Ashlee and Ryan Nilson Wedding Story

Wedding Date
Saturday, November 16, 2019

Gallery

Our wedding day was everything I had expected plus more! My mom and I did majority of the planning. Both of us are very detailed orientated and love to include special personal details, it all showed! We had hired vendors with our style and everything turned out absolutely amazing! I'll list my vendors at the bottom of the page-they were the best! We got married November 16, 2019. The weather was actually a high of 38 degrees and no snow on the ground-which is rare for November! Our ceremony was in Larimore, ND at Our Saviors Lutheran Church. We actually had the opportunity to be married by our Hoople, ND Lutheran pastor which was very special to us, as this same pastor is part of our continuing lives as a married couple. We had our closest friends and family members as part of our wedding party(4 bridesmaids, 4 groomsmen, 4 ushers, 2 personal attendants, 3 flower girls and 3 ring bearers). We took outdoor pictures at Turtle River State Park and I was so happy there wasn't any snow! Some of my favorite moments from our wedding was in our church we have wooden double doors that open to the sanctuary(I think that's the word for it) and I had those closed before my entrance. I wanted that "movie scene" when the double doors open up and here comes the reveal of the bride! Also, after our ceremony, we did not usher out our guests, as there were many of them and we wanted to get to our reception. Also as the bride, I had talked about wanting that other "movie scene" moment when the bride and groom flee from the church as everyone is waving and throwing rice/confetti at the bride and groom but I didn't think that would happen because of the way our flow of the ceremony ended up. Little did I know, my mom had listened to my silly wish and all of my bridal party and extra family/friends were waiting for us outside the church and threw confetti! It was one of my favorite moments as it was a total surprise and the picture is so fun! I got my movie scene bridal moments! Also, as a surprise, a family friend, who is a collector of old cars, had this old car up to the front of the church which was decorated with just married on the back-just like a movie! (I can't remember the make of the car, but that can easily be found out) We took a short ride around Larimore in the fun old car, took pictures with my cathedral length veil (can you tell I like the bridal drama? My train was also very long and so beautiful-it took 20 bustles!) flowing out the window of the car, and then hopped on a party bus to join the rest of our bridal party to get to our reception. Our reception was at The Boardwalk in East Grand Forks, MN. We greeted our guests as they arrived. It was so beautifully decorated by our vendors and the help of family members. All of our colors and decorations (rust burnt orange, dusty rose, dark maroon, charcoal gray with accents of amber glassware from Ryan's grandma, velvet seating and fabrics, and copper/rosegold metals) all pulled together so beautifully it is definitely magazine worthy and definitely decorated in a way The Boardwalk had never seen before!!! Another one of my favorites from our wedding was the large shiplap backdrop behind the head table with our last name on it. We also sat the head table in a "T" formation so we could have more of a "cozy" family style feel for us and we also wanted to be able to enjoy our bridal party instead of look at them down a line. We had a dessert bar with 5 different flavored cakes, 3 different cheesecakes, and 3 different macaroons to pick from-another one of my favorites (and the guests too!) I requested one of everything because, hey, I'm the bride! I absolutely loved the work Gathered did for our seating area, backdrop, and head table. The Boardwalk provided the food and drinks for the reception which was amazing as well. They let us provide our own potatoes-Ryan is a potato farmer in Hoople, and that was so special to us and our farming community as that is big deal where the potatoes

How We Met

Ryan and I met at the Grafton, ND Summerfest Street Dance in 2014. We had met once through mutal friends about a year before this, but nothing ever came of that meeting. At the street dance, I asked him to dance and the rest was history! I had started nursing school that fall at NDSU Nursing School in Bismarck, ND, and he stayed behind to continue farming on his family's farm in Hoople, ND. We dated all throughout nursing school-I traveled back almost every weekend to see him throughout harvest, winter, and planting seasons. Most of our relationship was long distance, but when I graduated, I moved in with him in Hoople, ND.

Planning for Our Day

I'll list our vendors. Dress/Veil: Your Day by Nicole-Fargo, ND Men's Suits: Landsend Ashlee Ring-Riddles Jewelry-Grand Forks Ryan's Ring-River City Jewelers-Grand Forks, ND Florals/Decorations at reception: Brooke's Floral Styling-Grand Forks, ND Seating/Furnishing/Decor: Gathered Rentals and Events-Fargo, ND Florals at church-Larimore Flower Shop Cake/Desserts-Indulgence Baking Co. -Fargo, ND Chippers-Widman's Candy Shop-Grand Forks, ND Band- Jacked Up!-Fargo, ND Photography/Videography: Fernweh and Liebe Photography-Fargo, ND Stationary-Abbergail-Idaho (found at Grand Forks Bridal Show.

I found most of our vendors at The GO Show in Grand Forks, ND

Hint for Brides

Wear comfortable shoes!!! I am the type who loves to wear high heels and I knew I would regret it. Depending on your dress-you typically don't ever see your shoes no matter what. I wore plain white ballet slipper shoes with memory foam inserts and it was the best decision! Especially because managing your veil and dress is hard enough on your wedding day. Also, if your dress needs to be bustled-have someone take a video of the store clerk doing for you-it's hard to remember the day of. And have a sewing kit-my dress ripped in the back immediately due to the weight of my train-my aunts sewed me back into it.

Also, on my wedding day, of course everyone wants it to be perfect, but we all know SOMETHING is bound to happen that's unexpected. So, I think having that already in your mind as an expectation helps ease the stress of the day. My dress ripped immediately and I remember thinking "Oh, this is my SOMETHING" I was the most relaxed on my wedding than I have ever been in my entire life because at the end of the day, I didn't care if a groomsmen were to forget something, etc. I just knew the only thing I wanted that day was to be married to my best friend.