Willowbrook Mill, MyNorth Wedding 2019

wedding WEDDINGS WE LOVE

willowbrook mill STORY BY CARA MCDONALD | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JESSIE ZEVALKINK

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With a Lake Michigan beach setting for the ceremony, the bride and groom kept things breezy—a wildflower-studded bouquet, an earthy suit for the groom, a flowy dress with Bohemian details and a simple flower crown for the bride. All had hints of Jeff’s favorite lake-blue color. The pair opted for photos directly after the ceremony before heading out to a dinner reception in Northport.

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willowbrook mill

Tina & Jeff

TINA DOEPKER & JEFF NOWAK | AUGUST 25, 2018

Six years ago, Jeff Nowak was on a motorcycle road trip with his brother and the pair pulled over to explore the 140-year-old Willowbrook Mill in Northport. “I fell in love with the feel of it,” says Jeff, a metro Detroit–area designer who works in the automotive industry. “The feel. The texture. The character. All just felt...right.” He put it in the back of his brain that this would be the perfect location for a wedding. Someday.

Someday came in the summer of 2018, when Jeff and his fiancée, Tina, an art teacher, tied the knot in an eclectic, joyful wedding at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula.

To start, they gathered friends and family from all over the Midwest, who piled into cottages on the lake, shared beach rentals, and checked into local inns, adding extra days to make the destination wedding into one big, happy getaway.

“We wanted to do the ceremony in a very natural setting and keep it short and sweet,” says Tina. So the couple wed on a nearby beach. “The Lake Michigan shore is just very magical. Our draw to the beach was that it was far enough away from the hustle and bustle.” Their friend Manjeet, who is Sikh, became ordained just for the occasion and officiated with a heartfelt non-denominational ceremony. A few folding pews and an acoustic guitar rounded out the scene, and the two exchanged vows in front of a simple birchwood arch next to a field of flowers.

Post-ceremony, guests were shuttled to the Willowbrook Mill for an evening dinner reception and dancing. Instead of a traditional seating chart board, Tina created an assemblage with lots of found objects and listed names among wooden architectural details, scraps of maps and textured papers, and interesting shapes from up-cycled containers.

Just prior to the toast, there was an unexpected wedding gift—a good friend from Italy serenaded the couple with a trio of opera arias. “It just shook you in your seat,” says Jeff.

“We hear that people throughout the town heard it.”

For dinner, Abundance Catering helped the couple come up with an out-of-the-box menu with filet mignon, pork loin, lake trout, and portobello mushroom. “We loved that most of the food was gathered locally,” adds Tina. “That was really important to us.”

The pair offered wines from Black Star Farms and L. Mawby, as well as craft cocktails.

Tina wanted to make the seven kids that attended feel extra special (and therefore allow their parents to have some fun too), so at each of the kids’ place setting was a sketch book with their name on it and a pencil. They also gave each kid an instant camera and a list for a photo scavenger hunt, and later they displayed their photos and got a huge goodie bag of treats, toys, and Michigan-themed books.

But the grownups didn’t miss out on the creativity. “We had a floral crown-making station, so anyone who wanted to join in on that fun could—the art teacher in me needs to make activity stations!” Tina laughs. The couple also had a large TV monitor where a live feed of guests’ photos were shown. They used a site called Tacboard to which people could easily text photos that could be shared with everyone on the spot. And to celebrate their friends and family, they collected and displayed guests’ wedding photos during the reception. Having two artists plan a wedding can have its challenges. “Sure, we had a Pinterest board,” Tina laughs. “We liked a little bit of everything. A little vintage, a little modern, a lot of nature ... we had to tie in all these styles. The whole setting and experience was dreamlike. We didn’t have a wedding planner, but I think we nailed it.”

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“Tina and I are in the arts—the color, the texture, the emotional feel of things, they were really important to us,” says Jeff. A local DJ spun a range of Jeff and Tina’s music faves, including a good mix of 80s, Beatles, Motown, and Rat Pack tunes. The couple got so into sourcing and designing some of the event accessories (like their gold flatware and glass chargers they’ve started a rental biz on the side called Nord; find their wares on Instagram. Photo taken at David Chrobak’s Pot of Gold, a resale shop located across the street from Willowbrook Mill that is full of similarly wonderful photo ops.

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resources

Venue | Willowbrook Mill Photography | Jessie Zevalkink Flowers | Christina Pfeufer, Field of Flowers North Caterer | Abundance Catering & 9 Bean Rows Favors | Full-size cherry pies, The Cherry Hut Music | Electro System Pro DJ Hair & Makeup | Emily Kolomitz Bridal Gown | Chic Nostalgia, The Wedding Shoppe, Berkley

See more photos at MyNorth.com/Willowbrook Friend getting married? Get them a copy at ShopMyNorth.com/Wedding19

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Wedding Notebook

E.C. Campbell Photography

Willowbrook Mill

Start your story at Willowbrook Mill There’s so much more to this rustically elegant destination wedding and event venue at the top of the Leelanau Peninsula. More than the fire places, and chandeliers; crystal and branch. More than the outdoor deck and creekside patio or the walkway bridge where couples take iconic photos of their grand entrance. And more than the special care taken by our staff to help you make this this best day ever. For Willowbrook Mill, the most important part of the story is you. All the joy that fills this beautiful old building outshines each and every meticulously crafted detail. We take the extra measures to make sure we always shine so the most important element of every event has a worthy setting. That element is love. Come. Celebrate your love with us at Willowbrook Mill.

Abundance Catering

Trinity United Church of Christ Serving Northport since 1863 Trinity UCC welcomes all people, whoever you are, wherever you are on life’s journey, to be married here.

Contact Phil Garrison at phil.garrison14@gmail.com or 218-269-4466. trinityuccnorthport.org

Serving the catering needs of Leelanau County. From delicious barbeque to elegant faire, Abundance Catering helps you design a menu that suits your every need. Contact: George Twine at 231-432-0586.

Abundancecatering.mi@gmail. com. Abundance.catering

Dozen Roses & Blue Moon Cottages Yvonne Nordstrand operate 3 vintage rentals in walking distance of the amenities in the village of Northport. Original architectural details remain throughout the cottages. Furnishings are period correct with a hint of country French to create reminiscent charm.

Gardens, porches and private decks included for your relaxation.

Contact: Yvonne Nordstrand at 231-386-5465.

Nordstrandd@att.net

201 Mill Street, PO BOX 719 Northport, MI 49670 231-534-2142 www.willowbrookmill.com info@willowbrookmill.com Special Events Manager Mimi and Samantha Heberlein Event Capacity 150 for cocktail functions 135 for seated events

Voted Top Ten Wedding Venue 2017 & 2018 Traverse Magazine Red Hot Best