Kylie & Mark’s Sturgeon Bay Wedding at Stone Harbor

An Elegant Winter Wedding in Door County

From Meeting to Engagement

When Kylie moved from Central Wisconsin to Door County in 2014, she and Mark knew of each other, but dated other people. Until one night they ended up at a mutual friend’s house, really hit it off, and went on to spend every day together since. When it came time to get engaged, the two had already discussed and had it sort of pre-planned.

“We went to T-Simon Jewelers in Sturgeon Bay, had a ring designed and made, then brought it home for an inevitable engagement.” Mark still wanted to surprise Kylie, even though she knew it was coming. One day, Kylie came home from work to find a card taped to the door with a handwritten note inside. “I walked in, and he had cut out hearts on the floor leading into the living room. He got down on one knee and proposed to me. It was definitely a surprise but very personal and intimate.”

Wedding Planning

Mark and Kylie planned a February wedding. “We wanted a simple, elegant, and fancy feeling. We required a formal-semi formal dress code.” Kylie found her Justin Alexander gown after trying on about five dresses. “The first one I tried on, we were going to go with. But then she brought this one out last to see if I’d like it, and it was just the one. I felt elegant and beautiful, I had the figure for it. It was perfect.”

Kylie decided on black dresses for the bridal party, but she had each of them choose a dress in a different fabric that suited them. “Seeing them all come together was very satisfying. They all looked great, and there was a variety to make it a little more appealing to look at them as a group. I also loved how the overall idea came together. It was simple but very beautiful.”

Stone Harbor Wedding

Kylie and Mark had both their ceremony and reception at Stone Harbor Resort in Sturgeon Bay. “We chose it because we knew we were going to not only have a lot of people coming, but a lot of people would be traveling from out of town. We liked that we could do everything in one place and that you could go back to your room whenever you needed.” Not only was this a convenient choice, it made it much easier in winter as no one had to worry about transportation or going out in the cold.

To keep the day running smoothly, Mark and Kylie worked with Melissa Schaefer at MC Special Events as a day-of coordinator. “She was incredible! We can’t say enough good things about her.” Flora Flowershop in Sister Bay provided all the flowers, and Luke Collins Photography in Sturgeon Bay captured it all in pictures.

A Special Wedding Party

One of the best parts of the reception was seeing their wedding party come together. There were 12 people standing up on each side, and almost none of the guys and girls knew each other before heading into the wedding weekend. “We did a rehearsal dinner on Thursday night instead of Friday night, mostly for people traveling in case of inclement weather. It really helped them have some extra time to get to know each other and made for such a fun evening.”

Kylie’s “Maid of Honor” was Steve, a man she’s known her whole life. “He wrote this long incredible speech and even was able to incorporate some jokes at the groomsmen’s expense after just getting a few days to know them,” Kylie says. “Steve was obviously unique in terms of traditional weddings, but it was by far the best decision I made!”

Stone Harbor Wedding Ceremony

The ceremony was short and sweet, filled with a mix of humor and traditional moments. Kylie’s Uncle Brad officiated the wedding. The two actually have a pact to officiate each other’s weddings. “I told him he could say whatever he wanted but to keep it fairly PG13 for our older guests. I wrote up a basic script that was a cross between a friend’s officiant speech Brad had done for another wedding and a very traditional religious script. It was a good mix. He had the crowd crying and laughing the whole time. Once it was over, we took a quick selfie together in front of the crowd, then left as a married couple.”

DIY Projects

To lend a personal touch to the day, Kylie and Mark did a couple DIY projects. They started with a mantlepiece from a fireplace in Mark’s parent’s house from when they remodeled some 20 years ago. “We added a backing and legs, painted it, and used that as our centerpiece for all our photos and got married in front of it.” Mark’s family also produces maple syrup, so the spring before the wedding, they planned ahead to make a batch of syrup as wedding favors.

Stone Harbor Wedding Reception

Everything for Mark and Kylie’s wedding took place at the Stone Harbor Resort—even all the photos. Stone Harbor provided all the basics like chairs, tables, and linens, as well as bartending and food services. To supplement, the bride and groom hired Wedding Perfect in Appleton for the ceiling and King’s Table for the bridal party.

Dinner by Stone Harbor was a buffet of chicken sherry, beef tips with mushroom gravy, baby red potatoes and garlic mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables, two salad options, and fresh rolls. “For dessert, we went more unconventional and did cookies instead of cakes or cupcakes. Those were gone in a heartbeat. We offered a champagne wall going into dinner and had an open bar between the ceremony and the reception.”

Most Memorable Moment

Kylie says she worked really hard to take in the entire weekend. “I had been really nervous about all the people that were going to be there, but when I walked in, I don’t even remember looking at them. I just remember looking at Mark. We had so much fun with everyone, and at the end of the night, we decided to just sneak away. It was really great walking back, discussing how great of a day we had and being excited to move forward as a married couple.”