We can’t tell Jeremiah and Eli’s story without giving you a little background first. After a missed connection scenario at a St.Olaf pizza shop, the couple matched on Tinder (aka, the perfect start to a modern day love story). They quickly became enamored with one another and bonded over their love of the arts, the outdoors, and overall being big nerds (their words, not ours 😉).
After college, they maintained a long distance relationship spanning over three years and three continents. Talk about true love! In 2020, they reunited and moved to Boston. Fortunately, they reaffirmed their love after so much time apart. After two years in Boston, Jeremiah had finally received his Master’s Degree and they were both ready to grow their roots back in the Twin Cities where they had been planted many years before. Before making the change, they decided to celebrate the ending of one chapter and beginning of another with a trip to Greece. On the Mediterranean Sea, on a private yellow boat rented for just the two of them, Jeremiah popped the question. Obviously, Eli said yes and it was time to start wedding planning upon their return to the Twin Cities!
As the couple began planning, they knew they wanted a bit of support. They decided on our Management Package that allowed them to do a majority of the planning, with the ability to ask us questions throughout the process. They were also able to take advantage of our preferred vendors list and decided on one of our favorite photographers to work with, Rachel Lahlum Photography.
They decided on the Minneapolis Institute of Art as their venue, which was a great fit considering their common love of the arts. Plus, they went on many dates at MIA throughout their relationship! The KUE team considered ourselves lucky, as this was the first of our five weddings in six weeks at MIA in the fall of 2023! Needless to say, we absolutely love working here.
In addition to having our assistance throughout the planning process, we made sure to give the couple a couple of extra meetings as MIA has a 60, 30, and 10 day meeting with their wedding couples. We love to be on site with our couples for these whenever possible!
Jeremiah and Eli started their day by going to Head to Toe Salon to get their hair looking perfect for the day ahead! The entire wedding party then met up to hang out and get ready before photos. The grooms were looking dapper in their Milbern suits!
Rachel Lahlum Photography took a few stunning photos of the couple near the stone arch bridge before traveling to the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The wedding party was waiting for them upon arrival, and Rachel Lahlum was able to get a variety of fun photos with the group!
The couple wanted to have a more traditional feel to the day, so they chose to get married outside in Target Park. Eli’s dad is a musician and had someone there to play an original piece that Eli had written for the ceremony. As guests arrived, they were serenaded by the pianist and violinist duo. Once guests were seated, the KUE team led the wedding party to the ceremony site and cued them down the aisle. The couple made their grand entrance down the aisle together, which is a unique touch we always love to see! They shared a memorable, emotional ceremony with their friends and family before making their way down the aisle as the newest married couple!
We then filtered guests inside for cocktail hour with drinks served up by Liquid Motion. Eli’s dad played the piano throughout cocktail hour which was so special! During this time, guests were also able to visit specific museum exhibits that the couple chose to open up. This included a few of their favorite modern art pieces by Kandinsky and Matisse.
Meanwhile, the vendor team was busy ensuring that the reception space was set to perfection. The couple chose to have their reception in the Reception Hall on the third level. The look was perfect for their heading into fall, but still slightly tropical vibe they came up with (along with the help of Apres).
Jeremiah and Eli elected to go a more DIY route that their florist, Mellifera Flowers, offered for their centerpieces. She brought the bottles, items to go in them, and gave them the recipe, but someone else had to assemble them. Since that does not fall under our scope of duties, we let them know they would need to have a group of people ready to go to help out with that. They had a small army of people who showed up, the florist gave them a bit of direction, and they were able to knock them all out in about an hour! Once they were placed, the finished product looked stunning combined with the Panama Grass linens, Brushed Bronze tableware, Amber goblets, and Smoke wine glasses from Apres!
Once everything was set to perfection, we brought the couple in for the room reveal. Their reactions were priceless and remind us why we love what we do! The couple wanted a private cake cutting, so while we were alone in the space we had them cut their cake from The Copper Hen. Even the cake was a perfect match to the space!
We then invited guests in to take their seats. Once everyone was seated, we sent the wedding party in for their grand entrance. Everyone had a lot of fun with this! When the couple entered, the DJ from Adagio announced that they would be doing a table dash. Rachel Lahlum Photography nails this every time, making it fun and memorable, without taking up too much time in your timeline.
Once the couple made it through all of the tables, it was time to dig into the delicious buffet from Brasa. It was a huge hit and guests devoured every last bite!
The couple then stepped aside with Rachel Lahlum to get a few portraits around the Minneapolis Institute of Art. We are obsessed with these unique wedding portraits and love how they turned out!
Upon their return, they did their first dances. This included a dance with Jeremiah and his mom, Eli and his dad, and of course, Eli and Jeremiah. They were all the perfect combination of fun and sentimental!
At this time, everyone was invited onto the dance floor for a group photo of the couple with all of their guests (Rachel Lahlum’s specialty, she coordinated this large group with ease)! After a few quick photos, it was time to open up the dance floor. Jeremiah and Eli were both very excited for the music at the wedding. Given that Jeremiah spent two years in Guinea, West Africa through the Peace Corps and Eli spent a year in South Korea teaching English, they both picked up some really fun music! They were excited to share it with all of their friends and family, and Adagio DJ did a perfect job mixing up the tunes!
When it came time to toss the bouquet, they knew exactly who should get it. A dramatically fake throw landed the bouquet in the hands of their friends who were newly engaged! Look at those smiling faces!
The remainder of the night was spent socializing and dancing. It was truly a day to remember!
One final shout out to all the vendors who made this day possible at the Minneapolis Institute of Art!
Venue: Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA)
Caterer: Brasa
Bar Service: Liquid Motion
Dessert: The Copper Hen
Ceremony Music: Friends
Cocktail Music: Eli’s Dad
Reception Music: Adagio
Florist: Mellifera Flowers
Hair: Head to Toe Salon
Photographer: Rachel Lahlum Photography
Rentals: Apres
Suits: Milbern
Planner: Keyed Up Events
Creatively written by: Hope Konkol
