Courtney (Zeimet) & Joel Dahlby

10/15/2016

Courtney (Zeimet) & Joel Dahlby
October 15, 2016
©Emily Schmidt Photo

After a three-year engagement, Joel and I were married at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Genoa, on Oct. 15, 2016. It was important for us to be married there, as that is the church my parents were married in and the one I grew up in. We did not have a traditional “wedding party.” Rather, we chose to honor our families by asking them to take part in the important parts of the Mass with us. This was very meaningful to us and a day we will not forget. From Joel’s sisters and mother playing a few musical pieces, my brother and grandmother reading, to my mother, Joel’s aunt, and grandmother, giving the Eucharist, it was a day we will cherish for a long time.

Although we had nearly 300 of our closest family and friends there, this created an intimate, cozy setting for our special day. Our reception was held at The Norskedalen Nature and Heritage Center in Coon Valley, tucked away in the middle of a gorgeous valley. It’s a beautiful venue with a creek running through it. We had so many great photo opportunities on our wedding day, a crisp, fall day with a few rain showers. (Hey, here’s to hoping we have lots of joy and luck in our marriage!) The shelter in which we planned to have our reception began as a very blank slate. We were incredibly lucky to have had a group of supportive family members who worked extra hard on our account to create our dream venue. We cannot thank them all enough. We are forever indebted to their selfless generosity.

It’s amazing how our special day came together! It is so hard to describe our day; it was truly like a fairytale, and better than we could have ever imagined! TWM

BUSINESSES:
BEAUTY Pin-up Salon, Winona, Minn.
BRIDAL GOWN The Wedding Tree
CATERING C & C Catering
CEREMONY St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church
DESSERT Cheryl Trussoni (cake), Linda's Bakery (dessert bar)
FLORAL Alesa De Jager
MUSIC Music in Motion
RENTALS Nelson Agri Center
TUXEDOES The Wedding Tree
VENUE Norskedalen, Coon Valley