Summer Ski Resort Wedding at Caberfae Peaks

Garrett & Val

Being a wedding photographer definitely has its full circle moments. I used to go to high school with Garrett and we actually graduated together. His cousin was actually my maid of honor in my wedding, so it's just really cool how everything comes back around. You may even recognize them from their engagement session I blogged a while back at Mt. Rainier in Washington. Now you're probably wondering how these two met. Garrett and Val both met while living in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Garrett was playing football at Michigan Tech and Val grew up in the area. Basically we can say that the rest is history lol. Since Garrett, his whole family and I all grew up together, and knowing Garrett, I just knew that this was going to be the wedding of the year. Let's just say they did not disappoint.

caberfae peaks // michigan ski resort

For Garrett and Val's wedding they rented out an entire ski resort, Caberfae Peaks. Here at the resort you have tons of rooms, picnic areas, a bar and grill and an outdoor pool and spa all to themselves. To say they decked out was an understatement. Me and my second photographer/husband/partner in crime traveled the 3 hours to Caberfae Peaks to officially get this wedding day started.

getting ready

As soon as we arrived, Joe and I split up. I went with Val to her getting ready space while Joe made his way to meet with Garrett and his boys. After a morning of golfing, all of the groomsmen were relaxed and enjoying the downtime before the wedding day festivities officially began. While Joe was hanging out with the guys, I was with Val and her bridesmaids taking detail photos and finishing up the final details of their wedding day look.

PORTRAITS

It wasn't long after that I took Val and the bridesmaids outside to the beautiful meadows located at Caberfae Peaks. You may notice that Val was cradling her bouquet. Her bouquet was designed on purpose for her to hold it that way which I thought was such a unique touch and something you don't see everyday. While she did that, the rest of her bridesmaids held their bouquets the traditional way which ended up looking beautiful in their photos. Val and Garrett did end up having one of the biggest wedding parties I have ever photographed, and trust me when I say this was a super lively crowd. Everyone looked absolutely AMAZING which of course, was a major plus as well. Since we had the entire resort to ourselves, the sky was the limit! We made sure to enjoy the wide open spaces and really use it to our advantage. Spoiler alert: we did.

CEREMONY

Shortly after, it was time for the ceremony. Originally, Val and Garrett had planned on a beautiful outdoor ceremony. Unlucky for us, the forecast was saying for a slight chance of rain on their special day. Not wanting to take any chances, Val and Garrett decided to play it safe and have an indoor ceremony instead. Although the weather turned out to be the fine, their indoor ceremony was still just as beautiful as you could imagine. They said their vows in front of this gorgeous stone fireplace all surrounded by their close family and friends and it was pure magic. Cue the intense crying - lol.

Once the ceremony was over, we took some family portraits of Garret and Val's large family. Definitely one of the largest I have ever photographed, but it was such a fun time being able to prompt everyone. Thanks to my trusty wedding timeline made prior to their wedding day, we had ample enough time for some more couple portraits of the newlyweds. We were able to sneak back to the meadows for Garrett and Val to take some more photos of the two lovers. These two really valued having variety with the type of posing we used during their photos, so making sure to try different poses and get them moving was super important for us!

RECEPTION

As it got later, it was time to reunite Garrett and Val to the reception space to meet up with their wedding guests. It was here that we had some beautiful speeches and first dances. The most memorable definitely being the father/daughter dance where just about everyone was shedding tears. Can you blame them though? After, is when the party truly started. Let's just say that the dance floor was LIT. Everyone packed onto the dance floor and was definitely not shy to show off their moves. The night got even later and as guests started to leave, the party kept going. Everyone broke out their bathing suits and headed outside to the pool where some late night partying was involved. While we were technically done capturing their wedding, we did stay a tiny bit later to capture the little moments and truly document their day. ANYTHING for the photo, right?!

If you loved reading this Summer Ski Resort Wedding, then you're going to love this blog!

Photos By Gayle does more than just take photos of people. Rather, it is capturing moments of LOVE and HAPPINESS. Singing to the skies, dancing in a field, smiles that hurt because they’re so big. There is nothing else I would rather be doing than photographing these unique details that make you and your significant other a couple. If these photos from Garret & Val's wedding puts a spark in you, you know where to click <——— right there!