The Grand Hotel Honeymoon Experience: Kelly & Brandon Knutson

Editor's Note: Following up from our summer article, Best Midwest Honeymoon Destinations, Kelly Bloemer, now Knutson and her husband Brandon, took their honeymoon to Mackinac Island, MI. Both, Wedding Day staffers, share their experience of their stay at the Grand Hotel.

Brandon and I were married on September 7, 2008 on the Jean Klock beach in Benton Harbor, Michigan. We enjoy surrounding ourselves with the beauty of Lake Michigan, which is why honeymooning on Mackinac Island was so fitting for us. You don't have to go far to find a romantic and relaxing destination. Many times we forget all the magnificent destinations that are within miles of us.

We began our honeymoon by both looking at each other with such relief that the wedding we had always dreamed of was now past, and we would start our life long journey together. We enjoyed a nice 6-hour drive from South Bend with lots of story telling of our wedding weekend. We both were still unsure of what the week ahead was going to hold for us. Our surprise stay at the Grand Hotel was only disclosed to us a mere 24 hours ago, and we only knew we would be heading to Mackinac Island, so this added even more excitement to our trip.

We arrived at the dock at Mackinaw City and parked the car for one week (no cars are allowed on the island) and we boarded the ferry. Once on the island we were greeted with horse carriages and bikes buzzing about the streets. With much excitement we hopped on a horse carriage and headed for the Grand Hotel. Atop the hill sat the beautiful white hotel with flags flying above the magnificent porch.

We checked in and headed for our suite, which happened to be the Betty Ford suite. What an amazing room with beautiful red carpet with white stars and mint colored accessories, the room was decorated to resemble Betty Ford's California living room. We even had our own private deck facing the clear blue lake. We also had a nice fruit and cheese basket with Grand Hotel champagne and of course, the famous Mackinac Island fudge. We immediately opened the champagne to celebrate and officially begin our honeymoon.

After settling into our luxurious accommodations, we received a phone call from the concierge asking what time we would be dining this evening. We decided on dinner at 6:30 pm. After enjoying all the fine food by our special window seating for the two of us, we made our way to the ballroom for a little dancing before retiring back to our suite.
 

DAY 2

We woke up fairly early ready to experience everything that Mackinac Island has to offer. From bicycling on great bike paths that run around the perimeter of the island to visiting great shops and restaurants, our day experiencing the Island was full!

DAY 3

We slept in today and made our way down to play some miniature golf, but this was no ordinary miniature golf, this was designed with real grass greens.

Later in the day, we sat on our private balcony overlooking the straights of Mackinaw and the Mackinaw Bridge and enjoyed the beauty while we enjoyed some cheese and crackers from our fruit basket. We opted for a late dinner, so we could enjoy watching the sunset over the Mackinaw Bridge. It was nice to choose when we wanted to eat.

THE GRAND HOTEL

Our hotel package at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island included breakfast and dinner every day for the entire week! Everyday we enjoyed enormous breakfasts, with our choice of ordering off the menu or the buffet and five course dinners that were absolutely amazing. We even had a special table reserved for us during dinner. Their staff simply called our room and asked when we would like to eat, which was very flexible with our site seeing. The Grand also has two other restaurants, the Gate House and the Jockey Club, which you may choose to eat at if you would like to have a casual dining experience. On our fourth night we opted to eat at The Gate House, just a short walk from the hotel, which has an upscale bar atmosphere but does not require you to be dressed in your best. Every evening is an event at the Grand and guests must wear appropriate attire when in the hotel. For men, a suit and tie, and ladies a dress or nice pantsuit, are required.

DAY 4

Today we woke up to bright sunshine and a perfect 70 degrees. We decided to sit in on a lecture of the History behind the Grand Hotel, given by Bob Tagatz, the historian for the hotel. It gave us a different perspective of the hotel. We learned many interesting facts such as the very room we sat in was where they used to hide liquor during the prohibition years, hidden in the ceiling. The Grand today is one of the few wood frame hotels still in existence. The hotel has always focused on entertainment and events, which is why today there is live music throughout the hotel daily and dancing every evening. Everyday is meant to be an event.

After learning about the Grand's history, we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and explore the interior of the island, from Ft. Holmes, at the top of the island, to Sugarloaf Rock and Skull Cave there are a number of sights to see. We spent the entire day enjoying all of the scenery and even decided to take a quick nap in the park in front of Ft. Mackinac, however that didn?t last long due to the demonstration of cannons firing a few hundred yards away.

At the Gate House, we enjoyed a great meal in a more relaxed atmosphere, and even sampled some of the "Big Porch Ale" brewed exclusively for the Grand Hotel by Bells Brewery in Kalamazoo. Tonight we decided to go out for another night on the town and visited more of the local bars, each having its own distinctive qualities and all were fun. We ended at Horn's to enjoy some live music and even had a song dedicated to us. It was a great way to enjoy our last night on the island.

DAY 5

Our last day. We woke up early and had one last breakfast at the Grand before making our way down to the docks. We then started the drive back to South Bend.

Almost 6 hours of reminiscing about the magical honeymoon that we had just experienced, we decided the Grand Hotel is nothing short of being grand. With its rich history and luscious gardens, the Grand Hotel is a perfect getaway. It was truly a memory that we will never forget.
 

YOUR WEDDING AT THE GRAND HOTEL

While honeymooning at the Grand we met with Marty Haines, the wedding and special events coordinator to learn about some of the wedding accommodations at the Grand. We toured the beautiful grounds and saw the different options for having a wedding at the hotel. The hotel can provide all your wedding day needs from salon services-hair and makeup, flowers, music, food, just about everything you need. The Grand Hotel offers Wedding Packages to fit any expectation from a small ceremony on the balcony overlooking the straights of Mackinaw, to an extravagant garden event, the Grand Hotel is truly a magical place that will make any wedding feel like a fairy tale.