I’m not sure if Julie & Michael loved it as much as I do thinking about it, but their wedding venue was full of sweet benches. Yep, benches, like park benches.
That’s where they met. On a bench. It makes me smile thinking of taking their photo someday when they celebrate 5 years of marriage, and then 10 (and so on…) - on a park bench remembering back to the bus bench. :)
How did you meet? “We met at the bus stop on the way to Anoka Ramsey Community College (ARCC) for the first day of school; it was Michael's second year and Julie's first. We sat on the same bench waiting for a transfer bus outside of County Market. The bus driver kind of set us up though.”
Even their proposal included the bench. :)
Michael came over in the morning and handed Julie an envelope, then left. Inside the envelope was a clue that led to somewhere in town, where the next envelope was kept. The hints led to several locations around town that had important history in the relationship, and at the end of the scavenger hunt (at the head of the bike trail) was Michael, hiding the ring under a bike helmet that was sitting on the picnic table. He had Julie take the clues and put them together, in order, and read the first word of each. It read, "Will You Marry Me?" Then Michael proposed, Julie said yes, and they went back to Julie's home to celebrate :)
Julie & Michael’s wedding was simple, yet beautiful! Panola Valley Gardens was the perfect backdrop with it’s lush gardens, open seating area, fountains and the pond by the gazebo with two swans on the wedding day. (I, Jen, was back a few days later and there weren’t any swans). There also weren’t any rubber duckies. I kept waiting for a bunch of rubber duck sightings but I only saw one. I plan on asking about that of them when they get back from their honeymoon as I was told several times there would be a lot of rubber ducks. Hmmmmm…
It was a completely dreamy day! Congratulations Julie & Michael! Your love radiates and it’s a joy to see! I enjoyed working with your vendors! Both of you, along with everyone who helped you, did an amazing job with all the planning - things went so smoothly!
See you soon!!
With much joy and big hugs….Love, Jen
Baker - Dani's Delights
Venue - Panola Valley Gardens
Florist - House of Happy
Hair + Makeup Artist - Deanna Hegge
Photographer - Jen Jensen Photography
Planning - With Love Event Planning
