Brooke + Phil opulent fall courtyard by marriott wedding | Mankato, MN

A lot of times, life isn’t at all like the fairytales we used to read as children. Bluebirds and mice don’t show up to do the dishes and the laundry, and I don’t know about you, but my fairy godmother certainly hasn’t graced me with her presence quite yet. However sometimes, after kissing a lot of frogs, your prince really will show up…although maybe in a John Deere Green tractor instead of on that white steed.

Brooke sat down with me to talk about what she had envisioned for her wedding to her very own prince charming, Phil and I knew from that moment, that this wedding would be a stunning celebration of these two finding forever with each other. The love that they have is evident, in their smiles, in their families, in their care for each other.

While the girls got ready at the couple’s home near Mapleton, the Meaningful Moments staff was busy decorating for this very special day.

Their wedding took place in late November, because no farmer in his right mind could get married during harvest of course! And what can be a questionable time of year weather wise here in Minnesota, turned out to be a gorgeous crisp fall day which complimented their gold and burgundy color scheme beautifully!

We did the bouquets for the bride and bridesmaids along with precious floral crowns for the flower girls, using silver dollar eucalytpus, juliet garden roses, black baccara roses, blush roses, and dangling amaranthus in the bride’s bouquet. A beautiful compliment for this gorgeous fall wedding.

Brooke and Phil held their wedding reception at Courtyard by Marriott in Mankato. We brought in luxe wine and sparkling gold linens to cover the guest tables and draped the head tables in more gold sparkle. Ceiling draping, a twinkle light backdrop, with burgundy sheer panels and warm amber uplighting provided a glow for the night. Warm and romantic.

The centerpieces consisted of hundreds of black baccara roses, blush carnations, ferns, silver dollar eucalyptus, and dangling amaranthus. We even tucked fairly lights into the arrangements standing tall above the tables, the result was truly magic. The tables alternated between the tall arrangements and lower gold compotes with similar florals, and of course, in true Meaningful Moments style, lots of candlelight flickered from the tabletops.

This was our final wedding of the 2017 season and I had been excited about it the whole year, we were able to create a beautiful space for these two using top of the line blooms and linens, it truly makes all the difference when you hire a designer for your wedding, someone not afraid to take risks and try things out. We’re we being a little risky with a 33″ riser in a smaller town, yep, but look at how stunning it turned out! Dream big. Make that fairytale come to life.

The couple and their guests danced the night away under twinkling lights and I truly could not be happier for them.

Brooke and Phil, thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting me be there for you on this very special day. Seeing the people you have grown into, and the blossoming family you have created is a true blessing. I am grateful to know two people as incredible as you.

Now as usual, peek at more beautiful images from Daniel Dinsmore Photography: