Into the Pines: Isaac and Emma’s Intimate Butter Yellow Wedding at Pinewood
Isaac and Emma are one of those couples who know exactly who they are and what matters most to them. Their goal from the beginning was for their wedding to meaningfully represent their story and to make their guests “feel just as cherished as they have made us feel throughout the many stages of our life.” With every intentional detail, the couple crafted a uniquely personalized wedding day grounded in connection and authenticity.
Isaac and Emma on film, by Ali Miller Photography
Their Love Story~
Isaac and Emma first met in vet school and bonded over mutual love of family and friends, travel, outdoor activities, good food, and pets. Their relationship continued long-distance when Isaac moved to California, before they both moved to Austin, Texas following Emma’s graduation. Feeling inspired and adventurous, the couple then moved across the world to Melbourne, Australia, engagement ring in (ON!) hand — Isaac had proposed to Emma during a picnic on the banks of the St. Croix River in his hometown of Stillwater, Minnesota.
While living abroad, their adventurous spirit had them considering an elopement rather than hosting a full-scale wedding. Ultimately, Isaac and Emma decided it was important to include their closest friends and family in this next chapter of their story so they decided to plan their wedding back home in Minnesota. After a year of work, wedding planning, and travel abroad (including stops in Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia, New Zealand, Samoa, and Fiji!), the couple moved home to Minneapolis shortly before their wedding day!
The Design and The Details ~
HappiLily Events was hired by Isaac and Emma shortly after their engagement for our full planning service. From budget-setting and venue scouting to sourcing vendors and creating a design plan, we helped the couple create their dream wedding from concept to execution.
The overall vision was inspired by balancing elegance and sophistication with a more fun ambiance and playful aesthetic; the couple wanted their day to feel light and “summery” without losing the formality of a black-tie affair. As the backdrop for their day, the couple chose Pinewood Weddings and Events, a modern minimalistic venue in Northern Minnesota. Tucked among the pine trees, the venue provided a serene setting for their intimate celebration.
Emma envisioned hints of yellow throughout the design, and wanted to embrace that happy feeling the color evokes. We ultimately refined their vision into a warm color palette of buttery yellows, creamy whites, and pops of sky blue. Splashes of yellow were tastefully woven through the design with dinner napkins, elegant ribbons, signage, and seating chart envelopes. Blue accents were incorporated in a more subtle way through florals and a botanical=embroidered linen used on accent tables. The color palette proved to be an elevated, monochromatic take on the much-loved summer garden party aesthetic.
The heart of the day was to celebrate their love story authentically, and it was just as important to Isaac and Emma to ensure guests felt truly welcomed and appreciated. Thoughtful details included:
An oversized linen welcome sign greeted guests, with trailing yellow ribbons to immediately showcase that ~yellow~ was the vibe.
Magazine-style wedding programs featured 12 pages dedicated to the couple’s love story, a thank you note, copies of the ceremony readings, and a fun crossword puzzle.
For the seating chart, the couple wrote personalized notes for each guest that were displayed in butter yellow envelopes.
Cocktail napkins were customized with love notes the couple had written one another through the years.
Hand-foiled butter-yellow ribbons sat at tables as guest place cards, designed by White Ink Calligraphy.
As entertainment and a favor for guests, the couple hired live illustrator Jennifer Marlin to sketch guests throughout the evening.
The couple also hired their florist for bouquet wrap service — at the end of the night, all of the day's usable florals were made into small bouquets for guests to take home!
The Ceremony ~
The ceremony was deeply personal from the vows exchanged to the stories and readings shared.
The couple’s close friend Eric played cello, which immediately set an elegant and romantic ambiance for the moment. Emma walked down the aisle to “Young and Beautiful” by Lana Del Ray, and Isaac met Emma halfway; the pair finished the walk to the altar together, symbolic of their two lives joining in matrimony.
Emma’s mother officiated the ceremony, making it all the more memorable. She shared stories of the couple’s travels together and thoughtful advice for a healthy partnership before Isaac and Emma exchanged their vows to one another. The couple also chose to include several readings that reflected the importance of marriage, such as a segment from the Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court majority decision, a landmark ruling in the US which established national marriage equality:
“Since the dawn of history, marriage has transformed strangers into relatives, binding families and societies together. No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than they once were.”
The other readings were two poems, Buried light by Beau Taplin and The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur. See the readings here, as printed in the couple’s wedding magazine from Wedding Storybook Programs.
The Reception ~
Following the ceremony, the celebration began with signature drinks and custom guest illustrations in the courtyard during social hour. As veterinarians, the couple named their signature drinks after their beloved cats; an Espresso "Bean" Martini and a Spicy "Bert" Dragonfruit Margarita. A friend of the couple designed the bar menu with custom portraits of their cats in cowboy hats as a nod to the couple’s first home together in Austin, TX.
To kick-off the reception, the couple shared their first dance to “Coming Home” by Leon Bridges before dinner began. They chose a taco bar from Gastrotruck for dinner service which included flavorful taco offerings like grilled sweet potato, BBQ jackfruit, and Thai chicken with ginger aioli.
For dessert, guests enjoyed Ben & Jerry’s ice cream! More than just a tasty treat, this reflected a tradition from the couple’s early days of their relationship; when Isaac and Emma were long-distance, it became a tradition that whenever they visited one another, they would share a pint of Ben & Jerry’s on their last night together.
After a day of celebration with their closest friends and family, the couple ended their wedding on a perfect note, sharing a last dance to “When Emma Falls in Love” by Taylor Swift.
FLORAL Styling
The couple’s florals, which were arranged and grown in part by June and Jane Flower Co, featured nearly 90% locally-sourced flowers including airy lisianthus in white and pale yellow, cosmos, nicotiana, zinnias, and subtle blue notes from delphinium, Chinese forget‑me‑nots and echinops. The result was fresh and lively, bringing the couple’s vision of an upscale garden party to life.
Emma's bridal bouquet featured stunning dahlias and lisianthus, while Isaac sported a classic and timeless calla lily boutonniere. Reception tables featured chic and playful mini ikebana arrangements, and elevating the table design and ambiance were natural beeswax taper candles. The whimsical florals and soft color palette perfectly juxtaposed the venue’s sleek, modern aesthetic.
From the heartfelt ceremony to the joyful energy that carried through the reception, Isaac and Emma’s wedding was the perfect reflection of their shared values of connection and adventure.
Here’s what Emma and Isaac have to say about working with HappiLily Events ~
“We worked with Lily as a full service planner for our wedding - and had started the process while we were living out of the country. From beginning to end, Lily made the planning process so much easier; she is so kind and always put us at ease. We would absolutely recommend working with HappiLily Events for your wedding; we had so much fun on our wedding day because we knew she was taking care of everything. Multiple family members told us how impressed they were with Lily and how calm she kept things on the day. SO many times throughout the process we thought 'we don't know how people plan a wedding without a Lily on their team'.
Lily kept us on track throughout the planning process, would problem solve for us when things didn't go to plan, and was able to professionally advocate for us. She helped us assemble a fantastic group of vendors that allowed us and our guests to have an amazing experience on the wedding day. She calmly managed all the logistics of the day which enabled us to actually be present with our friends and family…
Lily was fun and easy to work with and she did a great job bringing our wedding vision to life (and helping us figure out our vision in the first place!). Please, do yourself a favor and get yourself a Lily so that you can actually enjoy your wedding!”
Butter yellow reception details at Pinewood, photographed by Ali Miller Photography
A Moment For The Dress ~
Emma’s wedding gown, the Nova Cocotte, was designed by Vivienne Westwood. Emma shared that she fell in love with the dress because it felt both classic and artistic; the gown featured a stunning corset and neckline inspired by 18th-century high society fashion.
“I loved the fit and quality of this dress, as well as the draping and the natural asymmetry. It was fun to have the detachable skirt which added some volume and shape for the ceremony, but I was able to take off for the reception. I loved that I felt like myself in the dress, it aligned with my natural style.” The dress was truly perfect for Emma, who looked absolutely regal with a cathedral length tulle veil from Vow’d.
For the evening, Emma changed into a hand-beaded, low back, halter dress from Retrofete. “We both love to dance, I wanted to have a dress that matched the energy for the party!”
We asked Isaac and Emma to share their favorite moments and words of advice for other couples:
“Favorite moments: Sharing our individual vows, sharing in tears and celebration with our guests, and sharing in the party (and silent disco) with our friends at the end of the night.
Words of advice: Do what feels the most YOU for your wedding, whether this is eloping, a huge event or a smaller and more intimate gathering. This day is about your love and the community that supports you, so feel free to make it a celebration that is reflective of that.
Also we definitely recommend:
hiring a wedding planner! This helped us to focus on the small, intimate details we wanted to infuse throughout the day, and helped us to be present with each other and our guests on our wedding day.
hiring a photographer/videographer for the whole day! It's so special to have images and videos to look back on.”
Scroll to see more from the couple’s stunning wedding day! Photographed on film and digital by Ali Miller.
Vendor Team:
Venue | @pinewood.mn
Wedding Planning + Design | @happililyevents
Photographer | @_alimiller
Videographer | @carrawayfilmco
Florist | @juneandjaneflower
Hair | @manesbyannie
Makeup | @softglowmakeup
Dress | @viviennewestwood from @stillwhite
Alterations | @modehausbridal
Suit | @suitsupply
DJ | @ghostyghostyghostyghosty @harmonydjentertainment
Live illustrator | @jennifermarlinillustration
Stationery | @mintedweddings
Linen welcome sign | @crumandco
Signage | @ivoryisledesigns @lineneffects
Ribbon placecards | @whiteinkcalligraphy
Programs | @weddingstorybookprograms
Catering | @gastrotruck
Bar | @4liquidmotion
Dessert | @benandjerrysmn @benandjerrys
Rings | @knoxjewelers
