Every wedding is magical, full of love and wonder as a couple brings their own essence to the ceremony, complete with custom script requests and (for intimate elopements especially) pristine locations that beckon one to dream.
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Kelsey and Arturo’s wedding was one of these ceremonies – full of natural beauty, intrigue, joy, and adventure. With Kelsey from the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and Arturo having come from Mexico, the couple had never been to the Upper Peninsula before and wanted to explore new ground together. In fact, neither they nor most of their guests had ever been to the UP! 

​They had contacted me expressing their desire to find the most beautiful, picturesque spot for a nighttime wedding, and had worked with Lume Photography to come up with the perfect location for a destination wedding in the UP – the black rocks at Presque Isle Park in Marquette. But after some confusion around park closing times and an iffy rain forecast in the days before the wedding, the couple settled on a new location that would provide some shelter in the event of rain, be even more intimate a gathering place, and provide just as wondrous a backdrop as Presque Isle.

​Late in the day on June 25, we met at Wetmore Landing, just north of Marquette towards Big Bay on their big day, armed with bug spray, battery-operated candles, and custom script in hand – a script that highlighted the far-flung chances of two souls from Michigan and Mexico meeting and discovering the magic of their connection – who had defied the odds and found a wondrous love. It was a simple and beautifully intimate semi-elopement, as a small group of family and friends gathered on the shores of Lake Superior nestled just deeply enough in the wilderness to feel remote and alive. (Rumor has it there was a bear print spotted on the south shore, and though I can’t confirm it, I believe it!)

In simplicity, there is a different sort of beauty that shines through – one that is more visible beyond the usual fuss and grandeur of more mainstream weddings. With exceptionally calm waters and a moody sky as backdrop, complete with the joyful appearance of a rainbow, surrounded by glacier-etched black rocks and hardwood forests surrounding the shore, Kelsey and Arturo said “I do” in one of the most enchanted elopements I have had the pleasure of performing. 

Congratulations, Kelsey and Arturo! May you make the most beautiful memories together and have a life filled with the blessings of love, joy, and laughter for years to come!

​Are you longing for a UP destination elopement? It isn’t too late to take the leap and say “I do!” this season! Some dates are still available from August through September. Please note that September is my last month as a ceremonialist officiant in Michigan; from December on, I will be officially relocated to New Mexico and serving the desert Southwest, and am currently booking from December 2022 on!

Click here to contact me via email, or call or text 906-399-6326.

It's not every day you have the opportunity to put together a spur-of-the-moment wedding that's fun, upbeat, with all the pieces coming together as perfectly as you can imagine. 

That's just what happened for Jenny and Joey's wedding - an elopement ceremony that I was contacted about as a purely theoretical possibility three days prior - and the end result was pure magic!  

​Driving from hundreds of miles away, the couple made it to the pristine Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the UP of Michigan for an unforgettable short and sweet wedding, complete with vows read from cell phones (it's the digital age - why not?) and a surprise "wedding pasty" in place of a cake - the perfect way to add a thoughtful (and delicious) local cultural twist, compliments of ingenious expert photographer Dan Wilson of Dan Wilson Photography. 

The weather was perfect, the lush forest setting with gentle light streaming through the Pictured Rocks cliffside forest was ethereal, and things couldn't have gone more smoothly. 

While schedules don't always allow for such spontaneous ceremonies, everything aligned like it was meant to be; and judging by the love and joy radiating from Jenny and Joey, I can't argue that it was! 

Congratulations to the happy couple (and may many an anniversary pasty be yours)! 

​To schedule your free 30-minute consultation, please contact me at jhowell1221@gmail.com, or call (906)-399-6326.

​Wedding and photography packages, along with adventure wedding packages, may be available upon request (pending location)! Please contact me for more information.