Hattie + Mark // Northwoods Elopement

// Hattie + Mark

Having my most cherished childhood memories all exist from my family’s quaint, little A-frame lake cabin, the cabin life is as beautifully nostalgic to me as anything in the world. When people ask about my next major purchase it’s always the same thing “my own lake cabin.” I love people who create their own heaven on earth. I try to do that with my soul. So, like everywhere I go, my heaven comes with. That philosophy works as a starter but the next level is a place to celebrate all the beauty and fun that life has to offer. Hattie & Mark had their wedding weekend at Hattie’s family cabin. It’s the middle of nowhere, down an old dirt road. Jenny and I came early to snap a few pics of the grooms dinner and partake in the festivities.

Upon arrival to this secluded sanctuary in the North Woods we realized we were truly off the beaten path when a fallen tree laid before us, blocking the road to our wedding cabin colony destination. I remember stopping the car and looking at Jenny and just smiling. We assumed we had the right directions, but no phone works out here. I have Verizon simply because I can’t be in dead zones with my work but dead zones still will exist. After a few light hearted conversations and my pathetic attempt to move a large tree by hand, we realized we were at a crossroads. The answer was simple. We move forward. I figured we had only a mile or two left (it was closer to two). We packed our camera bags up and set out by foot! Horseflies were abundant and sometimes we jogged or sprinted to avoid their attack. A dozen horseflies met their maker that day. Needless to say, we survived. We arrived and were greeted with a smile and libation. We casually brought up the fact that their road had an obstruction. They quickly recruited abled bodies and jumped on four wheelers with a chainsaw. This tree was firewood now.

It’s amazing when a group bonds with their creative talent from their wedding day. You get to know their friends, their vibe, their flow, their favorite music and most importantly how they create their happiness! The bonding of the relationship between bride and groom and their photographer, videographer or DJ, truly makes for a better experience. After all, the closer we are, the more fun we have. This fun creates an experience that flows so natural that you get lost in the moment and your true essence and perfect flow is on display. This is what we want! We want people in our lives who bring out the best in us. We want happiness and there is no way to happiness as happiness is the way. We ended up doing our wedding consult before the wedding on our boat on lake Minnetonka while Lynyrd Skynyrd played from the mainland. It was fun. They wanted to get together on a Wednesday and that’s what we were doing Wednesday. Sometimes life works out beautifully. The intimacy and flow of destination weddings where you control the venue makes for so much more spontaneous fun. We took a pontoon ride on their private lake and popped bottles of champagne. We played Hammerslagen and danced all night to a bluegrass band. Hattie’s family even made the tables for the big day! You can see them currently in use at the Hutton House venue in Minnesota.

I remember emerging from the woods that night and seeing the couple dancing on top of the tables as music played! The party was sprawling well off the dance floor and moving around the entire space fluidly. It was how I love parties to be, the center is not focused on one point but rather a vast infinite energy that takes up form throughout the landscape with dance, drink, cigar, jokes, smiles, deep convo, and random games. Give me all the options and let me select the mood waiting for me. I captured a few quick pics of the couple as they danced and spun about. I stopped and just enjoyed the moment for myself. The best pictures I never take. Some moments are so perfect you can’t predict them, you can’t move fast enough to capture them, you can’t do anything but be lost in the moment of good flow, they fly by like shooting stars. They are magical and seemingly rare. However, if you ever find yourself with time to gaze up at the night sky you realize that perhaps the shooting stars are for more plentiful than you realize. You simply haven’t stopped and slowed down long enough to see the infinite nature of the spectacle before you.

This is how I’d describe Hattie and Marks wedding. It was a plethora of shooting stars. It was a light show in the sky. The night was perfectly clear. There was no backup for rain or bad weather to dare disrupt our joy. It was a night of clear skies and shooting stars. The infinite nature of joy manifested an experience that transcended any obstacles that could ever be in our way. I remember thinking that this is how you want to celebrate love. There is no curfew. The rules are few. The opportunity to be free is vast, as only a cabin secluded in the north woods can offer. It was an oasis brought to us by the spirit of the grandpa whose love and life helped create the very space where the magic happened.

I could feel the infinite nature of our existence. We all walked away thankful. We all walked away a little better off than the day before. This is the power of great love.

Venue: Holm Family Cabins // Photography: Flow Event Group // Videography: Flow Event Group // Hair: Ashley Cook // Dress: Posh Bridal // Jeweler: EverGreene Jewelers // Food: Lake Superior Catering // Desserts: The Copper Hen // Band: Ginstrings

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