Snow Moon Ranch Wedding Lake Michigan Rich Earthy Tones

I think I’ve found a new venue crush guys, Snow Moon Ranch in Michigan! Perfectly situation just a smidge up in elevation, allowing for a tree line view of Lake Michigan, sprawling Llama filled, thats right, Llama pastures, quaint little gardens, & one heck of a gorgeous old weathered gray barn, beautifully landscaped and punctuated by an ivy ladder covered tin silo. Morgan Randall & James Soares fell hard for Snow Moon Ranch and I can easily see why! Their fall wedding was wonderfully timed where the trees had just began to dance in the colors of deep reds & rich orange. Wanting to continue on with that earthy sort of color palette, bridesmaids were dressed in a mixed hue of minty jade while blooms were in lush rich burgundy red tones. A girl’s best wedding friend, succulents, were included into the bouquets, while tall wispy reed like greens gave some height to the tented reception. Naturally no earthy fall wedding would be complete without some pumpkins as well, which in this case guided guests around the venue in the form of wood signs. Not to be outdone by her surroundings, Morgan was utterly stunning wearing her hair in a textured up do & body hugging lace gown from Allure. There are some many fun little elements to Morgan & James’ wedding, you’re going to love discovering them! Oh and Ps- I need this goober of a Llama in my life!!

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Novella of the Bride…

Wedding Buzzwords: Rustic, Romantic, Unique, Mellow, Friendly, Dance Fever
Specialty Cocktail: Llama Love ~ Llama Love: Gin (from Northern Latitudes Distillery) & Tonic with muddled Michigan cherries, simple syrup, and lime or lemon

Morgan, originally from Michigan, moved to Boston in 2008 on a whim, packed up her Honda Accord, and didn’t know anyone. James and Morgan met in the same AmeriCorp program and began dating in early 2009. The couple moved in together in late 2010 and shortly added to their family with their beloved yet doofus cat, Bear. Morgan works for the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston, the only agency within the Big Brother Big Sister of American network focused exclusively on serving the unique needs of girls, and James is an Arabic and Debate teacher at Charlestown High School, one of the select schools within Boston Public Schools that teaches Arabic as a foreign language.

Snow Moon Ranch was exactly what we were looking for. The view of the lake and tree line were spectacular, there was a lot of open space with unique touches created here and there, and the rest was a blank canvas that we could fill with what we wanted. Juliet was amazing and always willing to answer questions and give suggestions. Plus, half of our guests had never been to Michigan before (James’ family is all from the East Coast) and Snow Moon Ranch’s scenery and location in Northern Michigan was exactly what Morgan wanted them to take back to Massachusetts.

We really just wanted everyone to feel welcomed and to have a great time. We had lawn games during the cocktail hour and Juliet moved some of the friendlier llamas closer to guests. Bridesmaids received monogrammed flannel shirts as a gift and the groomsmen received unique cufflinks that the Groom picked out seperatly for each of them. There were customized cookies of llamas with the couples initials, and music from a bluegress band all the way from Maine. The wedding was a merging of families, kicked off with dances: Bride &Groom, Groom & His Mom, Bride & Her Mom, and then Bride and Father-in-Law and Groom and Mother-inLaw.

A Little Help From Their Friends~ Our parents were a huge help! Morgan’s mom back in Michigan was amazing at getting detailed pieces while we were still in Boston and with her boyfriend, Wayne, created all of the wood pieces for the big day. James’ parents supported a lot of our cooky ideas and were instrumental in helping to nail down our guest list RSVPs. Our Brother-in-Law Luke McCarthy actually got ordained online to be our officiant! That was amazing and removed a big stressor for us since we knew his style and that he would help create the wedding day we wanted. Finally, all brothers and sisters served as bridesmaids and groomsmen at the wedding along with friends and cousins.

Bride’s Favorite Moment: “Our band Tricky Britches was amazing! They played a mix of old time bluegrass, orginial songs, and even requests. All of our wedding guests really connected with them and got into the style of music. At the end of the time reception the band actually came back to the cabin of the bridal party and jammed into the early morning. Our favority memory of that time was sitting in the living room with our closest friends and family, Tricky Britches playing, and we started an impromptu dance in the middle of the living room. There were probably 20 people there but it felt like only James and I.”

Parting Words~ About an hour after the ceremony it started to down pour with thunder and lightning. We got a little worried about our pending reception. But besides having to move one table due to a little flooding, everything went off without a hitch!

Vendor Love

Swoony Snow Moon Ranch Wedding Along Lake Michigan In Rich Earthy Tones