This fabulous pair celebrated their Big Day in true lakeside style. From the cabin ceremony, to the vintage cherry truck billowing with Munster Rose magic, Nicolle Sellers made sure every moment was meaningful. With floral chandeliers beckoning merriment underneath a Sperry Tent reception, guests enjoyed cocktails and celebrations while Laura Ivanova and Sky Focus Films captured it all.
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From the beautiful Bride… To say we knew what we wanted for our wedding day would be somewhat of an understatement. WE KNEW. Peter and I had a shared love of a little lake town in Northern Minnesota called Detroit Lakes. Both of us grew up in the same suburb of Minneapolis and both of us grew up with this special lake town in our hearts. Detroit Lakes is not only special place to us, it is special to both of our families. My Mom grew up in “DL” and my parents met one summer day while water-skiing on a nearby lake. Fast forward a few years later and my parents were married at a Church in Detroit Lakes surrounded by their friends and family. Growing up, some of my most vivid memories are spending time in Detroit Lakes with my Grandparents and enjoying all of the activities “lake life” has to offer. Okay. Here is where thinks get weird – weird in a good way. Coincidentally, Peter’s parents built a lake house when he was eight years old in a little lake town in Minnesota called; you guessed it, Detroit Lakes. For over twenty years their family has created special memories in this town and Peter has spent every summer at the lake. During our first couple weeks of dating, Peter invited me to his cabin for the weekend. Upon arriving at the cabin, Peter’s parents greeted me with open arms and Peter’s dad offered his famous line, “Welcome to the Lake!” We spent that entire summer at the Lake together. A place that was special to each of our families and each of us as individuals quickly became OUR special place.
My father-in-law’s famous words “Welcome to the Lake” became our overarching theme for the wedding and every decision we made during the design process was made with this in mind. Katie Murphy of Katie Murphy Stationary brought our theme to life on letter pressed wood veneer invitations that guests received with hand-illustrated elements that nodded to our favorite things at the Lake.
For my wedding dress, I worked with Amanda Kautt the owner of L’Atelier Couture and Madeline Bergason at L’Atelier. They were an absolute dream to work with! After describing what I envisioned for my dress, they showed me Vera Wang’s “Lillian” and I knew it was the one. A year later, I was finally able to slip the dress on for the real deal!
Our ceremony was held at Peter’s family cabin. We wanted our ceremony to be meaningful and set the tone for the evening. When guests arrived, a vintage cherry red truck billowing with greenery, flowers and a sign that read “ON LAKE TIME” greeted them. Jackie and team at Munster Rose transformed the lakeside lawn into a beautiful ceremony site with a dreamy floral arch, whimsical urns, and a colorful garland on a refreshment bar. The string quartet played songs from The Beatles, Guns N’ Roses, Verve Pipe, and I walked out to Coldplay’s “Paradise” alongside my Dad with the biggest smile on my face. I literally looked like Mr. Ed because I was so freaking happy!
Following the ceremony, guests were shuttled to Peter’s favorite golf course, Detroit County Club, down the street. The cocktail hour was hosted under a Sperry tent with a custom-built 24-foot barnwood bar with décor that nodded to lake life and acknowledged our beloved dog, Scout. Our guests sipped on signature cocktails and snacked on mini versions of our favorite comfort foods (mostly consisting of of carbs and cheese). Lounge vignettes were created on either end of the tent from furniture I had mostly found on OneKingsLane.com and Jossandmain.com.
Dinner and dancing was held in a separate tent that glowed at the end the tree-lined golf course. When planning the design for this tent, I told Jackie from Munster Rose that this was where I wanted the night to feel like a big celebration so I asked her to make things big and awesome and OH MA GAH did she ever! Her team did an unbelievable job creating floral chandeliers that hung across the entire length of the tent. We spent the night dancing underneath these beauties as a 10-piece band had us partying until the very last minute! No visit to the Lake would be complete without eating our favorite pizza from The Hotel Shoreham, so we had the bar deliver hot pizza to the guests for a late night treat on the dance floor.
We still have to pinch ourselves when we think about our wedding day. In our favorite place, surrounded by our favorite people, we celebrated what is our favorite day ever. It would have never been possible without the support of our special wedding party, our family and of course partnering with the most unbelievable vendors I could have ever asked for. Although I had designed and planned wedding and events prior to our own, we enlisted Nicolle Sellers from Mother of The Bride as our planner. Hallelujah and thank the Lord that we did! Nicolle was the MVP of our team supporting all of our crazy design ideas and coordinating the overwhelming amount of logistics for our wedding. Mike Berg and his team at Detroit Country Club had never hosted a tented wedding before on their golf course but you would have never known that. Their team executed everything flawlessly and our guests still talk about how friendly the entire staff was throughout the night. THAT is Minnesota Nice at its best right there! I could go on and on about every single vendor that contributed to our day. There were a LOT of them and they all brought their best creativity forward to make our day special. We’re forever grateful for their patience, friendship, and amazing talents! A very special thanks to our photographer, Laura Ivanova and videographer, Chris Martin of Sky Focus Films for making us appear much better looking than we actually are.
Photography: Laura Ivanova Photography | Videographer: Sky Focus Films | Event Planning: Mother of the Bride | Floral Design: Munster Rose | Wedding Gown: l'atelier couture bridal boutique | Reception Venue: Detroit Country Club | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Bella Bridesmaid | Catering: Spanky's Stone Hearth | Hair And Makeup: Tina Beaupre | Hair And Makeup : Jules Annen | Band: The R Factor | Transportation: Anderson Bus Lines | Invitations & Stationery : Katie Murphy Stationery | Rentals: Sperry Tents | Rentals: Apres Party And Tent Rental