For the Attendants & Guests: Sweet Gifts for the Big Day
Downtown stores offer guest gifts with Northern flair
To thank the people who have made your big day extra special, stick to local Northern Michigan stores, which offer a diverse array of gifts for wedding attendants and guests.
Tempt their tastebuds
American Spoon Foods (411 E. Lake St., Petoskey) brings local fruit to the table all year ‘round. Couples can wrap a personalized ribbon around jars of preserves featuring luscious Michigan peaches, blackberries, and apricots.
Six- or eight-ounce bags of chocolate-covered local cherries make a pretty place setting, while pans of decadent gelato are the perfect accompaniment for wedding cake. Or delight attendants and out-of-town guests with this perfect marriage: an all-natural buckwheat pancake mix and a jar of Fruit Perfect, “the closest thing to fresh fruit ever captured in a jar.”
You can’t go wrong with chocolate. Stop by Kilwin’s (316 Howard St., Petoskey) to arrange a gift box — or fill your own — with truffles, cherry cordials, and Gummi Bears. Owner Meredith Brown said caramel apples are popular gifts for fall nuptials, while fudge gives the classic Northern Michigan touch for destination weddings. Kilwin’s can prepare a “sweet table” by the cake with mini ice-cream dishes, stock snack bags for out of-town-guests, or package favorite chocolates in tiny Kilwin’s boxes to place at each seat.
Give tools they can use
Any outdoorsy Michigan couple will find the perfect attendant or guest gifts at Bearcub Outfitters (321 E. Lake St., Petoskey). Consider Victorinox pocket knives or eco-friendly water bottles personalized with the couple’s name and wedding date. Watch bands, bandanas, LED keychains, carabiners, and headlamps round out the selection for those who want guests to remember Northern Michigan’s wilderness.
You and your attendants will feel good about “Cute Tools!,” available at Meyer Ace Hardware. These beautifully functional, hand-painted tools (ranging from pastry brushes and graters to garden trowels and dustpans) are sustainably packaged and crafted in Birmingham, Mich., by children with physical or cognitive challenges.
Light up their life
Let the symbolic significance of candles linger after your wedding has ended. At Bullfrog Light Company (05995 M-66, Charlevoix), wedding candles can be custom-monogrammed with hearts, bells and doves as well as the couple’s initials and wedding date. Try them as table centerpieces or gifts. WoodWick candles, available at Kilwin’s, are petroleum-free and formulated with a traditional wooden wick to simulate a crackling fire.
Show them ‘up North’
“People want to give something that represents what they love and where they came from,” said Jennifer Shorter, owner of Grandpa Shorter’s (301 E. Lake St., Petoskey). “Petoskey stones are that quintessential thing.”
Individually bagged Petoskey stones come with a card explaining the stone’s history; Shorter has seen brides and grooms write personalized notes to guests or imprint their names and wedding date on the enclosed cards. Other popular Petoskey stone-themed gift items include jewelry, wine bottle stoppers, cheese spreaders and bookends.
At Meyer Ace Hardware (421 E. Mitchell St., Petoskey), cutting boards from Petoskey-based Michigan Maple Block, along with Michigan-shaped oven mitts, also carry local significance.
Up North Bride Home » Spring & Summer 2010 Edition » For the Attendants & Guests: Sweet Gifts