Kaitlin and Eric

Kaitlin and Eric had planned a long, 10-day camping trip to the Upper Peninsula in June 2013. Eric had asked Kaitlin’s parents for her hand prior to the trip, and Kaitlin had a sneaking suspicion this may be “it.” On their first night, Kaitlin and Eric stopped at Wilderness State Park just south of Mackinac Bridge. It was Kaitlin’s dad’s recommendation. He knew of a romantic area there that made you feel like you were completely surrounded by water. Kaitlin and Eric hiked to the spot. Soon after, Eric spoke some beautiful words about their future and got down on one knee (in the mud!) to propose.

Kaitlin wanted her wedding to be pretty and comfortable, with bright colors and personalized touches. This meant nearly every aspect of her and Eric’s wedding was DIY. The centerpieces consisted of hundreds of glass containers, some vases, some salt and pepper shakers, some bottles, etc. The dessert was donuts from the couple’s favorite donut shop in Kalamazoo rather than a traditional cake. The guest book was a hand drawn tree by Kaitlin’s uncle and its frame handmade by another uncle. Guests put their fingerprints on the guest book to form the leaves of the tree. Eric is Jewish, and Kaitlin was raised Catholic. They made sure to incorporate traditions from both faiths, breaking the glass, the hora, the unity candle interpreted as a unity tree, which was planted using soil from each of their parent’s houses.