The St. Martin Wedding
The Lodges at Cresthaven
When my wife and I started planning our wedding, the only things we really knew for sure was that we wanted it to be unique, with our own personal twist and we wanted it to be on Lake George.
I had grown up near Lake George and had been swimming and boating in the lake for as long as I can remember. Having met my wife in New York City, I couldn’t wait to show her my favorite place on earth. Our first trip as a couple was camping on the lake. I was happy to see that she fell in love with it as quickly as I had as a child. When it came time to ask her to marry me there was no other place in the world to do it then on the shores of Lake George. As soon as we began to think location we knew our wedding had to take place overlooking the lake.
As we began the daunting task of researching locations, we were feeling skeptical that we would find a place that was right for us. Nothing we were able to find was the right mix of elegance and a classic Adirondack feel that we wanted. One night as our research dug deeper we found The Lodges at Cresthaven and The Boathouse Restaurant. The pictures were amazing but we truly doubted the real life version could live up to their brochure. We could not have been more wrong. The real thing did not do the pictures justice. The cabins, if you can call them that, are luxury hotel rooms with all the modern conveniences mixed with all of the charm of Lake George.
Once outside of the cabin, the view just kept getting better. As you make your way down the hill the lake suddenly breaks into site and is truly breathtaking. As we walked towards the restaurant we knew before going inside that we were hooked. We stopped to check out the view on the knoll that would later serve as the grounds for our ceremony, and my wife had tears in her eyes as she realized we found the perfect spot to join our lives. We had to be pulled away to see more.
As you may have guessed, we decided Cresthaven would be the place we had our wedding. We worked with Fred the owner, Dan the Manager and Jayne, who helped coordinate all the little details and crucial meetings to plan our big day. Fast forward a year and many, many days of planning later and it was finally time for our wedding weekend.
Rehearsal Dinner:
We gathered with our closest friends and family for our rehearsal dinner, which I have to say easily rivaled our wedding. We held it on the lower dock, just inches off the water, lit by candles and the sunset. The casual BBQ-style food was excellent, including ribs, chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs and all of the classic sides everyone loves.
After a few beers and some BBQ, we made our way off the end of the dock and onto the beach where the crew had already started our bonfire. The fire was surrounded by chairs and there were s’mores making materials for everyone. Cresthaven even supplied the skewers to prepare the treats! The glow of the fire on the lake was something we will never forget.
Wedding Day Preparation
After a night not sleeping with my soon-to-be wife, we awoke to a beautiful Lake George day and enjoyed breakfast with our respective wedding parties in the cabins. The women, of course, took their time getting ready with make-up, hair and massages. The staff was incredible and even sent a bottle of wine to the girls’ room for them to enjoy as they got ready.
The men decided that the only option for the day of a wedding was a good half-day soak in the indoor/outdoor, heated swimming pool, which was open for us even in October! Several of my groomsman and I strapped on our bathing suits and headed in to the pool. While the woman were primping, we were relaxing with some adult beverages, good music and warm water. You can take a look below at the pictures but they don’t show the infinity edge that looks to be pouring off into the lake from the amazing view.
As we finally got out of the pool and got our make-up and hair finished, the ceremony was ready to begin.
Ceremony
The crew at Cresthaven was incredibly accommodating and though we decided to get married outside, they had several back-up plans should the weather spoil things. We were lucky and the weather was perfect for the ceremony with a little scare of rain towards the end that never actually fell. The view from the knoll where we were married was amazing and the fall colors exploded from the mountains and the decorations.
Located directly on the water with docks and beaches all around, perhaps the greatest part of The Lodges at Cresthaven is their scenery. Our photographer was in her glory as she snapped away from every location she could convince us to climb. Hiking in a wedding dress is much harder than it looks.
Cocktail Hour
So now that all the important stuff was over, it was just time to party. We headed down to the partially open upper bar for a few drinks, appetizers and some fresh air. The appetizers were unlike anything I have ever had at a wedding. We asked for mini hamburgers and we got thinly sliced filet mignon topped with crumbled blue cheese and carmalized onions. Then there were the spring rolls, satay chicken skewers and huge scallops wrapped in bacon. Many people commented that they would have been happy to eat only the appetizers for the night.
Reception
After cocktail hour concluded, we headed in to take our seats. The room looked amazing thanks to the hard work of the Cresthaven staff. Dan, the Boathouse Manager and Paul, the Head Chef prepared one of the best meals we have ever had. Prior to the wedding, Dan sat with us on several occasions to be sure he knew exactly what we wanted, so that the night exceeded expectations. The servings were not standard wedding-sized servings. Dinner began with a savory pumpkin soup, which Paul created special for us and a delicious house salad. The entrees followed with very nice cuts of filet mignon, large chicken servings (stuffed with delicious cheese, spinach and tomatoes) and enough salmon to split with a friend. It was as if we were all out at a fancy dinner with all of our family and closest friends. Not only was dinner big, it tasted amazing.
The rest of the night was a bit of a blur but one thing I will always remember is the attentive staff and the fact that anything we needed at anytime was available. My wife even got a ride up with all of our gifts to our cabin so she wouldn’t have to walk and the bar staff was happy to stay open an extra hour while some of the men in the family enjoyed the end of the Red Sox game.
To sum it all up, our wedding was beyond perfect. From the moment we walked on the property to the moment we checked out it was exactly what we envisioned. We are not rich people and knew we would be paying for this wedding on our own and Cresthaven worked with us to give us everything we wanted at a reasonable cost. With that said, they cut no corners. Every aspect was perfect. We were able to shape our day the way we wanted and they were there to help. This was not a cookie cutter wedding where you picked from a set menu and everyone got a small serving, their cake and went home. This wedding showed our guests who we are as a couple, and it was The Lodges at Cresthaven that allowed that to show.
I will leave you with one of my favorite photographs ever and if you want to stop by my home you will see it is blown up to poster size and framed in my living room. If you look close I think you can see us dancing through the window.
My last words are just to let you know that Cresthaven is great, Dan, Fred and Jayne are great, and my wife and I can’t recommend enough that you consider a wedding on the lake. Once you visit The Lodges at Cresthaven you will forget other options exist.
THE END!
To view the full wedding story with additional photos please click here!