Silverwood Park Wedding, feat. Fairies and Hobbits!

If you’re considering an affordable, outdoor wedding with a natural background on beautiful grounds, look no further than Three Rivers Park District’s Silverwood Park and Great Hall!

Among other things, you’ll be able to use their getting ready room, event space, outdoor ceremony space (don’t worry, it’s in the shade by the time you’d have your ceremony, even in June!), and they have a robust recycling and composting system on site!

Silverwood Park Great Hall is naturally beautiful, so you don’t need a lot to dress it up, and there is a large space to host over 150 guests. Silverwood Park is located at 2500 County Road, Minnesota and you can find out more on the Three Rivers Park District website!

If you’re interested in what your wedding can look like at Silverwood, look no further! Megan and Grant got married there on June 18, 2023, and I was lucky enough to be there to capture their fairy woodland wedding for them! Take a look at their day and photos below!

Getting Ready & Portraits

When chatting with Megan and Grant about what was important to capture on their wedding day, one major piece was the details they were including.

I arrived early to get a box of those details from Megan, including their stationary that, when planted, would grow wildflowers! Most of their guests were local to Canada and the midwest, so this was a responsible idea (avoid this method if your guests are more spread out! We don’t want to introduce invasive species with our wedding invites, ya?).

Megan was also lucky enough to have access to and fit in her GREAT-grandmother’s wedding shoes! How special is that? And if that wasn’t special enough, both Megan and Grant had unique wedding ring sets to include in their photos.

Another important part of this time of the day is creating moments with those closest to the couple. In this case, it was Megan’s mom and older sister, and Grant’s brother. I guided them through getting their final touches and making sure that they had time and space to soak in this time with their closest loved ones.

Next, we rolled into their first look and couples photos, followed by wedding party and family portraits. Getting these in before the ceremony allowed them a break together after the photos, knowing that they would be able to mingle with their guests during their cocktail hour.

Peep the rainbow wedding party and fairy and hobbit outfits on the kiddos! How adorable is that?!

Sustainability & Personal Touches

Several things drew Megan and Grant to get married at Silverwood Park, including the availability of recycling and composting. Three Rivers Park District is great at making sure that our natural spaces are cared for, and promotes responsible waste management in all their operations and events!

They also chose a florist who avoided using floral foam, leaving their flowers plastic-free and compostable, as well as a caterer in Chef Jeff, whose staff is trained in responsible waste management for food.

Another draw was the fact that the great hall is already naturally beautiful, so it required less from them to decorate. That being said, Megan crocheted centerpieces for each table, and they provided each of their guests with a small jar of loose-leaf tea to bring home at the end of the night.

Getting Married and Celebrating!

Megan and Grant’s wedding ceremony was unique in that it combined their Jewish and Catholic traditions to create a new family with new traditions. There were so many memorable moments at their Silverwood park wedding, a bunch of laughs, some tears, and WOW was it beautiful!

Since we were able to do all their formal portraits ahead of the ceremony, Megan and Grant got to hang out with their guests at their cocktail hour. They had some wonderful live music provided by In the Fields, and hors d’oeuvres provided by Chef Jeff!

Toward the end of dinner, we wandered over to cut their cake with a family heirloom knife and serve it on special plates to their parents and grandparents. As the family enjoyed their cake, we started with toasts, which included, yes, a full PowerPoint presentation by Megan’s sister, Stephanie! Let me tell you, this was HIGH entertainment value!

After speeches, guests were then treated to individual desserts from Quiet Cat Bakery (yum!) as we headed out for some sunset photos by the lake! It was so beautiful out, but the real reason to get sunset photos is to have a break with your new spouse. They were so grateful to pop out to a quiet space together and just soak in the day. Ahhhhh…

Upon our return, Megan and Grant shared their first dance together, followed by a combined parent dance. Naturally, the hora was next! Woo!! Then it was all open dance floor, photo booth, and general merriment!

I felt so happy and fulfilled by the end of the night, knowing that Megan and Grant were able to have a low-stress wedding day surrounded by their family and friends, a ton of love, and a lifetime of growing together ahead!