1. Real Weddings

Aleta & Ben: An Outdoor Wedding in Seward, AK

Aleta and Ben met while visiting prospective graduate schools for engineering. They both ended up at Northwestern University and soon after became an

Aleta and Ben met while visiting prospective graduate schools for engineering. They both ended up at Northwestern University and soon after became an item. The Bride Aleta Hagman, 28, engineer The Groom Ben Tiemens, 29, engineer The Date July 19 Years later, the two had started their careers and were living together and working in Chicago. One evening after work, Aleta received an email from Ben with a map attached. The map led Aleta to a lakefront path where the couple had spent time walking together to and from campus. Ben was waiting there for her with a proposal. They celebrated with margaritas and Mexican food at one of their favorite restaurants and planned a wedding in Alaska, where Aleta grew up.

During graduate school, Aleta and Ben’s group of friends called themselves “Engi-nerds,” hence the bowl of candy Nerds set out on a table at the wedding reception.
Aleta’s bridesmaids wore blue dresses from Ann Taylor’s Celebrations line. Aleta and her bridesmaids carried wildflower bouquets of daisies, blue delphiniums, and yellow freesias.
Aleta wore a champagne-colored wedding dress with a floral-embroidered tulle overlay. Ben and his groomsmen bought matching gray suits for the occasion.
Aleta and Ben were married on the outdoor pavilion of the Seward Windsong Lodge. Blue bags filled with baby’s breath (which the couple put together themselves) hung from the chairs along the aisle.
Aleta and Ben’s first dance song was Alison Krauss’ “When You Say Nothing at All.” Instead of hiring a band or a DJ, the couple created a wedding playlist on a laptop and ran the music through the venue’s sound system.
Aleta’s godparents own a flower shop and provided blooms for the centerpieces. Eryngium, wax flowers, asters, limonium, and baby’s breath were placed in small jars. White river stones and floating candles in different sized hurricane vases completed the look.
Since most of Aleta and Ben’s guests had to fly to their wedding, the couple gave scented travel candles as favors.
Aleta and Ben designed and printed their own simple invitations using white paper, which they attached onto black card stock.
Aleta and Ben left out a handmade scrapbook for guests to write them well wished during the reception. After the wedding, they added each guest’s photo to the left of their message.