Style Network's 'Married Away' Films Buford Wedding on Mackinac
By Sean Ely

Meghan and Darren Buford during their hiking adventure in the mountains of Colorado. The two were married July 20 at The Inn at Stonecliffe, filmed by the Style Network for an episode of "Married Away," which will air in the fall.

It's no mystery that many couples find Mackinac Island to be the perfect place for their wedding destination, but Carole Erbel, one of the Island's wedding planners, had no idea the Style Network felt the same way.

For the past nine years, Ms. Erbel has planned weddings with the company, "For the Love of Mackinac!" She has lived on the Island since 1979, after moving from Carleton. As a planner, she is on the telephone and emailing every day, communicating with vendors as well as the wedding couple, making sure everything is ready for their big day.

"The one thing they come here for is the romantic feel of Mackinac Island," Ms. Erbel said. "The horse-drawn carriages, the slower pace, and the beauty of an island. It doesn't matter how old, how young, or how much or little money someone has, because the number one thing is seeing their happiness and knowing I helped to create that day. They are married at the end of the day, that's the goal."

Producer Renee Sniatkowski (from left), Carole Erbel, and cameraman Topher Reifeiss after a first day of filming July 18.

Shortly after their engagement September 16, 2006, Meghan Hesse and Darren Buford of Colorado began working with Ms. Erbel to plan an elegant, 40- guest wedding at The Inn at Stonecliffe on Mackinac Island. A July 20, 2007 wedding date was set.

"It was a place that just felt right," said the bride, who grew up in Ann Arbor and whose parents now live in northern Michigan. "This is what we always talked about doing."

The groom is originally from Kentucky and the couple met while working in Colorado.

Two weeks before the ceremony, the Style Network called Ms. Erbel regarding its television show, "Married Away." The show focuses on destination weddings, highlighting the entire process, from arriving at the location to the end of the reception. In the show's second season, the casting director wanted to capture a Mackinac Island wedding.

Ms. Erbel proposed the idea to Meghan and Darren, who agreed, even though their wedding day was less than two weeks away.

Before traveling to Mackinac Island, the couple was interviewed in their home by a crew from the show, who then followed them to Mackinac Island.

"Meghan and I were nervous for the first couple of hours, when they came in the house," Mr. Buford said. "It wears off pretty quickly. They were not intrusive, and they did a really good job of staying out of our way at important moments."

The couple was filmed during the ferry ride to Mackinac Island, and preparing for the wedding at the florist's and hair salon.

"They filmed us all the way to the rehearsals," Mr. Buford said, and for the bride's makeup on the morning of the wedding. "They captured all of the guys getting ready, too," he added.

The camera even caught Mr. and Mrs. Buford watching fudge be made at Joann's Fudge, as well as the flowers being arranged at Weber's Floral and Gift.

"Everything they caught on tape was real," Mr. Buford said. "From the stress to the joy - it was certainly real in the moment."

Mr. and Mrs. Buford have not seen the finished episode yet. It is expected to air this winter.

For Ms. Erbel, the hardest part of the filming was wearing a clip-on microphone during her workday. But she loves her job, she noted, because she is dealing with wedding couples, the happiest people in the world.

Seeing a project like this come together, something that took months and months of planning, is more rewarding than anything else in life, she said. She knows how stressful the process can be for parents, families, and even travel to the Island.

"When it finally all falls into place," she said, "all I can do is lean back and say, Ahh, I love my job."

Planning a Mackinac Island wedding comes with its own challenges.

"Mackinac is my home," Ms. Erbel said. "It is a unique place that runs at a much different pace than other destinations. Some people need to be informed of that. Things cannot always happen the way they want it to, such as getting live animals from point A to point B. In that sense, it is unique. It's not always easy to bring vendors in from off the Island, or finding one that clicks with everyone's needs."

The wedding planner made the day go smoothly by recommending the best sites and vendors, the Bufords said.

"She did a better job than Meghan and I did on camera," Mr. Buford noted. "She always looked great while they were rolling, and she did an amazing job promoting herself and the Island very, very well."

Hours before the rehearsal dinner at the putting greens at Mission Point, it began raining, and Ms. Erbel quickly moved the event inside.

"She is very calm and it is the perfect job for her," Mrs. Buford said.

The most important service she provides, she said, is peace of mind.

"I provide a comfort level," she added, "I am one person who knows the vendors, the Island, the timing, and the logistics of dealing with horses."

The filming of their wedding, the Bufords said, will give them something to share with others for a long time.

"It is just such a beautiful place to get married," Mrs. Buford said. "Everyone who attended said that it was easily one of the prettiest weddings they have ever been to, especially with the way you have the Mackinac Bridge in the background and the grotto area at Stonecliffe with all of that amazing scenery."

"The best thing about it is the fact that we are going to have this permanent, professional document of our wedding, forever; you can't put a price tag on that," Mr. Buford said. "It is not only in our home, but it is us getting ready, and us going through everything the week before. It is everything that went into it that makes it special. The photographer can't capture all of those details and emotions, and lucky enough for us, we had a group who did."