Wedding in a Barn!

Bloom Lake Barn, Lindstrom, Minn.

Last weekend, I journeyed to “America’s Little Sweden,” otherwise known as Lindstrom, Minn. The reason? My niece was getting married in a ceremony just outside town.

The Swedish coffee pot water tower in Lindstrom, Minn. Image courtesy of Roadsidearchitecture.com.

Lindstrom was settled by Swedish immigrants just north of the Twin Cities. In 2015, the Minnesota Governor indulged the town’s heritage by signing an executive order to restore the “umlauts” (ö) over the “o” in the Lindstrom city limits sign. The founders’ influence can even be felt in the artwork on the town’s coffee pot water tower.

I can’t believe that in all my years as a Minnesotan, I had never visited Lindstrom. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of lakes and wetlands in the area.

My niece’s wedding was held in the Bloom Lake Barn, a venue large enough for several hundred people. Dusty sunlight filtered through the large windows and cracks in the walls, alighting on my niece and her intended as the ceremony commenced on the upper floor.

I got a couple nice shots of the ceremony, but my favorite is one I took when I ‘snuck out back’ during the reception. A mother was pushing her son on a big swing that hung from a tree.

You may kiss the bride!