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Minnesota Morning Wedding

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Minnesota Morning Wedding

Allyson + Tanner

Eden Prairie, Minnesota
- 09/17/2017
Total wedding budget $5,000
Minnesota Morning Wedding
Minnesota Morning Wedding
Minnesota Morning Wedding
Minnesota Morning Wedding
Minnesota Morning Wedding
Minnesota Morning Wedding
Minnesota Morning Wedding
Minnesota Morning Wedding
Minnesota Morning Wedding
Minnesota Morning Wedding
Minnesota Morning Wedding
Minnesota Morning Wedding
Minnesota Morning Wedding
Minnesota Morning Wedding
Minnesota Morning Wedding
Minnesota Morning Wedding

What was your wedding budget? Please provide a budget breakdown.

  • Dress was $800
  • Pictures were $500
  • Food was $1000
  • Cake was $180
  • Flowers were $80
  • Corsages were $40
  • Flights for the pastor and his wife were $500
  • Wedding Party GIfts were about $200
  • Venue was $500
  • We didn’t pay for refreshments/drinks for the wedding morning, rehearsal dinner, most transportation, and parents helped with food and dress.
  • Family members also contributed and/or covered specific aspects of the wedding.

Total Budget: $5000

How did you meet?

Tanner and I met while working for a nonprofit organization in Denver, Colorado. We struck up a friendship and soon realized there was a special connection between us and that we shared similar dreams and goals.

What is your proposal story?

After dating for 8 months, Tanner took us to a dock on Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis, Minnesota where we had had one of the first conversations about our future together. We were just standing there chatting when Tanner got down on one knee, told me he loves me and asked me to marry him. There was a group of teenage girls sitting in a circle about 10 feet from us and none of them noticed there was someone proposing right behind them! Of course, I said yes.

Tell us about your wedding vision.

We wanted a simple wedding and wanted it to be a place where people could come together, share a meal, and feel loved. This led to choosing details that were cost-effective and that utilized the strengths and creativity of people we know. Choosing blush pink, cream, and grey for our colors was an easy choice and we wanted a theme that was between a summer and fall feel since the wedding was at the end of September. Choosing downtown Excelsior was an easy choice for us and it has a small-town vibe, as well as nature and waterfront. We found the perfect venue with a rustic vibe, which was something that I was really looking for. All of this worked together to have flowers, especially sunflowers, and accents throughout the ceremony and reception.

Tell us about your attire choices.

The bridesmaids wore blush pink floor-length wraparound dresses, and the groomsman and groom wore grey slacks, cream shirts, and pink bow ties that matched the dresses. All of these options were chosen with the intent of keeping prices low for the people in our wedding party, as well as giving them items they could use in the future. Another deciding factor for using wraparound dresses was that all four of my bridesmaids have different body types and heights and I wanted something they could customize and feel comfortable in.

What was most important to you two while planning? Was there anything you chose to splurge on or skip?

The most important thing to us while planning was that our choices reflected who we are as a couple and that each detail centered around our main goal of wanting our wedding to be a space that brought people together. We agreed to splurge on the dress, food, and transportation help for some of our wedding party. We chose to skip the expensive cake and decorations.

What were your favorite parts of the day?

One of my favorite memories was having the pastor who officiated, Devin, pray for us before the ceremony. I had interned under him, and his family has been some of the most influential people in my life.  It was the perfect way to start our wedding.

Another favorite memory was that my now-brother-in-law Shane left the rings in the back of the venue, and when Devin asked for the rings Shane had to run to the back of the room to grab them.

After the ceremony, we walked down Excelsior’s main street taking pictures, and a mom with her young son and daughter saw us. The daughter, Abby, started saying “it’s a princess!” and we stopped and took a picture with her, and I gave her and her brother flowers from my bouquet.

Outside of the specific stories, one of the most important parts of the day was the number of people who were around to attend our wedding. Most of our guests were from out of town and were people who played huge roles in my development as well as Tanner’s. Having so many friends from different places and different seasons of life was the biggest blessing of the whole process.

Tell us about your wedding flowers.

Wedding flowers was a detail we decided we could save money on. We bought bouquets of flowers from Costco and arranged our own bouquets. They turned out perfectly and saved a lot of money. We also bought sunflowers to sit in jars on the tables.

What did you do for favors?

Our favors were made by a good family friend of mine, who also made all of the decorations. She made small burlap bags, with flower-shaped sweet mints inside of them. The outside had a note attached to it with a Bible verse and our wedding date and names on it.

Do you have any advice for couples planning their wedding now?

I would encourage people to ask themselves what is really important to them and base their decisions on what their goal is. For us, we wanted our wedding to be something bigger than just us. I would also encourage people to make decisions that reflect who they are as a couple and to not take others’ opinions and advice too personally.

VENDORS

Photography: Liebe Photography • Ceremony Venue: Pique Travel Design • Reception Venue: Pique Travel Design • Wedding Cake: Nothing Bundt Cakes • Makeup: MYSELF • Wholesale Flowers: Costco • Floral: Bachman’s • Second Shooting: Annilea Lund • Catering: Coalition Catering • Linens: Pique Travel Design • Hair: MYSELF • Wedding Dress: The Wedding Shoppe • Bride’s Shoes: Converse • Bridesmaid Dresses: Lulu’s • Submitted via: Matchology