A Cottagecore-Inspired Wedding in the Heart of Minnesota Wine Country

The couple had fuzzy ducklings and plenty of Taylor Swift references incorporated into their special day.

When Matt reached out to Bree on Hinge in March of 2021, she wasn’t active on the app, so his message went unanswered. However, he tracked her down on Instagram and requested to follow her there. Bree ignored the request, but a few months later as she was clearing them out, she decided to click on his profile. "My finger hovered over the delete button but then I decided, 'what the hell' and accepted it," she remembers. Within minutes, the two were chatting and planning their first date. They hit it off immediately and found out their birthdays were just two days apart. "The stars aligned!" Bree says.

The couple spent Memorial Day weekend in 2022 in Joshua Tree National Park. Matt took the opportunity to set Bree up for a photo, but instead handed her a letter about their relationship and got down on one knee to propose. The two began planning a "cottagecore" themed wedding at Redeemed Farm in Scandia, Minnesota with 115 guests. Bree and Matt loved the venue’s brick garden gate for the ceremony backdrop, and the venue’s "chapel," one of the barns on the property, for their reception. "It truly felt like something out of a storybook," she says. The couple worked with Pink Peony Events to pull off Bree’s vision of a wedding full of wildflowers, muted tones, textures, and even a few animals! Read on to see all of the French blue, sage green, dusty rose, and lilac decor details of their July 1, 2023 wedding in photos taken by Marit Williams.

Related: 11 Traditional Wedding Vows to Exchange During Your Ceremony

The Invitation Suite

The couple sent their guests English garden-themed invitations with watercolor floral details and French blue envelopes with watercolor liners. The envelopes were color-matched to the front door of the couple’s first home together. The stationery was wrapped in vellum and sealed with blush hand-dyed ribbons and a wax seal. "The bee used on the invitations, menus, and wax seals were a nod to my nickname and bee tattoo that I got on our engagement trip," Bree says.

The Bride’s Dress

Bree’s wedding dress was a Daalarna Couture gown with Swiss dot details, bow sleeves, ballet tulle, and a velvet bow belt. She added a slit to the gown in alterations for a personal touch. "I kept saying I wanted to feel authentically me on our wedding day and this dress did exactly that," Bree says. "I had a number of dresses I liked, but the ethereal feel of this dress matched the venue and wedding theme."

The Bridal Accessories

Bree accessorized with Ettika pearl earrings, pearl-embellished Harlo Australia shoes, her mother’s vintage gold ring, a Loeffler Randall blue clutch as her "something blue," and her grandma Maxine’s pink "M'' handkerchief as her "something old." She also wore a handmade tulle veil with a blusher. She sprayed Maison Louis Marie No. 4 perfume as the finishing touch. "I discovered this candle with one of my bridesmaids, Brooke, when we lived together in Chicago," the bride says. "The scent brings back such fond memories from our early 20s, navigating love in the 'big city.'"

The Groom’s Look

Matt wore a dark green Lief Horsens tuxedo with black peak lapels, a floral pocket square, and black velvet loafers. He also wore the bride’s late father’s vintage gold Lassale Seiko watch. His wedding day fragrance was Brandon and Karst cologne from Aēsop.

The First Look with the Girls

Bree kept her dress a secret from everyone except her mom and Maid of Honor, so she was excited to do a first look with her bridesmaids. "The look on their faces was priceless!" she says.

The Mismatched Bridesmaids’ Dresses

Breanne sent her bridesmaids a copy of her invitation suite as inspiration for their wedding day attire. "I asked that a few of them wear a solid color with others in patterns so it wasn’t too busy," she says. "The end result turned out better than I could have imagined, they looked fabulous!" The dresses included designs from Milla, Morilee by Madeline Gardner, Needle & Thread, Zimmerman, Mr. Larkin, Cleobella, Floret Studios, and ASTR the Label. The bridesmaids held petite textured bouquets with white astilbe and sweet peas.

The First Look

The couple had their private first look in front of the white barn where their reception took place. The two were excited to see each other, and Matt was pleased that his guess of Bree’s wedding dress being "ethereal with bows" was spot on. "In one of the photos, there is a small monarch butterfly just over Matt’s shoulder," Bree says. "I like to think this was a sign from my Dad that he was with us in spirit."

The Ceremony Decor

The couple’s outdoor ceremony incorporated garden-style peonies, allium, delphinium, Queen Anne’s lace, and aster throughout part of the arch as well as in the arrangements that lined the aisle. An iron and brick gate was the backdrop to the altar, and guests were seated in white chairs on the grass.

The Balloon Release

As the ceremony began, a live string quartet played songs like Sam Smith’s "Latch" and Adele’s "Feel My Love" as guests were seated. The wedding party walked down the aisle to Taylor Swift’s "Love Story." Bree wanted to walk down the aisle to the same song her mother walked to, Canon in D Major. Since her father passed away when she was young, she decided to hold a biodegradable white balloon and release it in his memory. After she released it into the air, her mother walked her the rest of the way down the aisle.

The Vows

The couple’s close friend, Ed, officiated the ceremony and personalized it to make it special for them. They asked Matt’s Aunt Jackie to read an e.e. cummings poem, and Matt wrote his own poem called “Morning Feathers” that he shared. “It focuses on how an ordinary day turns into a beautiful one by simply waking up to her,” he says, “It depicts one of the moments in our relationship where I decided I wanted to be with her for the rest of my life. Life is always better with her in it.” The couple exchanged vows they wrote for each other before being pronounced husband and wife.

The Recessional

Bree and Matt recessed back down the aisle to the string quartet playing "Bittersweet Symphony."

The Ducklings

The cocktail hour pavilion was next to a fountain on the property, and when Bree first toured the property, she envisioned ducklings splashing around in it. Luckily, her wedding planner’s sister-in-law owns a farm and was able to bring ducklings named Ivy, Willow, Betty, Dorothea, and Marjorie (after Taylor Swift albums!) for the wedding. This ended up being one of Bree and Matt’s favorite special touches from the entire wedding day.

The Champagne Cart

Bree and Matt stepped away for a moment alone before taking some family portraits and joining their guests at the cocktail hour. There, they had a champagne cart. "Whenever we had parties my Grandma would hold up her glass when it was empty and say 'a little champagne?' so we had this in script font on the front of the cart," Bree says.

As guests enjoyed more entertainment by the string quartet, they sipped on signature cocktails including the Como, an Aperol spritz named after their honeymoon trip; the Willow, a peach rhubarb and green tea fizz named after their dog; and an old fashioned. The couple also served appetizers including crab cakes, pear and gorgonzola crostinis, fried smoked Gouda, and cucumber lobster salad cups.

The Reception Setup

The reception took place inside the venue’s white barn chapel, where a 29-person head table was set up in the center of the room as a focal point with a hanging floral backdrop. Guests were seated at round tables and wooden farm tables. "We were the first couple to host dinner in this barn at the venue," Bree says. "I love how it turned out and am so happy we took a risk in doing something that hadn’t been done before."

The Centerpieces and Place Settings

They incorporated various patterns and textures throughout the tablescape arrangements, including vignettes of flowers in small vases and bud vases placed next to organic centerpiece arrangements in gold compote bowls and taper candles at varying heights. The place settings featured rattan chargers, blue water goblets, dusty rose table numbers, and hemstitch linen napkins tied with sage green bows. Each place setting had a custom menu with an oval card that read “eat your heart out” with the guest’s name. Once the top piece was removed, the dinner menu and wine pairings were revealed.

The Dinner

Bree works for D’Amico Catering, so a lot of thought went into their dinner menu. They served an arugula and frisee salad to start, followed by the guest’s choice of an herb roasted farmhouse chicken, salmon with parmesan risotto, or summer vegetable bucatini. "The bucatini is from a recipe Matt and I make often in the summer," Bree says.

The First Dance

Bree and Matt shared their first dance to Aqualung’s "Brighter Than the Sunshine." "This felt like the perfect, unexpected choice," Bree says. "I think everyone expected me to choose a Taylor Swift song, but when I heard this on 'Schitt’s Creek,' it reminded me of how much I loved this song when it originally came out. I presented it to Matt and he was sold." The couple practiced dancing in their living room with the help of some YouTube videos. Bree danced with her mother to "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts and Matt shared a dance with his mom to "You’ll Be in My Heart" by Phil Collins.

The Dessert Table

The couple had a dessert display on two gold shelving units dressed with a mix of vintage and modern elements. Guests grabbed desserts like churros, fruit tartlets, and raspberry rose profiteroles along with lavender cocktail napkins that said "sweet like honey," a song from Taylor Swift’s "Karma."

The Wedding Cake

The couple’s wedding cake was a raw edge white cake adorned with fresh flowers. Bree’s mom, Robin, gifted the couple an engraved gold cake cutting set they used on the wedding day. They went with an almond cake with white chocolate raspberry mousse and vanilla buttercream.

The couple spent their honeymoon in Lake Como, Italy and Lucerne, Switzerland. To couples in the middle of planning a wedding, Bree and Matt suggest personalizing your day as much as possible. "Anyone can make a wedding look beautiful, but the day is ultimately about your love story," Bree says. "Anywhere you can inject your personality, take it!"

Sources

• Photography, Marit Williams

• The Venue, Redeemed Farm

• Event Coordination, Pink Peony Weddings & Events

• Videography, Courtney Rae Films

• Flowers, Studio Fleurette

• Invitations and Paper Products, Jill Elaine

• Bride’s Dress, Daalarna Couture

• Bride’s Jewelry, Ettika

• Bride’s Shoes, Harlo Australia

• Bride’s Hair, Lady Vamp

• Bride’s Makeup, Cristina Ziemer

• Bridesmaids’ Attire, Milla, Morilee, Needle & Thread, Zimmerman, Mr. Larkin, Cleobella, Floret Studios, ASTR the Label

• Groom’s Attire, Atmosfere

• Groom’s Fragrance, Aēsop

• Groomsmen’s Attire, Generation Tux

• Engagement Ring, Vrai

• Wedding Bands, MSP Jewelers

• Guest book and Table Numbers, Velvet Raptor

• Music, Loring String Quartet, Instant Request

• Catering and Cake, D’Amico Catering

• Rentals, Haven & Gather, Girl Friday to-go! , Apres, Linen Effects

• Transportation, Renee’s Limousine

• Dog Attendant, Doggy Social

• Lighting, Instant Request

Read the original article on Martha Stewart.