Some brides and grooms aren't affiliated with a church and minister. Others aren't looking to bring religion into their ceremony. And yet other couples have arrived in Northern Michigan for a destination wedding, without their pastor in tow.
Officiants in the area are available to tailor a wedding service to a couple's requests while giving them the official, legal recognition of the ceremony.
Cheryl Sedgeman, who runs Wedding Minister 4 U with her husband, Rod, said most of the couples they marry aren't affiliated with a church.
"They don't have a church affiliation and they have no one to marry them," said Sedgeman. Their service is based in the Houghton Lake area but serves the entire Northern Michigan region. They often travel to the Petoskey and Charlevoix areas to marry couples in special ceremonies marked by the couple's own tastes and choices.
"Lately we've been finding that a lot of people come to us strictly because they want to have a second marriage and they don't want to go to a courthouse, but they want something special," said Sedgeman.
On their Prudenville property, the couple offers their gardens as a setting, or they will travel on location to perform the rites. Often times that means heading to a beach in a beautiful Northern Michigan town, she added.
Both Rod and Cheryl are ordained ministers through New Horizons Ministry in Wisconsin, and their services can be either religious or secular depending on the couple's desire. They also provide sample ceremonies, or couples can customize their own.
"Our background is the Christian faith but we are nondenominational ministers and we do not incorporate that unless they wish," Cheryl said. "We don't do classes or have any other prerequisites other than that they're in love and they want to be married."
The Sedgemans charge $295 to travel and perform ceremonies in the Petoskey area, and $75 if they are asked to attend the rehearsal or make an additional trip.

The Rev. Edwin Remaly and his wife, pastor Glad Remaly, of Cheboygan, have been marrying area couples for many years.
"My wife and I feel that the wedding is a personal ceremony and that the couple getting married should have the privilege of having a ceremony that is meaningful to them and their guests," said Edwin.
While all that is technically required is Remaly's presence to issue the marriage license and a positive answer to the question of whether the two people want to be married, he like to make it more special than that.
Whether that means religious or secular is up to the couple. He will send copies of sample ceremonies that include prayer and without for the couple's consideration.
"A chaplain is basically a person who believes God gave us religion, or a faith system, to make us happy," said Remaly. "My wife and I believe that you find something that makes you happy and we'll help you hang on to it."
The couple charges $180 and $90 for any additional attendance, such as at rehearsal dinner. They charge for gas for greater travel distances.