The Bigga Man is not actually what the place is called…it’s actually Paul Bunyan’s Cook Shanty.  But my Italian-immigrant bisnonno {great-grandfather}, who brought his family up to Northern Wisconsin to go fishing, took one look at the enormous painted sign out in front of the shanty and exclaimed, “That’s a bigga man!”  So…Paul Bunyan’s has been Bigga Man ever since.

Anyways, this place is awesome.  It is an old log cabin converted into an all-you-can-eat restaurant, food served family-style by servers dressed like lumberjacks and lumberjills.  My family has been coming here every summer for years- especially whenever our Italian relatives come to visit. 

You sit on long wooden benches at long wooden tables with enamelware utensils, plates and cups.  Huge bowls of powdered sugar donuts, flapjacks {be careful, they expand in your stomach…} eggs, eggs, and more eggs, ham, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy keeps coming to the table in a steady stream until you look at your server with watery eyes and lift your hand in a “stop…please, stop…” motion {because you can’t speak.  You are reduced to sign-language after that last bite of egg.} 

Even more entertaining than the food is the gift shop.  Taxidermied foxes, taxidermied fischers, quaint little wood-carvings of wolves, sweatshirts with wolves and Native American designs screen printed on them, cross-cut logs with deer painted on them,  real rabbit-foot key chains, and “Indian war hatchets” fill every corner, every inch of the tiny space.  “Northwoods mementos” is what they call these things. 

The best part is watching little kids beg their parents for a taxidermied field mouse that’s been mounted onto a woodland scene {a piece of wood, with moss glued on it, and a mouse posed in a terrible defensive position as if one of the taxidermied owls is about to come back to life and eat it}…the look on the parents’ faces makes the stomach-ache you now have from the Magical Expandable Flapjacks totally worth it.

It was a great morning, and nice to relax with our guests, chat and laugh together one last time before all going our separate ways.  For Mike and me, that way meant Kaua’i.  We were pretty dang excited about getting on the plane and heading to the beach, which made saying goodbye to all our friends and family a little easier.  But it was tough to process the fact that the weekend was over.  Part of us wanted to do it all again, and part of us was just so satisfied, tired, and content that we were completely fine with it being over.

Perhaps I’ll do a post about the honeymoon sometime in January when we’re all really sick and tired of the snow and cold, so we can live vicariously through the photos of sun, sand, and dolphins.

That’s all, folks!  We’re just old married people now.

Phew!  This has been quite the journey, reliving our entire wedding weekend here on the blog!!  I hope you’ve enjoyed the stories and photos {and if you’re planning your own eco-friendly wedding, perhaps some of our ideas were useful to you.}

This next batch of pictures was taken during the dance, which was a total and complete blast.  My family and friends all have something in common…we like to eat good food, and we like to dance to good music.  Thankfully, we happen to have a lot of really ridiculously talented musician friends, who jumped at the chance to give us the gift of their music for our wedding.

And did I mention that my brother and I play the fiddle?  We grew up playing with our family-band called Roll Up the Rug at folk dances all over the Midwest.  We were quite the popular dance band back in the day!  But then college got in the way of playing regular gigs, and busy-grown-up-life followed shortly after college, so the fiddles don’t get taken out of their cases very often these days.  My brother got up there on the mic and played a beautiful waltz for Poppy and me to dance to, and it was pretty cool to see his fiddle skills have not waned.

And then Mike and I danced to “Don’t Be Shy”…because we fricken love that song and it deserved to be played twice at the wedding!!

Our reception band was Hip Pocket…the grooviest dance band on the planet, for real.  It was so, so cool to look around {in between pulling sweet moves and simultaneously making sure not to spill my mason jar of beer} at them groovin’ out with their instruments and think “hey, I know these guys!”  Someone should have given me an “I’m With the Band” t-shirt to wear over my dress.  Someone did give me a glow-stick necklace at one point, which of course I wore for the rest of the night.

Even the Grandmas were out on the dance floor!

Also take note of the shiny bocce medal around the neck of one of the formerly mentioned champions.

Yes, the groom is air-guitarring in the background here.  He is always air-guitarring.  It is his favorite, and he does it with immense concentration and skill.  You’d swear he was shredding a real guitar- it’s almost a trick of the eyes…which, as every good air-guitarist knows, is exactly the desired result.

At this point I’m going to switch over to photos taken by family and friends again, because there were some really entertaining moments captured, which I believe you will enjoy greatly…

Somehow the Photobooth costumes and props made their way from the gazebo to the dance floor…

I call this one “Fun Revolutionary”…My cousin John was channeling his inner Che Guevara…except, happier.

“Laura Ingalls Wilder Gone Wild”

Oh dear!

After the dance ended, the night was far from over…approximately five hours far from over, for some people:

A bonfire, several frozen pizzas, and a sexy Lady Gaga iPod playlist were warming up at Cabin 11 {which was later re-named “Club 11″ by its inhabitants.}  Mike and I joined the party and were instantly handed a cocktail and a slice of pizza.  I love my cousins.

Did someone spill something??

Just way too much fun, that’s what that is.  I didn’t want the night to end…but then again, we were exhausted and soooo ready for a tiny bit of peace and quiet.  Reluctantly, Mike and I snuck out of Club 11 together, leaving the cousins to party on.

My feet were K.I.L.L.I.N.G.ing me at this point {even though my shoes were very sensible, sweet vintage t-strap heels, found on Etsy} so Mike gave me a piggy-back-ride {pretty challenging while wearing a huge fluffy wedding dress!} and we made our way through the dark, quiet resort down to the lake where our private cabin was waiting.

It was a beautiful walk.  Mist was rising off the lake.  The moon was almost full and the stars were unbelievably bright in the clear, black sky.  The air had that crisp autumn bite to it, and it seemed like the earth was breathing in and out with us.  Everything was quiet, and we were alone- husband and wife.

Our cabin was filled with goodies that had been left for us by little elves.    Champagne, chocolates, etc.  We just couldn’t believe the biggest and best day of our lives was OVER.  It felt sad and amazing at the same time.  Best of all, we were married & all filled up with the love that everyone had radiated out to us all weekend long.  It doesn’t get any better than this– thank you, everyone, who came and ate, danced, partied, and made our wedding all that it was.  We love you!!

Dinner was a delicious buffet catered by my Nonno’s {nickname for “grandpa” in Italian} favorite local restaurant, Pine Baron.  They were so flexible with us- allowing Poppy to customize the menu with his own recipes, even though they normally only allow wedding groups to choose from a set catering menu.  It was so cool to eat familiar and much-loved recipes that evening, and added to the comfortable and laid back feeling of the wedding.  

Pine Baron even prepared a separate gluten free version of the meal for a few of our guests who are allergic to gluten, and a vegan version for our veggie friends and fam.  I can’t rave enough about how accommodating they were.  They even helped us with things like the tent rental, deciding where/how to arrange the tables, and what color napkins to go with!   

Check out those cute, mis-matched vintage plates, baby!!  I loved this element of the wedding…they were all different and all from thrift-shops.  My mom and a few of our friends collected them all summer long, washed them, and brought them to the wedding.  Anyone want to avoid plate-rental fees at their wedding?  I’ve got plates.  Lots and lots of plates.  Holla’ at me, I’ll hook ya up.  

My Poppy is kinda famous for his salads.  He and my mom have a huge garden and make the most delicious salads from the greens they grow.  I was so happy that salad was such a large part of our wedding meal.  Crisp, spicy, nutty, yummy greens!!!  

My favorite photos of the whole wedding were taken during the toasts.  Joe and Tony captured our reactions and emotions during every single one of the speeches.  So many people got up during dinner to share stories and give us their blessing…and one brave {and slightly crazy-in-a-good-way} group of friends even performed a song and dance for us!  The toasts had us laughing and crying at the same time, it was a wild mix of emotions, to say the least.  

My brother made a sideshow/movie for us and played it after dinner while we all drank coffe and ate the delicious bunt-cakes made by Mike’s mom.  He did a great job on it…so many happy memories flashed on the tent wall.  It was fun to look around and see everyone’s faces as they watched.  

“That was so crazy when Jesus showed up.” -My cousin Jim [in the foreground holding the Bud Lite, which he brought from his own cabin-- we definitely did NOT serve Bud Lite to our guests! This was a classy wedding!! Come on now...] when he saw this photo.

And with that, we move on to the dancing…

After the ceremony, our guests went up the hill to the reception tent where they had antipasto and prosecco served to them.  Meanwhile, Mike and I snuck off with Joe and Tony to snap a few shots with our wedding party.

Left to Right: Jen {married to Mike’s brother}, Courtney {my “big sister” bff}, Laura {Mike’s sister}, Libby {my cousin}, me {bride}, Emma {Mike’s cousin & flower girl}, Clare {my cousin}, Caitlyn {matron of honor & bff}, and Caroline {my “little sister” bff}

Danny was in cahoots with the photogs to ruin as many nice photos of the girls as possible.  Thanks a lot, brother!!  Just wait until you get married…

That shrug I’m wearing was knitted by my mom!!!!  It was so soft and warm, and best of all I get to wear it again and again.  I was pretty bummed about that fact that I’ll never get to wear my wedding dress again, so to have at least part of my wedding outfit be re-wearable is super nice!

Mike’s pocket watch was a gift from his great uncle who lives in Switzerland.  He gave it to Mike on the morning of the wedding- a tradition among the men in his family.  Mike has been looking forward to getting that watch his whole life.

 My veil was made by a woman in our town for $25!!  She whipped it up in about 20 min.  My mom and I found the tulle and the lace for it at Hancock Fabric.  I have no ideas why these things usually cost hundreds of dollars, but I’m sure glad I didn’t spend that on it!  It was so beautiful regardless of the lack of brand-name…plus, you wear it for one hour of your life, so…

Great group shot in the beautiful old boat house down by the lake.

Our brothers sign our marriage license, and then it’s time to rejoin our guests up at the tent for some antipasti.  Mike is feelin’ good…

The antipasti were made by friends and family and were brought to the wedding pot-luck style {it simply would not have been a true WI/MN party without a pot-luck.}  The cheeses and prosecco were selected by Poppy, who {being rather zealous about his Italian heritage} is particular about these things.

Mike with his Grandma- one of my fave photos!  Our “photobooth” was a beautiful gazebo that just happened to be located right next to where we put the tent!  We filled it with costumes {thankfully our parents hung on to all our old ”dress-up clothes” from childhood!} and cameras for our guests to use for funny pictures.

The “keg canoe” was filled with delicious mico-brew beer and root-beer, both made in WI {yes, an actual canoe, filled with ice and kegs.}  Mmmmm!  Check out the Cutest Family of the Year Award {Mike’s sister, her husband Chris, and their adorable daughter Amelia}. Seriously, how did this photo happen?? It’s so awesome:

Wedding photos of our parents and grandparents lined the welcome table inside the tent where guests could sign the guestbook and pick up their seating card.

The tablecloth on the head table belonged to a close friend’s great-grandmother.  It was so beautiful, and meant so much to us that she let us use it.

The table names were places that are meaningful to either Mike or me.  I painted them with watercolors and my dad made the stands for them from small cross-cut logs and copper wire.

The burlap and doily table runners were sewed by my mom and her five sisters.  Our guests collected doilies from garage sales all summer and mailed them to us to use!!

The maple syrup favors were a big hit with our guests.  My family is known for the delicious homemade syrup we make every spring.  This particular batch was made in April 2010.  Mike’s mom and dad came and helped us tap, collect, boil, and can.  Mike designed the “logo” for the bottles.

Our wedding cake was made by my bridesmaid Caroline, who has a real talent for fondant.  There is a healthy rivalry between Mike’s Minnesotan family and my Cheesehead family, as you can see…   The cake stand was made by my dad and brother.  They made about 8 of these stands.  The other ones, not pictured, had four different flavors of bunt-cakes on them {made by Mike’s mom!}.  They were all delicious and had that fresh homemade taste.

Time to eat!!….Stay tuned for dinner & dancing pictures coming up next.

Leading up to the wedding, I will admit that I was mostly excited about the party aspect of the whole deal.  In our planning, we focused heavily on the reception and left some of the ceremony details until the last minute {it was still very thought out & came together perfectly, though.}  We’re party people, it’s in our blood, I’m sorry!  However, as it turned out, the ceremony was actually my favorite part of the day. 

It was a fairly chilly day at first, but at exactly 2:30 PM when the ceremony was scheduled to start, the wind died down, the clouds rolled away, and the sun became warm and delightful.  It sounds crazy, but literally the change in weather happened the minute I walked out my cabin door with my dad to head down to the ceremony!

I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was outside…after weeks of obsessively checking weather.com, it was such a relief to know Grandma wasn’t going to freeze!  If you’re thinking the sunshine was Divine intervention, I’d have to say I completely agree.

Babes!!!  Their different colored tights and shoes make me happy.

Look at Mike’s mom’s beautiful dark red hair.  Fingers crossed that our kids get that.  Mike’s dad is an artist and he drew a beautiful oak tree on our programs, which our Junior Bridesmaids Clare and Libby {two of my younger cousins} handed out as people arrived.  Their pretty silk dresses were made by Clare’s mom!

My cousin Maggie played her flute as people were being seated by the ushers {two long-time friends of ours who both traveled from very far away for our wedding.}

Emma needed a little encouragement to get down the aisle due to some last-minute shyness, so Libby walked with her.  Emma remembered her job to toss the rose petals {collected and dried by my mom and her three close friends} and totally stole the show with her crazy cuteness.

Poppy looked amazing.  He walked me down the aisle to “Don’t Be Shy” by Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam, played and sung by some very close friends of ours.  I’m definitely one of those girls who has been dreaming of this exact moment for years.  And it was better than I ever imagined it would be.

Whether you’re a spiritual person or not, and no matter what religion you identify with, there’s no denying the powerful feeling of love- human and Divine- that encompassed us all during that hour.  God, nature, our guests…we were all connected…united in the emotion of the moment.  I’m usually a person of easy, plentiful words…but there’s no way to describe what happened there.  I feel so blessed, humbled, and grateful that of all the people in the world, God chose Mike and I to be together, and surrounded us with this amazing support system of wonderful people.  Neither of us deserved this perfect day, or His authentic and holy love…but we were given it anyway.

Our long-time Pastor and friend, Tim, married us.  Because he knows both Mike and me very well, the words he spoke had deep and intimate meaning to us.  He told the story of the upper room, which teaches of loyalty, friendship, and selflessness {three elements we wish our marriage to have}, while we washed each others feet.  The pitcher we kept the water in was handmade by close friends.

Look at our beautiful friends and family…everyone has that end-of-summer glow.

WE DID IT!!!!  Woooooah!!!  Married!!!!  Time to hug everyone…

And now on to the party!!!  If I can just stop crying long enough to continue…

Nevertheless, I dragged myself out of bed and met the other “plungers” {Mike, my brother, my godfather, my godsister and godbrother, and Mike’s bro and sis-inlaw} outside.  We all looked extremely regretful.  It was a very chilly fall morning, but we comforted each other with confident conversation about how the water temperature would surely be much warmer than the air.

Not so!  Alas, the water was friged.  I think it caused my heart to stop for a second!  We ran back to our cabins, feeling much more awake…and grateful to be alive.

After a quick breakfast, it was time to finish decorating the tent.  By the time I got over there, pumpkins were already being arranged with flowers {some were from an organic grower in WI and some were cut from my mom and dad’s garden as well as several friends’ gardens!}, and tables were already being set.  Everything was looking beautiful!!

With the tent well on its way to being finished, most of our guests spent the rest of the morning kayaking on the lake, walking in the woods, and playing bocce and other lawn games.

Now, most of the photos you’re about to see were taken by the totally rad Joe Dickie and his assistant Tony, of Generation Photography in the Twin Cities.  They exceeded our expectations from start to finish: answering our questions and emails promptly, showing up exactly on time, being professional and friendly, taking amazing images, staying longer than we had contracted them to, and then providing us with three entire DVD’s of EVERY image they took. 

Plus…just look at the pictures.  They’re candid, they’re vivid and well composed {without any of that trendy photoshopping that will probably be out of style in a few years}, and most importantly they tell the story of the whole day.  I’m not even kidding- I never saw Joe or Tony once during the entire ceremony.  I have no idea how they got the photos they did.  They were completely out of the way and discrete!  No loud clicking noises, distracting flashes, or dorky scurrying around.  Thank you, guys.  Thank you so much.

Remember when we painted these signs?

Poppy ordered custom bocce trophies with “Mike & Tonia’s Bocce Tournament” printed on them.  Our good friend Jared organized the game and kept track of the score for everyone.  The proud winners wore their medals the entire day.

Inside the cabin, the girls and I were already getting ready…

Helloooo!  Cutest Flower Girl of the Year Award!!  Emma is Mike’s second-cousin.  I think she looks like she could be his daughter.  Those big brown eyes.  Her tutu and crown were both from Etsy and she was pretty excited about them.

The girls looked so beautiful in their aubergine dresses.  My mom and her two close friends Barb and Nancy made all the hair accessories for the Bridesmaids, as well as all the corsages.

My Grandma June ties the best bows.  She’s a little famous for them in our family.  It was so special for me to have her there to tie my sash.  I loved my dress…it was comfortable all day long and made me feel beautiful.  The sash was made by hand by the ladies at Che Bella in St. Paul, which is also where I found my dress.

Meanwhile, the guys started getting ready as well…

The groom is:

A) Nervous

B) Excited

C) Very silly

D) All of the above

…And they were done getting ready in about 15 minutes, so they went outside to play shuffleboard.

Looking sharp!!  Left to right: John {Mike’s brother & Best Man}, Danny {my brother}, Dave {our roommate when we lived in Duluth & best friend}, Will {my youngest cousin & Ring-Bearer}, Mike {groom}, Nick {long-time friend}, and Chris {brother-in-law, married to Mike’s sister}

Those snazzy vests were handmade by a woman in our town.  My mom and I found the charcoal herringbone wool at Hancock Fabric.  They were an itty-bit too big on all the guys, so on Saturday morning my tireless aunt Cathy altered them so they fit each of the guys perfectly.  The guys got their gray wool pants at JC Penny…on sale for $25.

Mike’s suit was a major splurge.  It’s a designer piece, and it took us forever to find, but it was worth it.  The entire week before the wedding, I heard him say “Gosh, I didn’t think I could love a suit,” at least 30 times.  I didn’t think so either, sweetie!…But I’m so glad he looked and felt like a champ on our big day!!  So handsome.

And anyone who cares to argue that ring-bearers are “so last year”, obviously has never met my cousin.  Cutest. Dude. Ever.  Bow-tie found on Etsy, boutonniere made by our friend Maggie.

OMG, Dave! Don’t rip your pants!!  Oh, look…the groom is equally as athletic…

Finally the women are ready, too…here comes the bride!

We’re ready to do this thing!! Bring on the wedding!!

Most of these photos were taken by family/friends.  They captured some pretty great moments.  Thank you to all of you who brought your cameras and shared your pictures with us afterwards!!  It has been so fun for Mike and me to see our wedding from so many different points of view.

So let’s start at the beginning, shall we?  The story really starts on Thursday, because our wedding wasn’t just one day of fun…it was a FESTIVAL!    Mike and I arrived at Dillman’s Resort on Thursday night after getting off work.  Our families were already in their cabins, which were conjoined {like a duplex}. 

A big U-Haul truck was parked out front, already un-packed.  My mom already had her “task charts” hung up on the cabin wall, the kitchen was full of groceries, and every spare inch of the living room was full of boxes of supplies.  Mike’s family was grilling steaks and potatoes for us on the back deck.  I LOVE OUR FAMILIES!!! 

We spent most of that evening filling paper bags with goodies like hot chocolate, mixed nuts, and tea for each of the guest cabins.  Then it was early-to-bed because we knew we’d be getting very little sleep the rest of the weekend.

Guests started to arrive right away on Friday.  It was so exciting to watch the cars pull in to the resort.  I kept looking around and thinking, “Hey! I know that person…” until finally my brain realized I was going to know everyone.  It was just a bit shocking to see so many people from different parts of our lives- childhood, high school, college, etc.- all hanging out together!

My Godmother, Mike and I walked around delivering the bags of goodies to all the different cabins.  It was a little rainy and chilly, but we were elated and having so much fun.

Later, Mike’s dad, my dad, and Mike got to work assembling the arbor down by the lake.  My dad and Mike made this arbor together earlier in the summer.  They painstakingly hand-scribed cedar logs, and joined them without the use of nails or screws {or as Mike would say, “the right way.”}  This beautiful monstrosity will stand in our garden for years to come.

The next task was to clean out the pumpkins {purchased at the farmer’s market}.  Thankfully we had a lot of willing helpers for this job because those decorative white pumpkins are really hard to scoop out!!   Not as soft as the normal orange ones, fyi for anyone planning a wedding with white pumpkins!

While the men scooped, the women fluffed.  Fluffed paper flowers, that is.  My mom, her five sisters, and I had spent an entire weekend during the summer folding {recycled} tissue-paper like accordions.  When you “fluff” the folded accordions, you get a beautiful tissue-paper flower.  We strung them all over the tent, along with the gigantic light bulb strands that my dad made for me…yes, he made them rather than buying them online at one of those wedding supply shops.  Go dad!*

*Actually, I call my dad “Poppy”, and he will henceforth be referred to as that on this blog because calling him “dad” feels weird.

Fluffing is not a task for the feint at heart…it took us hours to fluff over 200 flowers, with many people helping.  Luckily there was a level of instant-gratification because each flower comes out a little different, and they’re oh-so-pretty when they’re all strung together. 

Watching all the decorations we had spent months and months making come together at the hands of our guests- who were SO happy and willing to help- was totally overwhelming in the best way possible.  Everyone wanted to pitch in and make the tent look perfect for us, and it did.  I can’t begin to express how grateful and touched Mike and I were that people not only traveled to our wedding but also showed up with energy, ready to help.  Thankyouthankyouthankyou everyone!

In the afternoon, we rehearsed the ceremony down by the lake with our Pastor and wedding party.  It was quick and dirty…we didn’t run through it over and over again because we wanted the real thing to really feel special and not have a “just going through the motions” quality to it.  But it was fun to stand under the arbor with Mike and think, “the wedding’s tomorrow!!!! Holycrap!!!!”

And then, it was time to party!  Mike’s mom and dad organized a delicious BBQ dinner for us and all our guests on Friday night.  We wanted a typical Northwoods Wisconsin picnic, so our relatives from Chicago and the Twin Cities could get a taste for what I grew up with.  Bad to the Bone BBQ certainly delivered just that.  They were awesome, and kept the good food flowing until everyone was stuffed. 

Dinner was followed by a folk-dance under the tent.  Don’t know what a folk-dance is?  Go find out, immediately…preferably by showing up at one. Or check it out on Youtube.

Some of our closest friends are professional musicians and play for folk dances all over the Midwest.  They’re all from different bands {Duck for the Oyster, Hip Pocket, and Poor Benny}, but joined together into one big band for this occasion!  They ROCKED.  I saw people dancing whom I thought would NEVER dance.  You just can’t sit still when the fiddle is fiddlin’! 

…Poor little Emma, our flower girl, got stuck in the middle of a two-line-set and the bride and groom are sashaying towards her with amazing speed!!!  Aaaahg!  Get out of the way, Emma!

After the dance, a large group of our guests gathered at a bonfire.  Beer drinking and story telling and stomach-cramping laughter ensued.  Mike and I stayed at that fire waaaaay too late- at the cost of possibly looking less than perfect the next day- but I must say that those late hours around the fire were some of the very best of the whole weekend. 

Thus ends Friday.*  A perfect start to a perfect weekend.

*Although, Facebook later revealed that SOME people did not go to bed after the bonfire was over: