Brent and Maria:: Bloomington Wedding

Going on a blind date with anyone can be scary, but when Brent and Maria’s mutual friend set them up, they knew other people would have to be around them!  So for the first date they decided to have dinner with mutual friends.  The date didn’t go quite as smoothly as either had hoped, both thought the other was too quiet.  But they were both willing to try again and from there conversation got easier and smoother! Even when Maria went out of the country early in their relationship, the two continued texting each other freely throughout their trip almost as if he was right there with her!

On Christmas day, exactly seven months from the day they met, they spent the day with family. Brent and Maria planned to exchange gifts. While everyone else in the family was busy opening their stockings, Brent snuck upstairs to get another gift for Maria.  A handmade black velvet plaque he had handmade from mini roses was on the inside of the box with the question “Will you marry me?” When Maria looked back to Brent, he was on one knee.

May certainly brought a heat wave for their beautiful wedding day!  Friends and family from around the state and elsewhere came to celebrate Brent and Maria.  For part of the day we headed to the beautiful and scenic Arneson Acres in Edina.

Born in the Ukraine with a disability and told she had a low survival rate, Maria’s birth parents made a grueling decision:: They decided to give her up for adoption in hopes that she would survive. Two years later she was adopted  into an amazing Godly family from the United States. And she did survive. And she did THRIVE!! And by the grace of God, she was able to marry the man of her dreams.

With Maria being from the Ukraine, the couple decided to incorporate some of her Ukrainian heritage into the ceremony.  The Ukrainian “Rushnyk” or wedding cloth the two were wed on was handmade for Maria before she was adopted and was made to be a faith declaration that she would survive and thrive… and she HAS!!

Thank you Brent and Maria for honoring the Lord in all that your wedding day held and telling the beautiful story of the Gospel through your own lives. Many blessings to you both as you begin this next journey of marriage together.

Ceremony and Reception:: Emmaus Lutheran Church //Hair:: Bea Paiko // Make-Up:: Bride //  Florist:: Bride’s sister// Wedding Dress:: Lida Christiansen// Bridesmaids Dresses:: Colorsbridesmaid // Men’s Ware:: Vera Wang from Men’s Warehouse //  Rings:: Jared. and Shane Co. // Stationery:: Bride’s sister // Video:: Laura Sukowatey Films // Planner:: Lonnie Peterson // Second Shooter:: Lily Watkins