An Elopement in Southwest Michigan: The Real Wedding of Allison Vernon and Brian Mackowiak

Brian and Allison met through mutual friends at Houghton Lake in northern Michigan. Although they hit it off immediately, they dated other people before making their way back to one another six months later.

The couple spent a long day at Holland State Park, and Brian chose the moment before hopping in the car to head home to Detroit to propose to Allison. She elaborates, "I was sunburnt, hungry and I really had to use the bathroom. Brian chose this inopportune moment to suggest (rather adamantly) that we take a quick stroll on the pier before we left for the day. I reluctantly agreed, but I complained the entire time about wanting to get on the road. Only when he got down on one knee did I stop complaining to say 'yes.' It’s not the most romantic story, but it’s the most 'us' story that exists."

For some couples, the engagement period isn't all butterflies and rainbows. Allison says, "Brian and I learned very quickly that we did not like being engaged. We knew we wanted to be together, but as far as a wedding was concerned, we had a lot to figure out." When it came to the wedding planning, they didn't make any moves until they decided what was important to them. "We didn’t plan a single thing until we knew exactly how we wanted to get married. When we did decide what we wanted, it was December 14th — we were married a little over one month later on January 19th. We planned our entire wedding day in about a month. We kept it as small and simple as possible, which allowed us to avoid the stress and demands of planning a traditional wedding."

Since they were positive that they didn't want a traditional wedding, they decided the focus of the day was going to be on their relationship, which to them, is incredibly private and sacred. Allison shares, "We didn’t want to take part in any activity that could take away from that intimacy, so we eliminated as much of the pomp and circumstance as we could. On our wedding day, we were able to focus on each other in a real, meaningful way, surrounded only by those who really know us. Our ceremony had 14 people present, including our photographer, and we had another five join us for the reception. We wouldn’t have had it any other way!"

Though this couples lives in metro-Detroit, Lake Michigan and the west side of the state hold a special place in their hearts. Allison stumbled across Apple Blossom Chapel and Gardens through a Google search. Since they offered elopement packages at a reasonable price and were open the Saturday the couple had in mind, they booked it right away! Bonus: one of their favorite restaurants, Salt of the Earth, was located down the street and made for the perfect "reception" locale for their elopement!

Now that Allison and Brian have eloped, they have a bit of advice for other couples who may not want the traditional wedding. "Early on, we spent a lot of time worrying about meeting everyone else’s expectations, and what people would say if they weren’t invited to our wedding. Somewhere along the way, it really sunk in that the end result would be the same, whether we did something small and intimate, or over-the-top and extravagant. When it was all said and done, we were able to have the same end result as everyone who has a giant wedding, but we did so without any stress, tears or debt! Our advice to other brides (or grooms!) would be: be courageous! Don’t be afraid to do things in your own way. Focus on what is important to you and your partner — don’t let anything else get in the way of what you really value."

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