“Today Was Not the Day I Was Waiting For"
Emily + Ian Wedding Film
There's something about a December wedding in Duluth that just works. The cold outside makes everything inside feel warmer inside. Emily and Ian's wedding at The Garden Weddings and Events in Canal Park was exactly that. Warm. Layered. Full of people who genuinely love each other.
The Kind of Love That Takes Time
Emily's vows opened with a quiet acknowledgment that's more honest than most people are willing to be on their wedding day: "When we first met… I truly didn't know what to make of you."
It got a laugh. But it was also the most Emily thing she could have said, and it set the tone for everything that followed.
She didn't fall fast. She paid attention. She noticed Ian's patience, his loyalty, how hard he works, how deeply he cares for people. And somewhere along the way — slowly, then all at once — she realized her life was just better with him in it.
Ian's vows went a different direction. He told Emily, and everyone in that room, that today wasn't actually the day he'd been most excited for.
"What I was most excited for is waking up tomorrow and knowing that for the rest of our lives, I finally get to refer to you as my wife."
"Clothe Yourselves in Love"
Their officiant gave a sermon built around a single line from Colossians: clothe yourself with love. And she did something smart with it, she made it specific to them. Putting on a warm jacket for a cold hockey game. Travel outfits for a long drive. Jammies for an evening in together.
The idea being: love isn't the grand gesture. It's what you put on every morning. It's a choice, repeated.
By the time she got to the rings,"the last thing you'll put on today that symbolizes this love", the rest of their lives got to begin.
The rings were passed through the hands of their wedding party before being exchanged, a small ritual that made a big point: a lot of people are holding these two up.
The People in The Room
Emily's dad Mike opened the speeches with a story about a 20-foot family tree and the fact that the Acers family had produced exactly one daughter in 150 years. Emily, "the girl, the unicorn, the family statistical anomaly", had not stopped surprising him since.
He talked about Emily's “list”. The criteria. Educated. Someone she could actually talk to. A plan. A five-year forecast. ("A PowerPoint would be ideal.") A hockey player from Iowa, which, Mike noted, felt like she was setting herself up to be single forever.
Then Ian appeared and checked every box. Mike's take: "It was like the universe was saying, hold my beer."
His three pieces of marital advice:
stop thinking “me”, start thinking we (except for leftovers)
always ask if a decision is best for the family
let the wife name the children and the husband name the pets.
Ryan, Ian's younger brother and best man, went somewhere more personal. He talked about time, home videos, photo albums, the fear of moments passing too fast. He talked about what it means to have a big brother who takes up space in your story in all the right ways. And then he told the Boston story…
Senior year. National championships. Ian was supposed to be in Saint Croix on vacation. Ryan was scanning the stands mid-game and there he was, Ian, in his black Kohl's hoodie, having flown over 2,000 miles without saying a word.
"Probably the most coolest, memorable, shocking..." Ryan trailed off. Put his phone down for a second. Taking in the emotions of this moment.
The maid of honor kept it close and real, she'd been waiting for this night for five years, mostly because it meant the speech would be over. She talked about how quickly she knew Ian was different: "He from the very start has been watching and learning all of these things for himself because of how much he loves her."
And then Emily took the mic, and the room got quiet again. She thanked vendors, family, the people who drove in from far away. But she stopped mid-speech to honor her mom,the woman who visited the venue before Emily ever did, who made the invitations, who picked up her slack when she couldn't make one more decision. The flower arrangement sitting in her dad's stolen hotel ice bucket was hers.
Canal Park in December
The Garden Weddings and Events is a beautiful room in any season, but there's something about winter light in Duluth, low and golden, even when it's gray outside, that makes everything feel a little cinematic. Canal Park has that quality. The lift bridge in the distance. The lake doing its thing.
The couple leaned into the season without making it a theme. A nod to Christmas, warm tones, candlelight. Nothing overdone. It was elegant in the way that things are elegant when you don't try too hard.
What the Guests Said
During the reception, we grabbed a mic and asked people a few questions. The answers told you everything.
When did you know they were getting married?
One high school friend of Ian's: "Sitting around a bonfire at his house. He said, 'that's it.' And Ian's never really been a ladies man — sorry, Ian — but he scored one that's going steady with him."
Ryan, when asked the same question: "When he was blushing answering our questions about her. He doesn't do that."
One of Ian's closest friends talked about the day Emily was moving in. He walked into the house, which had been empty, sparse, and saw her things filling the rooms. "It made the house feel like a home. And that's all that mattered."
There was also a man who may or may not have wandered in from Canal Park not knowing there was a wedding. He had opinions about when they'd have kids.
The Part That Stays With You
Late in the evening, the best man's speech was still circling in my head. Ryan ended it by looking over at his brother:
"I know dad is up there, just grinning ear to ear. So damn proud of the man you are. We all are."
That was the moment. Everything else, the decor, the logistics, the timeline, the weather , none of it matters next to that.
Emily and Ian built a day full of people who showed up not because they had to, but because they wanted to be there. That's not something you can plan. It's something you earn, over years, by being the kind of people worth showing up for.
These two are those kinds of people.
—Asher xoxo
Featuring The Dream Team:
Videography: Asher James Co. | www.asherjames.co
Photography: Ava Grondahl | www.avagrondahlphotography.com
Venue: The Garden Weddings & Events | www.thegardenduluth.com
Wedding Planner: True North Weddings | www.truenorthweddingsduluth.com
Officiant: Pastor Christina Johnson | (715) 573-3595
Floral: Superior Blooms | www.superiorbloomsduluth.com
Decor: The Vault Duluth | www.thevaultduluth.com
Catering: Bellisio's | www.bellisios.com
Desserts: Jeanne's Bakery | @jeannesbakery.ltd Desserts: Cassie's Baked Goods | @cassie.s.baked.goods.2025
DJ: Sean | DJ Entertainment
Suits: Men's Wearhouse | @menswearhouse
Bridal: Birdy Grey | @birdygrey Bridal: Josephine's Bridal | www.josephinesduluth.com
Hair & Makeup: Nicole Keppers | @nicole_jean_upnorthbeauty Hair & Makeup: Angela Carlson | @studio33hairdesigncloquet
Stills Gallery From the Film
