A Cottagecore Fairytale Wedding at Burlap and Bells

February 7, 2025

Shannon and Travis

Shannon and Travis definitely found love in an unexpected place: Suppz Gym. Travis worked as a personal trainer and Shannon was his client. As soon as Shannon saw Travis, she thought “He is so attractive! I love this man, I am going to marry him some day!” (Travis gets that he looks like Matthew McConnaughey A LOT) and 5 minutes later, he took her weight, BMI, and watched her run a mile.

After six months of a purely professional personal training relationship and workouts, they became friends and Shannon eventually took a bold step and asked Travis to meet her for drinks. The rest, as they say, was history!

The Proposal

After work, S + T went out for live music and a glass of wine. When they got home, she started making dinner and Travis asked if she wanted a glass of wine or her favorite cocktail (Bees Knees). Little did she know, he secretly placed her engagement ring at the bottom of her drink. For over an hour, the ring remained hidden, with Travis anxiously watching her drink, hoping she’d notice.

At one point he said something along the lines of “wouldn’t it be so nice if we were engaged right now and could spend our nights like this planning a wedding?”

Poor guy!!!

The night went on, he added a little more of the drink with the ring at the bottom and then FINALLY 10 minutes later Shannon spotted the ring at the bottom of her glass underneath the garnishes.

He got down on one knee, and she said yes. The Bees Knees cocktail made its appearance on the wedding day as their signature cocktail!

A Wedding Day Like No Other

Now, let’s fast forward to their beautiful August wedding day at Burlap and Bells. The day started off gloomy with radar predictions showing a potential downpour right at ceremony time, threatening their dream of exchanging vows in the pine tree grove.

Of course – choosing to get married in the great outdoors always has risks with Wisconsin weather, but a day full of rain when the magic of the space is that it’s all in the great outdoors is such a buzzkill! We moved forward with the day despite the rain, and hoped for the best!

Shannon and her dad shared a special first look in the rain followed by a first look with Travis in the woods.

Hand in hand, they walked to the vine chapel, exchanged private vows, and spent a moment together before they became husband and wife.

As the ceremony got closer, and guests started arriving, the final decision needed to be made with weather. We handed out umbrellas, sent all guests down to the ceremony site on the wagons where a few “good luck” raindrops accompanied guests as they arrived.

But about 2 minutes after Shannon walked down the aisle with her dad, the sunlight broke through the clouds and stopped JUST in time for the ceremony! Talk about divine intervention.

With their best friend John officiating, the ceremony was a beautiful blend of laughter, emotion, and profound love.

A Cottagecore Dream

Their wedding embraced a boho and cottagecore aesthetic and feel, featuring neutral and earthy tones with playful pops of color. Mismatched and vintage elements with a linen seating chart, beautiful stationery and bows, lace, and literally walking through the paths barefoot – Shannon and Travis’ encapsulated that carefree, whimsical feel. We loved how laid-back yet stunning everything was (and how beautifully Alina Kay captured it!)

Final Thoughts

What an absolutely MAGICAL day out in nature with Shannon and Travis. As Eau Claire-based planners, we’ve been to Burlap and Bells a handful of times and every wedding has been so different. We adored working with Shannon and Travis and loved how they embraced all that mother nature brought. It was a lovely, beautiful, heartfelt day!