What do you do when a thunderstorm decides to roll through on your wedding day? Your outdoor wedding day. Well, you keep your cool and opt to get married under a tree instead!
Oh, Jen and Mike. There was SO much charm and love coming from this blending of families on their wedding day! Let’s tell this story from the beginning. If they knew one thing, it was that they wanted to get married on their new acreage near Lake Benton, Minnesota (which I must add — is SO cute! A charming farm house with a wrap-around porch, goats, horses, barns, trees, and beautiful groves of wild flowers!). The other thing they knew is that they wanted to get married outside. I remember Jen saying, “I want to get married under this tree. It’s where I picture us sitting as we watch our children grow.” So that was the plan — and it was a beautiful one.
Little did we know, the weather had other plans, though. We sent out save the dates, invitations and printed programs on eco-friendly ivory paper and got the ball rolling! (Do you have questions about our wedding invitations or pricing?) We did Wedding planning for decorations, renting tables, chairs, hanging bistro lights from the trees, renting linens, sand ceremony logistics, planters full of curly willows…we planned for it all. (Do you have questions about what exactly we do as wedding planners?)
We knew there was a 30-80% chance of rain on their wedding day, so we were hesitant to move everything indoors (when Jen & Mike wanted SO MUCH to have their wedding outdoors). But we made the call. It was difficult, but we decided to move the reception indoors — into their machine shed and move forward with the ceremony outdoors under her beloved tree.
Moving the reception inside prevented a number of issues:
- There was no risk of centerpieces and linens and chairs getting soaked
- There was no risk of soggy, muddy surroundings, causing chairs to sink into the ground when people sat for dinner
- There was no risk of getting electrocuted by the bistro lights hanging from the trees and the extension cords getting wet!
- There was no risk of the bride’s hair and makeup getting soggy either.
- There was no risk of their five beautiful cakes slouching off the table.
So, we did just that. Instead of setting up an outdoor dinner area with bistro lights hanging from the trees, we turned their new shop into a reception hall. We brought in curtains, tables, chairs, still hung bistro lights from the conduit in the ceiling. We made it work!
Jen, the bride, used fresh wildflowers to decorate the centerpieces with vases from Hitch. We used lanterns, candles, dusty blue and navy blue accents with greenery and even hand-sewn napkins for guests to use. She cut fresh tall grasses from her grove and we made the shop look beautiful!
The wedding however…
We checked the storm tracker radar every five minutes and we knew that at 6:00 the storm would be rolling through. Her wedding ceremony time? 6:00. Of course. Being optimistic, we set up her entire ceremony under their tree (including the sand ceremony EXACTLY how they wanted it). It was so charming and beautiful. But, when it decided to start raining at 5:50 p.m., we decided to haul the chairs back inside! We can just wait out this storm, right? Right…?
Nope. We were waiting…and waiting…and waiting for the storm to pass. All of sudden, Jen looks at Mike and says, “Let’s do this. Let’s get married.” She looks at me and says, “Tell everyone to meet us in the front yard under the large pine tree. They can stand under our wrap-around porch and watch us get married. We all stay dry…and I still get to be married outside!”
And off we went! We carried umbrellas for guests to make it to the porch, we sprinted with planters to get them to the pine tree, we made sure the bride stayed dry…and they got married under the lights!
After the ceremony, we all gathered for dinner, cake and a sand ceremony. It was the sweetest idea. Each member of their newly combined family (eight people total) poured one color of sand into the jar to make a blended family keepsake. Everyone danced the night away, sang along, ate cake, had some drinks and celebrated this truly memorable day.
We wish Jen & Mike a lifetime of forever love. Truly…it was such a blessing to be a part of such a day full of love and family.
If you need help planning your outdoor wedding — or simply help with decorating and logistics, let us know. We can get you through any storm your wedding may bring (literally and figuratively). Bring on the sunshine. 🙂
For a guide to Midwestern weather, check out this blog!