For generations, Mackinac Island has been part of countless love stories. It is where couples have met for the first time, shared engagements along the shoreline, said “I do” and returned year after year to celebrate anniversaries and milestones. For many, the island is not just a destination, it is part of their story.

Each spring, as the island awakens and a new season begins, those stories feel especially present.

Opening weekend marks more than the return of hotels, restaurants, and shops. It signals a new chapter on Mackinac Island. The first boats arrive, porches come back to life, and familiar places welcome couples who have shared meaningful moments here before.

Island House Hotel has stood quietly alongside countless Mackinac love stories. Over the years, couples have been married on the porch and veranda, shared proposals overlooking the water, and returned decades later to revisit the place where it all began.

For Ron and Kathy Farnum, that story started in 1975. After their wedding, they honeymooned at Island House Hotel, a gift from Ron’s father. They stayed in Room 200, beginning their married life together overlooking the same waters that have welcomed generations of guests. Twenty-five years later, they returned to Island House to celebrate their anniversary, once again staying in Room 200. In 2025, they came back marking 50 years of marriage in the very place where their journey together began.

Stories like theirs are woven into the fabric of Island House. That is why this spring, Island House Hotel is hosting a weekend dedicated to couples whose love story is connected to Mackinac Island.

For couples who met here, fell in love here, became engaged or married here, or who have returned year after year because the island holds something special, this is an invitation to return to the island you love. From May 1–3, join us at Island House Hotel for the Once Upon an Island weekend, a thoughtfully designed experience that celebrates romance, tradition, and the beginning of a new season on Mackinac Island.

The Once Upon an Island Package includes a two-night stay at Island House Hotel, along with special access to an opening night cocktail reception featuring passed hors d’oeuvres and cocktails, as well as dinner for two at the 1852 Grill Room. Couples are welcomed with thoughtful touches that make the weekend feel intentional from the moment they arrive, while evenings by softly lit waterfront bonfires invite time to slow down, reflect, and reconnect.

For couples whose story includes Mackinac Island, this weekend offers the chance to return to where it began, or to begin again in a place that has always understood romance.