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!
So much inspiration….I wish I had someplace like this to run away too 😉
Beautiful story! Would love to visit the camp.
Debra
What a great love story. Thanks for sharing, Layla. Visions of wood and plaid dance in my head.
I love the paint by number mural and what a great contest! I would love to experience the camp with my family. My husband and I took 3 get-aways this year and each time we came back to a new baby (adoption and foster). We definitely would want to bring them along, otherwise there might be another baby waiting for us when we returned! 🙂
What a magical week this has been for all of us who read your blog. Thank you, Layla, for bringing this to us. Please put my name in the giveaway.
I am so inspired by your posts about their camp, I would love to have the opportunity to visit!!!
Charlie is so dreamy and I’m lovin’ her nurseries. AmAZing Wedding!!! Hope I win the getaway, blue jay 🙂
what an amazingly generous giveaway! I would love love love love love to go there! fingers AND toes are crossed!
Oooooo…I really want to win!! Awesome post!
i am in LOVE this that nursery the paint by numbers idea is brilliant, and the coo-coo clocks are adorable!!
This is awesome! Would love to stay there, whether I win or not!
looks great! would love to get to visit!
I would LOVE to stay at this resort. And I think my husband would love it too. It reminds me of stories he tells me about a resort that they stayed at when he was a kid at Green Lake.
i LOVE wandawega!! i want to live there! i’ve never been as inspired as i’ve been by theraesa’s “camp decor”. i love every inch of that place and would LOVE to visit!!!
I am in love with Camp Wandawega! My Pinterest will attest to it being my latest obsession. Would love a chance to visit. 🙂
A peaceful place…would love to visit with my boys!!
The Sharp team would love an adventure like this! We are throwing our hat comment in!
Love this blog, Love the camp, and would LOVE to visit!!
This would be so fun, and our 2 year old would have a blast. We live in ND, so WI is just a hop skip and a jump across MN!
This nursery is magical….so simply beautiful……..inspiring too!
I would LOVE to see this place in person!!
I love this weeks posts! What an amazing place!! I’d love to visit here! Thanks for sharing this!
Pick me! Pick me! I’m in love with this place!
Oh my God I would love to go to this place – it reminds me of my Girl Scout camp I went to as a kid only BETTER! And I really think that I could get my hubby on board to go =)
So so lovely. My family would be in heaven there!
We would love to stay there, looks like so much fun!
Thanks for the great giveaway! Please enter me!
I would love, love, love a two night stay at Wandawega! It looks like the most perfect get-a-way!
I LOVE THIS PLACE! I want to go!!
“Sunshines is very much a state of mind.” Beautifully said. My husband and I look forward to enjoying the sunshine at Camp Wandawega and meeting David, Theresa and Charliegirl. Thank you for sharing such an inspiring story. Peace.
How wonderful! Please sign me up for a chance to win the getaway!
Would L.O.V.E. to win a stay at this very magical place! I have been drooling at all the blog posts and have been blown away but the place. I would pick Camp Wandawega over Disney any day!
Wandawega week has been fabulous. Thanks Layla for sharing and Tereasa and David for offering such a retreat get away. Would love to spend time surrounded by such beauty, history and inspiration. Mini vacations are always great to recharge, refocus, and redirect our attention to the things in life that really matter.
I would love for my 2 year old to frolick in their woods! I’m still speechless over the treehouse and now this… swoon
Loving the posts from this wonderful place. Our family loves camping so hoping to win!!
Seriously?! How awesome would visiting be?! A true come dream. That paint by number artwork is amazing.
As I’m reading all of your posts, I’m thinking I have to visit. It sounds wonderful.
I’d love to win a stay! I grew up just 15 minutes from this camp, and never knew it existed! (Although, I’m *not* a Latvian priest, so how would I know?)
I would absolutely love to go to Camp Wandawega! It looks like such an amazing place, especially that tree house!! Thanks for the opportunity!
I would love to visit Camp Wandawega!
I love this! Love the paint-by-number mural in Charlie’s room.
That is awesome!
I love Charlie’s room-absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for the opportunity to win!
I bought Tereasa’s book 2 years ago and I still flip through it for DIY inspriation! It would be a dream to go see the Camp in person!!
Thanks so much for sharing they’re story this week… I suddenly have an urge to thrift this weekend!
I am so sad that Wandawega week is over. I have been totally inspired. I would love to visit with my family one day. What a wonderful, magical place.
This camp sounds wonderful! I’d love to visit!
Such awesome and inspiring folks!
Thanks for hosting this contest! I have completely fallen in love with Camp Wandawega this week!
Oh, this sounds like it’s just what the doctor ordered! We’d love to go, and bring our 10 month old with us -maybe Wyatt and Charlie can play between naps 🙂
I would love to be considered to win. Each day, reading about Wandawega has been a much needed escape. So, I can only imagine what a vacation there would actually be like. We have an outdoorsy toddler that would enjoy it as much as we would. I believe the treehouse would be the highlight! Thanks for this chance.