What a beautiful wedding Sarah and Mike had! It was such a pleasure to be a part of their marriage two weekends ago at Grandview Lodge in northern Minnesota. Alex and I flew in on Thursday and drove up to Nisswa first thing in the morning on Friday. We arrived just in time to part ways with each other so I could go to the spa with the bridal party and Alex could meet up with some of my friends’ husbands and hang out for the day.
The spa at Grandview was very nice. We all got to indulge in a little pre-wedding pampering in the form of a manicure or pedicure.
We finished up the day with the wedding rehearsal, rehearsal dinner and bon fire. It’s safe to say we all had a great time catching up and enjoying the beautiful surroundings at Grand View Lodge.
Saturday morning came quickly. I woke up a few minutes before my alarm went off, thinking it was still the middle of the night because it was so dark out. As it turned out, it was pouring. All of the bridesmaids met up mid-morning and headed to Starbucks on the way to get our hair done.
All of our hair turned out really well. I was the only one who risked not pulling my hair all the way up, and even though I thought my hair would be easy peasy it ended up taking over an hour to just throw my hair half up.
Our appointments were completed around noon and the rain still hadn’t let up. The girls were able to get shower caps from the salon to keep their up-do from getting ruined. It was quite the soggy day. Sarah didn’t let the rain ruin her parade though. We all had our fingers crossed that the rain would stop so that they could go forward with having the ceremony outside.
Thankfully the rain did eventually stop and the sky cleared up just in time for the ceremony. It was quite chilly {around 50 degrees}, but at least it wasn’t raining. We helped Sarah into her dress – she had quite the audience! Our beautiful bride has never looked better than she did on her wedding day. Of course the bridesmaids and mothers were fighting back a few tears at the sight of Sarah.
The bulk of the afternoon was spent with Sarah and Mike taking pictures and the bridesmaids poking our heads in on the reception site just trying to sneak a peek at the decor and set-up for the evening. I was able to snap a few photos, but none of them showcase the complete look of the site.
Thankfully the rain continued to hold off for the ceremony. We even got a glimmer of sunshine at the most perfect moment: right when Mike was putting Sarah’s ring on her finger and saying his “I do.” It couldn’t have been timed better. The ceremony was beautiful and very personal to Sarah and Mike.
After the ceremony the bridal party scooted down to the lake for a few photos and then we made our way to join everyone for a cocktail hour before the reception. The DJ was great and kept people dancing all night long – we had a great time celebrating Sarah and Mike.
Overall, it was a wonderful wedding! We had a great time and it was such a special day for me to see my longtime friend tie the knot.
