Marquette Michigan Micro Wedding

What is a Micro Wedding?

As a Southeast and Mid-Michigan wedding photographer who’s photographed 70+ weddings, I’ve been a part of the most intimate and special wedding days. Hi, friend! I’m Catie Eovaldi and I’ve been photographing weddings for the past 3 years. Heading into my fourth year of wedding photography, I believe your wedding photos should truly showcase you. Your emotions, your details, your most sentimental memories. As we move further into 2026 (and 2027 even), micro weddings are becoming the next trend in the wedding industry.

How is a micro-wedding different than a wedding? Great question. A micro-wedding is really determined by guest count. In past experience, a micro-wedding is for a guest count of 40-50 guests and under. With a more intimate feel, couples are opting for all out celebrations with a smaller amount of guests. These celebrations tend to be more focused on connection and togetherness. A micro-wedding can still have the traditional moments that a large wedding can: first dance, first look/touch, cake cutting, etc. Micro-weddings are a great option for couples that wish to celebrate their union with a small group of people, or ones that are on a more strict budget.

Why Marquette Michigan is Perfect for a Micro Wedding

Nestled on the shores of Lake Superior is Marquette. This small northern Michigan town is commonly known for being the home of Northern Michigan University and Presque Isle. This beautiful area has sandy beaches, a small town (with an amazing coffee shop), and hiking areas on the isle. With so many areas to explore, this is a prime location to host a micro wedding weekend in northern Michigan.

The wedding featured throughout this post was held on Marquette’s Presque Isle. Having rented out the pavilion for their day, Hayli and Blake spent their wedding day enjoying a blissful summer weekend with their guests with the most stunning views. The pavilion can hold up to 68 guests, which is perfect since micro weddings are typically 50 and under. Hayli and Blake also rented out a couple Airbnb homes nearby each other so they could spend intentional time with their friends and family both before and after their wedding day.

With couples opting to host smaller wedding celebrations, this is the perfect opportunity to travel with your guests to a destination (whether you’ve been there before or are new to the area)! If you’re in the process of planning your Marquette Michigan micro wedding, I’d love to connect and check my availability for you!

5 Tips for Planning Your Marquette Micro Wedding

Hire a Planner

If you aren’t local to northern Michigan, it would be in your best interest to hire a planner who is local or experienced with the area. A planner would be knowledgeable in what the Presque Isle Pavilion rules are, what permits are needed, and what vendors would be the best fit for your day. Planners also handle any last minute issues day of the wedding and often handle these without couples even knowing there was an issue!

Take Advantage of the Natural Scenery

This is such a prime opportunity to get absolutely epic wedding portraits. I highly encourage you to carve out extra time to explore Presque Isle and Marquette in your wedding gear. This can be the day before your wedding, day of, or even the day after.

You’ll get so much variety in your final gallery and you’ll have even more photos to print from your day. You’ll have the Black Rocks, lighthouses, sandy beaches, and a charming small town as your portrait backdrops. I can’t think of anything more cool than having such a variety and exploring the area in your wedding gear.

Having been to Presque Isle and Marquette before, I know all the best spots for your micro wedding. Whether it’s for portraits, private vows, or a quick ceremony, I’m happy to guide couples planning micro weddings there. If you’re interested in having your northern Michigan micro wedding documented, I’d love to connect and check my availability for you.

Don’t Be Afraid of Non-Traditional Plans

As a documentary wedding photographer, I hear couples say they are scared to break away from the norm because guests may think it’s weird. I encourage you to plan a wedding day that’s centered around you and your love. Hayli and Blake were originally a little nervous to showcase some of their decor and their first dance song because it was non-traditional. I encouraged them that if it was what they wanted, it was the right choice. What ended up happening was guests enjoying themselves and immersing themselves in their love story. The couple absolutely love playing games together and crafted nameplates out of Scrabble tiles. No one even questioned the unique song choice for the first dance because they were busy smiling and laughing with the couple throughout the evening.

Make This a Weekend Experience

With a destination like northern Michigan, I highly encourage taking this time to turn this micro wedding day into a micro wedding weekend, like Hayli and Blake did. A weekend will allow you more time with your partner, but also with your family and guests. And if you don’t want to see your guests prior to the wedding day? Then take the day before and pamper yourself. Go to the coffee shop, get a massage, go for a hike- do something that brings you joy together! You’ll feel more relaxed going into the day together if you arrive early to your destination and plan a whole weekend rather than rush through it all in a day.

Having worked micro weddings previously, I’d love to connect to see if my availability is open for yours!

Pack Your Bag Properly

I love northern Michigan, but if you’re exploring town or choosing to hike and spend time outdoors it’s important to pack your bag properly. I encourage you to travel with your suit or wedding gown turned inside outside and tucked into a garment bag. In the event something happens to either, the inside of your outfit will be stained and not the outside.

I also encourage you to pack sunscreen and bug spray. Summer is so wonderful, but it’s also the prime time for mosquitoes and black flies. While we didn’t have issues with this in late July, it’s always a solid idea to bring it just in case. You want to leave your wedding day with sentimental memories, not itchy bug bites and a killer sunburn!

My 5 Favorite Things About this Marquette Michigan Micro Wedding

Breakfast for Dinner

I thought this was so amazing and I can’t believe I haven’t seen this done more at weddings: breakfast food for dinner. Hayli and Blake had a breakfast buffet complete with fluffy pancakes and eggs, delectable sausage and bacon, sweet fruit, and savory potatoes. It was amazing and guests absolutely raved about how great it was.

Someone please do this again and hire me to photograph it, because 10/10 will absolutely work with you if you have breakfast for dinner. Contact me here if you’re interested in photography for your Marquette Michigan micro wedding!

Hiking the Black Rocks

This isn’t necessary for your Marquette Michigan micro wedding, but it was something my couple wanted to do on theirs. We did a first look right outside the pavilion and then drove around the isle and hiked to certain locations for portraits. I’m a cozy person with a streak of adventure, so I loved the opportunity to hike and see the Black Rocks. It definitely wasn’t easy but it was so rewarding and created the most epic portraits I’ve done in a location like this!

The Views

As mentioned previously, you don’t have to hike on your micro wedding day! Presque Isle has gorgeous views right outside the pavilion so we didn’t even have to travel far for gorgeous photos. Lake Superior is amazing and was so blue when we were there!

Personal Vows

This was such a special touch to Hayli and Blake’s wedding day. The couple chose to incorporate personal vows into their ceremony and were bold enough to say them in front of all their guests. It perfectly tied the day together since guests were learning the significance of certain songs that would be played and the intentional decor throughout the space.

As a wedding photographer, I often capture personal vows either at ceremonies or privately. It’s always up to the couple to decide what they want in terms of how. If you’re looking for an experienced photographer, contact me to check my availability!

DIY Decor

I am a big believer that DIY decor can be great, and Hayli did a great job. The decor they used in the pavilion felt personal and told the story of their love. Hayli and Blake are both college professors with an interest in literature and playing games (like Scrabble). The couple are also believers in eco-friendly decor so it was nice to see pieces that were personal belongings or thrifted so that it could have new life.

Marquette Michigan Micro Wedding Cost

Fees

For couples with a smaller budget, a micro wedding would be a great option for them! Listed below are the costs for renting the Presque Isle Pavilion for a micro wedding:

• $110 per hour for pavilion rental; $140 per hour for non-residents
• $250 refundable security deposit
• $150 temporary structure fee- this is more for if you’re choosing to bring in like a fun bounce house or something!
• $50 alcohol permit

Included in Rental

• Pavilion interior
• Covered porch (attached to pavilion)
• 5 round and 4 rectangular tables
• 68 folding chairs
• Small kitchen area
• Gas fireplace
• Charcoal grill
• 3 outdoor picnic tables
• Public parking spaces

Presque Isle Pavilion Venue Details

• Location: 10 minutes north of downtown Marquette
• Address: 3 Peter White Dr, Marquette, MI 49855
• Website: marquettemi.gov
• Capacity: 68 inside pavilion
• Cost: $140 per hour for venue rental

Marquette Michigan Micro Wedding Vendors

• Venue: Presque Isle Pavilion
• Planner: Mandala Events
• Photography: Catie Eovaldi Photography
• Wedding Gown: Bliss Bridal (located in Iowa, local to my couple)
• Hair: Fresh Coast Beauty
• DJ: Rusty Bowers
• Catering & Bartending: Cheryl’s Country Catering
• Dessert: Huron Mountain Bakery

Meet Your Marquette Michigan Micro Wedding Photographer