1. What is your story as a couple? {How you met, how you got engaged or anything that is important to you.}

We initially met in the elevator of our condo building, in Minneapolis. I was with my dog, Wilson, and he was just arriving home from a business trip, roller suitcase in hand. I remember smiling at him and saying hi, and him, giving me a quiet hello, Wilson a quick pat on the head, and then turning his attention to his phone. (He was dating someone else at the time.) A couple months later, we started seeing each other every Tuesday evening thanks to both of us volunteering to be part of the RCIA program at The Basilica of St. Mary. We became friendly acquaintances at that time, often chatting during a break or before the sessions began. We also shared a ride to a retreat the group takes in the fall. The following February, both of our units flooded from a frozen fire sprinkler pipe in Paul’s ceiling. Out of the 29 units in our condo, only our 2 units flooded. We realized we shared a wall, and both of our units were significantly damaged. Paul chose to move out as his unit was going to take 6 weeks to be ready to live in again. I stayed and lived in a small, lofted space in my condo for 3 months while they repaired the main living level. Thanks to this mid-Winter mini crisis, we started chatting and texting more, asking how each other was doing and how our different insurance companies were handling our cases. Sometime shortly after this began, Paul asked me out to dinner. Then we went out for brunch and to hit the Room & Board Outlet after church since we both needed new furniture from the flood. It was after that day that I knew I wanted to date Paul, but I think he needed a couple more outings to make up his mind. We dated for almost a year when he proposed to me.

Paul’s proposal was simple, but it couldn’t have been more meaningful. He proposed at The Basilica, which has been at the center of our relationship from the start. It’s where we started seeing each other on a regular basis, where we had our first kiss (outside after going out for drinks and a bite at Cafe Maude On Loring post-RCIA one Tuesday night), and where we both pray and thank God for bringing us together every Sunday. (Going to Mass together and then brunch afterwards quickly became our favorite part of the week while we were dating and still is!) He did it after Mass on a Sunday morning in early February (the 9th to be exact). He creatively found ways to pass the time while the church cleared out a bit and then he sat me down on a pew in the middle of the church and started recounting all the ways that The Basilica was so meaningful to us. As he finished reciting those things, he said that he knew we would get married there too and then dropped down on one knee and popped the question. I was taken completely by surprise. It couldn’t have been more perfect. And nine months later, we had our wedding there, and it was perfect too.

2. Who were all of the vendors involved?

3. What made you chose your venue{s}?

As I talked about above, The Basilica has been a central part of our relationship, so there was no doubt we would get married there. As we talked about venues for our reception, we wanted to choose a place that was also meaningful to at least one of us too. We didn’t want to do it in just some random place. That really only gave us one choice, Walker Art Center. As a design and modern and contemporary art enthusiast, Paul has been a member there for almost as long as he’s lived in Minnesota. It was also part of our dating story with Rock The Garden and the British Arrow Awards. What we love about having these two places as our venues is that we can go to them again and again as often as we like for as long as we live. And this is also what made us choose our rehearsal/groom’s dinner location-FIKA at American Swedish Institute (The Isakson side of Paul’s family is 100% Swedish).

4. What inspired your wedding day outfits?

1. All along, I knew I wanted my dress to be simple and not a focal point of the wedding. Paul and I both believe that God is the most important part of our wedding day, and I wanted the focus to be on the Mass and not on me. Of course, I wanted to look my best and feel beautiful, but I didn’t have the mentality that “the dress is everything”. To add a bit of my personal style to my outfit, I chose a gold headband that I found on Etsy and wore it as a belt. And because it was likely going to be cold outside, I added a white faux mink stole for when we had to be out in the snow.

2. Paul chose to have Heime’s Haberdashery make him a custom suit for our day, so it would be something he will keep and wear after our wedding. He needed a new suit anyway and having one specially made for our wedding will remind him of our day every time he puts it on. To bring in an element of fun, Paul chose a bright pair of striped socks. He always wears fun socks and gets comments here and there about them, so he also had the guys in the wedding wear pairs he specifically chose for each of them too.

5. What inspired your wedding decor? Why did you choose the things that you did?

I wanted the decor to give a feeling of warmth for our guests. Getting married in November, where the sun sets too early, and the chances that the day would feel and look cold were high. So, I tried to bring in as much candle light as I could to counter that. Half of the tables had manzanita branches in tall vases with votive candles hanging from the branches, with white flowers around the base of the vases. The other half of the tables had simple white flowers that matched the bouquets. I chose white flowers to reflect the time of year we were getting married, and white flowers are year ’round and classic. I chose little elements of gold where possible to go with the warm glow of the candle light and because it was a nice carry-over from some of the elements of The Basilica too.

6. What was your favorite part of the day?

The ceremony was absolutely our favorite part of the day. The Basilica does an amazing job in everything they do, and our wedding was no exception. That’s not to say that the Walker didn’t. They delivered an absolutely perfect reception experience for us. But with our faith being at the core of our relationship and The Basilica meaning what it does for us, it has to be the ceremony.

7. Do you have advice for engaged couples still in the planning process?

I guess I would say keep things focused on the two of you. It can be easy to start thinking about making other people happy or worrying about what other people will think of your choices, but neither of those things matter. This is likely the biggest day of your lives so far and it should be a day filled with things that represent who you are as individuals, who you are as a couple, what kind of future you want to have together, and of things that are meaningful to both of you. Long after your day is over, not many people are going to remember much about your wedding other than you, so make it a day you’ll love to remember for the rest of your lives together.

8. Did you have any Do it Yourself {DIY} projects? If so, can you describe them in detail?

I wish we were crafty like this, but nothing was truly DIY

Congrats to Paul & Donna!!