I know what you’re thinking… this is not my usual blog post here on Adventure. Gather. Eat. But, our wedding was a one of the greatest adventures, we gathered all of our favorite people together, and we ate and we ate well. Our wedding was set in my grandparent’s backyard in southern Minnesota on a hot June afternoon. Our very talented friends and families played a huge role in making our wedding day truly perfect! For starters, my very own aunt and uncle, Jason and Amy Malwitz from Malwitz Photography, get all the credit for our amazing wedding pictures; not only do they do beautiful work, but they are THE best to work with!
The bridal party’s hair and makeup was all completed by Pamela from Pamela Hernandez Beauty located in St. Peter, MN. Her work was simply flawless! My hair and makeup lasted all through the wedding ceremony, reception, and dance, and I could not have been happier with how it all came together. Not to mention how great it was to have all of her services on site at our grandparent’s home. I highly, highly recommend PHB, and I guarantee you will love working with Pamela!
I purchased my bridal gown on-line from Anthropologie’s wedding line, BHLDN. Ordering a wedding dress on-line may seem intimidating, but with their great return policies I had nothing to lose. The “Penelope” gown I ordered came just as it appeared on their website and even fit me perfectly! The only alteration it needed was to have the hem brought up. Their prices were surprisingly reasonable compared to the boutiques I had shopped, and it was so refreshing to find a gown that fit my style and that did not have an excessive amount of sequins! The bridesmaid dresses were found at David’s Bridal where I mix and matched colors and cuts to personalize each bridesmaid’s style. I loved having my ‘maids in all different dresses because who wants to show up to a party wearing the same dress as someone else, right?!
We also went the non-traditional route and did our first look pre-ceremony. Honestly, we loved being able have this time to ourselves without 300+ other people watching! Taking most of the pictures before the ceremony also allowed us to kick back and just enjoy time with guests at our reception.
Probably my all time favorite picture of Trevor!
The groomsmen and groom’s apparel was rented from Tip Top Tux located in Mankato, MN. The bow ties were purchased from an Etsy store named, AmandaJoHomemade. The bow ties were all made of high quality materials, and we loved the unique designs that her shop has to offer!
The flower girl’s adorable dress was also a great Etsy find; this dress can be purchased from the Etsy shop, MrsDazzle. I absolutely loved the vintage, care-free look of this little smock! Also, how cute is our flower girl?!
The floral arrangements were also a labor of love by my own dad and sister! Hilltop Florist & Greenhouse in Mankato, MN provided the lovely blooms, and Dad and Lillie hand tied all the bouquets, flower crowns, boutonnieres, and garlands. These were by far my favorite bridal bouquets that I have ever seen at a real wedding! I loved the loose, natural look and also how each bouquet had it’s own personality. Flower and greenery stems included: peonies, astilbe, lilacs, delphiniums, dusty miller, ranunculus, wax flowers, and seeded eucalyptus.
Our wedding invitations were also a custom design done up by a good friend and graphic designer, Stephanie! I loved collaborating with her to build the perfect wedding invitations. I swear, we know all the best people.
My dear friend, Lauren, is responsible for all of the beautiful, hand-painted signs that we had around our venue. I could not believe how well they all turned out and tied in with the rest of the natural wedding decor – this is professional work, people!
Our ceremony backdrop were made by my father as well from reclaimed wood ( a.k.a. our old wrap around deck).
Our simple buttercream wedding cake was adorned with left over flowers from the bridal bouquets. Our friend, Jessica, did an outstanding job constructing this rustic yet elegant cake along with the miniature cupcakes!
We skipped a formal dinner and went with a miniature dessert bar and also a self-serve popcorn bar – by far one of the best wedding planning decisions we made! We just could not justify spending thousands of dollars on a sub-par catered meal, and I just could not risk having bad food at my own wedding. I honestly cannot rave enough about how amazing all of the desserts were! All of the desserts were hand-made from scratch by my chef-buddy, Laura, and her husband, Erik. The frozen watermelon and mint granita was the only thing that got me through that hot day! And, how about that menu board?!
The centerpieces were also built from reclaimed wood by my father-in-law! What can I say, we know a lot of talented people! One of my favorite wedding planning details was getting to plant annuals and herbs into each of these boxes and then give them as thank you gifts to all the people who did so much to help out.
These succulents made the cutest little party gifts and were literally home-grown by my sister as well!
For the perfect end to a perfect day, we danced the night away on our home-made dance floor under the lights. We are both so, so thankful for all the hard-work and thought our friends and family put into our wedding day – we wouldn’t have changed a thing.
