Our rehearsal and dinner went so well! I am grateful that we had the chance to walk through everything, I would have been so nervous day of without this time to prepare. Friday morning I woke up early to get everything prepared. My mom arrived around 9:30am to watch Priscilla and brought my dear Aunt Ann who was visiting from PA.
As soon as she got there Seth and I sped off for Downtown where I dropped him off at work for a few hours. Then, I picked up Mara at her mom and dad’s house so we could grab some decor. From there we went to Starbucks (of course) then to Calvary where we got tons of stuff set up. Mara is just about the only person in the world who I would want helping me the day before my wedding. She was just an incredible support. We had some time to spare so we grabbed a final bachelorette lunch at World Street Kitchen. Yum!
Once we finished up at lunch we swung back to Seth’s office, picked him up, and headed back to our old condo to pick up a package. Then Seth drove us back to Stillwater so Mara and I could get our nails done and he could get some last minute groomsmen gifts. We had the most hilarious nail salon experience, but were thrilled with our manicures.
Back at home we quickly got ready and our sitter Mya arrived. We headed off again to Minneapolis and arrived at Calvary just a few minutes before 5:30pm. We made it!
{Photos by Jessica Devins & Mara Oakvik}
Everyone was there except for my parents who classically arrived 30 minutes late 😉 I love them so much! Pastor Jeff was hysterical and started with a story about one of the stained glass windows. I had never seen church cleaner! It looked amazing. Angie, our wedding coordinator, helped facilitate everything. We were ready to go after two run throughs. Seth and I were really letting loose and being silly by this point. It was all coming together and we were feeling excited.
{Me telling Seth he was only allowed to kiss me on the cheek. He leaned in for a huge smooch and I don’t get how his introverted self has the capacity for such PDAs!}
All of my bridesmaids were there except Arlene who was flying in from NYC around 9pm. It was so special to have these women by my side. Lindsay, who I met when I was in high school. Mara, my closest friend and former studio mate. Leah, my dearest friend I met at Calvary. The best part is, they all connected super well and we’ve forged a sweet group of friends. We are already planning a winter getaway to Lindsay’s in Las Vegas. May the wedding weekend never end, in the words of Leah!
Also by my side was my very close friend Jess. Jess has been a constant support, confidant, and photography buddy. She is like a sister to me. She and Kate were my personal attendants. I’m so glad she could come to the church beforehand. Her eye and expertise added great value to our day.
After the run throughs were over we headed down a few blocks to Icehouse. If you recall our love story, this was the fated spot of our very first date. We knew we had to have our dinner here! The owner, Brian, was positively wonderful. He made sure we had all we needed and the menu was divine.
My favorite part of the entire evening was listening to our dads and close friends speak. My dad got up and said some very kind, wonderful words about how he knew he liked Seth right away. Then Greg, Seth’s dad, got up and spoke. It was very, very special. He said he wanted to share Seth’s and my best attributes— he said that Seth’s was his kindness that he got from his Aunt Connie (his God mom, who just passed away about a year ago) and mine was my faith in God. “With faith and kindness you cannot go wrong.” I was so honored and humbled. I will remember that as long as I live. I was so touched.
Lance got up and shared a funny story about Seth and how he never misbehaved on the bus growing up. Then Leah stood up and shared how she appreciates my heart for racial justice. It was such a wonderful moment!
So many wonderful people were there including my other attendant Kate and her husband and the rest of our bridal party. We were so happy to spend some time with all of them. It was truly the best way to kick off our wedding weekend. We are very blessed that so many people were able to come together to share in our day.
