As a vintage-y vibe wedding photographer in the Twin Cities, I’ve seen things.

I’ve seen weddings that feel like they’re happening in real time. I’ve seen weddings that feel like they were a copy-paste version of someone else’s fairytale. And I’ve seen weddings that feel like you’ve stepped into them halfway through remembering them. 

I’m always— always— picking Door #3. No hesitation, no follow-up questions.

Because behind Door #3, there’s a whole lot of soul-tied stuff. The light is softer, the pace is slower, the details are to die for, and the entire day feels ‘timeless’ before it’s even over. It’s just… magic, in a way that no one can quite put their finger on but everyone takes at its word. 

When a bride and groom say they want an ‘heirloom wedding’ or a ‘vintage wedding aesthetic,’ it’s that feeling they want. Not a dusty, museum-ish situation, but a “this is going to age really well and emotionally ruin me in five to ten business years” one. 

You might think you’re not allowed to want that— like it’s too much, or too romantic, or too nostalgic, or too whatever the haters will have you think.

But as a Minnesota wedding photographer that will go down swinging for the sake of some good old-fashioned nostalgia, I’m here to tell you that, not only are you allowed to want the heirloom occasion, but you’re allowed to design it in a way that feels like it couldn’t possibly have belonged to anyone else. 

(And I’m going to help you make it happen.)

1. Skip the wedding traditions that make you feel like you’re borrowing from someone else’s day.

I’m going to hold your hand while I say this: if you don’t actually give a shiz about it, don’t include it in your wedding day. 

No, seriously. We put so much unnecessary weight on wedding traditions, but before you get your pantyhose twisted over something that you don’t actually want to do, just ask yourself: “Literally who says?!” 

Here, we’ll do it together:

BS Wedding Tradition: “If you don’t invite everyone you’ve ever talked to and their great Aunt Betty, you will be a failure.” You: “Literally who says?” (See, that wasn’t so hard.)

Case in point? Liz and Jacob ditched the couple-hundred-person guest list and kept their invites to their Cathedral Hill wedding family-exclusive, because those were the humans they wanted to be present on one of the most important days of their lives together.

Okay wait, one more for the plot…

BS Wedding Tradition: “You have to host your vintage wedding at a conventional wedding venue. Or else.” You: “Literally who says?”

Case in point, again? Liz and Jacob for the win, simply minding their business and making excellent decisions by hosting their intimate wedding at a historic and romantic restaurant in Cathedral Hill because it felt true to their calm, old-world vibe.

I mean, in lieu of a bridal suite, Liz literally plopped down right in the courtyard to touch up her makeup before the ceremony. If that doesn’t scream ‘iconic vintage wedding pics,’ I don’t know what does.

And let me tell you, that vintage wedding aesthetic does not simply happen because you booked a venue off of some Top 10 Minnesota Wedding Venues list that your mom forwarded to your high school email address. It happens when you choose something that—sometimes—only makes sense in your head. 

At the end of the day, you’re the one who has to live with this memory. Not me. (That’s a lie; your wedding will live rent-free in my head, forever and ever, amen.) Not your wedding planner. Not some invisible Wedding Police. 

You. 

2. Pick a historic wedding venue with actual personality.

If you want a wedding that feels like an heirloom occasion, you have to choose a wedding venue that can rise to said occasion, making you and your cutie human look like you casually wandered out of a storybook.

A blank slate venue with zero personality isn’t going to magically give you the elevated, old world charm you’re dreaming of just because you want it to. (Although, I support the optimism. I really do.)

A historic venue with more architectural character and romance than you thought a little brick and mortar could hold, on the other hand? That’s how you get a wedding that looks like it’s been around longer than it has. 

(Bonus points if the bridal suite slaps, too. We’re not above wanting both. A thoughtfully-designed bridal suite—which is rarer than you might think— gives you space to spread out, take a breath, and actually arrive to your day instead of being rushed into it.)

3. Let your vintage wedding be simpler than you think it needs to be.

You know the old adage ‘less is more’? Well, it’s annoyingly true, especially when it comes to having an heirloom-feeling wedding.

I won’t pretend that planning a vintage wedding day doesn’t come with more moving parts than you probably thought physically possible. But maybe—just maybe—we’re complicating things a little more than we have to.

For example, Jordan and Jackson’s ceremony decor was nothing more than a couple of hurricane vases and some plain white column pillars. (Okay, and a historic wedding venue like Edward Anne Estate at Bavaria Downs pulls a fair share of the weight, too.)

If Jordan and Jackson had added more for the sake of more, it would have just made the moment feel busier.

Instead, nothing felt out of place, and people could focus on what mattered most: two people who, frankly, had no business making so much sense together, doing what they came to do (read: choosing forever).

4. Opt out of the whole 10-person wedding party thing.

There is no doubt that a lot of important people played a part in your love story. I won’t argue with that, because I know I’d lose.

But what if they didn’t all need to stand next to you at the altar? In fact, what if you… didn’t need a wedding party at all?

Before you ‘X’ out of this blog post and condemn me to wedding photographer purgatory, just hear me out: when you skip the wedding party, you also skip a lot of the time and energy that goes into coordinating, wrangling, and photographing all of them. 

And listen, I love wedding party photos. I’ll ship that shiz all day. 

But I’ll ship you and your human having more quality time together much harder, any day of the week.

5. Have a slow morning with your girlies.

And, just to sweeten the deal, I have an alternative for you.

Instead of taking on everything that comes with having a full-blown wedding party, what if you and your girlies just spent the morning together getting ready, like you’re freshmen in high school again? 

Sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of a mirror that’s a little too small for all of you— but you’ll be darned if you don’t try to fit. Curling that stubborn piece of hair that won’t curl over and over again until it’s low-key burnt to a crisp. Natasha Bedingfield playing through a Bluetooth speaker and makeup bags absolutely everywhere. 

From one nostalgia enthusiast to another, I can tell you that nothing will feel more ‘girlhood’ than giving a whole morning to the same girls who ‘knew you when’— when you were dating some guy named Chad, when you convinced everyone to get bangs with you, when Friday night football was the main event.

And now they’re (still) here, helping you get ready for the real main event. 

Same girls. Just a little older.

6. Hire Minnesota wedding vendors who understand the assignment.

There’s a difference between vendors who are just doing their job and vendors who get it, at a soul-tied level. 

The wedding planner, who is protecting the pace of your vintage wedding day with her whole life—making sure you’re not being rushed from one thing to the next and rerouting everything that threatens the vibe. (Could not recommend The Events Paige more, if I tried.)

The florist, who isn’t just dropping off arrangements but is out here being super Type A about the tones and textures, who knows that ‘heirloom’ isn’t an aesthetic but a feeling. 

The hair and makeup team that makes sure you don’t just look like yourself, but like the version of you that belongs in the day you’re having. 

When your Minnesota wedding vendor team actually gets it, you get to be fully in it— with your person, with your people— living the thing you spent all this time dreaming up.

7. Stand alone (but like, together) at the altar for your vintage wedding.

I know having a people standing up there with you is the norm. 

But there’s something about it just being the two of you that hits a type of way. You can actually look at each other— like, really look. Take a minute. Let it settle in that you’re seconds away from being husband and wife. 

The rest of the world fades away, and it’s just the two of you, standing in the middle of something you’ll spend the rest of your lives remembering.

It’s not a long moment. But it’s one that you deserve. After all, you only live it once. 

(Until you have the vintage wedding pics to look at for the rest of your lives, of course. Then you can live it on repeat.)

8. Wear a dress that makes sense with your wedding venue.

It’s always obvious when a wedding dress and a venue meet for the first time on the day-of. (It’s not their fault. They were set up.)

For example, a super structured ballroom gown in a cozy backyard setting is inevitably going to be a little bit out of sync. A floaty, barefoot boho situation in a grand historic venue? Even girl math can’t make that make sense. 

But a dress that feels like it belongs exactly where it is (like Jordan’s beyond gorgeous off-the-shoulder, lace-detailed dress at Edward Anne Estate)? As if they were always meant to be worn in that very room, in that very light, on that very bride? 

Nothing can hold a candle to that kind of meant-to-be-ness.

9. Candles. Literally always candles.

Speaking of candles… they are non-negotiable. I don’t make the rules. 

Okay, so while you can technically decide against having candlelight at your vintage wedding reception, I 10/10 don’t recommend it. I have never once walked into a candlelit wedding reception and thought, ‘Too much.’ I have walked into one and immediately gone a little weak in the knees, though.

Not only does candlelight mean I don’t have to use direct flash (which tends to interrupt organic moments and make people feel a little bit on display), but it’s just so dang romantic. 

And I know that sounds like stating the obvious, but I can’t stress enough how much a little candlelight softens the environment and makes everyone feel 1000x more present.

It’s one of those things you might not notice until it’s there… but then you can’t imagine the room without it.

10. Do the sweetheart table thing (and get some iconic vintage wedding pics out of the deal).

The big head table moment is, in fact, a moment. 

But a sweetheart table gives you a pocket of time to actually exist together: to lean in close, to cuddle like the cuties you are, to debrief for a few seconds, to have that ‘like, hi, we’re MARRIED?!’ moment that every bride and groom simply has to have for their vows to even count. 

It’s a small shift, but it’s one of those meaningful details that totally changes the vintage wedding aesthetic and how present you can actually be at your wedding reception. 

11. And, whatever you do, don’t sleep on the veil.

I’m so serious about this. 

A veil does something— many somethings, actually— to a vintage wedding day that’s hard to find the word for (…and that’s why we care so much about the photos).

• It adds a layer of softness and drama that makes everything feel elevated, but not try-hard.
• It catches the candlelight, the sunlight, the wind and glides down a staircase like a supporting character.
• It turns a simple portrait into something that feels a little more storybook, a little more this is going to live on your living room wall forever.

Truly, never have I ever— not even once— been like, “You know what this needed less of? Veil.” 

Creating the Vintage Wedding Aesthetic for Your ‘I Do’ Day

Having an heirloom wedding has nothing to do with doing more and everything to do with caring more than you think you’re supposed to—about how it feels, who’s there, where it’s held, and how your veil will move down that staircase (like a dream, I tell you). 

The weddings that actually wear the word ‘timeless’ well are the ones that got a little too committed to The Cause. 

And if you’re reading this and thinking, “Actually, I’m kind of the poster child of The Cause,’ then hi. You’re my sort of soul-tied people. 

And I’d be very into documenting it for you.