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Local couple combines elegance, rural background for breathtaking ceremony, reception

Photography by Katie Wilke

Bride: Hannah Stadheim, 23

Farm wife/stay-at-home mom

Groom: Bennett Stadheim, 24

Farmer

Wedding date: Feb. 2, 2019

Where was your wedding and reception?

Our wedding was on Feb. 2, 2019, the week of the polar vortex. We had our wedding at Cross of Glory Lutheran Church in Hartland, and the reception was at The Mill Event Center in Waseca. 

Why did you choose those locations?

We chose Cross of Glory because I grew up attending church there, and it means a lot to my family. It’s also a beautiful traditional church and was exactly what we wanted. It made for a breathtaking winter wedding ceremony. We chose The Mill in Waseca because it is a rustic industrial event venue and went along with our theme for our wedding perfectly.

Did you have a theme for the wedding?

Yes, we had a theme! I would say it was a rustic, vintage winter wedding. We had galvanized décor, with birch, evergreen and eucalyptus, along with gold accents that kept it classy.

Tell us about the dress.

My dress came from the Silhouette in Easton. This is the shop where I found all my prom dresses in high school, so I knew I would probably find what I was looking for there. It didn’t take me long to find the dress of my dreams along with the perfect veil. I knew I always wanted a long-sleeved lace wedding dress with buttons down the back. My dress was long-sleeved with lace, with a keyhole back and buttons. It had a train, but the veil was longer than my dress with lace edging. It was exactly what I wanted!

Tell us about the flowers.

Our flowers came from Jenny’s Pink Petals in Wells. They were absolutely stunning, and Jenny was great to work with. She really listened to me and had some great ideas. My bouquet consisted of dahlias, amnesia roses, seeded and silver dollar eucalyptus, thistle, anemone, misty blue, ivory roses and rice flower. All the flowers for our wedding came from Jenny’s, and they were all stunning — definitely one of my favorite details of our wedding.

Other decorations?

All of our wedding décor came from family and friends, and from what we found shopping. The church and the venue were decorated by our amazing family and friends. We couldn’t have done it without them!

Tell us about the cake.

Our cake came from Sugar Chic here in Albert Lea. It turned out exactly how I envisioned it. It was a two-layered naked cake, and the flavor was lemon. It was accented with two little bundles of flowers, which gave it some color and dimension. I wanted something simple and elegant, and that’s what we got!

What was your favorite detail?

My favorite detail of the wedding was the backdrop behind the head table at the reception. We had two barn doors set up against the wall with our last name in large galvanized letters. It also had string lights with lanterns. It made for a beautiful focal point and a fun place to take pictures!

What were you most nervous about?

I think I was most nervous about the weather. Our wedding ended up being the week of the polar vortex. We were all a little nervous all week that the cold weather was going to stick around, but we lucked out and our wedding day was almost 40 degrees above zero! Almost a 100-degree difference from the middle of the week. The last time it was that cold was the day/year I was born in February 1996.

What was your most memorable moment?

The most memorable moment of the day was probably walking down the aisle and seeing Bennett at the altar. It was such a special moment being walked down the aisle by my dad to my future husband. Also, when we said our vows. We memorized the traditional vows, and it made it that much more special.

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