Northern Michigan is home to both of us, with the bride from Traverse City and the groom from Gaylord. We are excited to come home to get married and share the charm of northern Michigan with our family and friends. The wedding will be held at Christ the King Church, 3801 Shore Road, Williamsburg, MI. The reception will be held at the Garvey Barn, 7490 Lautner Road, Williamsburg, MI.

These were just sent out mid-May! Keep an eye out for them!

Great question! Officially, the invitations will request RSVP by June 22, 2026. Though, once you receive your invitation, feel free to respond as soon as you can on the RSVP tab of this website. We are excited about our wedding and sharing it with you! So, if you are planning on attending, even if you don't know the details of your travel yet - please let us know so we can look forward to seeing you!

While we would like to welcome everyone, we have venue limitations. If your invitation has your guest's name or "and guest" then we hope you'll bring your significant other. We appreciate your understanding that our wedding and reception will be adults only and a time for you to relax and have fun. We are happy to arrange care for children visiting Traverse City. Molly's family has lived in the Traverse City area for over 30 years and has excellent local resources for top-notch sitters. Children are welcome to the Friday evening welcome and the Sunday morning brunch.

The wedding takes place in a church. The dress code, so to speak, is formal/cocktail attire for the wedding and reception. Male guests will feel comfortable in a suit or similar combination: dress pants with dress shirt/tie/jacket; or dress pants with dress shirt and jacket. Female guests will feel comfortable in a cocktail dress or dressy separates. In some instances, you may be walking on a lawn, though it should be pretty limited.

While we are too superstitious to predict any day's weather, summers in northern Michigan are beautiful, with warm days and cool nights. Check out https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/traverse-city/49684/august-weather/333683

Please check out our Travel page on this website for more information. Out-of-state guests will want to check into driving or flying. Driving - Traverse City is about an hour west of US75, about a half-hour west of US131. When driving, Traverse City is about 4 to 4 1/2 hours north of the Michigan/Ohio state line. Flying - Cherry Capital Airport (Airport Code TVC) is located about 10 miles from the church and reception venue. TVC is the second busiest airport in Michigan! Flying into Traverse City is beautiful with views of East & West Grand Traverse Bays - be sure to book a window seat! Book flights and rental cars early, as Traverse City is a vacation destination.

Hotels in the summer in northern Michigan are in demand. As a result, one hotel for everyone to stay at is incredibly difficult and most hotels do not offer summer blocks. So, visit the Lodging page and we have included several hotels, some of which have offered a discount if booked by a certain date. Choose what fits you! Also, check online as there are a multitude of choices in Traverse City. The church and reception venue are near one another. If you would like to see how far a hotel of interest is, enter the Church's address on a map app to check. It is located at 3801 Shore Road, Williamsburg, MI.

No, there are many accommodations in Traverse City to enjoy. This area specifically has a number of Airbnb and VRBO rentals. There is even a wonderful campground with cabins and lots of family fun activities! These are listed on the Lodging page.

Check out the itinerary page on the website! In short, we will be having a cocktail welcome on Friday, July 31, 2026, the wedding on the afternoon of Saturday, August 1st, and a brunch on August 2, 2026 to welcome and celebrate with all guests.

Of course! And we'd love for you to use #friend2dowker as a hashtag. We'd also love it if you would share your photos of any event associated with our wedding, like engagement photos, cocktail welcome, reception, and Sunday brunch, on WebUploader (check out the Share Your Photos page of our website).

Please email conciergefrienddowker@gmail.com and we are happy to address any additional questions you might have.