Alexis and Brent got married on May 20th, on the Fredin family’s pasture land outside Windom, Minnesota — under a maypole, with just family. Natural, relaxed, conscientious: that’s how they described the day ahead of time, and that’s exactly what it was. The guest list stayed to immediate family only, around 65 people, no wedding party, and guests were asked to lock their phones away for the day so nothing pulled them out of it.
They grew up together in Windom and have been friends since middle school. Life took them in different directions after high school — Alexis chasing a taste for travel, Brent staying closer to home — but they kept in touch across the distance for years, including plenty of long-distance dinners over Skype between Minnesota and New Mexico. In the spring of 2013, they decided to test the relationship a different way: they hiked half the Appalachian Trail together, almost 1,000 miles over three months, with their two dogs in tow. They’ve been together ever since, and now call Sioux Falls home. Neither of them wanted a long engagement or a drawn-out planning process — once they decided, the wedding came together in about 40 days.
The ceremony itself was small on purpose: sixteen chairs under a maple tree, close family friends of nearly 45 years officiating their very first wedding, and a first look followed by Alexis and Brent walking down the aisle together rather than being given away. The night’s real centerpiece was the maypole — at sunset, everyone gathered to wind ribbons around it together, a tradition that took longer than anyone expected and turned into one of the best group moments we’ve ever photographed. The maypole went home with them afterward, for their own backyard.
A tipi-style tent stood open to the sky as the visual anchor of the whole property, with sleeping tents set up down by the river for anyone who wanted to stay the night, and a small tent of her own for Alexis to get ready in. River City Eatery catered — pies for dinner, fitting for a day this unpretentious — and their two golden doodles, Jack and Lewis, had the run of the pasture, GoPro harness and all. Fireworks closed out the night, courtesy of an uncle who took the display into his own hands, and we spent part of the evening on a UTV getting sunset photos down along the river.
Congratulations, Alexis and Brent. Thank you for letting us spend a day this unhurried and this genuinely yours out on the pasture.
We photograph in Minnesota too. Another Minnesota day is Mary + Lon’s summer wedding at Glensheen in Duluth, and closer to the Wisconsin border, our Winnebago Springs venue guide covers a Caledonia, MN option. For a backyard day on the Minnesota side of the river, see Timmy + Hayley’s wedding in Stillwater.
