An Elegant Champagne-Inspired St. Paul Wedding at Station 10

2024-published

Dec 7

On a crisp October day exactly 5 years after they began dating, Zach and Patsy tied the knot just 10 minutes from where they had their first date. From the venue and decor to the carefully curated guest experience, every element was intentionally chosen to showcase their personalities and incorporate special details from their love story.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN:

Zach and Patsy’s love story starts in Saint Paul, Minnesota, when they met on Bumble in 2018. They were each living in the city after relocating for work and quickly bonded over becoming Minnesota transplants, exploring the area, and their shared love for travel, hiking, and basketball. After 3 years of dating, Zach recreated their first date at The French Hen followed by a walk to Overlook Park off Summit Ave, where he had friends waiting in the bushes ready to take photos when he got down on one knee!

Shortly after their engagement, work moved the couple to Massachusetts. While MA was another fun place for the couple to explore together, the city of St. Paul is such an important place in their story that they immediately knew they wished to get married here! To help plan their Minnesota wedding from out of state, Zach and Patsy hired HappiLily Events for Full Service wedding planning and design.

When we began planning and designing their day, the couple shared that they wanted their wedding to be casual and approachable but elegant, like a good glass of champagne. They described the vibe they were going for as “everyone dressing up and feeling good about themselves while having a great time; good music, better food, endless booze and champagne” — which is exactly the kind of party we love to plan! With intentional design choices and by making authentic-to-them decisions, Zach and Patsy’s wedding day was an unforgettable, perfectly personalized celebration!

THE VENUE:

When considering wedding venues in the St. Paul area, Gatherings at Station 10 was an immediate favorite! After living in the city and getting engaged at Overlook Park, the neighborhoods of Summit Hill and West Seventh hold a special place in their hearts and the venue’s urban charm fit their aesthetic perfectly. “We wanted it to be a true reflection of us and our personalities,” Pasty and Zach said. This historic building, which was once a fire station, now houses the venue on the upper level and A-Side Public House, a favorite local restaurant for farm-to-table fare, on the main level. The venue space features original wood ceiling beams, exposed brick walls, rich wood floors, and an abundance of natural light.

THE VISION & DESIGN:

“We knew we wanted to lean into the fall vibes of October but not tie it to a holiday like Halloween or Christmas,” the couple shared. We accomplished this “just-fall-enough” feeling with a tasteful balance of warm and cool tones, without relying on burnt oranges or classic leaf colors. Instead, the playful color palette included light peaches and pinks paired with earthy greens, gold, and classic black. Bridesmaids wore a rich shade of emerald green and Zach and his groomsmen wore traditional black suits. The groom donned a dapper bowtie while the groomsmen wore subtle black floral-printed ties.

FLORALS + DECOR:

To beautifully contrast the darker wedding party attire, the vision for florals was bold and bright in shades of blush pink, rose, peach, and tangerine. Designed by Green Goddess Florals, the bouquets were organic and flowy with light greenery and a mix of garden roses, ranunculus, snapdragons, and fun textured blooms. The groom and his attendants wore pocket boutonnieres of equally colorful blooms which stood out against their classy black attire. We of course added color to the tablescapes with colorful blooms in bud vases tucked along fresh greenery and modern ribbed-glass candles.

The focal point of the day was the ceremony backdrop designed by Studios Moss. Wanting something eye-catching and unique, we envisioned an asymmetrical backdrop of fabric panels in shades of green and cream. Suzanne with Studios Moss nailed it! Large organically-styled ground floral arrangements completed the look by adding a fun splash of color. This stunning ceremony setup then became the backdrop for the couple’s head table!

PERSONAL TOUCHES:

The couple’s commitment to personalizing their day was evident as soon as guests stepped into the venue. We lined the stairway with at least 100 photos of the couple from their baby years and childhood photos up to their first memories together and engagement photos. The hallway to the bar area featured large, modern photo-strip style prints from the couple’s engagement session, along with a custom neon sign that read “unconditionally yours”, a favorite phrase between Zach and Patsy.

For an unforgettable guest experience, the couple created custom wedding day newspapers. We transformed the venue’s entry lobby into a classy lounge with furniture from Style Society, where guests were encouraged to sit back with the couple’s Newlywed Post newspapers. The newspapers included an eye-spy photo game, a list of must-visit places in the Twin Cities, and a funny “news article” dedicated to their beloved cat Butters; “Oregon Cat Suspicious of Owners’ Latest Activity” was all about the couple’s wedding and having to leave Butters behind to be cat-sit by a neighbor! As an ode to Butters, his cute face was put on customized temporary tattoos, along with tattoos of Zach and Patsy.

A UNIQUE GUESTBOOK:

For their guestbook, the couple ditched the traditional photo album and instead opted for a retro audio guestbook phone from FeteFone and a unique guest signing item… Nike sneakers! It was only fitting, as the couple shares a passion for basketball and an affinity for Nike (where Patsy is a senior process lead). Guests made their mark on the couples’ matching kicks which the couple wore during the dance! Fun fact: Pasty’s sister helped the couple choreograph their first dance to a fun mashup of songs from Hairspray and High School Musical!

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A CHAMPAGNE TOWER UNITY CEREMONY:

One of the most fun ways the couple personalized their day was with champagne — Zach and Patsy share a major love of bubbly! From the early stages of planning, they knew they wanted to include champagne for their guests and had been thinking of a champagne wall. Instead of following the champagne wall trend, HappiLily Events brainstormed ways to make this more unique to represent their love story. What did we come up with? A champagne tower as the couple’s unity ceremony! Think of when couples light a unity candle together, but instead, they would pour a champagne tower and share a toast with their guests!

Upon arriving at the venue, guests were greeted with glasses of champagne passed by the waitstaff. During the ceremony, the officiant, who was a close friend of the couple, explained that the champagne tower represented the foundation of the relationship Zach and Patsy had built over the years. The pouring of champagne symbolized to keep filling each other’s lives with joy and to keep having fun together. After the tower was poured, the couple and wedding party all grabbed a glass, and everyone “cheers”ed to the newlyweds! It was such a special way to include their loved ones in the ceremony, and one of the most memorable aspects of their wedding!

SHOWCASING SAINT PAUL and MINNEAPOLIS:

“We had moved out of Minnesota by the time we were getting married so we chose to come back because it’s where our story started,” the couple shared. To help guide guests around town, the couple’s favorite go-to spots were listed in their custom wedding newspaper and their table numbers were named after streets with special meanings in their relationship, such as Selby Avenue and Randolph Avenue. “Most of our guests hadn’t been to the Twin Cities before so we wanted to share with them what we loved about the area.”

For dessert, the couple treated guests to some of their favorite sweets, Bogart’s Donuts and a Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream cart. For the late-night snack, Pizza Luce was an obviously tasty choice.

Ultimately, Zach’s and Patsy’s wedding is proof that traditions don’t need to be followed.
After their wedding, Zach and Patsy shared with us, “We are not exaggerating when we say our guests’ overwhelming feedback from the day was how special it made them feel. They can’t stop talking about how the entire ambiance/vibe/atmosphere/etc was something they don’t normally feel at other weddings.”

At HappiLily Events, we think you should customize your wedding day with as many unique details as you want — in the end, a personalized wedding day is more memorable and authentic.

Plan your wedding with HappiLily Events

Here’s what Zach and Patsy have to say about working with HappiLily Events:

“My husband and I just celebrated our 1 year anniversary and we are still talking about the impact Lily and HappiLily Events had on our wedding day. We were, at times, planning across 3 different time zones and Lily made the whole process seamless. She kept us organized, accountable, and focused on our vision. We had some wild ideas (and frequently fluctuating vision) and she met us exactly where we were at every time - either making our dreams possible or walking us off the ledge when we really started to spiral, never pressuring us to be anyone but us.
When she says “best friend-level support”, she means it. We always thoroughly enjoyed getting on planning calls with her because she made everything stress-free and fun! Lily goes above and beyond for her clients, always incredibly thoughtful and intentional with how she supports you throughout the process, day of and even the day after! We can not recommend HappiLily Events enough, our day was perfect and Lily was a huge reason for that. Pick Lily!!”
— Zach + Patsy • 10.28.2023 • Station 10 • Full Planning + Design

Scroll to see more of our favorites from their wedding day! Photographed by Alex Johnson. Complete vendor team is below.