Melanie and Dan Haak Wedding Story
Wedding Date
Saturday, June 30, 2018
Our wedding day was a blur but so much fun. There was so much anticipation and anxiety leading up to it, and the day of I really let go and had so much fun. It was really cool to see my vision come together in real life and it really was better than I imagined. Our ceremony was at Abovo Events center downtown which was just a big open bright space that was perfect for us. One of my favorite parts of the ceremony was the live music. We had the violin and guitar duo Hot Lunch perform for us and they did such a great job with the songs we asked them to play. I walked down the isle to the theme song from The Princess Bride which maybe most people did not notice, but I will never forget it. They also played other modern songs that just made the ceremony fit us more than the more traditional music played at weddings.
One of my other favorite parts of the wedding was that everything was walk-able. I never pictured myself in a limo or a party bus in the first place, so it was really cool to just walk all over downtown to get to and from everything. Anyone that knows me knows I like to walk everywhere and it was special to get to do that on my wedding day and to see my guests all over Fargo.
We worked with Love Always Floral for the flowers and I am so happy I did. Some people think flowers on your wedding are a waste of money, but it was one of my favorite parts and something I really splurged on. They did such a beautiful job and we were able to donate some of the center pieces the next morning to a nursing home.
Our reception was at the Plains Art Museum which is a space my husband I both loved from the first time we saw it. We went to the museum to visit when we were first dating and I had the thought that it would be the perfect place for a wedding. I loved the simplicity of the building--it really doesn't need decorations. We also had a gallery downstairs open during our cocktail hour for guests to walk though which I think gave people something else to see and experience.
We had the awesome DJ/band Collector and the Gypsy from Bismarck come and play live music during our cocktail hour and first dances before DJing for the dance. This was a huge highlight for our day and we were so happy they came to Fargo for us. I had heard them play at a coffee shop in Bismarck a year before, and I knew I wanted them at our wedding. They worked with us to come up with the perfect playlist and were more than happy to forego some of the traditional wedding dance traditions we wanted to skip.
We had cupcakes for dessert from Yeobo which were fantastic. I never missed not having a cake and I still dream about the lavender honey cupcakes.We had coffee and Nitro cold brew delivered from 20 Below which was a big hit with guests. My husband and I are huge coffee lovers and it was fun to share that with everyone.
How We Met
Dan and I met online. We had our first date at Dunn Brothers Coffee and still go there on the same day every year to celebrate the day we met.
I don't have a grand proposal story. It happened on a quiet morning at home on Easter morning. It was just a private moment between the two of us witnessed by no one but our cat which was really the perfect way for it to happen for us.
Planning for Our Day
Planning the wedding was not quite as bad as I thought it would be in a lot of ways. I thought about what was most important to me and focused on getting those parts booked right away. We we had a 15 month engagement which helped the planning process. I was able to do things slowly overtime and it never felt too overwhelming until the last few weeks. One thing I regret is not booking hair sooner. I had no idea that was something to do far in advance and I had a hard time getting that scheduled but finally did find a salon to squeeze us in. I didn't really use any tools to get things done. I kept things pretty simple and had a small guest list which made planning easier.
Hint for Brides
The best advice I can give is to try to have fun with the process of planning. Do what you want and feel free to leave parts of the day out that don't feel right or feel outdated. On the day of, try not to get caught up in the little mishaps that are bound to happen and just enjoy your day. And eat! I hardly ate the whole day and felt like I was starving before walking down the isle. Make sure you are eating meals and drinking water throughout so you have your energy! Have fun! I danced all night long and really enjoyed every moment that I could because it really does go by fast.