Anne and Ed aren’t our usual couple, as they are in their 70s and 80s. Anne had never been married before, and Ed had been a widower for over 10 years. They met at a Friday night Happy Hour social event in their apartment building back in December of 2015. A few months later they went for dinner at a local restaurant. Since that day they have been in an exclusive relationship!
The couple felt no need for a formal proposal. They had several discussions starting March 2021 about their future together and announced in April 2022 that they planned to get married!
When Anne was dress shopping, she stopped by The Wedding Shoppe. Our friends there were kind enough to refer them to us! The couple reached out to us to get more information, but it took them a few months before deciding to book us as they only knew they wanted a church wedding and didn’t have a venue or date yet. It took a while for us to convince her that we didn’t need those things in place yet if they booked our Planning services because we could help them find the perfect venue for their intimate wedding. Eventually, they decided to book our All-Inclusive service since they wanted help with the venue search and all the little pieces that go into wedding planning.
They knew they wanted the ceremony to be at their church in Saint Paul, Lumen Christi Catholic Church. When we started the venue search for the reception, they were open to looking at venues in both Minneapolis and Saint Paul. All that they knew for sure is that they wanted their guests to have the most memorable experience. After touring a few venues, they decided the Saint Paul Hotel was the perfect fit for them. Their guests could stay in the beautiful hotel and everyone could get exceptional service! The couple even decided to have their brunch there the next morning too.
While we’re on the topic of venues, we also helped them choose their rehearsal dinner location and get all of those details set up. They ultimately decided on Herbie’s on the Park which is just a kitty-corner away from Saint Paul Hotel!
When the wedding day arrived, Anne and her sisters met up at L’etoile, the stunning getting ready room at Saint Paul Hotel. An artist from Ziel Bridal joined them and perfected their hair and makeup! This is especially impressive because Anne had a fall a couple of weeks prior to the wedding that left her with a very bruised face. You couldn’t tell one bit once Ziel Bridal was finished with her makeup! While the ladies were busy enjoying their morning, the KUE team was busy preparing the reception area. Calisto and Hope were the team for the day, but KUE owner Dana was able to stop by in the morning to help with some setup and say hello to Anne!
The ladies then slipped into their dresses. We loved Anne’s casual, yet elegant, dress from DUGO. It was perfect for her! The KUE team then got onto the shuttle from Saint Paul Hotel with the ladies and their photographer, Leah Fontaine. Guests were able to hop on the larger shuttle from Renee’s Limousines to get a ride to the ceremony site as well! Upon our arrival, we saw Ed for the first time that day. He was looking very dapper in his Twill suit!
Anne and Ed shared a special and intimate ceremony with their closest people. While the ceremony was happening, the KUE team slipped outside and placed a “Just Married” sign in the shuttle as a surprise for the couple. When the ceremony wrapped up, we grabbed the bouquets from the ladies and placed them back into the water so they would stay looking fresh for the outdoor photos coming up! We then returned Anne’s bouquet to her for Leah Fontaine to take their portraits outside of the church before heading back to the hotel to prepare last minute details in the reception space.
The wedding party then traveled to Rice Park with Leah Fontaine to get couple and wedding party / family portraits. Luckily the weather was perfect that day, so they got to enjoy the nice day while taking photos.
Cocktail hour started two hours after the ceremony ended, so during this time guests could get drinks in the hotel lobby, socialize, or even head back to their rooms to relax for a bit.
Shortly before cocktail hour started, the couple came into the reception space to see it all set up for the first time. It looked stunning! The florals from Studio B Floral added the perfect touch of pink elegance to match with the stationery from Minted on the tables. Since the couple booked our All-Inclusive package, Hope from our team worked closely with them to create all of the paper items for their day through Minted. Each person also got a little box of Regina’s Candies set at their seat to enjoy!
Guests then entered the space to enjoy cocktail hour with drinks served by Saint Paul Hotel. After about an hour, the KUE team began inviting guests to take their seats for dinner. Everyone then enjoyed a delicious meal from Saint Paul Hotel with a wine pouring. There were then a few toasts and speeches before we pulled the couple aside to cut their cake. They had a lot of fun with this, which was so cute to see! Guests were then able to enjoy a variety of yummy cupcake options from Buttercream.
The couple opted to not have any sort of dance and focus on spending quality time with their guests in the intimate setting. One thing Anne did want was a bouquet toss. We weren’t sure if we were going to be able to make it happen as there were not many single ladies there, but we assured her we would try if it worked out. Luckily, we were able to give Anne the bouquet toss she wanted. Lead planner Calisto emceed it and Anne had a blast!
As the night wrapped up, guests slowly made their way up to their rooms for the night. The KUE team made sure to clean everything up and pack it away accordingly. It was a great day celebrating this sweet couple and we are so glad they chose to work with us!
One last HUGE thank you to the vendors that helped us pull this day together for Anne and Ed:
Ceremony Venue: Lumen Christi Catholic Church
Reception Venue: Saint Paul Hotel
Rehearsal Dinner Venue: Herbie’s on the Park
Caterer / Bar: Saint Paul Hotel
Dessert: Buttercream / Regina’s Candies
Florist: Studio B Floral
Hair / Makeup: Ziel Bridal
Bridal Dress: DUGO
Suits: Twill
Photographer: Leah Fontaine
Transportation: Renee’s Limousine / Saint Paul Hotel
Stationery: Minted
Planner: Keyed Up Events
Creatively written by: Hope Konkol
