Allee + Tyler's midwest destination wedding at Pinewood in Cambridge, MN was a day full of intentional details and deep deep love between not only the two of them, but their families and friends. These two knew they wanted to have a destination wedding, but they also wanted it to be practical for their loved ones to be able to travel to the event. They settled on a venue just an hour north of the twin cities, and it was definitely a spot worth traveling to! The fact that every single guest had to travel to some extent to attend their wedding day just goes to show how loved Allee + Tyler are by their people.

Their beautiful love had a beautiful origin story. Tyler was working at the local bank where Allee's mom and grandma ended up one day. He was helping them out, and they were so impressed with him, that they insisted Allee meet him. They had a goooooood feeling about this guy. Allee and Tyler went on that first date, and the rest is history. How many people can say they were introduced to their spouse by their mom and grandma??

Like I mentioned, this day was full of intention. They skipped the first look, which always makes for the sweetest anticipation before the ceremony. They exchanged and read notes in the morning, detailing their love story and how they've been counting down the days ‘til their big day for so so long. I was honored to get to look in on these moments, I can say that both of them let out some tears while reading, but not without huge smiles on their faces.

Allee's bridesmaids put together a scrapbook for her to page through as she got ready that morning. I've never seen this done before, and if you're a maid of honor or bridesmaid, I'd super recommend doing this for your bestie! Such a sweet moments from the day! After Allee's mom and sister helped her get dressed, and she shared a first look with her bridesmaids, they all gathered in the getting ready suite to share a prayer, all holding hands in the meantime. While the girls shared this intimate moment, the guys were doing the same downstairs -- followed by a shot of whiskey for the nerves. ;)

The photos from the ceremony speak for themselves honestly -- it was ethereal, sacred, and so so joyful. The best combination of feelings! Following the ceremony, family, wedding party, and couples portraits ensued. As well as all the celebrating!

Allee + Tyler are the type of clients who wanted ALL the things. The classic shots, the candid, the more editorial, black and white, blurry, filmy, etc. Can I just say… they're my favorite type of humans! They wanted it all, so my team and I gave them our all. Some more intentional moments throughout the evening were the one-on-one time they included after photos and before their grand entrance to their reception, and a last dance before exiting the reception. I would HIGHLY recommend both these things as a way to slow down, and really take in the fact that it's your wedding day! Too often couples spend the day doing one thing after the other, and barely having time to stop, hold one another, and reflect on how great the day has been.

If you're planning your own Midwest Destination wedding, one thing I'd recommend is having a spot to hang out with everyone after the reception (some venues require events to be over by 10 or earlier, or later). Allee + Tyler rented out the local bowling alley, and literally all of their guests made their way over there to continue celebrating. I'm still fangirling over this lol