DIY The Right Way | Minnesota Wedding | Essen Events

Katie + Mike had the most true to their story wedding like, ever. They took my favorite advice to give and made all their decisions with THEM in mind. Katie is insanely talented and DIY’d those paper pennant banners that we executed day-of and hung up all over their venue. Other features that Katie + Mike chose to DIY instead of rent or pay a designer to make were their escort cards, and the hand-lettered signage.


If you’re a bride looking to add in some DIY elements to your big day, you absolutely should - IF you have the time and patience! Make sure that you are only taking on DIY tasks that you know you can accomplish to your standard. It’s also important to know when to DIY, and when to leave it to the wedding industry professionals. For example, Katie + Mike added some of their own DIY decor flair to give their wedding day the feeling that it belonged in their story. BUT, they left the basics of pulling off a large scale event to the professionals. Things like Linens, Cafe lights, and Desserts were taken care of by people who are licenced, insured, and experienced.


Leaving those kind of details to the pros will help take off SO MUCH stress leading up to your big day as well as on your big day! You won’t have to worry about the linens you bought and spent so much money on from Amazon arriving wrinkled and messy. Instead, they’ll arrive pressed, clean, and your coordinator will be able to focus on you instead of spending the morning steaming wrinkles out of your table linens.

Another way that Katie + Mike kept their big day so true to their story was waiting to see each other until Katie was walking down the Aisle. It’s so refreshing when couples choose to do this! Even though it usually works better with most timelines to schedule the first look before the ceremony, there’s something magical about the couple waiting until this moment to see each other on their big day. It makes me cry, everytime, no matter what. <3

Katie + Mike did a killer job making their wedding day so authentic in so many ways - but I think my favorite part of all was that they chose to forgo a traditional reception with a dance and hosted a board game night instead! One of their friends owns a board game store, and he brought enough games for everyone to have an absolute blast for the rest of the evening! It was so much fun getting to watch all of their close family and friends bond in such a way that really brought their two sides together in a genius way.

We loved every little detail of this wedding and being able to help pull it all together so that Katie + Mike and their families could sit back and enjoy this epic celebration of their love story.

Congratulations, Katie + Mike - we wish you all the happiness in the world! <3

Vendor Team:
Day-of Coordination: Essen Events
Photography: Geneoh
Venue: The Loft At Studio J
Floral: Fleur De Lis
Linen + Rentals: Linen Effects
Bride’s Dress: The White Room
Hotel Accommodations: Lora Hotel
Stationary: Minted
Catering: Lake Elmo Inn
Desserts: Angel Food Bakery
Transportation: Premier Transportation
HMU: Swept Up