Just 12 hours till go and counting! One last breakfast as a single man LOL
I made a pig of myself while Cindy went out for a run then I had to make another lap of the fruits once Cindy got back and set down for her breakfast. Can we say stuffed? They make the best breakfast for a B&B at the Cottonwood Inn that we have ever found. Being a breakfast person I am big fan! We are huge fans of the blueberry French toast casserole!!!
While we ate we run over the itinerary of what all we need to do before the wedding. First we have to run to Suttons Bay to pick up our marriage licensee, then to Traverse City to pick up Cindy's bouquet that she had made, then back to the inn to get ready before the service. I also needed to run down to Empire Surf Shop and see if I could find someone who could reserve a fire ring for us on the beach so we would be sure to have a place for a fire after the service.
So while Cindy got ready I went in search of someone to help us out. I stopped at the Surf Shop where Beryl, pronounced Barrel, told me about a young man just up the street a few houses. So I ran up there to see if he would be interested in making some quick cash. After talking to Sarah, his mom, she decided that since he was working in that she and her husband would make sure we got the fire ring that was closest to the grass as it was the best pit area. I greatly appreciated her doing this for use and felt much better knowing we were going to have a fire pit waiting on us after the service on the Bluffs. She and her husband just lived right around the corner from the beach so they set up beach chairs and went back several times through the day to move things around to make people think that someone was using them.
Back to the Empire Inn to pick up my fiancé and then off to Sutton's Bay.
One our way to Suttons Bay we got sidetracked by a winery that was right on our way. How convenient? We enjoyed a glass of sweet white wine as we talked to the workers and shared the reason for our visit.
Nothing like being on vacation and drinking before 10 am! Soon we were back on the road to Sutton's bay. A quick stop by the clerks office and we had our license in hand. Down to 9 hours to go.
We turned left at lake and headed north up to North Point for lunch at a small lake side bar called
It was a beautiful setting at the north end of Grand Traverse Bay with a nice harbor area right in front of the restaurant.
We both agreed we needed to comeback and sail Grand Traverse bay! After lunch we headed back down along the west shore of the Leelanau peninsula en route to Traverse City. Once there we had to stop and shop at the Momentum store before picking up Cindy's bouquet. By now we are down to just 5 hours to go!
We headed back west to Empire but once again a winery got in our way and we had to stop and check it out.
It was a little after 4 when we finally arrived back at the Cottonwood Inn. We were just going to make a quick pit stop then run down to the beach and check on the fire pit to make sure all was good before we came back to get ready for the ceremony. We had to stop short as Keri's car was in the drive as she came back to the inn to water the flowers. We were just going to be a second or two so we just parked behind her in the drive and ran inside. Cindy led the way and once we passed through the back dining area off the kitchen Cindy stopped in her tracks. There, sitting in a chair, across kitchen, was her sister Dottie!!!!
Dottie was 10 days out of a knee replacement surgery and never did Cindy expect her to make it but she did! Then her other sister Peggy and her husband Gordon came out of the porch area behind Dottie! Then off our right we heard screaming as our friends Amy and Libby with their husbands Jerry and Bill came running out. They girls were all hoping up and down as Cindy started to weep. But wait! There is more! Off to our right again out walk T&T, (Cindy's son Trent and his wife Twinkie (aka Bethany))!!!!
Cindy looses it at this point and starts to make a puddle on the floor with happy tears!
Little did Cindy know but I had been planning this surprise since last October! I knew Cindy really wanted at least her sisters and kids to be there and of course her friends so I got with everyone and started planning the surprise. The only one I was not able to get in on it was her daughter Erika as she came out and asked if she could come before I could get to her and get her in on the surprise so Cindy knew she was coming. In fact they arrived about 5 minutes after we did and got to partake of the celebration before the wedding as drinks started flowing early ;-) Here are the three Besties
Here is my little Fiance coming up to thank me for her awesome surprise!
I am pretty sure that is her happy look! I still needed to spring a bit of a plan change for the wedding on Cindy as she was not aware that we could not have the ceremony on the Bluffs like we had planned all along. In the process of me planning the surprise I needed a place to hide everyone's cars at the bluffs parking area as the surprise was originally going to be sprung on Cindy there. I found a large parking lot for the park maintenance workers about 1500 feet east of the bluffs parking lot that would have worked great. Being a good guy I tried to get permission to park five cars there for one hour. After multiple phone calls to the Sleeping Bear Dune parks department I was eventually denied permission from the head of law enforcement for the park. I thanked him for his time and told him I would find someplace else. To which he answered me with a question about if I had a permit? Thinking he was referring to our marriage license I told him we were picking it up the day of the wedding. He then informed me that we needed a permit from the park to have a "organized gathering" in the park. I was like "Organized gathering? It is a small wedding with 15 people for a 10 minute service". It did not matter as a "organized gathering" was 4 or more people meeting at a set time at a set place in the park. Long story short, my application for a wedding on the bluffs was eventually denied because the bluffs were not an "approved site" for an "organized gathering" and I did not have 18 months for them to attempt to approve it. So I went with our second choice which was the beach at Empire, hence the need for the fire pit. After a quick phone call to the village clerk, I filled out a application and emailed it back to her, I had the signed permit returned to me the next morning. I knew Cindy would be fine with the location change especially since everyone was now going to be there. So I told her the change and of course she was fine with it. In the end it turned out to be a good thing as there was no way Dottie or Peggy could have walked the trail to the bluffs and this way they only had a short walk from the parking lot to the beach site.
Just 3 hours to go so with Cindy and everyone celebrating the surprise and the upcoming service I took a minute to catch my breath as the surprise worked perfectly! All the fears of someone slipping up and letting the cat out of the bag never materialized and it went off without a hitch. Cindy had no clue and was totally surprised. It will be a long time before I top that one. I though my surprise proposal in the snow, at midnight, on New Year's eve on a trail in the UP was a good one but this one took the prize.
While the others partook of libations Jerry and I ran down to get wood for a fire on the beach after the service and to check on the fire pit. The chairs were still there and all was good so back to the inn so I could get ready. Just 2 hours and 30 mins to go now!
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