Arch Rock

Me standing by Arch Rock. I will post pictures from the photographer once I get them and scan them.

After the Butterfly House

P took this of me after we left the Butterfly House, you can see the bay in the background.

Big Daddy Standing By The Boardwalk

On our way back up to the hotel for the night, we stopped by the water (of course).

Lunch at the Pink Pony

P sitting on the deck of the Pink Pony having lunch. Just about the only meal we skipped having in the Grand dining room. Dinner was an awesome 5 course meal every night, so we really didn't need lunch, but eh - who can resist sitting here to have a sandwich?

The Day After

Much more relaxed, but still having fun. P took this picture of me during our ride around the island on a tandem bike.

A Quick Stop At The Room

P snapped this picture in our room when we stopped there really quick before dinner - after spending a few hours going around the island with the photographer.

Yes, I couldn't get rid of those bathing suit strap lines :(

The End of The Night

Here I am just before we went to our room for the night. I was pretty tired.

Wedding Cake

Here we are cutting the wedding cake.

Big Daddy and The Wedding Dinner

I have to confess, I didn't get a chance to take many pictures of the wedding with my own camera. We were busy living in the moment and the photographer took a ton. As soon as we get those, I will scan some of them in and post. Here is P at dinner after the ceremony. Wasn't he studly! The ceremony started promptly at 4:00. As I got ready in our room, I could hear the harpist below when she started to play because room was directly above the west end of the porch where we got married (overlooking the lake/bridge). The wedding coordinator called me a few minutes before 4 to come down and take a few pictures before I entered the porch. My boquet was perfect - all Ivory roses liked I requested. Then, I walked the length of the porch while all the people who gathered congratulated me as I walked the length of the porch toward P :) We were the attraction of the hotel that day. The wedding carriage that showed up after the ceremony had two beautiful thoroughbread horses and a driver who looked like Kid Rock :) loved it! The photographer followed on her bike. We took pictures for 2.5 hours and it just about wore me out. Which, is another reason I wasn't interested at the time in taking any more pictures. Afterward, we had a special seat in the hotel dining room. The jazz band played every night. We also had a champagne toast and a wedding cake. After dinner we walked around the hotel while about 300 people congratulated us. Later there was dancing in the ballroom. That was special. As we entered, everyone applauded. I almost cried. Up until that point, I was fine and P was the one who cried during the ceremony. I was laughing during the ceremony - I was so happy. I was determined to live in the moment and not miss anything. After we danced in the ballroom, we went up to the Cupola Lounge to finish off the evening with a few more cocktails. Then, off to bed. We were both worn out (and secretly couldn't get enough of that view of the bridge at night).

More View

Another view of beautiful Michigan from our room. This is the view down (the shore).

View From The Room

This picture was taken from one of the 7 windows that spanned the whole side of our room. The whole exterior wall was a panoramic view of the lake. The Mackinac Bridge lights up at night, so we both would wake up periodically during the night to look at it. Amazing.

The Mackinac Island Grand Hotel Pool

Here is P taking a swim in the hotel pool shortly after our walk. You can see The Grand in the background and yes, it is was even more amazing to stand there and take the picture.

The Morning Before

This is me pointing something out to P the morning of the wedding, around 7:30 am. We took a walk down to the water after breakfast in The Grand dining room. The Mackinac Bridge in the background seemed to be the backdrop for the whole wedding trip.

Our Wedding Trip!

Every minute of the trip was amazing. I cried when we had to leave. The ferry ride to leave was tough :) From the minute we first saw the bridge, to the end, it was all a fairy tale that we will never forget. Our room - unbelievable. It was a panoramic view of the water. We both agreed that the best view of the sunset was from our room :) Everything about The Grand is special. Like a step back in time that has been preserved. This picture is the night before - when we were still not married. We were sitting in the Cupola Lounge which is at the very tippy top of the hotel, enjoying some piano music and the sunset.

Sarah Jessica Parker and ME

I met Sarah Jessica Parker last week at Steve & Barry's. I was about 120th in line with my friend Karen. What a blast. She is the sweetest person ever. I wore clothes from her Bitten line for the occasion and I saw her look directly at my top. Here is how it went: she smiled at me and said "hi". I said "hi, I love the Bitten line - there are a few things that are good for business casual". She said - "well, then you will love the fall line my friend!". I laughed and said something about getting married in 17 days. So she said "congratulations! well, we don't have wedding dresses". I said "we have the same birthday" and she said something about it being a great placement for a birthday? I didn't really understand that, I think she was trying to say it's a great day for a birthday. That is when my friend Karen walked up and she said "you guys have the same birthday", according to Karen, she said that she knew she felt a connection to me (how nice of her, see - she is too sweet!). That is when she reached out and shook my hand. It was all very surreal because she looked EXACTLY the same in person. The picture you see is after I stepped away from her.

July 10, 2007

I signed a realtor yesterday! Kevin Niles from Century21. I let Kevin know that it is important for me to find somebody who is Internet savy. Everyone is looking for their house on the Internet now. The house will be listed today! This is an updated pic where you can see some of the cement work that has been completed. New front porch steps (I'm so proud). Driveway is now extended along the whole side of the house. Chimney is rebuilt. Please, somebody buy my house. Meanwhile, picking out paint for my new house. We will be shopping soon for Bosch appliances and kitchen cabinets. That should be fun.

May 27, 2007

Coming soon, a for-sale sign. Not making much progress on the pre-move action items, but that's ok. There are SO many houses for sale in my town, and RO. I hope everyone thinks mine is the cutest and wants to buy it! It looks so much better with the flowers in. I planted white Vinca last weekend. So, everything will be big and in bloom. Somebody please buy it!

May 27, 2007

Oliver has no idea the changes to come. Here he is relaxing with his favorite, a ballon. He loves to run all over the house with the balloon in his mouth. Every once in a while he pulls it down and beats it. He's such a good kitty.

April 28, 2007

On Friday we went to a wedding at a Bavarian Inn. It was for Mr. Right's neice, Candace. We took Princess and stayed overnight. We knew she would enjoy it and it was her first wedding. In the morning we got up and went to breakfast then we went swimming and hot tubbing. It was a great opportunity to be around the whole family while they wished us well on our engagement. It's all going so fast. We've only been engaged 4 months, and the wedding is only 4 months away!

Time to work on getting my house on the market.

April 24, 2007

The day has been set! P and Me will be married on Mackinac Island at the Grand Hotel on August 20th. Now that the wedding consultant has been booked, it is starting to feel very real. This will be the most romantic wedding ever. We will arrive at the Grand Hotel from Ferry via St. Ignace on August 19th. Dress for dinner! The ceremony will be the next day at 4:00 pm on the porch. After spending the day at the spa and getting Me prepared, we will make our way to the porch where the officiate, Marty (the coordinator), the harp, the photographer, and the videographer will be waiting for us. We chose the spot on the porch so that we can overlook the lake. We are all about the water! More details on that later I'm sure. After the ceremony, we will of course have photos taken around the hotel. Then, a wedding carriage ride around the island. If we can get Robert Jerstrom to do the photography, he will follow our wedding carriage and capture it all in photos! Funny. After that, back to the exquisite main dining room for a champage toast, dinner, wedding cake, and dancing.

Hopefully, there will be no wedding dress selection drama!