Natalie Hernandez & Jason Havens // July 9th, 2011
Bay Harbor Village Hotel, Bay Harbor
As boats bobbed in the background, Natalie Hernandez and Jason Havens exchanged vows under a beach arbor cut from simple birch logs and draped in sheer white fabric. From his Sperry shoes to his navy coat, the groom’s attire expressed the wedding’s crisp nautical theme. His bride shone in a Priscilla of Boston ivory satin strapless gown accented with chandelier earrings and silver wedges. The effect was all that this Florida couple had imagined when they went searching for just the right wedding venue in Northern Michigan—where the groom grew up.
Tucked into the elegant Bay Harbor development with its 112-slip marina, 118 yacht slips and Lake Michigan views, the Bay Harbor Village Hotel offered a watery landscape, as well as fine accommodations for the out-of-town guests who flew in from as far away as Colombia and Switzerland. The venue also offered the opportunity for an outdoor, tented reception for the 150 guests.
Deep blue tablecloths played out the nautical theme at the reception, where guests dined on a plated dinner of beef tenderloin and pan-roasted whitefish. Accented by brown chiavari chairs, white candles and lush floral centerpieces of stargazer lilies, roses and hydrangea, the atmosphere was classically romantic—and just the backdrop for Michael Bublé’s soft jazzy “Everything,” that played as the couple danced their first as husband and wife. As evening descended, the moon rose over the water, and hanging lanterns lit up the dance floor. When the reception ended the party moved to the yacht-themed bar, Knot Just a Bar, next door. “It was everything I’d hoped for,” says the bride of her special day.
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