Door County Wedding :: Bjorklunden - Kim Thiel Photography

Door County summed up in one word :: enchanting. It’s a place close to our hearts, so when our dear friend Jessica called to photograph her Fall wedding in Baileys Harbor, we knew right then It’d easily be the highlight of our 2010 season. The day began and ended at the charming Whistling Swan Inn, I couldn’t have picked a more perfect spot. Vows were exchanged at Lawrence University’s Björklunden Chapel, which accommodates 36 people sitting in pews :: so darling and just the right size for the guests that were invited to witness this most perfect day. We asked the new bride if she’d like to do a little write up about their planned day :: below are her sweet words.

“I remember the first time my mother took me to Boynton Chapel. There were a number of no trespassing signs, maybe nine or ten. I felt like we were doing something naughty, and there was some excitement in that. When the old brown Oldsmobile station wagon named “taffy” finally happened upon the tiny chapel my mother was silent. She stepped out of the car, stood on the porch of the chapel and sighed. She looked at the lake and she sighed. She hugged me close under the cedar trees and she sighed. I was 13 that summer, and I wish every day I could have those moments back. My mother was the only person who ever loved Door County as much as me. She died ten years ago, this January. She was my best friend.

When I decided to get married, where I would do it was easy. I wanted my mother to be there. A simple memorial candle lighting would not suffice. I would stand in the chapel that my mother and I stood before so many years ago. I would have only our closest friends and family there, we would have an amazing meal she would appreciate, and every moment would be captured by my close friends, women who had known my mother and would capture the very essence of this place because they adored it too.

The guest list was simple, friends were doing flowers, and photos as well; this and immediate family were all we wanted. My brother would perform the ceremony, and the Whistling Swan in Fish Creek was more than happy to hold a small intimate gathering.

Any bride considering a large wedding, I implore you, STOP. I got to spend intimate moments with every person at my wedding. Hugs, laughs and love were in abundance. I got to take time to enjoy every minute. I work with weddings for a living, so I understand that the 200 person wedding is much more common than the 35 person wedding. Just ask yourself what your wedding is for. Is it for you and your husband to spend quiet moments with a handful of people, or to have a blowout dance party? At the end of the day there is no “right” answer. We picked what was right for us.

My mother would have adored my wedding, and I am proud to say I now have the breathtaking photographic memories to prove it.”