Purcell Photography: Wedding at Bowers Harbor Inn

On the Western shoreline on Old Mission Peninsula you will find Bowers Harbor Inn overlooking Grand Traverse Bay. Northern Michigan has so many wonderful wedding venues and Bowers Harbor is one of our favorites.

Bowers Harbor Inn which was once a private home is a wonderful restaurant that also has its own brewery on site. This summer the Inn opened its new reception hall on the grounds. The Inn has a beautiful front lawn with a low stone wall that overlooks the water and is shaded by a multitude of tall trees.

Ali, who is from Texas, met Eric who is a native of Michigan while attending Michigan State University. After being a couple for 5 years, Eric took Ali for a visit to his grandmother’s house. It was a place that Eric always enjoyed visiting to as a child. It was here on a stone wall that he proposed to Ali. Ali said yes and a year later she posed by another stone wall as a beautiful bride.

With Eric’s family in Michigan and Ali’s family spread out over the country, the couple decided on a destination wedding in Northern Michigan. The bride knew she wanted an outdoor wedding near the water so she and her mother took a trip to Northern Michigan to scout out different locations for a wedding. When they got to Bowers Harbor Inn she fell in love with it and knew from the first sight, “this is where I want my wedding.”

In late July this past summer the guests gathered on the wooded front lawn while the ladies put on their finishing touches upstairs in the Inn. When the time for the ceremony finally arrived, Ali and her father made a grand entrance down the walkway to join Eric. The couple exchanged vows with the shimmering waters of Bowers Harbor in background.

For a special touch, Ali’s brother became ordained so he could perform the ceremony. For both Ali and Eric, it made it much more personal to have someone they were close to perform the ceremony rather than a stranger.

After the ceremony, the newlyweds and their guests enjoyed cocktails and hor d’ oeuvres on the Inns front lawn patio area. Soon they were ready to move to Bowers Harbor’s lovely new reception hall located on the back lawn.

Ali comment on how helpful the staff was at bowers harbor. “They were all so great. Everything was just perfect! ” The weather was awesome. I could not have asked for more”

Thanks to Ali and Eric for allowing us to be a part of their special day!