Wade Lundeen and Rachel Lundeen's Wedding in Brainerd, Minnesota

The story of our wedding

Wade and I love winter: we started dating in January of 2015 when we were AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers together with Habitat for Humanity. We wanted a "lodge in the woods" theme that incorporated Wade's career in tree care, and we found that at Grand View Lodge in Nisswa, MN. The day was sprinkled with wood, greenery, and Minnesota elements: Wade made the wood welcome signs, the box for our wine box ceremony, the wood slabs for our centerpieces, and all of the bouquets and boutonnieres. To continue the theme, we decided to have tables labeled with Minnesota trees instead of numbers, and our escort cards were written on tree leaves and cloths pinned to a trellis.

We wanted to elevate the rustic pieces with classic elegance - we chose deep green, black, and gold as our colors to highlight the northern Minnesota winter scenery. Our floral decorations combined deep cedar, white roses, and gold-painted leaves from our neighborhood in St. Paul. The aisle was lined with mismatched black lanterns, and the mantle was covered with candles and fresh yew from my parent's yard. As a nod to my 100-year-old grandmother, I wore the black velvet cape she wore to her high school prom for outdoor pictures.