{Photo credits: J. Crew, Frolic, Summer Street Photography via Style Me Pretty}

The winery is on a site with vines of grapes on the outskirts and a 100-year-old barn, serving as a perfect background for photos. This location can serve as a great destination for engagement or wedding photography, but also as a nice setting for an outdoor wedding ceremony.

Renting a tent and hosting the ceremony at this location would provide couples with a sense of privacy and tranquility in the country yard of this beautiful winery. And of course, an abundance of tasty wines nearby also helps set this location off as a great location for your day.

While Strawbale Winery is able to accommodate outdoor weddings, the site does not have the facilities to host an indoor wedding. Festivities must wrap up before 9:30 p.m. Perhaps hosting the reception and dance at another venue is the best route to go at this location.

All of the wines from Strawbale Winery are “produced, fermented, bottled and blended at the green winery in the straw insulated buildings.” The winery has a number of grape, fruit, mead and specialty wines available.

This post is contributed by Katlyn Richter of the South Dakota Department of Tourism on the media team. To learn more about Katlyn visit our contributors page.

Read on for words from our bride.

Some words from our bride:

When Nathan & I got married in 2007 he recently joined the Army and I was finishing my Interior Design degree. We only had our siblings attend the ceremony and for three and a half years went through two deployments and lived apart with occasional visits. When Nathan returned from his last deployment and I had graduated college, we were finally going to start our lives living in one place & we planned on renewing our vows along with friends and family.

From the start I had a vision in my head and Nathan knew to put in his word, but let me run with my ideas. I knew I wanted something a little different, a low key, but elegant space. The hardest part was the venue, I came upon Joy Ranch and knew people had done their weddings in the little white church, but came across the major design plan they were working on that included an old fashion boardwalk with beautiful porches and lovely rustic accents. Although the major concern was they were still in construction phase, but on the day of, the amazing crew of Joy Ranch and family helped me make the outdoor boardwalk perfect.

Nathan wore his Army dress blues, and I felt bold pops of yellow from the uniform would look great. I found the bold yellow patterned fabric at a Goodwill when visiting Colorado, there were about 10 of the fabric shower curtains I used in various areas, including the backdrop for the ceremony. I also was on the hunt for any milk glass I could find, mason jars for the tables, and Nathan’s mother found the perfect antique dresser for our guest sign in. With the knowledge of design programs I put together a coordinating invitation and also made a fingerprint tree for guests to sign in at. After designing our wedding stationery I became obsessed with the numerous designs & since then started my own business called Twigs Print Studio.

For the flowers I made the bouquets & boutonnieres, I knew I wanted to use something that would last because I needed to make them in advance. I fell in love with billy balls (they look the same when dried), found balsa wood flowers, & real touch yellow cala lilys. Then for the tables I bought fresh cala lilys and billy balls. For the dinnerware I found eco friendly items made from palm leafs.

I also knew that I wanted to candy buffet area with cake pops, rather than just a cake. I placed the candy in dishes found at thrift stores and my amazing cousin made the cake pops and cake. I was blessed to have such a great family & my father catered a delicious meal from his restaurant, while Nathan’s father provided the dj equipment. Nathan’s brother also played a personal song at the ceremony. All in all the whole process and event was family oriented and couldn’t have been done without them!

Invitations, Print Elements and Decor all DIY by the Bride of Twigs Print Studio
South Dakota Wedding Ceremony and Reception Venue at Joy Ranch
South Dakota Wedding Ceremony by AC Ellis Inc
South Dakota Wedding Dress by Elegant Xpressions of Sioux Falls
South Dakota Wedding Groomsman Tux by Brides Expressions and Floral of Watertown, SD
South Dakota Wedding Bridesmaid Dresses by Macy’s
South Dakota Wedding Bridesmaid Dresses by EcoPalm Ware
South Dakota Wedding Bridesmaid Dresses from Candy Warehouse
Wedding Music: Compliments of Grooms Father, Tim Woodard
Wedding Caterer: Compliments of Brides Father, Jeff Guiser of Clifford’s Steak and Ale, Watertown, SD
Wedding Flowers: Bouquets and Boutonniers by bride Katie Woodard, flowers from Save-on-Crafts
Fresh Table Flowers from Watertown Flowers, Inc.
Wedding Cake and Cake Pops: Compliments of Brides talented cousin, Michelle Miller

From Left to Right:
Dahlia | Stock | Rose | Ranunculus | Hydrangea | Rose

All different coral J. Crew bridesmaid dresses were perfectly paired with pearl jewelry pieces from Faini Designs Jewelry Studio. The pearl pieces were classic and soft just like the design. The four bridesmaid models had hair and makeup provided by Platinum Imagination in a combination of loose styles for their hair and warm soft neutrals for the makeup. To top off the shoot were small details like a ruffle cake from Taylor’d Cakes, and pink champagne from JJ’s Wine and Spirits.

What a wonderful job by all of our area vendors who pulled together a lot of details and elements for a cohesive feel that is beautiful.

Sioux Falls Wedding Invitation, Decor Design, & Chair Covers by Envision Wedding Studio
Sioux Falls Wedding Photography by AC Ellis Inc
Sioux Falls Wedding Chiavari Chairs and Placesettings Ideal Wedding Center
Sioux Falls, South Dakota Wedding Cake by Taylor’d Cakes
South Dakota Wedding Flowers by Bella Rosa Floral
South Dakota Wedding Hair and Makeup by Platinum Imagination
South Dakota Coral Bridesmaid Dresses from J. Crew
Champagne from JJ’s Wine and Spirits
Jewelry by Faini Designs Jewelry Studio

Setting the Stage
Spacing: When setting a dinner table, place settings should be evenly spaced and flatware should be balanced.
Start with Plates: Start by setting out dinner plates. Make sure plates are far enough apart to provide guests sufficient elbowroom—about 2 feet apart from plate center to plate center.
Let Plates be Your Guide: Once your plates are set, you can use them to balance the rest of your place settings. Cups and glasses go on the right side of the plate, butter and salad plates to the left.

Silverware & Napkins
Basic Placement: Place silverware in the order of its use, from the outside in, first course to main course. To simplify the setting, don’t put out utensils that won’t be used.

Forks, Spoons & Knives: Forks should be placed to the left of the plate, knives and spoons to the right. The only exception to this rule is a small cocktail fork, which goes on the outermost right side of the plate. Place knives with their cutting edge towards the plate, and make sure all of the utensil handles line up.

Napkins: All napkins should be cloth and go to the left of the forks. For wedding receptions, napkin placement has a less formal placement as they have become more of a wedding style detail.

Butter Plate & Spreader: When serving bread, place a butter plate above the forks to the left of the plate and include a butter knife or spreader.

Dessert Silverware: If you serve dessert, the silverware should be placed above the plate with the fork handle to the left and the spoon or knife handle to the right (the cutting edge should face down). You can also just bring out dessert silverware with the dessert.

Special Touches: Wedding receptions offer guests with fun special touches at their setting. Most popular special touches are napkin rings, favor boxes or plate charges. Plate charges are quite popular in reception decor. A charger is an elegant tray that is placed under the dinner plate for style rather than function. Sized slightly larger, the finish or color of the charger plate frames the dinnerware and enhances the table setting.
Drinks

Glass Placement: Glasses should be placed above the knives in a straight row, slanting downward from the upper left, going from biggest to smallest. Make sure smaller glasses aren’t hidden behind larger ones. An example of a proper arrangement would be a water goblet in back, wine glass, then a dessert glass closest to your guest.

Coffee Cup & Saucer: If you plan to serve coffee with the meal, place the cup and saucer to the right of the setting, with the coffee spoon on the right side of the saucer. Otherwise, bring the coffee out with dessert.

The diagram below will help you visualize a proper table setting.

1. Napkin
2. Salad fork
3. Dinner fork
4. Dessert fork & spoon
5. Bread and butter plate with spreader
6. Dinner plate
7. Dinner knife
8. Teaspoon
9. Soup spoon
10. Cocktail fork
11. Water glass
12. Wine glass (red wine)
13. Wine glass (white wine)
14. Coffee cup and saucer

Images courtesy South Dakota Wedding Photographer AC Ellis

A few words from Rachel:
Randi and Rob’s engagement session embodies everything I love about the Midwest; sun-soaked fields, rural scenery and country chic style. The rustic locations were a perfect match for this dynamic South Dakota couple, who met while attending SDSU and are currently planning a fall wedding.

Images by South Dakota Photographer:  Rachel Ebel Photography

You’re able to share your guests’ wedding pictures all in one place, in real time, on the day itself and before.

Your guests will get all the travel info they need to carry with them, on a device they never leave behind. No more forgotten invitations or complex direction cards.

You’re able to private message your invited guests about wedding updates, get virtual champagne toasts, share your story, your inspiration for your wedding, and more.

Appy Couple is password-protected that coordinates beautifully with your wedding theme, style, and colors. They have lots of gorgeous designs to choose from.

And it’s affordable. You pay a one-time setup fee. Whether you have 20 guests or 2,000, guests download the app free, from the App Store or Android Marketplace.

If you are worried about guests who don’t have smartphones, they throw in a free, coordinating wedding website too.

Use this link to receive your invitation.

{Photo Credits: Appy Couple}

An excerpt from the 605 article, which can be read in full here: 605 March Issue

“… what Moller brings to events is nothing short of breathtaking.”