Katie is an Early Childhood Educator for Owatonna Public Schools, while Matt is Clinic Assistant for Minnesota Gastroenterology. They are great fans of football and country music and spend their summers in northern Minnesota. Their love for each other and the area were reflected in their up north destination wedding .
How They Met
Katie and Matt were introduced to each by her best friend since kindergarten (who also is Matt’s coworker). After a first date of dinner and night of dancing to a country cover band, Katie felt Matt could be her “Mr. Right”. This feeling turned into a beautiful romantic moonlit proposal during a trip to Cancun, Mexico. They spent the rest of their vacation celebrating their new future together.
Up North Destination Wedding
Matt grew up spending his summers in Crosslake, Minnesota, so soon after they started dating, Matt brought Katie “up north” to experience his “roots”. Later when wedding planning began, they both knew this is where they wanted to start married life.
When they first walked into the Whitefish Lodge and Suites, they immediately knew it had to be their venue. It is a beautiful space for indoor weddings and a gorgeous area for outdoor weddings. The best of both worlds and perfect for a Minnesota destination wedding! Having an April wedding outdoors in Minnesota is risky due to the unknown weather conditions, but they were determined to try. A 22″ snowfall the weekend prior moved the ceremony inside, but the day itself was sunny and warm.
Colors and Style
Having known Katie since she and my niece Cassie became best friends in kindergarten, being asked to do the flowers and decor for her wedding was extra meaningful. Katie and Matt wanted the day to reflect their love of the up north woods and the rustic feel of northern Minnesota, so we brought in touches of birch and cedar.
To Katie a spring wedding meant light fresh colors. The bridesmaids wore different shades of blush. We helped Katie choose complimentary hues of lavender, blush and a light coral and brought those colors to life with roses, tulips, and peonies. Lots of candles illuminated the venue and gave the evening a soft romantic feel to their destination wedding.
Lasting Memories
Katie and Matt have many special memories of their day, including her brother officiating the ceremony. He added a unique touch that made everyone smile, laugh, and think about the special bond of family. They both adored having all their family and friends at their up north destination wedding. Neither will forget everyone they love on the dance floor jamming out as music by the Backstreet Boys played!
Beautiful photo credit: ADOR Photography
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In September of 2019 I was the owner and lead designer of a successful wedding floral design and styling business in Minnesota, and quite content with things as they were. As life would have it, however, my husband's job moved us 350 miles away. Leaving children, grandchildren, our home and my business behind, we made the move and settled in by early February 2020, just as #Covid19 started trending everywhere.
As a way to manage the upheaval of the move and the isolation of the pandemic, I turned my creativity to painting, crafting and photography. Always an entrepreneur and not yet ready to retire, I decided to start another business, One Precious Pearl...the Next Chapter.
Combining mixed media art with bookbinding, I now design and sell journals of various types. They range from vintage, modern vintage or mid century, junk, art, writing, faith or commonplace journals. I also welcome and thoroughly enjoy commissioned pieces!