A Colorful, Intimate Mackinac Island Wedding Day
September 28, 2026
If you’re into a wedding day where you’re saying “I Do” in a small church, stopping at a random dead-end beach your dad found to take portraits before hopping on a ferry to go spend your day wandering around Mackinac Island to see where the day takes you—you’re gonna want to read all about Gracie and Bryan’s Mackinac Island wedding in Northern Michigan.
Gracie and Bryan’s Mackinac Island wedding was intimate, relaxed, a little kitschy in the absolute best way and filled with so much color. Basically, it felt like them. And if you’ve been here before, you already know that is the exact day that I love documenting. Read all about how to make your wedding day feel stylish without sacrificing your personality here.
A Rainy Start to a Mackinac Wedding Day
It wouldn’t be a Michigan wedding day without the weather doing the absolute most. It ended up pouring for pretty much my entire drive up to Mackinac. Good luck on your wedding day!! But also mildly concerning when a large portion of the wedding timeline involves wandering around outside throughout the island.
By the time I made it to the Airbnb, the rain had moved out (thank goodness!). It was around 65 degrees and cloudy, the sun was just starting to peek through, and there was a breeze coming off the lake. Again, very northern Michigan.
Gracie and Bryce were such troopers. Instead of fighting the weather or trying to make the day feel overly formal, they rolled with it and that ended up being the entire vibe for their wedding day.
Check out this blog for how to weatherproof your outdoor wedding day.
An Intimate Catholic Ceremony in Mackinaw City
Gracie and Bryce hosted their wedding ceremony at a small Catholic church surrounded by the people closest to them. Their ceremony was intimate, meaningful, and was centered around the two of them. What I loved most about this location was the fact that we had plenty of time to explore rather than rushing off to catch the ferry to head to Mackinac Island.
At some point, Gracie’s dad has been wandering around Mackinaw City and stumbled onto this cute little dead-end beach with an INCREDIBLE view of the Mackinac bridge. So naturally, we had to go investigate.
This is exactly why I love a wedding timeline with a little breathing room. Sometimes the location you didn’t meticulously scout or save to a Pinterest board ends up being one of the best stops of the entire day.
So, we made our way down to the beach, took some photos with the Mighty Mac behind them and then it was time to head to the ferry to wander around Mackinac Island.
The Great Ferry Debacle of 2026
Important Mackinac Island wedding lesson: know which ferry you’re taking.
There are multiple ferry docks in Mackinaw City, and somehow I ended up at the Arnold line when I needed to be at Shepler’s. Which led to me quite literally running through the street trying to make the correct ferry.
Huge shoutout to the Shepler’s crew for waiting an extra four minutes for the wedding photographer sprinting toward them.
WE MADE IT! And once we were on the water, everything slowed back down for a bit.
Wandering Around Mackinac Island
I know I’ve said this like a gazillion-and-one-times but, one of my favorite parts of Gracie and Bryce’s wedding was that we weren’t running around trying to manufacture a million different photo opportunities. We just…explored.
Mackinac Island already has so much personality packed into it. From the colorful buildings, pastel details sprinkled throughout, flowers literally everywhere, to the historic homes overlooking the lake views and the horses casually making their way down the street. It’s a place truly meant to be experienced, rather than curating the experience.
Gracie especially LOVED all of the pops of color around the island. So instead of trying to make everything feel super neutral or traditional “wedding-y” we leaned allll the way into it.
We played with the pastels, wandered around town, and eventually made our way toward the Grand Hotel’s Secret Garden. The whole experience felt less like we’re leaving our wedding to go take wedding portraits now and most like Gracie and Bryce got married and went on a little adventure with just the two of them.
Which, btw, is exactly what your wedding portraits should feel like, but that’s a story for another day.
A Little Full Circle Art Museum Moment
While we were exploring, we found paintings from the Detroit Institute of Arts displayed around town. This sounds like such a tiny detail, but it felt weirdly perfect because Gracie and Bryce had their engagement photos taken in an art museum.
Their engagement session had already given us this artsy little chapter of their story, and then here we were months later, wandering around Mackinac Island on their wedding day stumbling into another one.
Sometimes wedding days hand you these tiny full-circle moments without you having to plan them at all. And that’s on being present in the moment and allowing what happens during the day to simply happen.
And Then the Fire Alarm Went Off
I could not have written this one better if I tried. Bryce works for a fire department, and his dad is a retired fire chief. So naturally at some point during the wedding festivities, the fire alarm accidentally went off and nobody batted an eye.
OF COURSE the fire alarm would go off at a wedding with multiple firefighters in the room. Another quirky detail that just felt on brand for the day.
Room to Actually Experience Your Wedding Day
Gracie and Bryce’s has a very micro-wedding feel to it: a small ceremony, the people they cared about most, a chill timeframe, and enough flexibility to stop somewhere because hey Gracie’s dad found a cool beach or spend a little longer wandering because you were having so much fun.
Mackinac Island is such a fun place for that kind of wedding day because exploring is naturally a part of the experience. You can get married, take the ferry, wander around, stop when something catches your eye, and let your wedding day actually feel like a day you spent together versus a place you hosted your wedding at.
Planning Your Own Mackinac Island Wedding?
If you’re already sitting here imagining a wedding day experience where you can be fully present, consider this my vote for leaving some empty space in your timeline. Oh, and if you want me to help document the day, I’d absolutely be honored. Get in touch here.
And if you’re still in the beginning stages of planning your wedding in Michigan, this post will help!
