Rustic Enchanted Camp Wedding Inspiration

Melissa Baran
November 25, 2015
Categories: Photo Shoot, Wedding Style
Tags: Photo Shoot, Wedding Inspiration, Workshop

Every single moment and detail in THE VAULT had a birthplace. A spark of inspiration that set it’s beginning in motion. Many, many of those little bits came straight from incredible wedding vendor teams that push themselves further with each wedding they add to their repertoire. Camp Wedding, a fabulously fun workshop crafted by Cherry Blossom Events is a home for that creativity to flourish, and the results captured by Lexia Frank are the proof. Camping? Well, it never looked so pretty.

From Cherry Blossom Events….A great wedding vendor can be a planner, photographer, florist or other industry professionals. They typically have one goal in mind: creating an amazing event that the bride and groom will always look back on fondly. To do so means wedding professionals spending the busy wedding season, typically May through October, focused on the best interest of their clients, and working tirelessly to make sure their big days go off without a hitch.

That said, it may seem a lost cause to ask a group of these professionals to take a break from already packed schedules for a three day vendor retreat in September one of the most popular wedding months of the year. But Cherry Blossom Events , a creative event planning company out of Madison, Wisconsin, did just that with their production of Camp Wedding . The outcome? An event nothing short of spectacular, leaving vendors feeling creatively inspired, connected to industry peers, well fed and even more capable of giving couples the weddings of their dreams.

To stay current with the latest trends, not to mention make those trends a reality, Andrea VandeBerg and Sarah Sarbacker, co-owners of Cherry Blossom Events, have relied on attending conferences and workshops to better their business. “But this year our schedules were busier than ever, and we weren’t able to find one where the timing worked,” says the Cherry Blossom duo. “One day we joked that we should start our own workshop at Camp Wandawega . The next day we emailed the owners, and Camp Wedding was born.”

As the inspiration for the event’s theme, Camp Wandawega is the restored, nostalgic campsite located in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Filled with rustic tents, enchanted teepees, a treehouse fit for hipsters, and cottages that look right out of the 1950s, Camp Wandawega could double as the setting for a Wes Anderson film. The Camp has a long list of premium brands and glossy magazines for its press list, with the most recent being Land of Nod’s children’s catalog, offering an exclusively designed Wandawega product line of bedding, toys and decor.

Having already executed a wedding in this magical place, Cherry Blossom Events had been plotting a way to return for their own fun. Once the venue was secured, the two took the camp theme and ran with it. Guest were greeted with swag backpacks filled with goodies from Midwest vendors, awarded scout patch inspired pins for each session attended, treated to campfire talks made more complete with S’mores and given guide books to lead the way through the events and downtime of their days away from home.

But just because it was camp themed, don’t think guests had to eat canned baked beans and fire roasted hot dogs. “The food was divine”, says Rachel Tatge, owner of Top Shelf Weddings & Events . “Top tier Madison area restaurants and chefs were called upon for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and they did not disappoint. While the piece de resistance was the multi course dinner under the stars (and cafe string lights) on Tuesday evening, every meal made me one happy camper.”

Archery? Rope swings into the lake? Canoeing? Hammock naps? Yep, those were just a few of the R&R offerings that were awaiting guests at Camp Wedding. “When I found out about Camp Wedding, I was super excited to join and went so that I could disconnect from the madness of wedding season,” says Karen Murack with Karen Ann Photography , Wisconsin based/Destination Wedding Photographer. “I went to relax plus mingle with others in the weddingbusiness. I was beyond happy with my trip to Camp Wedding.”

Mingling was a big part of the retreat, and the environment lent itself perfectly for doing so. “My favorite part of Camp Wedding was spending time at camp connecting with other industry professionals, whether it was laying in the lounge chairs, eating lunch or sipping coffee at the picnic tables in the morning, says photographer Jenna Kutcher , who was a speaker at the event, as well as a guest. “The camp provided such a beautiful opportunity to unwind and soak up some sun while facilitating some great scenes to connect in.”

When it came time to get down to business, campers convened beneath a big top style wedding tent, sitting in pairs at tall, farm chic style tables. Topics in the workshop and breakout sessions covered the spectrum of the wedding business, with small business operations, taxes and marketing on the more professional end and sketching tips, chalkboard design, and yoga on the lawn on the creative side. “The speaker lineup was stellar, and I was looking forward to getting some quality insight on several facets of the industry most of which I knew very little,” says Emily Balsley of Emily Balsley Illustration , who conducted the sketching workshops.

With goal of offering a retreat with a balance of great information, pretty inspiration and a fun time for attendees to just relax during the busy season, Cherry Blossom Events met and exceeded expectations with their first Camp Wedding.

Campers learned, got inspired, and connected in ways that aren’t always possible when working together as vendors on the same wedding. And like those weddings that vendors produce, Camp Wedding started with guests who were nearly strangers, but ended with everyone feeling emotionally connected when camp came to a close.

“I always cry when I speak; it’s like I can’t contain it and I turn into a puddle of tears,” says Kutcher. “It was such a unique opportunity to open up Camp Wedding with a keynote and give the closing keynote. As I looked around on the last day, I couldn’t help but get emotional at how truly talented and beautiful the attendees were. I wanted to empower them to go after the things they have been dreaming of and to offer themselves a little more grace. It was such a cool experience to watch transformations happen in those short days.”

Even though the first Camp Wedding finished just recently, VandeBerg and Sarbacker have already jumped right into planning the next Camp Wedding! “Speaking and attending Camp Wedding was one of the favorite things I have done this year to continue to grow my business,”says Ali Philips, professional wedding planner and owner of Chicago based Engaging Events by Ali. “It was the most magical three days in the woods of Wisconsin with likeminded wedding professionals and was a great way to clear my head from the busy wedding season and reignite the passion within for our careers. The education in the seminars and friendships formed at this event will always be remembered. The time allowed us to talk in a very comfortable and open forum about best practices for our businesses but also just have fun, laugh, jump off a pier, watch the sunrise from a canoe and dance the night away in the woods together. I have a little new “Camp Wed” family that I look forward to seeing next year at Wandewega.”

Want to be a future happy camper? Be sure to sign up to receive the details for upcoming events.