Last June, we had the pleasure of celebrating Stephanie and Levi at the Lafayette Club on Lake Minnetonka. With that classic country club feel and an airy color palette of crisp white, calming green, and whimsical blues, this wedding was all about understated elegance.

A bride and groom with a navy suit, lace sleeves on the bridal gown, and a white and blue bouquet. — *Märit Williams Photography* */ Florals by* *Style Society*

Stephanie and Levi met during their first year of residency training in Omaha, Nebraska. What started as a great friendship quickly grew into a great relationship; according to Stephanie, they realized they were the perfect match after a night out dancing with coworkers! After accepting new jobs and moving to Minnesota (where the groom grew up), Levi proposed in August of 2022 during a weekend getaway to the North Shore.

Eager to set a wedding date and not wanting to wait until 2024, the couple found the Lafayette Club to be the perfect venue with a prime summer date still available. As busy medical professionals with a shorter engagement, the couple hired us for Partial Planning. We had so much fun partnering them with amazing vendors and creating a design plan for their dream wedding!

*The Lafayette Club on Lake Minnetonka / Märit Williams Photography*

The Lafayette Club is renowned in Minnesota as a “hidden gem” venue just south of the cities in Minnetonka. Overlooking Crystal Bay and a perfectly manicured golf course, the country club offers breathtaking views and an elegant indoor reception space including a ballroom, cocktail hour space with a large patio, and a sun porch. The Crystal Ballroom, where dinner is served, offers a timeless white backdrop for any event with lightwood floors and tall ceilings. Attached to the ballroom, the sun porch offers panoramic views of the lake. If your wedding vibe is bright and airy meets timeless luxury, Lafayette Club should be on your list to tour!

The couple’s ceremony was actually at St. Martin’s by the Lake, an intimate church just minutes from the club. After exchanging the sweetest vows and sharing their first kiss as Mr. and Mrs., Stephanie and Levi were ready to start the party! With the ceremony venue so close to the reception space, the couple opted to begin cocktail hour immediately following the I Do’s, rather than having a gap between the festivities.

As guests arrived to the club, they were greeted with passed appetizers and signature cocktails to kick-off an unforgettable reception. Music was one of the most important elements to the couple — they wanted their wedding to feel like an elegant dinner party, where guests would be entertained with great music, whether or not they were on the dance floor (though hopefully, the music would get everyone dancing!). This called for live music from the Bluewater Kings Band. With their high-energy and never-ending hits, the dance floor packed all night long!

Let’s create something romantic, timeless, and sophisticated with a touch of blue. That was the goal.

Appreciating the trend of all white florals and greenery but wanting something more colorful and fun, the couple chose to embrace French blue. It was important to use color in a way that felt natural and romantic, rather than being too bold and taking away from the timeless feel of the day.

Florals were designed by one of our favorite vendor friends, Style Society. We loved the ribbon-wrapped bouquets, which included white roses and ranunculus, fresh greenery, and delphinium for that pop of blue. Guest tables were set with dainty bud vases with white floral and blue thistle, while the showstopper was, of course, the lush hydrangea garland on the 24-foot head table! Elegant taper candles added a warm, romantic glow to the fluffy blue hydrangeas — it was so stunning! We also incorporated tasteful touches of blue by renting natural blue napkins and adding vintage blue glass goblets to their head table.

The wedding party’s attire of course played into blues as well. Bridesmaids were very chic in varying shades of blue and garden-inspired floral prints. Levi and his groomsmen complimented the palette of blues with navy suits and dotted ties.

Stephanie wore an incredibly romantic bridal gown designed by Vivienne Westwood. With a delicate corset style top, lace sleeves, and a satin meets tulle design, the Rhea couldn’t have been a more perfect choice for her!