Dinah + Sam, Gethsemane Lutheran Church and Burwell Park

Dinah and Sam are married!  Their wedding day was cool and breezy, but it mattered not a bit because these two had an amazing wedding and I was so blessed to be part of it. They were married at Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Hopkins and we took photos at the historic Burwell House and Burwell Park in Minnetonka.

The couple met through a mutual acquaintance who knew Sam because they are both cross country skiers, and knew Dinah from running together with the Medicine Lake Running group. Although they thank her for introducing them, the friend says it was really a prompting of the Holy Spirit that she just followed. After talking on the phone on and off for a bit, they thought that going for a run would be an easy way to meet in person so their first date was a run that started and ended at Dinah’s house. Sam graciously slowed down to match Dinah’s just-coming-off-an-injury pace. On a suggestion from a dear friend, Dinah made some cookies the night before so that she could invite Sam in after the run for a home-made snack. However, in a most gentlemanly way, he simply declined, and she was left to eat a plate full of cookies on her own. (Dinah says: “For the record, since then, he has eaten a lot of my baked goods, even the ones that were not so good! And, when the anniversary of our first date came around, I made him the same kind of cookies, which he happily accepted and enjoyed!”)

Dinah loved the Gethsemane Lutheran Church‘s sanctuary with its tall ceilings and stained glass windows, and the staff there was very friendly and welcoming. The venue worked perfectly as a reception site, too, something important to the couple.

The centerpieces were inspired by Dinah’s love of books combined with her desire to pass some of her books on to others. As a reading teacher, she loves putting books in the hands of her students for them to take home, so at the wedding, it was her hope that everyone leave with a book from the centerpieces.

This sweet bride and groom were concerned about their guests (which included approximately 7,000 kids!) being bored after they finished eating, so they had these super fun games set out during the reception.

One unique thing I loved about their wedding was that, instead of flower girls and ring bearers, Dinah and Sam had a little mini-wedding party made up of her nieces and nephews. They had the special job at the beginning of the ceremony of taking a rose from Sam and bringing it back to the bride, where the roses became a part of her bouquet.  Another really special detail was that Dinah wore her mother’s wedding dress for the ceremony and then changed into her grandmother’s wedding dress for the reception.

The proposal happened on a perfectly calm day at the end of the dock up at the bride’s family cabin, after spending much of the day enjoying the water. Sam asked if Dinah wanted to go watch the sunset on the end of the dock. In her own words: “We had talked about trying to do this sometime over the weekend (my family often stops to watch the sunset at the lake…we have many pictures to show it!), and I had hoped to slip outside as people ate because a sunset at the end of the dock with Sam sounded romantic. But as I went to leave, my oldest niece said she wanted to come too, and then my youngest niece said she would come, and then my mom said that it could be another good picture opportunity so she would come to. As it happened my sister and brother-in-law were already out at the end of the dock cleaning up the boat. And then my dad was out there too! There went my thoughts of romantic sitting with Sam at sunset! However, Sam had completely different plans in his head, because as my sister went to take our picture with the sunset in the background, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.”  What could be more romantic??!!

When asked about her wedding colors, Dinah replied: “For the colors, it was my sister. Early on in the quick-let’s-plan stage she found some little girl dresses that had navy blue in them and I said ‘yes! I now love navy blue!’ So we threw in a burnt orange accent and there were the colors.” For their flowers, Best Wishes Floral provided Dinah’s choice of fall colors, with burnt orange to complement the navy blue.  They had a lovely, hand-picked from the garden look.

Sam and Dinah love going running together on weekends. Last summer they trained for a marathon together. So, last October, they were running the
Twin Cities Marathon side by side, and this October, they are married! They planned their wedding quickly (in just three months!) by taking it one day at a time, focusing on the big things early on and then picking away at the smaller things. Dinah credits Sam with doing much of the work and decision making for the couple as a team.

The couple’s hope for their wedding was for their guests to feel a sense of warm welcome and celebratory joyfulness.  I think that was accomplished, don’t you?

These amazing vendors were part of the big day:

Church and Reception: Gethsemane Lutheran Church, Hopkins
Portraits: Historic Burwell House, Minnetonka
Caterer: K and J Catering
Cake/sweets baker: The Wedge Catering
Officiant: Reverend Dr. Tom Jestus
Ceremony musicians: Kristin Borski, Tyler Stitt and Mark Fideldy
Gown: The bride’s mother’s and grandmother’s dresses!
Shoes: TJ Maxx
Hair (salon and stylist names): Tunisunia Reed of Posh Studio
Invitations and stationery: Ugur Tosun
Florist: Best Wishes Floral
Lighting: American Party Lights