As wedding planners, sometimes we hear the stories of how our couples met and it is obvious that they were meant to find each other. Liza and Tanner are no exception! Tanner was born in California, and Liza was born in Wisconsin. When Liza was young she moved to California, so they both grew up there. Funny enough, they didn’t cross paths until they both moved to Minneapolis after college! They started dating in February 2017 and have been love birds ever since!
Tanner popped the question the day before Liza’s birthday. They grabbed lunch from their favorite specialty meat shop and had a picnic at Carver Park where they like to hike often. They were doing their normal Saturday hike, so Liza wasn’t suspicious at all. As she was enjoying the scenery at a lookout spot, Tanner got down on one knee. Liza proceeded to cry happy tears for the remainder of the hike, so it’s clear that Tanner really pulled off that surprise!
The Keyed Up Events team came into their love story back in 2021. They were friends with one of our couples, Kelsey and Ben, and came to help set up at their wedding. It turns out they were impressed with our work that day and wanted us to help with their wedding too! 😉
As we were walking through the booking process, none of our packages were exactly what the couple needed. We worked with them to create a custom package that included more design help and access to all of our rentals. The final product was more than Management, but not quite Planning: Lite.
Liza and Tanner chose Nicollet Island Pavilion as their wedding venue. Since their guests included friends from Minneapolis and family traveling from around the country, they wanted a central location that highlighted the beauty and history of downtown MPLS. The venue is surrounded by many hotels, restaurants, and activities within walking distance for their guests to enjoy.
The couple and their wedding party got ready at Canopy by Hilton the morning of the wedding. This was super convenient as they also had their rehearsal dinner at Canopy the night prior. The ladies woke up bright and early to get ready with Northeast Hair and Co who perfected their glam. Once they were ready, the bridesmaids put on their Baltic Born dresses and Liza slipped into her Che Bella gown. Liza wore the earrings that her dad got for her mom on their wedding day and a hairpiece that is over 100 years old from Tanner’s family. There is a matching piece for a boutonniere that Tanner also wore. Meanwhile, the guys were busy getting into their suits from Black Tux. Everyone looked amazing! We especially loved that the couple had a small wedding party that allowed them to really savor the day with their closest people!
Canopy also provided a beautiful backdrop for Liza and Tanner’s first look. Look how excited he was to give his beautiful bride a big hug!
The couple and their wedding party then hopped on a ride from Eclipse Global Transportation to get a few photos around town before heading to the venue. Eric Vest Photography did an amazing job capturing the couple’s wedding vibe, the Minneapolis charm, and the couple’s true selves!
Back at Nicollet Island Pavilion, their vendors were busy bringing everything to life! We loved the colors that they wanted to use and how much fun they had going into Linen Effects to pick out their linens (yes, even Tanner had fun). One thing the couple knew they wanted was to use grasses from their own yard as part of the decor. We worked with Studio B Floral to make this possible and suggested using them on the aisle during the ceremony.
Liza was struggling with the thought of using the tent in early November for the ceremony when we had no idea how the weather would be. We helped come up with a plan to have the ceremony inside without having to flip the space and only use the tent for cocktail hour. It worked out perfectly!
Once guests arrived and took their seats, it was time for the ceremony! Studio B Floral added beautiful arch pieces to compliment the grasses that were lining the aisle. The decor mixed with the string lights made for the perfect fall wedding vibes! During the ceremony, the officiant made a reference to the special grasses from the couple’s yard so that the guests were aware of the significance in the decor details. It was truly such a sweet ceremony filled with the couple’s favorite people! After Liza and Tanner shared a sweet kiss as husband and wife, everyone made their way to the tent for cocktail hour.
While everyone was celebrating outside, the KUE team got busy repurposing the ceremony decor and finalizing the reception space. The lanterns from We’ve Got It Covered were the perfect addition to their sweetheart table and we added one of the beautiful arch pieces to the front of the table. Liza and Tanner let Keyed Up Events and Studio B Floral really dictate how the tables would look in the reception. When we let the couple in for a grand reveal, they were blown away by how it all came together!
As cocktail hour wrapped up, we invited guests to take their seats in the reception space. Everyone then hyped up the couple during their grand entrance before enjoying a delicious meal from Mintahoe! There were a few special speeches during this time, which filled everyone with tears and laughter. Jacob Lane Productions did an amazing job capturing these moments and mixing them in seamlessly with Liza and Tanner’s wedding video! Guests were then able to grab a variety of yummy treats from Copper Hen for dessert.
The couple then took to the dance floor for their first dance, which their guests loved watching! Great Day DJ then got the dance floor ready for everyone to party! The couple’s personalities really came out through the music they picked for the wedding day, which was more on the fun upbeat side. Guests were also able to take advantage of the photo op in the reception area. They even rented a greenery wall, which had a neon sign and some of the couple’s special grasses as decor!
The night finished off strong with lots of dancing, socializing, and celebrating. We couldn’t think of a better way to wrap up a story about Liza and Tanner’s day than by sharing these amazing sunset and nighttime photos that Eric Vest Photography captured. They are absolutely stunning!
One final big shout-out to the amazing vendor team that pulled this day together for Liza and Tanner at Nicollet Island Pavilion!
Venue: Nicollet Island Pavilion
Getting Ready Location: Canopy by Hilton
Bakery: Copper Hen
Caterer: Mintahoe
DJ: Great Day DJ
Florist: Studio B Floral
Transportation: Eclipse Global Transportation
Hair / Makeup: Northeast Hair & Co
Photographer: Eric Vest Photography
Videographer: Jacob Lane Productions
Lanterns: We’ve Got It Covered
Linens: Linen Effects
Bridal Gown: Che Bella
Bridesmaid Dresses: Baltic Born
Suits: Black Tux
Planner: Keyed Up Events
Creatively written by: Hope Konkol
