Alex + Steve

Two fish scientists. Eloping at Sleeping Bear Dunes. On the winter solstice. I don't think there's a better concept in the English language.

I'm writing this in May 2020. Looking back at these photos now — the crisp air, the wide open dunes, the warm low sun — feels like evidence that calm and love still exist in the world. That's not nothing right now.

The Shortest Day of the Year

The winter solstice at 45° north latitude means a very short window of usable daylight. That wasn't a problem we worked around — it was the whole point. It shaped every decision about timing and where we moved.

The plan: reach the peak of the dunes for the ceremony, then get to the other side and keep going, all before the light ran out. There was no margin to waste. We moved with real purpose from the start.

At the peak, you get a sea of freshwater stretching to the horizon. In winter, with the dunes white and the sky low, there's nothing else like it. They held each other's hands and said what they came to say. Simple, honest, completely theirs.

Breaking From the Group

After the ceremony, we left the rest of the group and hiked further in. Just the three of us. That's where everything slowed down.

There's a particular kind of quiet that happens when you're out in the dunes in December and you've just watched two people get married. We weren't rushing. We just walked and stopped and looked around and let the afternoon do what it was going to do.

They were relaxed and easy with each other in a way that just comes through. Scientists who think carefully about things and had clearly thought carefully about this. They knew exactly what they wanted and went and did it.

If you're thinking about eloping in Northern Michigan — at Sleeping Bear, on a dune, on a specific day that means something to you — let's talk about it. This is exactly the kind of thing I want to be involved in.