As Lake Minnetonka wedding planners, we absolutely love when couples bring us to Minnetonka Yacht Club. It has that backyard wedding feel, without needing your own property on the lake!
Mike and John came to us with the dream of having a waterfront wedding on Lake Minnetonka. It’s ironic that in high school, John had boated by the island with a friend, pointed to the island, and said he wanted to get married there one day! So here we are for this full circle moment! They planned with Rustic Elegance owner and lead planner Kellie via Zoom to bring the whole day together through our Backyard Package.
Through this package, we helped determine the tent size, layout, where the bars should go, timeline and overall flow of the event. We also brought in our chair tech, Kevin, who helped lay out the ceremony chairs to incorporate 3 aisles. This took lots of planning to get the seating positioned perfectly and straight!
The week of the wedding, our team was on site to help manage setup and prep as much as possible while the tent was getting delivered from Apres. A barge was used to bring over all the tent items and rentals! It’s always so exciting to see the space come together. We were eagerly awaiting the big day to help Mike and John celebrate with their 180 guests!
THE MORNING
At 9am the morning of the wedding, our team arrived and took the pontoon over to the island. The couple had an amazing vendor team, so we knew this day would be seamless.
As experienced Lake Minnetonka wedding planners, we know how important it is to have an expert vendor team for Minnetonka Yacht Club weddings. The non-traditional setup requires flexibility and tenacity. To give you some insight, there were 37 people that made up the vendor team on the island. The vendor team and guests required 50 pontoon trips. Plus, our team of 4 planners walked a collective total of 46 miles! And we’re happy to do it so you and your loved ones can fully relax and soak in those MN island vibes. ;)
Upon arriving, we knew we had a lot to get done. Our crew got busy putting on linens and starting to map out the 3 ceremony aisles with stakes and lines to set up the chairs. We also set out the couple’s candles on the tables, set up the gift/card table, placed lanterns, moved the cocktail tables out of the tent, and ran cords for lights and the DJ.
We also set up the couple’s seating chart on our easel and set out the place cards at each seat. John and Mike chose color coded tiles as the place cards, which was a super smart idea! They were color coded with the guests’ names and didn’t risk blowing away in the tented reception (which we loved, as we know it can be a struggle with the island wind).
Vendors were trickling in via pontoon all morning, so our team also made sure to greet everyone as they arrived and touched base to run through details. We always want to make sure there are no last minute changes and we’re all on the same page!
The morning flew by and soon we were ready for guests to start arriving. Mike and John invited guests to the island early for a welcome party to ensure that they arrived in time for the ceremony, since this venue involves some non-traditional transportation. Guests parked at St. Teresa's, took the shuttle from Lorenz Bus Service to the Deephaven Dock, and boarded the pontoon. Our team placed a sign at the dock so everyone knew they were at the right place!
Once guests arrived on the island, they were able to enjoy drinks and socialize until the ceremony. It was a hot MN day, so Benny Nord (the couple’s DJ) made announcements so guests would stay in the shade as long as possible. 5 minutes before ceremony time, everyone took their seats at once to minimize sun time.
THE CEREMONY
As guests sat at the sunny waterfront ceremony site, they made good use of the hand-held fans that they received as they arrived on the island. Festivities decorated the aisle entrance chairs with greens, which was the perfect touch to elevate the outdoor space!
Our team quickly queued the processional once guests had all taken their seats. The couple’s officiant and ring bearer walked down the center aisle. Then, Mike and his parents entered down the far right aisle while John and his parents entered down the far left aisle. We loved this fun processional twist for these grooms!
The couple shared a lovely ceremony, officiated by John’s cousin, Lucy. It was her first ceremony and she did amazingly well! After the couple did a unity candle lighting, shared a few sweet words, and sealed it all with a kiss, they made their grand exit down the center aisle. We loved the symbolism of their unity through the aisle usage!
THE RECEPTION
During cocktail hour, guests made their way to the patio to enjoy drinks served up by With a Twist and passed appetizers from D’Amico. The couple leaned into the waterfront vibe with lobster puffs, cucumber bites with caviar, and toasted bread with ahi tuna.
After signing their marriage license on the patio roof top, the couple jumped on a friend’s boat for a little celebratory boat tour. We sent them off with a bottle of champagne and a plate of appetizers to enjoy!
Meanwhile, our team got to work moving the chairs from the ceremony to the reception tent and lighting all of the candles.
Soon, it was time to get guests seated for the reception. The couple kicked off the evening with a grand entrance onto the dance floor where Benny Nord got everyone hyped up to join the couple for a dance!
Once the excitement died down and everyone took their seats again, John’s parents said a welcome and Mike’s parents said a prayer. The D’Amico team then took it away with a delicious dinner!
The first course was a plated salad with bread, followed by a french dry tower for each table. Then, everyone enjoyed a lovely plated dinner. It took a large catering crew of 18 people to pull off this amazing day!
The D’Amico crew continued to impress as they brought out dessert, which was ice cream sandwiches with homemade cookies. So yummy!
While guests enjoyed this sweet treat, John and Mike snuck away with Vick Photography for a few sunset portraits. We love the shot with the marquee letters from Letter and Light Co that spell out a combination of the couple's last names!
When they returned, they did their first dance to “I’ll Be Loving You,” followed by dances with their moms. They were so sweet to watch!
It was then time for the party to commence! The roaming photo booth from Fotogenic arrived to take photos of guests around the island, our team handed out glow sticks, and Benny Nord kept the tunes going. The couple even got to spray CO2 guns into the crowd, which was a huge hit (shoutout to Benny for that epic moment)!
As the night went on, D’Amico set out a late night snack of warm pretzels and grilled cheese sandwiches, Lorenz Bus Service ran continually from the beach to the parking lot for guests, and our team did our Clean Up Package. We made sure to box everything up and place it into the Club House for the couple to easily grab the next day. Once everything was cleaned up, we took the pontoon back to the mainland. It was such a great day celebrating these two!
Island weddings are always a challenge, but so rewarding! Mike + John, thank you for trusting us with your wedding day and for being so appreciative of our work. It means the world to us! We had so much fun planning with you.
Huge thanks to Vick Photography for sharing these photos with us!
Vendors For Waterfront Wedding on Lake Minnetonka
Wedding Coordinator: Rustic Elegance - Kellie, Kristen, Gina, + Kevin
Venue: Minnetonka Yacht Club
Caterer/Desserts: D’Amico
Bartender: With a Twist
Rentals: Apres
Marquee Letters: Letter and Light Co
DJ: Benny Nord
Florist: Festivities
Photographer: Vick Photography
Photo Booth: Roaming Photo Booth from Fotogenic
Transportation: Lorenz Bus Service
Creatively written by: Hope Konkol