back to Downtown Traverse City (http://www.downtowntc.com/) and looked around the stores. A very quaint place! When we got to the airport, we found out my aunt and uncle were on the same flight as my brother and future sister in law. On the way back we transferred in the Wayne County airport, which is a lot nicer than the other Detroit airport. Our flight was delayed, so we got home at 2:30am. An exhausting, but very fun weekend!