My wedding gift to my husband was renting a cotton candy machine for our reception dinner. It’s his favorite thing. It was brought out with the desserts. I arranged the entire thing through the hotel. They dealt with Total Rental and the whole thing was so easy. Total Rental has always rented party supplies for our family.

This was my second wedding, so we really didn’t go overboard. We just had a nice dinner in one of the private meeting rooms with light music and a little dancing. This hotel isn’t really a big wedding venue, but it worked perfectly for our little group. (There were only 50.) Everyone found this location best for their travel needs.

We really wanted a special suit for my husband and knew that Nordstrom’s men’s department would have it. The staff at Nordstrom’s men’s department know men’s clothes and are totally up to date on the latest styles and trends. We found a gorgeous suit with their help.

My husband’s experience with Jared was great. He said he told them all about our story – how we were high school sweethearts who lost touch and then found one another 30 years later. And they worked our high school colors into the setting of the ring. Really nice people there.

Ann at Regis has been doing my hair since 8 years ago when she worked at a different salon. Only at Regis – the rest of the staff is so accommodating and helpful – and genuinely happy to see me every time I’m there.

I didn’t even know these people did weddings until my sister-in-law told me about a wedding she went to where the flowers were so beautiful that she had to ask the bride where they came from. Dundee. So that is how we found them. It was a really lucky find because our flowers were really special and just perfect.

Since this was my second wedding, I wanted a church that wasn’t going to give me a hard time about it. I’m a mature adult who finally reconnected with my high school sweetheart. I didn’t need lectures about the sacredness of marriage. I knew what I was doing. And this church was the best. It’s not my normal church, but they sure did make me feel like one of the congregation.

This ice cream is me and my husband’s favorite ice cream in the world. And they make cakes. So since we only had 50 people at our wedding, we thought this was a great idea. The store was about 40 minutes from our reception location, but we packed it in ice in a cooler and drove fast! It was perfect. The staff in the store customized it to match our colors.

We didn’t really have a shower as much as we had a bridal luncheon. This is the most “authentic” Chinese food in Minneapolis. It’s delicious and the waitstaff is so sweet. They made a fuss over me and brought everyone complimentary dessert (delicious Chinese donuts!) We had a lovely afternoon.

I chose a non-traditional dress for my “wedding gown.” I didn’t want to wear white since it was my second wedding, so I chose a beautiful green formal dress. No one anywhere has a better dress selection than Bloomies. All year round there are hundreds and hundreds of dresses to choose from on their racks. But my selection was made even easier by the fact that it was the holiday season and their stock was overflowing.