lasting impressions weddings is an award-winning minnesota wedding planning and design company

On snowy days like today like to remember the hot days of summer!! Katerena and Dan were married in a traditional Greek ceremony on a beautiful (and hot) August day!!! Katerena and her mother were the masterminds in planning this beautifully classic wedding, with a slight twist and bright pop of coral that was inspired by the bridesmaids dresses!!

We wanted there to be a lot of personal touches in the wedding and with Greek Culture that is easy to do… Crowns on a Silver Tray for the ceremony, Jordan Almonds for the favors and wonderful Greek Desserts for the reception. We also wanted to tie in Katerena and Dan’s honeymoon destination.. The Greek Islands… so every table was named after a different island! A staple of the greek culture is fantastic dancing and lots of food, and we had both!!! The party was kicked off by the traditional greek circle dance and the party lasted well into the evening!
 
Wedding Coordinator: Lasting Impressions Weddings
Ceremony Site: St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox church
Reception Site: Interlachen Country Club
Dress: l’atelier couture bridal – http://www.lateliercouturebridal.com
Transportation: Eclipse Limousine
Photography: Kelly Brown Weddings
Linens/Rentals: Linen Effects
Floral: Sadies Floral
DJ: Instant Request
Cocktail Hour Pianist: Kent Goodroad
Cake: Queen of Cakes
Hanging Crystals: Richfield Flowers & Events

Well.. Hello!! You can tell that wedding season is winding down because now it is going to be blogging season!! Its the time of year that I finally get to sit back and really enjoy all of the beauty that was created this year and reflect on the photos!! Lets start with Mary Beth and Fred’s BEAUTIFUL Lake Minnetonka Wedding!!
There is an old phrase “It takes an army..” And that is exactly what an outdoor “tent” wedding takes.. an army!!!! If I could count the numerous emails/phone calls and conversations that are had about rain, sun, bugs, parking, mowing, plywood for the caterers, wind, layout, etc, etc. etc. It would probably make me fall over… but for some reason outdoor tent weddings are my favorite type of wedding and I keep coming back year after year to the challenge!!! The key to a great outdoor tent wedding is a good plan and GREAT vendors!! Make sure that you have vendors that are very experienced with the weather elements and are flexible!!

Mary Beth and Freds wedding was full of great vendors that helped pull everything together (Including an unexpected downpour right before dinner!!) and that made my job so much easier and enjoyable!! And what is not to love about this wedding? You are combining my favorite parts of planning the wedding…  a wonderful couple, personal touches and a meaningful location!!! Laura Ivanova captured the day beautifully as she always does from the time the girls got ready and toasted in a suite at the Westin through the beautiful sparkler send off at the end of the night!! This classic, elegant, backyard wedding captured Mary Beth and Fred’s style perfectly.. and I was so honored to be a part of it!!!!

Vendors: 
Wedding Coordinator  – Lasting Impressions Weddings
Photography – Laura Ivanova Photography
Ceremony Site – Our Lady of Lourdes
Reception Site – Private Residence
Wedding Dress- L’atelier Couture Bridal
Transportation – Schmitty and Sons Transportation
Ceremony Musicians – Lake Minnetonka String Quartet
Catering – Deco Catering
Bar Service – With a Twist
Floral – Sadies Floral
Band – Casablanca Orchestra
Cocktail Hour Musicians – Barra Irish Trio
Rental Items – Apres Party and Tent and Linen Effects
Hair and Makeup – Emily J & Jett
Cake – Buttercream

Jenni and Russ were married on a BEAUTIFUL July day at the Calhoun Beach Club in a day that incorporated lots of personal touches, family and lots and lots of love!!! Jenni and Russ were referred to me from a good friend of mine and as soon as I met them I knew that we were going to have a fun planning this big day together!!! Jenni and Russ love wine, love to travel and take photography’s.. so incorporating these item into the ceremony felt like a necessity!! Russ was surprised by Jenni with a Porsche themed wedding cake created by Gateaux to commemorate his large Porsche collection and his love of the vintage automobile!

It was such a pleasure to get to work with Jenni and Russ on their big day and I can’t wait to see where lifes adventure takes them!!

Vendors:
Wedding Coordination: Lasting Impressions Weddings
Ceremony and Reception Venue: Calhoun Beach Club
Photography: Beau Peterson Photography
Dress: Posh Bridal
Flowers: Just Bloomed
Rental Items: Linen Effects
Cake and Favors: Gateaux
Ceremony Music: Bella Nota
Cocktail Hour Music:A Jazz Trio
Reception Music: Brian Kinney Band
Transportation: Renees Royal Valet
Stationery: A Milestone Paper

I am so excited to finally be able to share this wedding! It was featured on Style Me Pretty Last week and because of that I wanted to wait to blog about it!! I had the joy of working with Lisa and Chuck for not only their wedding, but also for Lisa’s Brother’s wedding a year ago.

As a native Minnesotan, Lisa always dreamed of getting married on the lake. We wanted to create a comfortable and elegant atmosphere that not only included nautical elements, but also paid homage to Chuck’s southern roots.

The festivities began one month before the wedding when Lisa and Chuck “Buried the Bourbon” a very southern tradition that is said to bring good weather on the wedding day. They had the lovely and Talented Melissa Oholendt there to capture this as well!!!

For this event, we truly let nature be our guide. Utilizing the flowers that already adorned Lisa’s parents backyard, we accented them with fresh ferns, green hydrangeas and mums pairing perfectly with the preppy style of the blue blazered groomsmen and the fresh green stripes of the bridesmaid dresses. We wanted to give guests a taste of the nautical twist early on in the wedding process, so we created a rope motif that we carried from the invites, through to the table number holders, the menu cards and into the getaway boat’s “just married” sign. Each table was aptly named after different bays on Lake Minnetonka.

Guests were directed to their seats by a compass that was hand tied to their escort card. Continuing with the sweet southern tradition, a dainty piece of wedding cake and a slice of pecan pie was served to each guest. Bourbon cocktails melded the northern setting with the southern touches and a local baker made the brides’ favorite “Hometown Truffles” to send guests off into the sunset with wishes of sweet dreams to tuck them in.

Vendors:
Wedding Coordination: Lasting Impressions Weddings
Ceremony and Reception Site: Private Residence
Caterer: Damico Catering
Photography: Melissa Oholendt Photography
Cake:Buttercream
Pies: Country Cake Cupboard
String Quartet: Lake String Quartet
Band: Belladiva
Rental Items and Tent: Apres Party and Tent Rental
Rental Items: Linen Effects
Flowers: Weber’s Westdale
Wedding Painter: Nicole Herzog
Transportation: MN Coaches
Stationery: Letter Perfect

When designing Anna and Mike’s wedding I was lucky enough to have a bride that was a talented graphic designer and a groom who is a talented pianist!! The day was full of fun surprises! The first being Anna surprising Mike with an AMAZING Piano grooms cake! Mike in turn surprised Anna by playing a few songs for her during the cocktail hour!

The personal touches at Anna and Mike’s wedding were everywhere! They left two chairs open across the table from the bride and groom for guests to stop by and visit them (a Norweigan Tradition), The wedding cake was not only chevron to match our stationery and table clothes, but the “petals” on the cake were an exact replica of the petals on Anna’s dress!

For the decor we went against tradition and mixed silver and gold…. This is one of my favorite new trends… mixing mettalics is a great way to really bring out the shimmer in your wedding. The stationery was designed by the bride and we incorporated a chevron pattern throughout the stationary and the head table linens. On the Petite Fours from Gateaux we had music notes added for Mike’s love of music and we had Anna’s sorority quatrefoil added to the other desserts. Feathers accented the classic reception decor with the place card table and centerpieces. Congatulations Mike and Anna! This wedding was so much fun to design with you!!

Vendors:
Wedding Coordinator: Lasting Impressions Weddings
Ceremony Venue: Basilica of St. Mary
Reception Venue: Lafeyette Club
Flowers: Sadies Floral
Dress: Bridal Accents Couture
Stationery: Bride
Cake: Gateaux
DJ and Lighting:Instant Request
Photography: Candence and Eli
Rental Items: Apres Party
Hair and Makeup: Blowdry Bar
Transportation: Renees Royal Valet

Lauren and Will started to plan their wedding a year and a half before the big day because Lauren was in graduate school at Yale and her and Will were living miles and miles apart! I was so honored when Lauren and her mother called me to set up a meeting because Ihad planned her brothers wedding the previous year! To get a chance to work with a family again is a wonderful experience because you already have a sense of their style.. you already know so much about them and it just makes the process more fun!!

They had a beautiful church ceremony at Church of Holy Family and then celebrated the day with a very festive party at Carlson Towers Rotunda! Music is very important for Lauren and Will and we had a day filled with beautiful music starting with the ceremony music by the Cathedral of St. Paul Choir, cocktail hour music by Copper Street Brass and then finishing up the night with Instant Request!

Lauren and Will, Thank you for inviting me into your family… again 🙂

Wedding Coordinator: Lasting Impressions Weddings
Reception Site:Carlson Towers
Ceremony Site: Church of Holy Family
Ceremony Musicians: Cathedral of St. Paul
Photography: Jessica Smith Photography
Transportation: Renees Royal Valet
DJ: Instant Request
Cake: Buttercream
Rental Items: Apres
Flowers: Sadies Floral
Hair and Makeup: Creative Beauty Agency
Reception Musicians: Copper Street Brass
Stationary: A Milestone Paper

This wedding is also featured on Carats and Cake!!