Wedding Q&A with Newlyweds Maedelin + Austin

Maedelin and Austin, newlyweds from Minnesota, sit down and answer all the questions future wedding couples want to know about the exciting, yet overwhelming and daunting, wedding planning process. They share about their wedding day vision, setbacks they faced during the planning process, things they would have done differently, and so much more. You can also take a peek at some of their wedding photos included after the Q&A, and if you want to see their cozy, winter airbnb engagement session, check out that blog here!

xo, Heather

PS: Planning a wedding and interested in my photography services? Fill out my form, linked here, and let’s chat!

Q: First, tell us the quick story on how you met and started dating.

A: We met in our senior year of undergrad at the University of Minnesota. We had run into each other at many social events starting our freshman year and were each interested in the other person, but at different times from freshman to senior year. Finally after many run-ins we decided in June of 2018 when we ran into each other, again, to try something out. There are two versions to the story the night we decided to connect and start talking to each other. Maedelin’s version is that she made the first move to say hello first at the bar and send a message to Austin later via instagram, whereas Austin’s version recalls him making the first move to say hello at the bar and connect later via instagram to ask Maedelin on a date. This has made retelling the story to family and friends super fun each time as we get to share how we each experienced that moment that was the starting point of our love and life together.

Q: Describe the vision you had for your wedding day. Did it come to life?

A: Our dream vision for our day absolutely came to life. The vision we both had was just a fun day spent together surrounded by our closest friends and family members. Seeing all the people who we held so close from different areas of our lives come together and celebrate with us was such a cool feeling. We still talk about how loved we felt when we would look around on the dancefloor and see everyone smiling, laughing, and having fun together and those are moments that we will hold so close.

Q: Did you two each have your own tasks for wedding planning to complete? If so, how did you split them up/who did what?

A: Yes. We sat down and created a list of all the tasks that needed to be completed up until the wedding day and split them based upon who wanted to do each task and had the capacity and time for each. While we still collaborated together, the person who took on the task was in charge of the final execution (i.e., calling the hotels to book, etc.)

Q: Tell us about any setbacks or problems you faced during the wedding planning process (because we know it happens to everyone!)

A: We definitely faced many setbacks planning our wedding for two years during a pandemic. These ranged from an unresponsive wedding coordinator, needing a new florist 3 months leading up to the wedding, price raises at our venue/caterer, and many others that we can’t think of at the moment. Even though these were setbacks during the process, we both made a promise to each other at the beginning of planning to tackle each obstacle with a together mindset. There were many times these conversations were hard, and some caused many tears, we always made sure to find ways to not let that shadow the excitement and love that we had for this day.

Q: What was the most fun part of wedding planning?

A: The most fun part of the wedding planning process was experiencing the process together and getting to share our dreams of the day with each other. Quality time is a huge part of our love language in our relationship and just getting to spend time talking about the best day over a bottle of wine and take out from our most frequented, and favorite, restaurant at college made the process the most fun.

Q: How did you pick Ashery Lane Farm for your wedding venue?

A: We chose Ashery Lane Farm for our wedding venue because it combined the two things we both wanted in a wedding venue: barn and modern elegance. Ashery Lane offered the barn feel while surrounded by an orchard and vineyard and had a modern and elegant twist. We knew we wanted a space that we could use as is without bringing in much decor, if at all, and the venue was just that.

Q: What are your most memorable moments from your wedding day?

A: We have so many! One of our most memorable moments was writing our own vows and giving those the most attention during our shorter ceremony. It was so cool to share those with each other for the first time in that moment and laugh at the inside jokes and get to hear from the other person their love and view of the relationship from their eyes. The sweetest surprise in our vows was that we ended them the same with the phrase we have said to each other since the first time we said “I love you” and that was so special.

Q: Would you have changed or done differently on your wedding day?

A: The only thing we wished we would have done differently was budget, from the beginning, a coordinator who would have been with us throughout the whole process from initial planning to execution the day of. We think that would have alleviated some of the stress that arose the morning of the wedding due to some communication errors that happened on the catering side and would have allowed us to be more present with our friends the morning of.

Q: What is your biggest piece of advice for future couples planning their wedding?

A: Enjoy every single moment of being fiances! Even if you do a longer engagement, ours was two years, it FLIES by!

Q: What meaningful and special things did you incorporate into your wedding day?

A: We built our day of timeline to center around spending the most time together. This included spending more time taking photos of us two at various times, portraits and sunset, choosing to sit at a sweetheart table for dinner, and our favorite was taking a moment after the ceremony to take a shot together and take in that “just married” feeling before opening up the cocktail barn to our guests.

Q: What did you take into consideration when choosing your photographer?

A: We wanted a photographer who could make our dream photos come true and capture our love perfectly and Heather did just that! Price was part of the conversation, but at the end of the day the most important thing to us was someone who could capture our authentic love we had for each other. Heather’s editing style fit the vision we had for the more ‘logistical’ side of the photos, and her vibe fit all the rest! The energy she brought into the space helped us feel comfortable in front of the camera and her creativity and artistic lens captured all the things we loved about each other and our relationship. Highly recommend!!