Edina Weddings

Edina couples dish on their big day, and the services, vendors and sites that made all the difference.

Cate and John Dugan dressed to impress, thanks to The Dressmaker's Kristen Olsen (gown), Men's Wearhouse (tux) and Spalon Montage (hair).

Photo by:

La de Da Photography

Most married couples will, without pause, tell you that their wedding day was one of the best days of their lives. Sure, they committed their undying love to one another. But they also threw one of the biggest parties of their lives.

With a combination of friends and family, good food and music, and a fabulous venue in which to kick up their heels, these couples did it in style—using the best hometown resources Edina has to offer. We chatted with these local couples to get the skinny on their big day, and the local resources that made it spectacular.

Tim and Amanda Bratton

Their Story:

An Edina girl now transplanted in Los Angeles, Amanda Bratton (née Murdock) grew up a stone’s throw from the Edina Country Club with her parents Ed and Linda. After graduating from EHS and heading to Texas for college, Amanda moved to Chicago to be a little closer to home, where she met her now-husband Tim (courtesy of a matchmaking pal). A couple years of long-distance dating later, while Tim attended grad school in California, the pair married last year in August.

The Preparations:

For this bride and groom, having a fun and stylish wedding day was top order—and they made sure to get the top vendors to make their vision come true. “My wedding was beautiful, and also done on a budget. So we hunted for the best vendors in each category that were also priced well,” says Amanda. “We splurged on the things that made the most impact.”

Friends and family made a big difference when it came to assisting with planning and execution. “So many people pitching in was so meaningful to us and made us feel so cared for,” notes Amanda. First among them was Amanda’s mother Linda Murdock—who along with a group of her closest girlfriends who all had daughters getting married that year—had formed the “Mother of the Bride” club. These Edina gals gathered every other week, exchanging tips and pictures and hashing out the details of their various celebrations to come. “We couldn’t have done it without them,” Amanda says.

When it came to readying herself on wedding day proper, Amanda sought a beauty team of trusted local experts. A make-up application and a fresh set of highlights came courtesy of Bella Salon, and her chic blonde up-do was created by stylist Shanna Comstock at Edina Hair District. Bridesmaids, meanwhile, went Spalon Montage to have their hair blown out.

Pre-ceremony, Amanda met all the ladies at nearby Flutter boutique (where she used to work), which served as a staging area for the ladies to get ready. “It was certainly a special touch, not to mention Michelle Hanson [former boss/Flutter owner] provided champagne and chocolate covered strawberries while we were getting ready!”

The Celebration:

They couple kicked off the festivities with a casual, outdoor catered rehearsal dinner at Arneson Acres.

On their wedding day, the ceremony took place at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in South Minneapolis, where the couple—the bride decked out in a gorgeous Alvina Valenta gown and the groom in a crisp tux from Men’s Warehouse—was greeted outside by well-wishing loved ones in a sea of floating bubbles, before hopping into their transportation for the day, a 1940s Packard car that was hired from a local car collector.

Since she grew up just a few blocks away, Amanda knew the Edina Country Club would be the perfect reception site. The couple fell in love with the classic setting, ample space, and the chef’s menu that, on their wedding day, included a plethora of delicious plates like artichoke parmesan crostinis, chicken and apricot quesadillas, strawberry almond salad and chicken Olivia. A divinely decadent three-tiered cake, decorated with flowers to fit the couple’s French blue and white theme, came from Terri Leckas’s kitchen at Queen of Cakes. “This is one selection my husband insisted on being completely involved in!” gushed Amanda. “Terri made it so fun and we completely trusted her work.”

To keep the festivities (and guests) moving, the couple carefully selected Instant Request DJs out of Bloomington. “To this day, people are still talking about our DJ, Richard, and our music,” Amanda notes.

And as the celebration wrapped up and everyone said their final well-wishes, out-of-town guests headed to the Westin Edina Galleria. Amanda and Tim sent their bridal party home with personalized stationary sets from Epitome; the stationery shop also provided the couple’s engraved thank you notes.

“I could go on and on, talking about décor and dresses and flowers and transportation,” explains Amanda. “But what made our wedding special for us hands down was the people.”

Brian and Kate Hobbins

Their Story:

Thanks to a shared love of soccer, movie quotes and family, Edina gent Brian and his bride-to-be Kate (from Austin, Minn.) hit it off immediately upon meeting when out one evening. After a few initial dates, including ice-skating at Centennial Lakes Park, the pair was inseparable. While vacationing in Costa Rica on January 8, 2010—the date that also happens to mark Brian’s grandparent’s wedding anniversary—Brian proposed to Kate with a stunning R. F. Moeller round-cut diamond in Chanel set, with diamonds surrounding on the top and sides.

The Preparations: “We planned for countless nights and weekends,” confessed Kate. Part of that time was spent dreaming up honeymoon destinations, with the help of a travel agent from the nearby Skads Travel. They decided on a trip to France, including stops in Paris, Aix-en-Provence and Nice, which ended up inspiring their reception theme. The couple chose to host the festivities at the Hotel Sofitel, filling it with French-influenced details like features, vintage-feeling décor, Parisian cocktails and romantic color patterns.

To ensure that they would be ready to cut a rug once the big day rolled around, Brian surprised Kate with some Arthur Murray dance lessons during their engagement.

The Celebration:

Once wedding day arrived, everything went off without a hitch. Of course for Kate, it would have been perfect regardless: “It’s the first day of the rest of my life with the man I love. Nothing could have ruined that day.”

The ceremony took place at Christ the King church, with the reception to follow at Hotel Sofitel. Dramatic murals and red tufted furniture proved the perfect backdrop for some of their wedding day photos, contrasting effortlessly with Kate’s vintage-inspired lace gown, and Brian’s tux from Mestads at Southdale.

Since Brian comes from a big family of foodies (his mother is Edina cookbook author and Cooks of Crocus Hill culinary teacher Carmela Cuchina, after all), the menu was a top priority. The chic French stylings of the chefs at onsite Colette Bar & Bistro at Hotel Sofitel did the trick, serving up Dijon-crusted chicken, pan-seared salmon, vegetarian crepes, truffled mashed potatoes, and trays upon trays of signature petite pastries from key lime pie to tiramisu—the bride’s favorite. Cases of Minnesota-made wine came courtesy of Kate’s father, who owns Scandia Valley Vineyards. Bride and groom themselves helped blend, bottle and design the label for the wine.

The family influence didn’t stop there. Since Brian’s family is Italian, the wedding included an Italian Grand March, a choreographed conga line, as well as plenty of vintage Italian tunes. To represent Kate’s Scottish heritage, celebratory bagpipes were also played.

The festive reception went well into the night, bolstered by perfectly chosen tunes from Instant Request DJs. A quick change into her dancing shoes, silver sequined Tory Burch ballet flats from Pumpz, kept Kate dancing happily all night.

“It was important to me to host our friends and family in the community where I grew up, where my family has lived for almost 30 years,” explains Brian. “And this was a good foundation to build my own.”

Brian and Kate Hobbins

John and Cate Dugan

Their Story:

Graduating together from Benilde St. Margret High School left Edina girl Cate Lombardo and Wayzata’s John Dugan as good pals. It wasn’t until the pair were both studying in Iowa—she, attending Drake Univesity and he at nearby Iowa State University—and ran into one another at a party (and couldn’t seem to leave each other’s sides) that they started dating. The pair was married five years later in May 2010.

The Preparations:

While fully wrapped up in the joys of wedding planning, the couple faced tragedy as Cate’s mother Anna grew sick, losing her battle with cancer three months before the wedding. Keeping her mother a part of the planning despite her faltering health was of utmost importance to Cate and her family, who hired wedding planner Sally Berry from Mother of the Bride wedding planning to take the reigns.

“When my mom was in the hospital, our wedding planner would visit with wedding table cloths, so we were able to set up the table in the hospital room to look exactly like it would at the wedding,” explains Cate. “This meant a lot, because my mom was able to be a part of the day.”

Cate’s decision to have her dress custom made by designer Kristen Olsen of the Dressmaker was also inspired by her mother, who wouldn’t have the strength to for dress shopping expeditions and instead suggested Cate “get her dream dress made.” After several meetings with Olsen, going over sketches and pictures with her mother in tow, Cate says, “the dress was perfect. It was very special to me.”

The Celebration:

On the morning of her wedding, Cate, along with all eight bridesmaids and two flower girls, had their hair done by Spalon Montage stylists. (“Since I’ve had my hair done at Spalon for years, I knew I could trust them to make the girls shine,” explains Cate.)

A beautiful ceremony took place at Cate’s family church, Our Lady Grace Catholic Church, with Cate in her off-the-shoulder, tiered skirt custom gown and John in a tux from Men’s Warehouse and a wedding ring from Jared Jewelers. Bridesmaids donned knee-length, deep purple dresses from Priscilla of Boston.

A gorgeous reception was held at Interlachen Country Club, where the couple covered the ballroom in delicate ivory shades with pops of purple and lime, and filled it with towering flower arrangements from Arts & Flowers and sumptuous linens from Aarcee Party Rental. “The theme for our wedding was ‘rustic romantic,’ and Interlachen was the perfect location to pull that off,” says Cate.

Personal touches and mementos such as bracelets, flowers and guest favors peppered the reception, honoring Cate’s mother, as well as John’s father Michael. Because it was Cate and her mother’s favorite flower, orchids could be found everywhere from the bride’s hair to table-top spreads.

Three Sons Signature Cuisine provided the evening’s divine dinner of beef and poultry dishes, as well as the cake. But the biggest culinary hits were proved to be the late night snack bar, filled with delicacies like mini pizzas, and a candy buffet (all of which was in shades of purple or green, to fit the colors of the evening, of course). Instant Request DJs provided the soundtrack for the romantic, family- and friend-filled night.

For Cate, hosting her party in her hometown was really the only option. “It was extremely important,” she explains. “All of my greatest memories have happened here.”

Our couple’s favorite vendors:

Aarcee Party & Tent Rental

952.346.0102

612.915.6616

612.920.1900

952.920.8415

952.928.7835

Bethlehem Lutheran Church