All photos below by Britt of Render Photography.
Venue: Calvary Baptist Church
I started attending Calvary in early 2015. I have loved this historic, wonderful, relevant, and relational house of worship ever since. I even worked at Calvary in admin for almost two years and my photo studio (until this month!) is here. When thinking about where we’d marry I knew right away that Calvary was the place. It was so beautiful on our wedding day with much of the foliage in red and orange.
Reception: Nicollet Island Inn
Seth was smitten with the Inn and told me it was one of the few things he really cared about when it came to our wedding. The inn holds many memories for me as it has been a place where dad and I have brunched since I was little. I really loved the idea of having our reception in a larger, open room (like Machine Shop), but the quaintness of the Inn won. I also knew their food would be excellent, and we were right. I wanted our guests to enjoy their time, and for anyone staying out of town to be able to easily go upstairs to bed.
We had an amazing menu, truly delicious. I have been to so many weddings with not great food. I was determined to do a buffet because it would help ensure higher quality food for our guests. The tasting was one of my favorite parts of wedding planning.
Hors D’Oeuvres | gourgeres, pear honey and brie crostini, and mini chicken tostada
Entree | Caesar salad, wild rice pilaf and herb roasted potatoes, roasted chicken mushroom gnocchi and strip steak
Cake | Cocoa and Fig, we did a custom top layer of MomoFuku Milk Bar birthday cake and the rest was C+F’s amazing peanut butter bomb cake. DELICIOUS!
I will say their customer service could use some work. We ended up having some issues with getting their cake stand back to them, but overall the dessert quality is worth it. I cannot wait to eat our top layer come our anniversary.
Flowers | Lexington Floral
I had some trouble finding a florist initially, I kept getting outrageous bids. I’m so glad Mara told me about Lexington, though. Kim made my flower dreams come true– I wanted a classic rose bouquet, that felt romantic and vintage. She nailed it. Lexington also carved jack-o-lanterns for us which was a fun request Seth had.
Hair | Charity Carlson
Charity came highly recommended by my friend (and personal attendant) Jess. She lived up to every good word and then some. I loved how my hair turned out. I ended up getting some clip in extensions for the day off for added drama, zero regrets there. I also ended up doing a second style for the actual reception. I love Charity and am thrilled with how my hair looked in each photo. She was a delight to work with.
Makeup | Ely Shun
Ely was recommended by Mara, and I loved her work! She did the makeup for all the women in the bridal party and was a delight to work with.
Day of coordinator | Angie Larson of Hart and Sole
I am so, so glad we chose to hire a coordinator. An entire planner was not in our wedding budget, but I was so grateful that I found out about Angie through our florist. She made the day so smooth and kept any and all stresses away from Seth and I. Most of all, she was hugely helpful with the flow of the day and wedding to-do list.
Officiant | Pastor Jeff Cowmeadow
Pastor Jeff is an excellent pastor and did a lovely job for our wedding. Seth told me that right beforehand he came into the room with him and the groomsmen and chatted and had a drink with them. So sweet. I’ve known Pastor Jeff for a few years now, and got to know him better when I worked for him. It felt so special to have him marry Seth and I.
