A family tradition

WRENSHALL, Minn. — Christina (Laveau) Osberg has always dreamed of having her wedding reception at her family’s farm. As of Sept. 6, her dreams have come true.

“Ever since I was little, I remember my mom talking about how she and dad had their reception in the machine shed on this farm,” Osberg said. “I knew I wanted that too.”

Osberg’s parents, Peter and Kimberly Laveau, milk 100 cows in a tiestall barn near Wrenshall. Peter and Kimberly wed in 1987.

“It was exciting that they wanted to have their reception in the same spot we did,” Kimberly Laveau said. “We were happy with her decision (to have it here).”

Laveau is an avid gardener. She maintains more than 10 gardens around the farm, raising a variety of plants, including roses, sunflowers, petunias, daisies, as well as fruits and vegetables.

“(The gardens) kept me busy, but I enjoy gardening,” Laveau said. “It is relaxing.”

When Osberg asked her parents if she could have her wedding and reception at the farm, they agreed without hesitation.

“I asked Mom if I could use the yard for the wedding, and she was all in,” Osberg said. “I think Dad was pretty honored to use the farm for the wedding, too.”

Osberg used the yard by the house and gardens for the wedding ceremony, the machine shed for the reception, and an alfalfa field next to the buildings for pictures.

“It was not as stressful as I thought it would be,” Laveau said. “Everybody helped out to get the farm ready.”

Family and friends helped clean out, sweep, wash and decorate the machine shed. Straw bales were used for seating for the ceremony.

“I had a lot of people comment on how they liked how we incorporated the farm and family and that it was neat that I chose that for my wedding,” Osberg said. “I wanted to keep it farm-oriented.”

Osberg holds a full-time job in town, but still comes out to the farm on a regular basis to help her parents.

“Growing up, I fed the calves,” Osberg said. “As I got older, I transitioned to helping Mom milk the cows. I still help wherever they need me to.”

The morning of the wedding, the Laveaus and the wedding party put the finishing touches on the decorations, then headed inside to get ready. While they were inside, it rained outside up until 10 minutes before the ceremony.

“We were just talking about moving the ceremony to the machine shed when Dad came in and said the rain stopped,” Osberg said. “We flipped the straw bales over so they were dry and everything went on as planned.”

Osberg and her husband, Ryan, had their wedding ceremony outside near the gardens, just as they imagined. Then, their 150 guests walked over to the machine shed for the reception. Part of the machine shed has a cement floor, which was used for seating and as the dance floor.

“We started a bonfire when it got dark and had a s’mores bar,” Osberg said.

Osberg said seeing all of her family together was the highlight of the day.

“We used to get together all the time, but now we just get together when there is a wedding,” Osberg said.

Her mother agreed.

“Having everybody together was great to see,” she said. “It was a full-circle moment because Pete and I had our reception in the same spot.”

Another benefit of hosting the wedding on the farm was to show guests without a farming background what a farm looks like, Osberg said.

“I want people to see the farm dressed up and that it can be used for a wedding, but it is still a working farm,” Osberg said. “The way I looked at it, I was honoring my parents, because I am proud of this farm.”