Our Wedding, Brook Lodge – Augusta, Michigan

Our Wedding

WHAT A TRAGEDY!!! No, not our wedding, Brook Lodge is closed! 

We couldn’t continue with our adventures without sharing our biggest adventure of all, our wedding!  It was a small affair with about 75 of, really, our nearest and dearest friends and relatives. It was held in Augusta, Michigan at  Brook Lodge, which, unfortunately, ceased operations at the end of 2009. I suppose Michigan’s economy, and the lodge’s rather remote location, had a lot to do with the situation. Prior to its closing, it had been considered by Bridal Magazine one of the top wedding locations in the Midwest. Built in the late 1800′s, it was originally the summer retreat of W.E.Upjohn and his family. In the mid 1900′s, the Upjohn Company expanded it by building a number of meeting halls as well as overnight accommodations, turning it into more of a convention center. Then, in the 90′s, after a series of pharmaceutical consolidations, it was turned over to Michigan State University. Basically, the corporate support vanished and, sadly, the wedding business wasn’t sufficient to sustain such a large facility. 

What we did: 

She said: 

It was a beautiful, but very hot, July day.  We got our legal marriage licence in Denver in June, so my son-in-law Scott, not an ordained clergy person, could preside over our Michigan ceremony. Carlos, my other son-in-law walked me down the aisle and all of our daughters were attendants.  Whitney, my daughter, did a Biblical reading. Bill’s daughter Allison sang “One Heart, One Hand”.  Our oldest daughters, Heidi and Shannon, made toasts.  It was a very moving experience for all of us, and it meant so much that everyone there was very happy for us. 

He said: 

This was such a great spot. The original “Doctor’s Cottage”, a “Brookside Cottage” and a number of tasteful buildings capable of hosting groups and/or events with hundreds of guests, is now in moth balls. The grounds were filled with beautiful, and plentiful, gardens, a stream, a small pond  (in which my brother and I drowned a number of worms while catching sun fish so small it was surprising they tried to take our bait!), a ball field, driving range, horse shoe pits, and tennis courts amid walking paths that  simply invited one to enjoy the out of doors. Its hard to believe its closed down.       

Anyway, for us, it provided a perfect backdrop for our marriage celebration. Our 4 daughters, their families and boyfriends and our siblings spent the whole weekend with us. Friday, the family and close, out of town guests joined us for diner in a room that overlooked the pond. Saturday,we were married by a gazebo in the gardens. Afterwards, in the Doctor’s Cottage, we enjoyed some fabulous hoers d oeuvres along with cocktails and champagne, while being serenaded by a delightful stringed quartet. Then we all changed into more casual clothes and went to a local honky tonk – Bay View Gardens – on nearby Gull Lake, for some dancing and more libations. Whitney, Marla’s youngest, even coerced the band into allowing Allison, my youngest, to get up on stage and do a number. It was well beyond midnight, a long day for us old folks, before we cashed ‘em in.        

And, through it all, Marla remained a striking, radiant bride. I’m so-o-o-o-o lucky and so-o-o-o smitten!!!  

For more see – about us, the arrangement, our blind date           

Category: Augusta, Michigan, Midwest, United States, what we did, where we stayedTags: Augusta, Michigan, Bay View Gardens, Brook Lodge, Gull Lake, Michigan |