The Littlest Bee: garden wedding. { frost on flower }

A few years ago Tyler and I had new gutters put on our house. Our old gutters were original to the home and were full of big holes. This was causing quite the problem in our basement which had it's own set of holes. The person who did the work was a referral from a friend in Oklahoma. After our gutters were installed we ordered gutter screens through that friend but he was unfortunately unable to install them for us. We planned to get around to it but, as happens too often with home projects, we didn't get around to it as quickly as we would have liked. Part of the problem was that the screens had to be trimmed a bit to fit and we also don't own a ladder tall enough to reach our second floor. Our gutters got clogged and some were overflowing.

I wasn't able to do a darn thing without a ladder and with a small baby at home. So I sat down and thought hard about what we could do - paying someone to do it just wasn't feasible at the time. And then it dawned on me! Trading! I LOVE trading services! So I posted a little add on Craigslist and was overwhelmed with responses.

I settled on a guy named Joel. He works for a roofing company that was doing a lot of work in my neighborhood, specifically roof and siding work after the tornado went through north Minneapolis last May. We weighed the numbers and Joel decided he would install the screens and do some other custom wood work on our exterior. He was also gracious enough to reroof our garage, which was basically to the point of caving in, for a very low cost.

Over the course of last summer and earlier this summer Tyler and I both got to know Joel and even invited him in for dinner while he was working on our garage. Little by little we learned more about him, his family, his fiance, and their wedding.

A couple of weeks ago I was finally able to hold up by end of our trade - I photographed his lovely wedding in Lindstrom, MN!

Be warned... there are A LOT of photos in this post!

Best first look reaction ever:

Lots of great buildings and textures at the Gammelgarden Museum.

Stretching out smile muscles:

Great groom & best man "pose" after arriving at the Panola Valley Gardens:

Snack break for the guys, just as it was starting to rain:

Twinsies:

Attempting to take cover from the rain in a little wooded area:

Portraits with the bridesmaids and family took place under the cover of the ceremony location:

The father of the bride was still a little wet from our previous adventure:

I love the series of photos I got of the bride & groom attempting to pose with the groom's niece and nephew. This one, of everyone checking out his blue tongue, is my favorite:

The rain cleared up just before the ceremony so we were able to squeeze in a couple of wedding party shots:

I grabbed the rings and the wedding party prepared themselves:

Great idea! We programs/fans for a potential hot August day:

Oreo cookie break, of course:

Antsy little guy climbed up the gazebo. He was dressed, ready, and waiting hours before the ceremony:

The groom's parents flew in from Japan. The groom's father officiated:

The receiving line was in a perfect location:

The groom's grandfather gave the blessing before dinner:

The kids REALLY enjoyed the "Just Married" balloons and the large dance floor:

After dinner and speeches by family and the wedding party everyone watched a slideshow of highlights from the bride & groom growing up and their lives together: