As a bride who struggled to be ready on time for her 4:00 ceremony, I must take my hat off to any bride who manages to make a 9:30am ceremony! And to look so serene and beautiful too, I am beyond impressed. An early morning park ceremony by the lake, followed by a brunch reception, makes today’s sun – and joy – filled wedding as lovely as it is relaxed…..

I could talk all day about everything I love about this wedding, but instead I will hand you straight across to bride Chloe who has such an engaging way of described every last detail….. “For my family, our wedding was the last of three in twenty-two months. We affectionately called this marathon of weddings and wedding related events “The Trilogy.” My two older sisters’ weddings were magical and suited them both perfectly. We wanted ours to do the same. So we made sure it included some of the things we love most: brunch, tea and our beautiful city, Milwaukee. 

Our wedding day was an absolute fairy tale. I felt like the entire day I was walking around with my fair dust in my peripheral vision. I found that I couldn’t quite imagine it completely beforehand because the reality of it was just too wonderful. The whole week leading up to it was full of love and excitement – I wish I could go back!”

“My gown was called the “Sian” and was designed by Catherine Deane. It had an embroidered floral detail that perfectly fit the morning wedding we were envisioning. Not only was it extremely comfortable, it was also beautifully ornate – I felt like I had travelled back in time to a fancy garden tea party in 1920s.”

“My earrings and bracelet were from BHDLN. The bracelet was actually a surprise gift from a friend who had heard me talking about it – it was such a special gift. My necklace was my great grandmothers, left to my sisters and me by our mother. All three of us wore it on our wedding days. I also had a little framed photo of my mom that was attached to my bouquet – I affectionately called it “my tiny mom.”

“We wanted everything about our day to embody our personalities – so we immediately fell in love with the floral suit we found Walter, which was from J.Crew. It took us completely by surprise as our plan had been for him to get a bespoke suit. But we knew instantly that he needed to have this one instead. And it was one of the things people commented on most on the day! The groom’s bow tie and pocket square were from Dance Chickens Dance on Etsy. The groomsmen also wore suits from J.Crew but their bow ties were made by Stag Handmade. We gifted the groomsmen Skagen watches and initialled cufflinks from Tesoro Jewelry.”

“Our florist was Sally Vanderwyst of Milwaukee Flower Co.  She was the only florist we met with because we loved her instantly. For the bouquet, we mainly wanted peonies as they are my favorite flower and our wedding colors were pink and green. There were also lots of ferns and ranunculus.” 

“My two older sisters were my bridesmaids. My sisters have always been my best friends, so it was an easy choice. Their dresses were both by Needle & Thread but they picked out their own accessories – I didn’t want to place any restrictions, I just wanted them to feel as beautiful and comfortable as possible.”

“Our ceremony was held right off Lake Michigan, near the picturesque Lion Bridge and North Point Lighthouse at 9 o’clock in the morning. It was like a fairytale, walking into the tree-enclosed, grassy clearing surrounded by loved ones. And we have found since our wedding that it is even more magical to visit the spot and relive the beautiful memories.”

“My favorite part of the day was probably when we said our vows. We wrote them together and put a lot of thought into them. Even though it was difficult to stay composed, it was a magical moment that I can remember perfectly. The sparkling sunlight, the trees, the family and friends supporting us – it was a beautiful moment in time that I will cherish forever.”

“We had two readings, both of which were poems. The first poem was EE Cummings, ‘Thank You God for Most this Amazing Day’ – a poem my mom loved very dearly and was our way of bringing her into the ceremony. We had my cousin, who is a Catholic priest, read it as he was not able to officiate our wedding outside of the church. The second was ‘I Am Much Too Alone In This World, Yet Not Alone’ by Rainer Maria Rilke. Walter found that one on his own and it really spoke to both of us. Our dear friend Christine and mother to our flower girl read that one.”

“The reception at the charming and historic Pabst Brewery. We had a cocktail hour that consisted of mimosas, bellinis and a build-your-own toppings Bloody Mary bar with scones and muffins to nibble on before brunch.  A local café called Beans and Barley catered our all vegetarian brunch buffet, which had everything from hoppel poppel to pesto scrambled eggs. The reception was laid back and full of sunshine. The decorations were really just the centrepieces and favors; the room didn’t require much as the beautiful, big windows let in the summer sun perfectly.”

“We poured a lot of love into our centerpieces and card holders – tea pots and tea cups we collected from several local antique and Etsy shops. It took plenty of time and effort to find quality and good prices but was well worth it. In the end, we had twenty tea pots and fifteen tea cups. People often asked what I was going to do with them when the wedding was over; we’ve kept a few and given the rest to friends and family. Tea is a great gift to share and I’m a firm believer that everyone should have a lovely tea pot to call their own.”

“Our wedding cake was actually 6 regular round cakes from George Watt’s Tea Room. They are famous for their Sunshine Cake and it’s the only cake my husband and I both really love. We also served macaron from the French patisserie and cafe, Le Reve. They made them in different shades of pink, green and white to go with our wedding colors. The flavors of the macaron were nutella, pistachio, peach, raspberry, almond and champagne.” How delicious do they sound??

“Of course we had dancing, which was just as fun as at an evening wedding. Something everyone came to expect that had been to previous weddings in “The Trilogy” (explained below) was the Father-Daughter-Daughter-Daughter dance. It started as an impromptu crashing of the Father Daughter dance at my eldest sisters’ wedding and immediately became tradition. It was a fun way to keep that portion of the reception a little less boring for the rest of the guests. And it started the dancing off right! We wrapped up the reception at 3:00 that afternoon and continued the party well into the night with friends, family and Indian food.”

Pearls of wedding wisdom from the bride…..

“If there is anything you should not skimp on it’s the photographer. You can cut corners, DIY, and save money in a lot of little places. We did a lot of it. But we knew we wanted to have beautiful, lasting memories of the beautiful day we worked tirelessly to make happen. Our photographer was worth every penny – our pictures are priceless!”

Tell us a little bit about your photographer…..

“I poured through many photographer lists online before I found Anna Page Photography. When I saw her website, in its aesthetically appealing glory, I was instantly in love. Anna’s pricing was very reasonable and we were able to get an engagement session with the package we were choosing. It really only took the first meeting with her to know that we wanted her to capture the magic of our big day. She was unobtrusive and easy going from the start. I remember looking at the pictures for the first time and thinking, “I didn’t even know she was there to get that shot!” She and her husband are such a great team; our whole wedding party really enjoyed the picture taking portion of the day because of them. She did a fantastic job and I couldn’t recommend her more highly.”

A huge congratulations to the fabulous Chloe & Walter and a big heartfelt thankyou for filling us in on all the details of your big day! A special thankyou must also go to their wonderful photographer Anna Page for not only capturing every detail of their perfect day so beautifully, but also for allowing me to publish it here on Chic Vintage Brides. Do pop across to her website www.annapagephotography.com, or follow her on Facebook and Instagram, to see more of her work.

Amy

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Contributors & Credits

Photography ~ Anna Page Photography  // Planner ~ Evenement // Wedding Dress ~ Catherine Deane via BHDLN // Bridal Shoes ~ Modcloth // Bridal Jewelry ~ BHDLN // Bridal Makeup ~ Lauren Doss from Sevva // Floral Design ~ Milwaukee Flower Co. // Grooms Suit ~ J.Crew // Groom’s Bow Tie & Pocket Square ~ Dance Chickens Dance // Groomsmen’s Bow Tie & Pocket Square ~ Stag Handmade // Personalised Cufflinks ~ Tesoro Jewelry // Bridesmaid Dresses ~ Needle & Thread // Robes ~ BHDLN // Ceremony Venue ~ Milwaukee park, Lake Park // Reception Venue ~ Pabst Brewery // Catering ~ Beans and Barley // Wedding Cake ~ George Watt’s Tea Room // Macarons ~ Le Reve