Blacksmith Main & Luminary Wedding | Cameron & Tia Photography

NP Event Space Luminary Fern Brainerd Lakes Area Wedding by Cameron and Tia Photography

Blacksmith Main Wedding

So many moments throughout this Blacksmith Main wedding day made us gasp in awe. And not just because of the gorgeous details (which, this day is nothing short of). But even more so, of the incredible intentionality that Sara and Kevin chose for their day. But before we dig into that intentionality, let’s chat details reaaaaaal quick.

First, Blacksmith Main, Luminary, and the surrounding property is unreal. One thing that Cam and I love about backyard/outdoor weddings is that they get you out of the city and the hustle and bustle. They get all of your favorite people onto one property and allow them to meander around and enjoy. In the cities, there aren’t a lot of industrial feeling venues that also allow you this peace to spread out. But Blacksmith Main is exactly that. With multiple spaces that are not only beautiful but so functional and unique. Though this was our first time photographing here, when Kate asked us during dinner our favorite venue, we didn’t hesitate to tell her that Blacksmith Main now rose to the top.

Next, let’s talk about the event’s amazing design by Sara and executed by Kate of Bloom Designs and Farmhouse Foundry. The mismatched bridesmaids dresses, the rental pieces selected for both the ceremony and reception and the dreamy epic-ness of Blacksmith Main and the subtle elegance of Luminary, all made this day one to remember.

But even more importantly, it was the people that made this wedding weekend so special. So we’ve got two lessons that we learned from this wedding.

There were two reoccurring themes throughout the entire wedding weekend: the love for their large group of friends and families and their love for the water. They took over Labor Day Weekend with a full agenda. It included a bonfire, a beautiful rehearsal dinner boat cruise with Gull Lake Cruises, and 29 of their closest friends staying in a cabin together for the whole amazing weekend.

Two Lessons from Sara + Kevin’s Wedding

Sara and Kevin wanted to incorporate their love of water throughout the entire weekend. While they were originally searching for a venue on the water, they fell in love with Blacksmith Main and realized they could take advantage of the Brainerd Lakes Area. The families and bridal party stayed at Grandview Lodge, they made sure they could do a rehearsal dinner cruise on the water, and incorporated blues and teals throughout the decor. Kevin told us a dad-joke anchor pun on the dinner cruise – so our lesson is one as well. Choose to make your day centered on the things you love and it will just flow! It will run smoothly!!

Sara and Kevin started their wedding weekend on Thursday night with a bonfire, that then progressed into a beautiful rehearsal dinner boat cruise on Friday, and continued all Labor Day Weekend. 29 fo their closest friends joined them in a cabin together for the whole amazing weekend. Their friends are amazing, never hesitate at an opportunity to cheer Sara and Kevin on, and are so supportive!

So the lesson could just be to build a community around yourself of dedicated, amazing friends. But related to their wedding, the lesson is to be intentional and create an atmosphere for your wedding day that is true to you. They decided they wanted to include so many of their amazing friends and create a weekend full of love and we’re obsessed with this. If we could go back and get married all over again, keeping our friends close and atmosphere aligned would definitely be at the top of our priority list.

All the Similarities

When Nick, Kevin’s brother-in-law, began their ceremony, he listed off a bunch of qualities and commented on how he could have been describing either of them. We were also struck by their similarities the first time we met them at Utepils and chatted outside under the string lights. To us, they are both great conversationists and so personal, competitive and driven (which we saw come out many times at their engagement session), and that intentionality shines through in the both of them. When Kevin opened his letter from Sara, he told Cam that they had both written the first same sentence all the way down to the exclamation point. If that’s not fate, who knows what is.

Wishing you both a lifetime filled with these intersecting personalities and interests. We adore the two of you so much and can’t wait to hang at Utepils again! Congratulations and enjoy your honeymoon in Croatia and Greece!!

Enjoy this tiny preview of their Gull Lake Cruises rehearsal boat cruise and their Blacksmith Main and Luminary wedding!!

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