I was so honored when Matt and Mark asked me to help them plan their Blue Harbor Resort summer destination wedding. Believe it or not, I met them on a helicopter soaring high over the island of Kauai in Hawaii. We got to chatting about where we were from and found we only lived a mile from each other back in Chicago. A friendship was born and social media “likes” of each others posts kept us in touch after our vacation.
The guys had a few “must haves” that included the following:
- A location large enough to host their 200 guests – somewhere that friends and family could gather for the weekend and stay on property and just ‘hang’ all weekend
- A beach ceremony
- A bonfire at the reception
- A location within a few hours drive from Chicago
Blue Harbor Resort in Sheboygan Wisconsin ticked all the boxes! Only a couple hours north of Chicago on a beautiful strip of Lake Michigan, the resort offered accommodations and event space for a large wedding and yes, you guessed it… beach ceremony and BONFIRE! BINGO!
A Friday evening ceremony on the beach was followed by a formal reception with dinner and dancing. Mark is a LEGO Master Builder so he and his friends created the most incredible LEGO centerpieces that reflected different moments from the couple’s past. It was such a great way to celebrate their lives together and the centerpieces were all little works of art! Mark is an artist by trade so he also designed their wedding logo, which was used on their invitation suite and day of stationery, and custom embroidered vests and wraps for their attendants.
Saturday followed with a casual post-wedding cook out BBQ on the beach so they actually got a bonfire not one night, but two! Check out their wedding trailer by Smiling Toad here!
