Sami & Danny
The Wedding of Sami & Danny—set in a breathtaking family backyard, with overlooking friends and family from pontoon boats by the dock. We are so excited to share this gorgeous celebration with you, Sami wears our Bridget and Darcy bridal separates.
Wedding Location | Shoreview, Minnesota, USA Wedding Date | September 19th 2020
“I felt like I could do anything in the Anna Campbell separates - like jump in a lake! ”
Meet Sami & Danny | We met through mutual friends in college, just over 10 years ago, and slowly became very close friends throughout the years. We didn't start dating until roughly three years after we graduated. We coincidentally trained for the same marathon that summer (both our first, and only!), which sparked a flame and eventually turned our friendship into romance.
Sami is a Registered Nurse at a large hositpal and Danny is a Manager of Finance & Accounting at a job search engine company, both located in Minneapolis. We are very active and social people. You can find us doing yard work, fixing-up our "fixer-upper" home, fitness training or taking our pup (Buxton) on long walks around the neighborhood. We both love spending time with family & friends, trying out new local breweries and attending any kind of sporting event.
The Love Story | While marathon training, we would occasionally run into each other (literally!) during our long runs, as we both trained in a similar area. Along one of our similar paths, we had both noticed this cute residential outdoor chess table, which is actually where we ended up going for our first date! Each anniversary we now go back to that spot and play one game of chess (no we are not avid chess players, and yes, we have to research how to play each year!). Long story short, after 5 years of dating, Danny drove us around town to several significant relationship spots and then ended the drive by proposing at the chess table! Fun fact, Sami is up 5 games to 1 over Danny :)
Our frist date was actually photographed by a professional photographer and ended up being published in the city magazine that the photographer was shooting for (photo above!). At the time, Danny thought I hired the photographer to be there because of my love for photos/photography - but I, in fact, did not! - it was just happenstance that they were there! It definitely made for a fun and memorable first date story to share.
Familiar venue | In the backyard, on the lake, where Danny grew up - where his parents still live!
We were originally supposed to get married on New Year’s Eve in a cute little town south of the Twin Cities here in Minnesota. However, given the pandemic, we decided to move our wedding to early fall so we could host both the ceremony and reception outdoors (in tolerable temperatures) to try and reduce the risk of potential exposure to the virus. We concluded that one of our parent's homes would be best as it allowed us to be openly creative and flexible with our plans. Both of our parents actually offered to host, so it made it challenging to decide.
We ended up deciding on the home where Danny grew up because we thought that we felt closest to his late father, who sadly passed away from cancer when Danny was younger. The red hibiscus tree in some of the photos is a tree that his Dad acquired back when he was in college (40+ years ago!) – it stood to the right of the alter/arch to symbolize his Dad’s presence.
We also wanted to bring a little bit of Sami's childhood home to the setting too, so her parents built the hexagonal arch/alter that we were married next to. They made it in the shape of a hexagon because their entire house is purposesfully six-sided, and they built their whole house by themselves over the years.
How I felt wearing my Bridal Separates | I was never one who dreamt of their dream wedding, dress or even man for that matter (love you, Danny!) since I was a little girl, but I truly felt like our whole wedding day was a dream in and of itself.
One of my favorite moments wearing the dress was when Danny spun me for the first time, several minutes after our first look, AND THEN realized that my dress was two separate pieces - it was so funny and cute at the same time.
I loved every element of the dress. From the simplicity, fit and short train of the skirt, to the illusion neckline, plunging V-back, bell sleeves and sparkle of the top - the entire dress was so mesmerizing to me.
The simplicity and fit of the skirt on the bottom half, with ALL of the sparkle and FUN on the top half, is what attracted me most to the dress! It was SO unique and different. I just knew that it had to be "THE ONE" - it was the exact style/fit I was hoping to find.
Virtually finding The One | I randomly came across Anna Campbell's Instagram account while searching for wedding dresses last winter (pre-pandemic), at which time I saw the beautiful Bridget Topper and Darcy Separate Skirt for the first time. With the closest bridal shop sampling these separates being a 12 hour drive away (one-way!), I held off on pursuing the dress.
Fast forward a couple of months to when the pandemic hit, Danny and I had no idea how (or if) we were even going to be able to get married this year. After several long discussions, over the course of many weeks, we finally decided to reduce our guest list (not fun!), move our date from winter to fall to be outside, and have just our siblings with their significant others and kids be the only ones in our wedding party.
Now with the wedding being just a few short months away, I started to panic about getting a dress and actually impulsively bought one off-the-rack at a local wedding shop thinking that I didn't have enough time to order anything else. Thankfully, a couple of days after that impulse purchase, I just couldn't stop thinking about Anna Campbell's separates - at which time, Bee became a lifesaver! Bee walked me through everything - from sizes, to rush order shipping timelines, to simply just listening to me talk through/process making such a big purchase (from across the world!) without ever seeing or trying the dress on. She was so thorough, supportive and attentive to all of my needs throughout the whole online ordering process. I could not be more thankful for the experience, AND for how truly beautiful the dress looked and fit in real life.
An unexpected turn of events | Given COVID, and with Sami being a nurse who sees the effects of COVID first hand at work, we strived to create a wedding environment that was tailored to the health and safety of all of our family & friends who would be attending. As Danny would say, we condensed our day to just the "meat and potatoes" of a traditional wedding. Guests were present for roughly 3 hours. Extended family sat at assigned tables on land, friends sat on assigned pontoon boats in the water, and then we got married in the middle of the two along the shoreline!
All guests were invited to attend the ceremony, see our first dance, listen to some speeches and toast to us in their designated areas. Each table and boat was provided with their own beverage tub full of champagne, beer and water, as well as individually wrapped boxed meals and a mini budnt cake. After the majority of the guests left, our immediate family enjoyed an intimate catered dinner under a clear-span tent, and then we danced the night away under the stars. Our entire immediate family was able to bunk in the same home for the night, while we stayed in the "honeymoon suite" canvas bell tent in the front yard.
Memorable moments | One of Danny's most memorable phrases from his Dad since his passing is "Go jump in the lake." When Dan proposed, he asked "Will you jump in the lake with me for the rest of our lives?" So naturally, without knowing or planning, it was a significant statement in both of our vows. Our "COVID Wedding Plan B" brought us to the lake Danny's Dad always referred to, the lake where Danny grew up. Again, without knowing or planning, our photographer (Athena!) tied it all together and asked us to literally go jump in the lake. It was the most surreal jump of our lives!
(thank goodness I had my white jumpsuit from the groom's dinner on standby!)
One of my favorite things about Danny’s attire was that his bow tie pattern matched both of the Dad’s ties – so the three of them were the only ones with that pattern. Unbeknownst to me, Danny had ordered an additional tie in that same pattern and tied it on his late father’s red hibiscus tree after walking his mother and step-father down the aisle during our ceremony - it was such a beautiful and touching moment
Pearls of wisdom | If dream wedding Plan A doesn't work out (for whatever reason), dream wedding Plan B could end up being even more unique, more personal and more memorable than you could have ever imagined. Things will work out, just let go and adapt accordingly.
Our wedding day turned out to be so weirdly perfect, even during these crazy pandemic times. We definitely learned to let go and to go with the flow, and that sometimes you just have to scream CANNON BALL!
Also, invest in a photographer! Our photographer blew us out of the water, even after asking us to go jump in it :)
Dress: The Bridget Topper & Darcy Skirt from Anna Campbell Bridal Online Stylist
Photographer: Athena Hays of Empiria Studios | www.empiriastudios.com | @empiriastudios
Venue: Danny’s family home
Florist: Melissa Stratton of Sadie's Couture Floral | www.sadiesfloral.com | @sadiesfloral
Event Planner: We ended up planning/styling our entire wedding by ourselves, along with the help of our family & friends who were our go-to helpers on wedding day – we could not have done it without them!
Stationary: We used an online platform, Paperless Post, which sent virtual invitations to our guests. We found it much easier and faster to communicate any updates or changes - specifically around the status of the pandemic | www.paperlesspost.com | @paperlesspost
Cake: Guests received individually wrapped small bundt cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes | www.nothingbundtcakes.com | @nothingbundtcakes | Our small personal wedding cake was made by two of our family members, Jeannie & Rachel.
Rings: Danny now wears his late father's wedding ring – so special!
Groom’s Suit: Atmosfere | @atmosferempls
Event Rental: Katiee Wandmacher at Apres Event Décor and Tent Rental |www.apresparty.com | @apreseventandtent
Bell Tent: "Honeymoon Suite" Canvas Bell Tent | www.lifeintents.com | @life_intents
Alterations: Sharon Pothen of Twin Cities Bridal Alterations | www.twincitiesbridalalterations.com
Hair & Make-up: Bethany Creech & Kate Nordang from 5th Avenue Color Co | www.5thavenuecolorcompany.com | @5thavecolorco