Stephanie + Carson

The First Sight:

In October of 2015, I planned a birthday party for my best friend at The Loon Cafe in downtown Minneapolis.  During the party, a sweet couple (Peter & Jessica) came up to me and asked lots of personal questions (it felt like an interview).  Little did I know that after our conversation, Peter went outside and called Carson saying “I just met this girl that I think you’ll really like!  Get to the party NOW!”  Carson came to the party, took a couple of shots with Peter, then walked up to me and started a conversation.  Carson says the “seas parted” as he walked in my direction.  We talked about our jobs and hobbies, and then he asked me what kind of music I liked.  For some odd reason, I said “JAZZ!”, which was somewhat of a lie (I just wanted to sound cooler than I was).  Turns out, Carson LOVES jazz, and follows it regularly.  He started talking about all of these jazz musicians and I just had to nod and pretend I knew what he was talking about!  Later in the night, Carson approached me again and asked me out on a date for the following week.  I was happy to say ‘yes!’  And then he asked for a photo with me.  Ha!  We still laugh about that!

The Proposal:

Carson and I always had an honest relationship and I knew that we were destined for each other, but in order to protect myself, I never really brought up getting married or having a wedding.  2 years after we started dating, we bought a house in South Minneapolis.  My girlfriend Morgan (who was the only one in on the proposal) and I were hanging out one Saturday afternoon when I got a call from Carson asking if I could meet him at the new house for a walk-through with our realtor.  Morgan and I drove over to the house and as I walked in the front door (describing where we were going to put the furniture, TV, blah blah blah) I turned the corner into the dining room to see Carson standing there in a suit and tie, surrounded by flower vases on the floor and our favorite Shins song playing on the radio.  Carson was crying but somehow said the most beautiful speech that ended in asking for my hand in marriage.  I screamed out “YES”, cried with him for what seems like an hour, and Morgan got everything on video.  It was such an amazing day and something we both will never forget!

The Venue:

Our ceremony was at the Byron Lutheran Church (Byron, MN is where I grew up, and I attended this church with my family until leaving for college).  After touring countless venues for our reception, we finally decided on The Doubletree in Rochester.  The reception ballroom was beautiful, the wedding coordinator was fantastic, and we loved the idea of having our reception at a hotel so our guests didn’t have to drive after a wild party.

The Favorite Moment:

Carson and I continually talk about how we wish we could relive our special day over and over again.  Everything was perfect!  The ceremony was incredibly spiritual and personal, which made it very special.  After the ceremony, our wedding party hopped on a gorgeous trolley that traveled around town for photo ops (lots of champagne was consumed on the trolley).  My mom and her friends coordinated a dance to a Greece song and performed it before the reception, so that is definitely something we will never forget (and I’m sure our guests won’t either!).  Our band was fantastic!  They played hits from the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and today.  They were an 11-piece band with so much talent.  The dance floor was never empty, and we still get comments on how fun our reception was.  The music and the dance were definitely my favorite part!  Carson loves shoes, so I had custom Nike’s made for our reception.  I gave him the gift during the dance and I will never forget the look on his face; he was so happy!

The Dress:

Morgan and I traveled to New York to find my dress.  I was actually on the TV Show ‘Say Yes to the Dress’ when I found it!  The show was filmed at Kleinfeld Bridal, and my parents flew out for the filming, as well.  I tried on about 8 dresses, but knew I had found the one when I couldn’t stop crying!  The dress was ivory and A-line, and had a beautiful lace overlay.  I really wanted sleeves for the ceremony, so I reached out to a company called Linyage in Eau Claire, WI and had sleeves made.  I also took the lace from my mom’s wedding dress and had it put on a cathedral-length veil.  Everything about it was stunning and special.

The Party:

Our bridal party was SO MUCH FUN!  I had 9 bridesmaids and Carson had 9 groomsmen.  We are very social people, so it was hard to pick who was going to be in the wedding!  We also had 3 ushers, 2 personal attendants, a flower girl and a ring bearer.  The boys got their navy suits at Heimie’s Haberdashery in St. Paul.  I originally wanted coral bridesmaids dresses, but they all showed up in bright pink!  We ordered them from Demetrios Bridal Salon inside of Macy’s downtown Minneapolis.  The navy and pink ended up looking beautiful together.  Our accent color was gold, so the venue was decorated in gold sequence!

THE WEDDING TEAM:

Photographer : Studio KH

Reception: Doubletree hotel, Rochester, MN

Ceremony: Byron Lutheran Church

Reception Entertainment: The R Factor

Floral: Our flowers were done by our decorator, Christina Wilke

Dessert:  Our cake and cupcakes were done by HyVee in Rochester (BEST cake I’ve ever had!)

Catering:  Doubletree Caterers

Planner:  Briana McDonald (best best best wedding planner in the biz)

Bridal Shop:  Kleinfeld Bridal for the wedding gown, Demetrios Salon for the bridesmaids dresses

Menswear:  Heime’s Haberdashery for the suits, Hugo Boss for Carson’s suit