Sarah and Matt's Wedding and Reception

Saturday, the day of Sarah's wedding, we met Joe and Ashley downtown and had a nice brunch at the Twisted Olive. After knocking around Petoskey a while for some last minute shopping we all headed back to our respective hotels to get ready for the 4 p.m. wedding.

The Detroit and Dewitt Stocks traveled to the wedding in the humble Subaru, but Adam joined Graham Austin in the Holiday Inn's limousine for the trip to the Crouse Chapel (in the Bayview Association area).

 

Matt and Sarah's wedding was the first ever non-member wedding in the chapel. Wally must have been very persuasive! The chapel was a comparatively modest structure with lovely stained glass windows. 

The wedding party lingered outside the chapel for a casual reception line. Joe got a special hug for being a reader in the wedding. He read aloud the "Apache Wedding Prayer," a poetic fiction created for the movie Broken Arrow:

"Now you will feel no storms, for each of you will be shelter to the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there is no loneliness, for each of you is companion to the other, You are two persons, but there is one life before you, and one home. Turn together to look at the road you traveled, to reach this---the hour of your happiness. It stretches behind you into the past. Look to the future that lies ahead. A long and winding, adventure-filled road, whose every turn means discovery, new hopes, new joys, new laughter, and a few shared tears. May happiness be your companion, May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead; And through all the years to come. Go this day to your dwelling place and enter into your days together. May your days be good and long upon the earth. Your adventure has just begun."

The reception was only a few miles from the chapel by car, but in a different universe aesthetically. As opposed to the quaint simplicity of the chapel, Bay Harbor is like Disneyworld for the wealthy.

The lake view in front of the Inn was world class, and as they say in the tourism ads, pure Michigan.

Sarah did a great job of getting around to visit folks at the wedding--always a challenge for the couple. Of course, Adam and Joe are easy to visit.

Once the dancing started, Ken and I stayed for a while but finally left Adam to enjoy the company of people his own age and went back to the hotel. He caught the limo for the ride back once the party broke up.

The next day the groom's family hosted a brunch at the Inn. This is done more and more when the wedding is far from home for many of the guests, and that was certainly the case here. Many visitors had traveled from England, and some from South Africa.

After the brunch the Joe Stocks headed back to Detroit and the rest of us made haste for the cottage, where we spent a few hours before Adam and I had to leave for the airport. Adam's flight was a late one, but mercifully, on time, so he arrived in New York at the expected hour and was able to get some sleep before work the next morning.

Great wedding, and for us, a welcome visit with our own kids.

Here is a link to our photos from the weekend on Flickr. And another link with more pictures of the Stock family at the wedding.

Knot Just A Rehearsal Dinner

The girl next door is getting married tomorrow. And when I say next door, I mean literally next door on White Pine Drive (growing up, at least). But now Sarah Dutkowski lives in London and gets home only rarely, so this full weekend of wedding activities is a really nice chance to see her and get to know fiance Matt Welsford and his friends. Adam flew in from Manhattan, and the Detroit Stocks will be in attendance as well.

Ken and Adam golfed with Wally on Friday morning at Bay Harbor, along with a nice chap named Duncan (with Sarah, below)--a friend of Matt's. They all had a great time, and Duncan was nice enough to sit with us at "Knot Just a Bar" and shoot the breeze while we waited for the arrival of the wedding party (post-rehearsal dinner),

Also kind enough to sit and keep us entertained was Graham Austin, another of Matt and Sarah's friends (on the left in photo above). The other fellow is Ollie Tritton, Matt's best man. Charming young men.

We really enjoyed visiting with Sarah's lovely younger sister, Laura, who lives in Los Angeles. It must be hard for Wally and Sheryl to have them both so far away. They are so much fun, two great gals.

Wally and Sheryl with Kathy and Tom Dominguez. They were conserving their energy for the big day to come.