Alexandra + Adam | North Shore Wedding

Photographer:
Winsome Photography
Wedding Dress:
The Wedding Shoppe
Floral:
Fleuriste Floral
Menswear:
Knight's Chamber
Catering:
Famous Dave's
Hair & Makeup:
Hannah Lange

Towering trees, epic views of Lake Superior, and luscious fall leaves make northern Minnesota a scenic and romantic destination. That’s why when Alexandra and Adam, 28 and 25 of Graham Township, MN, had to downsize their wedding due to COVID, a North Shore wedding seemed like the perfect fit. The couple pulled off an intimate and sentimental affair with their closest friends and family with just a month a half to plan. 

THE PROPOSAL

Alexandra, a Zookeeper at Safari North Wildlife Park, met Adam, an Artificial Insemination Technician for Select Sires, while he tutored her in a class at the University of Wisconsin – River Falls. He’d actually noticed her months earlier at a Halloween party so he was elated when she showed up to be tutored by him! 

“Adam took me to my favorite place (which became our favorite place) — the North Shore,” Alexandra says of the proposal. “He proposed to me at sunrise on top of Day Hill in Splitrock Lighthouse State Park that beautifully looks over Lake Superior. It was so peaceful with no one awake in the park and the lake still as glass. I accidentally twisted my ankle right before he proposed and needed to sit down and he yelled ‘You can’t sit down!’ I was like ‘Why can’t I?’ then shortly after I found out why!”

THE PLANNING

After knowing they had to change venues, the couple decided on Lutsen Resort. “Our Minister, one of my best friends, inspired us with Lutsen Resort as I had married her & her husband there a few months earlier in February (I’m a Minister as well),” explains the bride. “It was super special! Lutsen Resort was so kind to us, we are forever grateful to be squeezed in with a month’s notice!”

The bride describes their wedding vibe as “Northern Glam” that was “sentimental, simple, and cozy”. Their initial wedding in St. Paul was set to be a Black Tie affair, so they asked all 60 guests to stick with it but to add outdoorsy boots to match the terrain at their North Shore wedding. 

 

As for decor, the bride says it “was a mixture of heirlooms and gifts our wedding party gave us for our wedding. It was so personal and everyone felt so special when they saw the decor! We didn’t bring much as Lutsen Resort is picture perfect and the fall colors took your breath away! Our flowers were created by Fleuriste Floral. They turned out stunning and I highly recommend them! I had them add leather to all the flowers which was the perfect touch for our Northern Glam theme.” 

The bride added personal touches into her look by carrying an Irish 5 pence in her shoe all day, and had all of her bridesmaids and attendants borrow her something to get ready as her “something borrowed”. 

THE PARTY

During the ceremony, the bride and groom were surrounded by close friends and family dressed in sleek black dresses and black suits. As for her own gown, Alexandra says she “wanted something romantic and royal looking. It was the 4th dress I tried on, I couldn’t stop dancing in it and smiling! The dress was a Maggie Sottero named Glenn.” She added a fur shawl to keep warm and add some glam.

 

Alexandra says the ceremony was her favorite part, especially as she was “crying happy tears while holding his hands during our wedding ceremony! I’d never been so happy and so in love with him! He had the biggest smile on his face and I felt like the luckiest gal on earth becoming his wife!” 

After vows were said, the guests enjoyed a social hour around a bonfire on the shoreline of Lake Superior followed by a dinner inspired by the couple’s first date eats — BBQ and pie. A perfect North Shore wedding celebration if you ask us. 

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

Despite the setbacks due to the pandemic, Alexandra says it put things into perspective for her. “I personally think Coronavirus was a blessing towards weddings because it was a wake-up call for all of us to get back to the real purpose of a wedding…marriage.” And her advice for couples currently planning a wedding is “All you need is love and the people in your life who will do anything to help make your day special! Don’t let your family tell you who you need to invite or what to do, this day is not about them. Anyone invited to a wedding should be honored because all who really need to be there is an officiant, bride & groom, and 2 witnesses.”


Vendors Cont.  — Dessert: Betty’s Pies & Key’s Cafe | Bridesmaids Fashion: The Wedding Shoppe | Bridal Accessories: Sissly Designs, The Wedding Shoppe, Red Wings | Rings: Kay Jewelers & Manly Bands | Officiant: Minister Jordan Stevens

For more fall wedding inspo like this North Shore wedding, check out more love stories here.