Minnesota Wedding by Geneoh

Nothing like a good Midwest wedding shot by geneoh photography to lift our midweek spirits! Renee and Nathan handmade their own wedding touches that represented how they met and what they love, which are some of things we will never tire of sharing. The rest was left in great hands with Lizie Anne Weddings ensuring their wedding day went perfectly.

From the bride, Renee:I would describe my style as a bit more classic, while Nathan is definitely country. We wanted our wedding to look and feel like a perfect blend of both our styles. When we found the Mayowood Stone Barn, it had that rustic feel yet was so classic and elegant. We knew it was a great canvas, so from there we brought in more elements that further displayed our style “marriage.”

Nathan and I love wine, so we made place card holders out of wine corks. Then instead of using the traditional numbers for the tables, we named them based on something significant to us as a couple. For example, one of the table names was Cribbage because Nathan and I play cribbage together every day 🙂 Finally, you might see a photo of a kissing booth. Nathan and had one of our first kisses an got engaged in a kissing booth so we applied a fun twist to a photo booth and made it a kissing booth.

We opted for soft, classic colors throughout. Primary colors were butter yellow, ivory, blush and light gray. We had one major DIY project in our programs. I decided I’d save money by tea staining and distressing our paper, printing ourselves, adding the doilies, lace, etc. The effort took multiple hours from many family members, and was much more work than anticipated. However, in the end, it was worth it to hear so many of our guests comment on how they had never seen anything like that at a wedding. In the back of our minds, with every decision we made, we were consistently challenging ourselves to create an experience that would be as unique as possible for our guests.

Any advice for brides planning their weddings now?
Much of the wedding stress comes the month, weeks and days leading up to the wedding. Every bride wants to be excited during this time, but often it’s difficult because there are so many last minute details to iron out. I would tell brides to consider hiring a day-of wedding planner – someone who can stress about those details prior to and on the big day. Even if you don’t have a huge budget, the peace of mind and ability to actually enjoy the biggest day of your lives is priceless. My mom, who also didn’t have to stress as much thanks to our wedding planner, would agree 🙂 Plus, we found that most planners offered a complete planning package and a day-of or month-prior package for a pretty low rate considering what you get.

Wedding Songs:
We played a mix of my taste (pop, hip hop), Nathan’s taste (country) and a little bit of everything else including some funk. Our DJ was great at reading the crowd, so ended up playing a majority of pop/hip hop, which kept the crowd dancing most of the night! The bride processional was an acapella song by a singer we hired. His name is Lee Fuchs and he sang a modified version of Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah.” The recessional was Ray Lamontangue’s “You Are The Best Thing.” Our first dance was “The Shape of Us” by Ian Britt. The father/daughter dance was Tom Jones “Green Green Grass of Home.” This song holds a special place in our hearts, as it was the song my grandfather danced with each of his 9 daughters at their weddings. He is no longer with us today, but we know he was watching down as we danced to his song.

The Menu:

Omar’s Kitchen Catering makes the most delicious, homemade food / Salads: Tossed field greens with ranch or kiwi balsamic dressing, Sweet creamy coleslaw with pineapple & grapes, Ole’ fashion potato salad / Slider Bar: Meats – grilled burgers, grilled breast of chicken, pulled pork, sliced beef brisket Breads: cranberry wild rice, 11 grain, pumpernickel, crusty artisan rolls / Sauces: chipotle chile, Asian BBQ, red curry mango, traditional BBQ / Fixings: pickles, onions, jalapeños / Sides: Southern style baked beans simmered in brown sugar & bacon, Potatoes au gratin in rich three-cheese sauce / Dessert Homemade pie: mixed berry, strawberry rhubarb, pear

Wedding Location: Rochester, MN / Wedding Photographer: geneoh photography / Wedding Venue: Mayowood Stone Barn / Wedding Planner: Lizie Anne Weddings / Wedding Flowers: Munster Rose / Hair and Makeup: Blu Water Salon / Wedding Caterer and Dessert: Omar’s Kitchen Catering / Bartender: Apollo Liquor / DJ: Bellagala / Dance Floor Rental: Picnic Table Rental / Wedding Dress: Lazaro style 3004 / Shoes: Butter / Groom’s suit: The groom wore a suit from JCrew and the groomsmen wore vests and pants from JC Penney / Wedding invitations: I ordered printed cards from Pear Tree Greetings, then purchased the envelopes, lace and wax stamp on my own, and assembeled on my own / Transportation: We reserved blocks of rooms at the Hilton and Double Tree downtown Rochester. The hotel provided free transportation to and from the venue to the hotel.