To know Michelle is to adore her. When she first inquired with me I knew IMMEDIATELY we would be perfect together. She is not only a gem of a human being, but she truly doesn’t even know how great she is. Her style is amazing and effortless, and she wanted the wedding to feel more like an elevated dinner party: an opportunity to bring her nearest and dearest together in an approachable way. With tablescapes adorned with vibrant florals with fruit, all set at the one and only Lynhall in St. Paul, MN – their wedding day truly was a perfect blend of Michelle’s Vietnamese heritage with the joy of their love.
The Setup
The Lynhall is a gorgeous venue and we chose it for the ability to be flexible with multi-purpose spaces. Our first setup was the Vietnamese Tea Ceremony to honor Michelle’s roots.
The wedding started with a traditional Vietnamese tea ceremony. Michelle, Shane and their bridal party wore áo dàis (traditional Vietnamese tunics worn on special occasions).
A tea ceremony is an important pre-wedding ritual where the bride and groom formally introduce their families and pay respect to their ancestors. During the ceremony, the groom’s side carries ornate Vietnamese boxes with gifts (usually food, wine, cakes, etc) and the families exchange. The couple then serves tea to parents and the family members in exchange with gifts like jewelry, advice, money (lucky red envelopes) and advice.
After the recessional, guests headed over to the next room for an Asian-style cocktail hour while our team did a room flip for the American ceremony.
Vietnamese Street Food
Banh mi burgers. Turkey and lemongrass meatballs. Grilled chicken skewers. Vietnamese flavors, but elevated and beautifully executed. With tea, of course! Guests mingled and we had a vintage photobooth for entertainment.
During this time, Michelle changed into her American ceremony dress. Shane changed into his suit. And we moved into the next part of the day with a more traditional American ceremony. Michelle’s look was so gorgeous (no surprise!) and we simply couldn’t get over how AMAZING the bridesmaids’ dress colors looked together.
The American Ceremony
We corralled guests again to find their seats for the American ceremony where Michelle and Shane wrote each other personal vows. Watching them read those to each other was one of those moments that reminds you why this work matters. It was beautiful and authentic and so them. We kept the same mantel design from the tea ceremony since we had a quick turnaround, and it worked perfectly. So much joy! 🙂
After the ceremony, another cocktail hour!! We love it! Our team flipped the space again, adding more tables and chairs to prepare for dinner.
Hive and Hollow created the most STUNNING florals that were not only bold, but cheeky and fun. Vibrant fruit on tables. Chartreuse, ochre, light pink, light blue coming alive through every single detail.
With wavy chartreuse menus, colorful candles, while still keeping it scaled back. Their wedding is a great example of how simplicity is sometimes best, and even more so as long as you put intention and thought into how it all goes together!
Bon Appetit!
Instead of plated service, we did family-style food with people passing dishes. We had lemongrass pork Create Catering did an amazing job on the food, especially working with our desire to infuse Asian cuisine. The dinner menu featured a simple salad, bread, braised beef short ribs, lemongrass pork, potatoes, and broccolini.
There were a few things we absolutely knew we had to incorporate and it was pizza and cookies. When they first started dating, the only piece of social media content Shane had was literally chocolate chip cookies. As they started dating, they started to make pizzas together at their at-home dinner dates. So of course, for dessert we KNEW we had to have chocolate chip cookies and while we didn’t do pizza for dinner, we did have a pizza cookbook that served as the guestbook.
Dancing, Laughter & An After Party
The dance floor became the heart of the night. Michelle and Shane had curated the perfect playlist – especially if you are a millennial. I had never seen so many people on a dance floor Justin Bieber’s “Baby: – HAHA!!
Here’s what we love about Michelle and Shane: They didn’t try to be anything but themselves! They didn’t try to impress anyone. And working with them reminded us why we do this work: to create space for real people to celebrate in real ways. One of the most special things about my role as a wedding planner is I get to take normal/ordinary things like how much Michelle got a cake from the restaurant she used to work at and it became one of the most fun details of their wedding day.
I am so grateful to be a part of such lovely work!
For Minneapolis & Twin Cities Couples
Whether you’re planning a Minneapolis wedding, a Twin Cities celebration, or anywhere, if you want something that feels authentically you, that honors where you come from, that brings people together to actually celebrate, we are here on standby to give you the wedding you never knew you could have!
We don’t do cookie-cutter weddings. We do your wedding. The one that makes you feel joyful and grateful on the biggest day of your life.
VENDOR TEAM
Design + Coordination: Olive Branch Events Co.
Photo: Mo Speer Photography
Florals: Hive and Hollow
Venue: The Lynhall
DJ: Instant Request DJ
HMUA: Spa Beauty Agency
Catering: Create Catering
Cake: Aunt Mona’s
