Janet Crowder: Love and Flowers

Mother of: Nicole 
Venue: St. Paul College Club, St. Paul, Minnesota 
Vibe: Garden formal  
Dress: JJ’s House

Of Janet Crowder’s three children, Nicole was always the one who marched to her own beat—an extrovert among introverts, she moved halfway across the country for college, and didn’t return to Minnesota—where her parents, brother, sister and their families live—until 2020, after more than 15 years away.

A newspaper and magazine photo editor who ran her own upholstery business and recently launched Glas, a boutique collection of vintage and antique glassware, Nicole Crowder describes herself as a maximalist to her mom’s minimalist tendencies. 

“She loves taupes,” Nicole says of her mom Janet, an army veteran who works as a patient advocate for Veterans Affairs Health Care. “She’s not into patterns. She likes things simplified where I mix contemporary and vintage, and everything is colorful.”

Janet expected her middle daughter to have very definite ideas about her July 2024 wedding to Michael, and Nicole definitely did—from the venue, an historic Georgian Revival mansion on St. Paul’s Summit Avenue, a street that is also home to the governor’s residence—to the handmade mementos meticulously displayed on every table.

“My mom and I grew a lot through the wedding planning process,” Nicole says. “I had to articulate to her: I don’t need you to pay, or call vendors, but I do need your presence, and I want your enthusiasm and curiosity. You are a pillar in my life, and I want you to enjoy this experience.”

Nicole and Janet found moments to celebrate along the way—like afternoon tea, just the two of them. “We talked about my nerves,” Nicole recalls. “About moving back here and finding someone. It was so affirming to hear my mom say, ‘I’m proud of you.’”

Janet treasured these moments, as well as her daughter telling her to wear what she wanted for the wedding, and simply enjoy the ride. But this mother of the bride craved an assignment—something to help, and take a bit of pressure off the bride. She offered to make the flower arrangements…little did she know the flowers would arrive late, and in suboptimal condition. 

“It was a nightmare,” Janet recounts. “But this was Nicole’s day. She did all the planning, and there was no way I was going to disappoint her. I didn’t care how late I was up—I was going to make sure the vision was executed.”

And that’s how Janet wound up running from one Trader Joe’s to the next the evening before her daughter’s wedding. She bought every fresh flower she could get her hands on and stayed up most of the night creating vibrant bouquets—just like Nicole wanted.

“The military taught us how to be up overnight. Adrenaline kept me going," Janet says. "I wanted to make sure the flowers were fresh and bloomed out like they needed to be. It was all worth it for the look on her face.”

Nicole smiles at the memory. “I didn’t realize she had the gift of cultivating arrangements in that way.” 

That bright, summery floral scheme carried through to Janet’s mother of the bride dress. “I knew I was going to wear peach the whole time,” Janet says. She found a lace cap sleeve v-neck floor length gown online from JJ’s House, where you can enter measurements to get a dress custom sized—helpful, when you’re 4 foot 11. Janet’s advice on made-to-measure dresses? “Don’t try to take the measurements yourself. Go to a seamstress and get professionally measured before you order.” And try to have the shoes you plan to wear before that fitting.  

Like the flowers, the weather gave this wedding party another scare—rain poured down the morning of the ceremony, which was to take place on the lawn. But just in time for photos, the skies parted and the sun shined through–just like Nicole, Janet says. 

“She’s the light, the warmth in this family. And Mike is just the man for Nicole.” 

| Photography by Jillian Blanc