the royal wedding of matt & mallary.

one of the highlights from last weekend's trip to minneapolis was having the honor to attend matt & mallary's wedding. shortly after mat & mal got engaged, they moved away from phoenix, and we had to say goodbye to one of our favorite double-date couples, so it was fun to be reunited with them.

the wedding ceremony was held at the gorgeous Cathedral of St. Paul (click here to see) followed by an out-of-this-world cocktail hour and reception at The St. Paul Hotel. Mal's an event planner plus her mom is a spunky, creative-minded woman who pulled out all the stops for her only daughter's I Do's.

a lot like me, Mal loves all things shabby chic, pink and girly. the day was perfect down to every last detail. i wish my photos did it more justice, but you'll get a glimpse. besides the aesthetics, the day flowed perfectly, which is so important. the timing of everything was spot on starting with the 2pm ceremony followed by a break before the 5:30pm cocktail hour, dinner, toasts, first dances, cutting the cake, a live band playing all kinds of classic rock mixed plus a touch of electronica for the groom. we ate, toasted, danced, drank and ate again until after midnight (everyone loved the late night mini mac & cheese, sliders, fries and dessert station)!

such a wonderful day and we were thrilled to be a part of it. to all my midwest blog readers who came out of the closet - i better see each of you as official followers soon - it was so fun (and flattering!) to meet you all!

{danny on the steps of the cathedral}

{i felt like i was in Rome}

{the vows}

{pit stop at the local brewery between the ceremony and reception}

{carlye's high school friends}

{ciznarlye & me}

{the cocktail reception was so feminine and perfect}

{cocktails at "M Street Cafe" for Matt & Mallary McKinney}

{all the tables at the reception were just a little different. how amazing is this?!}

{how cool is this - our seating assignments printed on the glass of a huge mirror}

{the head table - all mix & matched chairs that worked perfectly together}

{the mann's & the ting's}

{the boys & the glowing groom}

{hooray! the mckinney's}

{danny with the groom}

{the bridesmaids all had super sparkly headpieces on}

{fringe hanging around the chandeliers with a damask print projected on them!}

{long story - and inside story with mallar & her mom. the monkey's stormed in for one song}

{techno dance party in minnesota}

{the bride & her wonderful maid of honor}

minnesota on a stick.

nothing says summer in the midwest quite like the minnesota state fair. 

together with meg and quinn we took on the crowds, 

the live farm animal birthing center (true story), 

"the zipper" (it will be mine and quinn's last time on that particular "ride") 

and of course all the "must try" fried favorites & food "on a stick."

we tried fried pickles (my favorite), pronto pups (corn dogs), french fries, tom thumbs (mini donuts), cheese curds (fried cheese), pizza on a stick and a tub of chocolate cookies. 

holy moly fried goodness.

{danny checkin' out the map}

{what's that you say? oh, that's miss minnesota's face carved into a block of butter. real butter}

{it says POP! i loved it this one's for you carlye}

{....on a stick of course}

{meg couldn't wait to get her hands on a bag of tom thumbs mini donuts}

{the famous cheese curds. honestly, i was not a fan at all.}

{first cheese curds. i love cheese and i love me some fried goodness but not the curds}

{hydrangea everywhere}

{quinn and i were ready to ride that crazy thing in the sky but for $55 we passed}

{the half of the group up for fair rides}

a little video from down below...

{the boys trying to win us a Reggae Banana}

{free throws: 0/4. the basketballs were "weighted" - darren & danny}

a video - maybe next time boys.

{we kept joking around about pizza on a stick... but of course we found some!}

{another "must try" were the pronto pups - corn dogs but sweeter}

{just a casual tub of dessert}

{my favorite fried food of them all. dipped in ranch - obviously}