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Camp Wedding and Baby

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Welcome to Day 5 of Wandawega Week!

Today I’m going to share a little bit about the friendly folks behind the oh-so-creative camp. David, Tereasa…and a sweet, little cherub-faced girl named Charlie.

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“Boy meets girl. Boy proposes. Boy suggests that they purchase his abandoned childhood summer camp to be wed at. Girl accepts on both counts.”

David and Tereasa’s wedding ceremony was held at Wandawega, atop a hill, and overlooking the lake. Tereasa, carried a bouquet of daisies, and her father, Tom, walked her down the aisle to Elvis’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” played on the guitar by Nicholas Barron. They hired a Nashville-based company called Hatchshow Print to create their wooden wedding invitations and silk-screened RSVP and Save-the-Date postcards. The invitation and RSVP cards were packaged inside a brown kraft-paper envelope, along with an old map of the Wandawega resort. The envelopes were secured with a gingham ribbon and fastened with a small embroidered patch.

Upon arrival, wedding guests were greeted by a 1955 Mercury Monterrey. The couple shares a love for vintage cars and motorcycles, so it was only fitting that they park one from their collection on the property. Next to the car, Tereasa placed a “D.H. + T.S.” sign, and surrounded it with pots bursting with bunches of daisies.

Even though the day was rain-filled, Tereasa and David still describe their wedding as being “the color of sunshine“. Partly because of all the yellow rain slickers, rain boots, and the abundance of daisies- but also because they believe that “sunshine is very much a state of mind“. (I whole-heartedly agree!)

Their vanilla wedding cake was decorated with buttercream icing and daisies. And, of course, no camp gathering would be complete without a bonfire, so following the reception, everyone gathered ’round to roast marshmallows, sing campfire songs, and enjoy the starry night in the woods.

*swoon*

Here are all the dreamy wedding deets:

Venue: Camp Wandawega; available for rental through Town and Country Locations
Stationery: Hatch Showprint
Band: Nicholas Barron Quartet
Photography: Chris Strong; Matthew Gore; Robert Jillson; Mitch Gordon; Landis Smithers
Cake & Catering: Rodney Oksuita, besteventscatering.com
Desserts & Brunch: Christine Busby of Busby Bakes
Daisy Wreath and Garlands: Pesche’s Greenhouse
Bride’s Dress: Jenny Lee

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Fast forward to nine months ago. David and Tereasa welcomed daughter, Charlie, to the world…

Tereasa created a woodsy-style nursery for her in their Chicago home…

…and another one at Camp Wandawega…

To create a paint-by-number (PBN) mural like the one above, Tereasa suggests searching eBay to find an old school PBN painting guide you love. Next, give each of the colors on it a number, and then match each number to a paint chip.

Once you’ve decided on your palette, take your paint chips to the paint store and buy ’em up, Buttercup! After that, use a projector to display your PBN guide onto the wall and begin tracing it out with a pencil.

Last but not least, fill in your numbers with the latex paint your purchased using a foam brush.

Tereasa also broke out her brush to brighten up a collection of old cuckoo clocks hanging on the wall in the Charlies Wandawega nursery…

Yesterday, I asked Tereasa about where she draws her inspiration from. She said…

“My inspiration is 3-fold:

1- Our biggest project yet, 9 month old Charliegirl

2- My dear (late) Dad, Tom (Turtle)

3- My freakishly patient husband, David.

Each of them has made me hyper-aware of just how fleeting life is, and that you have to chase down your dreams like a cheetah. My three muses inspire me daily to look at things with a lens of optimism, and quite simply, transforming the homes and spaces around my loved ones makes them happy, which makes me happy.”

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Outgoing and hospitable, David and Tereasa host a constant, rotating stream of visitors at Wandawega.

If you’d like to visit them and their magical camp, leave a comment on this post for a chance to win a 2-night stay for you and a friend, (if you’re parents with kids, the little ones are welcome too!) and we’ll randomly select a winner on Sunday (August 14, 2011) at noon (Central Time). Your getaway will include a welcome gift basket and access to all that wonderful Wandawega has to offer. Think: peace and quiet, boating, fishing, hiking, swimming, etc. David and Tereasa will be in touch with you to see about which dates will work best for you, based on availability. Good luck and may the fun force be with you!

PS- If you missed any of this week’s Wandawega posts- you can find them here: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. melanie

    as a wisconsian – or am i wisconsinite? – whatever! as someone who lives in the same state, i’ve so been enjoying your posts this week and would love a chance to visit!

  2. becky

    Sa-weeeeet! I can just imagine my memory cards filling up with such wonderful pictures!!!! Someone is gonna be awfully lucky!!!

  6. kelly

    Their camp looks like Heaven! It inspires me to want to start my own camp here in California…hmm….I think my husband and I might have to road trip it up to the mountains sometime soon 🙂

  7. Leigh in Dallas

    My husband and I need a vacay sooooo bad! Please Layla, save us from this (almost) record-breaking Texas heat – we’re melting down here!

  8. Lisa

    The mural is fabulous!!!! Love, love, love it! And now I want to read this book!!!!!

  9. Karen

    Just love your website and your series or articles on camp Wandawega! Keep up the good work!

  10. Kellie

    Thank you for exposing this wonderful place!! I honestly hope I have a chance to visit there one day!! 🙂

  14. Kim E

    I have truly enjoyed each of the post this week. What a magical place to visit! It is inspiring to see how people think outside the box. Thank you for sharing these posts with us. I feel a renewed desire to start some home improvement projects…

  15. Monique

    Thanks you for the wonderful tour this week, Camp Wandawega is a total camp fantasy land, I would love to win a trip to visit there! Fingers crossed:)

  16. Lorrie Niemann-Pederson

    Would love to visit this camp someday; but for now will settle via the internet 🙂

  20. Stephanie

    What an awesome giveaway! My husband and I now live in SC but grew up together right outside of Chicago. Our families often went to WI for occasions all throughout the year…mostly camping. This would be a magical getaway for my hubby and I…the kids could stay with their grandparents not far away!! 🙂

  24. jennibell

    Wow. . .there has been so much inspiration at TLC this week!!! I have love, love, loved these posts about this super camp — a chance to visit would be the best thing in the world!!!

  26. JennG

    Ahhh, I can’t get enough! I live in Chicago and would love to visit this magical place!

  27. Fran

    I now live in St Louis but am originally from the Chicago area. This weeks posts reminded me of my childhood at our family cottage in southern Wisconsin.

  28. Fairfield House

    Layla,

    After reading the first segment of this series, I added Camp Wandawega to my ever growing ‘to go’ list. It reminds me of my childhood days spent at 4H Camp in Stokes State Forest.
    Thank you for these wonderful posts (one of my favorites to date) and for introducing us to Tereasa and David. Would love to win this very generous give-away!

    Your Friend,
    Deborah

  29. Angela

    That paint by number mural in the nursery is too cool!

    I would love to see Camp Wandawega in person!

  30. Danielle

    What an awesome nursery- I have done projected pictures up to the wall, too but never thought to use PBN’s! What a great idea… thanks for the beautiful pictures. would love a stay at camp.

  31. Laura

    I would love to win this vacation! We haven’t had a real vacation since we went on our honeymoon almost 7 years ago! (We had kids instead!)

    We’d absolutely love to win. I’ve enjoyed all these camp posts and have been wishing to visit the camp. =)

    Laura

  33. Suzanne G

    Love this camp! I even forwarded the post w/ the “tour” to my husband. What vision they have!

  35. Kathy

    Oh how I would love to go there! Thank you so much for sharing these gorgeous tours!

  38. Sheron Fitch

    Wow! Thanks for sharing about this amazing camp and the creative couple behind it. It would be great to have a retreat there!

  39. Lisa

    These posts and Camp Wandawega take me back to my childhood in the Idaho mountains and lakes! Thank you ( :

  40. Lynne

    I want to make a visit here whether I win or not.
    It looks luscious. Ideas, inspirations, reflections.
    Fabulous for sure!
    Best for me it holds a ton of my favorite color,
    GREEN
    except for winter dress which hopefully would hold plenty of
    WHITE

  41. MaryKay

    I’d love to come for a visit! The camp fascinates me! So much creativity in one place.

  42. Ashley

    Oh my…I have been drooling over all the Camp pictures and now a chance to visit??? Couldn’t pass up that opportunity!

  44. robin

    What a wonderful getaway! Sounds like a great place to “re-charge” . . . I’m the winner! fosho!!!

  45. Caitlin Davey

    What a beautiful true love story. So inspiring. It proves that all those lost arts: romance, craftsmanship, living a simple life remain alive and well in the hearts of those who care about them.

  48. Vonda L

    Wow! What a great giveaway. I love old camps and the feelings they evoke. We were unable to have a vacation away this summer as I had injured myself and was out of work for a month. No income means no vacation. But this summer wasn’t a complete loss, I was able to spend my summer with the most important people on the face of this earth – my kiddos!