Wedding review of wedding vendors and wedding day for Alpena and Rogers City Wedding

I would like to post some notes about the wedding that I captured in Alpena and Rogers City, Michigan.  The wedding took place at St. Johns Catholic Church in Alpena, Michigan.  This church is a fantastic church for wedding photography because of the natural light and all of the fantastic stained glass windows.  It lends for many wonderful angles and very artistic backgrounds too.  On this particular day the storms were moving through so we would get a blast of sunlight through the skylights and it would light up the whole church.  It was really great.  They also have a nice outdoor garden area in the back that is great from bride and groom images and wedding party images.  The wedding was at 2pm so the light there was a bit harsh but I still made some incredible images.  The church has a nice brides room and plenty of areas for the groom too.  Just lots of natural light overall and a nearly perfect location for a wedding.  The singing and music are top notch too.  Oh, and Father Pat is a cool guy who really adds to the ceremony.

The flowers are by Amanda Stewart.  She is my decorator of choice in the Alpena and Rogers City area.  Her work can be modern and it can be traditional.  She has a lot of props and has been doing this for some time now.  Just look at the images and links below to see the great job she did.  Using the peacock feathers was really cool for the flowers and the boutonnieres, that was a suggestion from the bride.  I have worked with Amanda numerous times and she has always done a perfect job.  In fact, she decorated my reception at Hubbard Lake four years ago.  She is obviously highly recommended.

Transportation was by Alpena Transportation and it was great.  They do a fantastic and professional job.  Everyone was on time and the ride was great too.  We had a limo and a bus from the company.  The bus fit all of the wedding party and significant others and I rode along with them too.

Tux rental was through Glitz and Glamour in Downtown Alpena.  Sarah, the owner, is a friend of mine and she does a fantastic job with fitting and getting everything perfect.  We had no problems all day with the tuxes and they looked very sharp on the guys.  The grooms tux was very classy and he looked like a million bucks!  I don’t get to see my brother in a tux much so that was cool too.  I recommend Glitz and Glamour for all of your tux, dresses, and decorating needs for parties, events, and weddings.  I captured her wedding in Alpena too.  She is fantastic.

Dresses were all bought downstate at various locations.  All the bridesmaids and the bride were from out of town.  They looked fantastic.  The bride, my sister, wore a mermaid style dress and she looked perfect. 

The reception was located at Waters Edge in Rogers City.  It is about a 40 minute drive to the reception but it is well worth it!  There are really no wonderful reception sites in Alpena.  It is too bad because there is such a pretty stretch of shoreline but no place to get married on it.  They had the opportunity years ago to keep the old hockey rink but they tore it down, what a shame.  Anyways, Waters Edge is my top choice for a wedding reception.  They are right on Lake Huron and right next to the driftwood motel.  What a combination!  You have your reception next to your motel, no driving involved.  How perfect is that!   The hall is very nice with a large dance floor, two bars, two sets of bathrooms, and a large deck with furniture.  It is very convenient for up to probably 250.  I think I saw a sign for like maximum of 450 but I wouldn’t put more than 300.  The food was good and the alcohol flowed freely.  They had an open bar and it worked out nicely.  Most people stayed the night at the driftwood or nearby motels but some stayed in town too.  Waters Edge is a top pick for the Northeast Michigan area due to its location, convenience, and the friendly staff.

The DJ was Daryl Kelley out of Alpena, Michigan.  He did a nice job and kept the dance floor going even though it was an older, not a whole lot of dancing, crowd. 

My father built the cedar trestles with grapevines.  The reception was a wine theme and my sister and father did a lot of the decorating there.  It looked very nice and classy.  Good job Ed!

The photographer was me, Paul Retherford Wedding Photography

He comes highly recommended by me.  You can see the images and online wedding album at Amelia and Jeff’s wedding landing page here.

So that is my review of the wedding vendors.  I would give everything a bit fat A for the day.  I think that it went as smoothly as a wedding day could go, much to the credit of the bride who put in hundreds of planning hours.  She did her research and it really payed off!

Paul Retherford Wedding Photography, Alpena and Rogers City Wedding, planning, location, flowers, reception, ceremony