Love in Full Color

by Jennifer Pitterle | Feb 2026

Prior Lake native Alayna Lotto married Christian Sorensen at Woodland Glasshaus at Bavaria Downs in Chaska. Photo: Jenna Swanson Photography

Vibrant hues played a key role at one local couple’s summer wedding.

Last June at Chaska’s Woodland Glasshaus at Bavaria Downs, Prior Lake native Alayna Lotto and her husband, Christian Sorensen, celebrated their wedding with 175 guests and an elegant, colorful vibe that was all them.

The couple first met thanks to Sorensen’s sister, who did some matchmaking during her own wedding in late 2023—where Lotto was a bridesmaid and Sorensen was a groomsman. That wedding took place in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Sorensen’s hometown. “We got to spend pretty much that whole weekend together,” Sorensen says, and they hit it off. A year later, he proposed in the Lyndale Park Rose Gardens in Minneapolis with fresh snowfall as a backdrop.

Alayna Lotto asked her bridesmaids to select whatever color they wanted for their dresses, and they carried bouquets customized to match their outfits. Many of their dresses were thrifted or borrowed.

They dove right into wedding planning and created a major spreadsheet to keep track of the details. Even their “mini stops” on the big day, before they arrived at the Glasshaus, were meticulously planned. Before the ceremony, Lotto and her bridesmaids got ready at The Neu Neu in Minneapolis’ North Loop, a chic, urban venue featuring a convenient coffee shop on its ground floor. “That was really nice,” Lotto says. Meanwhile, Sorensen and his groomsmen rented a farmhouse Airbnb near the Glasshaus.

The couple set the tone for their colorful wedding with their invitations.

Lotto’s wedding attire featured several meaningful details in addition to her classic gown. “The earrings I wore were earrings that my mom wore for her wedding,” Lotto says. “I was going for timeless and elegant; I wasn’t trying to do anything too trendy.” Pearls—her birthstone—appeared throughout her accessories and décor, including in the lush, colorful floral arrangements that highlighted lemons, limes, oranges, pears and other fruits. “We didn’t want to do only flowers,” Lotto says. Her florist incorporated pears partly because of their handy homophone: “a perfect pair.” The couple’s wedding signage and cake table also featured pear motifs.

The wedding cake was created by D’Amico & Sons, which also handled catering for the reception dinner.

The day’s color palette reflected Lotto’s lifelong love of color. She asked her bridesmaids to choose their own dresses—in any hue. “A lot of people decided to thrift or borrow a dress,” she says, and the group ended up with a sustainably sourced rainbow. The groomsmen wore denim-inspired blue suits to serve as a neutral contrast to the bridesmaids’ colors.

The couple incorporated meaningful pieces aiming for an elegant, timeless wedding. Bride Alayna Lotto wore pearls, her birthstone, and incorporated them into some decor elements as well, and her earrings were the same ones that her mother had worn for her own wedding.

After the ceremony, cocktail hour featured “his, hers and ours” drinks: a Moscow Mule for Sorensen, an Aperol Spritz for Lotto and a French 75 as the shared beverage. For dinner, guests enjoyed two bright summer salads, Herb-Roasted Farmhouse-Style Chicken, Sirloin Steak and Vegetarian Pappardelle Pasta. And dessert? White Chocolate Raspberry Cake, decorated in a traditional cream-colored frosting.

Alayna Lotto opted for a classic wedding gown with a long scarf and long veil that incorporated her signature pearls.

Sorensen and Lotto added personal touches even to the day’s music selections. “Each groomsman-bridesmaid couple walked down the aisle to a different song,” Sorensen says. “Alayna and I each picked three songs that were meaningful or impactful to us.” During the reception, the couple showed off dance moves they’d practiced during a fun pre-wedding class with Lotto’s parents.

The groom’s sister played matchmaker at her own wedding in 2023, where bride Alayna Lotto and groom Christian Sorensen first met.

Still, one of Sorensen’s most memorable moments came in the quiet. “After the ceremony, we just sat down and processed what had happened together,” he says. “That was my favorite part of the whole day.”

And as the night ended, while guests gathered outside for a sparkler send-off, “We had one last dance, just us on the dance floor,” Lotto says.