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Photographs by Asher Marie Photography
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Bridesmaids in floor-length gowns and groomsmen in classic tuxes set the tone for the black-tie affair.
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Gold branches dripping with crystals graced some of the tables.
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The head table sparkled with a gold-sequined tablecloth.
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A nod to the bride’s job as an editor, wedding programs were made to look like magazines.
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Taylor and Sam invitations
A hint of gold foil gave the classic invites a modern twist.
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Mini gold pumpkins escorted guests to their seats.
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Guests took home mini apple pies in the shape of Minnesota.
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Dessert consisted of chocolate or pumpkin cake.
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The bride gifted Kate Spade Keds to her bridesmaids.
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The bride’s bouquet was wrapped in a family-heirloom handkerchief and pinned with photos of her late grandmother and aunt.
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Floral “H” wreaths made by the bride greeted guests at the club’s entrance.
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Taylor and Sam wedding kiss
Taylor has been interested in weddings for as long as she can remember. “I got my first subscription to Martha Stewart Weddings when I was 13, and Father of the Bride is my favorite movie of all time,” she says.
She started planning her own wedding as a young girl and more seriously steeped herself in the bridal industry as an editor at a weddings magazine in her 20s.
All of that knowledge came in handy when she and her high school sweetheart Sam got engaged on a mountain in Colorado after more than six years of dating.
“Taylor had been planning the wedding probably since she was 2,” says Sam. “I knew that I just wanted it to be perfect for her and that she wanted a really classic, formal wedding.”
It helped that Taylor already had lots of ideas and vendor contacts, and their 18-month engagement offered plenty of time for the fall-loving bride to plan their October wedding. “I didn’t really have a theme, but I was calling it ‘glamorous fall,’ because I didn’t want the rustic fall feel—mason jars and hay bales. I wanted it to be more classic and timeless.”
That classic fall tone played out in the color scheme (gold, navy, and orange—a nod to Sam’s favorite football team, the Denver Broncos), including navy invites with formal gold script and a gold leaf accent.
At the reception at the Minneapolis Golf Club, berries and branches mixed with deep red and orange flowers, while gold pumpkins served as escort cards and assorted décor. “I kind of went pumpkin crazy,” laughs the bride.
In all, it created a fall feel that was both cozy and classic—and incredibly personal. A lifelong friend of Sam’s officiated the wedding, and the couple wrote the entire ceremony themselves. Taylor even spent six months creating a mini-magazine for the wedding program as a nod to her work as an editor.
In the end, did the day live up to those long-ago dreams of a wedding-obsessed girl? “It was better than I could have even imagined,” Taylor says.
- Date: October 29, 2016
- Ceremony/reception: Minneapolis Golf Club, St. Louis Park
- Bride’s dress: Allure from Posh Bridal Couture
- Bridesmaids’ dresses: Jenny Yoo from Bella Bridesmaids
- Groom’s/groomsmen’s attire: Savvi Formalwear
- Rings: Shane Co. • Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas
- Cake/favors: Cocoa & Fig
- Florals/rentals: Sadie’s Couture Floral & Event Styling
- Ceremony musicians: Lake Minnetonka String Quartet
- DJ: Hi Fidelity
- Wedding Planner: Away We Go Weddings
- Videographer: Capture the Moments
- Hair/makeup: SM Makeup Inc.
- Honeymoon: Hawaii
