Rustic Midwestern Destination Wedding at Juliane James Place

Rivets and Roses photographer

After entering and winning (by a landslide) the 2012 photography giveaway from Rivets and Roses, Kirsten and Graeme tied the knot at a woodsy outdoor ceremony at Juliane James Place in Northern Minnesota. To make their wedding day everything they hoped for this Canadian groom and American bride enlisted the experts at Bash Collective, who coordinated and designed their event to perfection.
Be sure to read on to hear so much more from Kirsten about their special day — especially their full budget breakdown. Don't miss anything from this rustic Midwestern destination wedding by viewing the full gallery here, all beautifully photographed by the talented Louisa Podlich of Rivets and Roses.

hummingbird wedding invites

A graphic designer by trade, the bride designed all of the stationary and paper goods herself. Using the poem Tale of Two Hummingbirds as inspiration, Kirsten added a personal touch with the custom invitations, ceremony programs, wedding favors and seating placards. You can read the entire poem below.
Tale of Two Hummingbirds Legends say that hummingbirds float free of time, Carrying our hopes for love, joy and celebration.
Hummingbirds open our eyes to the wonder of the world And inspire us to open our hearts to loved ones and friends.
Like a hummingbird, we aspire to hover and to savor each moment as it passes, embrace all that life has to offer And to celebrate the joy of everyday.
The hummingbird's delicate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection has meaning and that laughter is life's sweetest creation.

pink, white and green bridal bouquet by Munster Rose

pink and green bouquet by Munster Rose

floral dog collar

ringbearer looks

After meeting at a Phish concert in September of 2011, Kirsten and Graeme fell in love and were engaged two months later! They also didn't waste any time getting married and set the date for their wedding on the one year anniversary of the day they met. Living in different countries, these lovebirds decided to have a destination wedding in the Midwest and chose Juliane James Place as their venue.

hummingbird wedding program

vintage outdoor ceremony seating provided by Juliane James Place

rustic outdoor ceremony ideas from Bash Collective

rustic outdoor wedding ceremony at Juliane James Place

From Bash Collective:We collected vintage oil lamps, mismatched china, antique apothecary bottles, and matching vases for willows for the couples decor. Tall curly willows in vases added more height, whimsy, and contrast to the soft pastels of the table decor. Antique apothecary bottles were filled with blush and pink roses, scabiosa pods, and baby's breathe.

Munster Rose created lush, beautiful florals that complimented the pastel color scheme of the wedding and the couple's desire to let nature and the environment they were in, shine through. The bride cried when she saw her bouquet for the first time.

rustic tables

vintage birdcage used as decoration

wedding favor used as escort cards

favors used as escort cards

This Vintage Natural theme extended to the couple having their dog, Keeva, next to them all day, including at dinner where she was a very good girl and laid between her parents on a gray fainting sofa that is part of Juliane James Place's permanent furniture collection.

The uniqueness of the wedding was added to when the couple's parents did a flag exchange of an American (Kirsten's home country) and Canadian (Graeme's home country) flag and promised to fly them on Independence and Canada Day respectively.

rustic reception decor ideas from Bash Collective

rustic table decorations

vintage bottle used as vase

sweetheart table ideas

seating placards

desserts by Sweets Bakeshop

From the Bride:I was pretty relaxed when it came to our wedding weekend, but do wish I would've done a few things differently. I wish I would've had the wedding earlier on in the day so that we could've had a longer reception/dance.

As for the day and the setting, I couldn't have asked for anything better. It was beautiful! I would've worked harder at having more alone time with my fiance before the wedding and the night/day after. Unfortunately we didn't get much privacy.

bird cage wedding veil

Read on to see how much this Midwestern destination wedding cost. Please note that costs change as the years go by, and prices are subject to change. This is just one couple’s breakdown to give you a rough estimate on how much a wedding like this may cost you.

Some numbers may be inaccurate or a little bit over, but I think for the most part it's right.
Food: $10,000 (Hors d'oeuvres and seated meal)
Alcohol: $2,000
Dessert: $500
Dress: $1100
Shoes: $250
Veil/head piece: $15 (Friend made it for me)
Hair: $100
Jewelry: $40 (borrowed rest)
Bridesmaid Dress: $350
Ties: $100 each Suits: Unsure ...
Party Favors (We did homemade pepper jelly from my home farm): $100
Minister: $300
DJ: $1200
Photography: We won a competition, so photography was free. We tipped well and paid for lodging for them. Our photographer rocked!
Videography: Free (brother)
Graphic Design: I did it all, so free. Printing costs totaled around $600 (for Save the Dates, invite package, and programs)
Flowers: $800 included my bouquet (my favorite part of the day), bridesmaid bouquet, groom and best man bout, Father of Bride and Groom bout, and mothers and grandmother corsage.