A Day of Love

That's exactly what Saturday was. Filled with love. Between everyone involved. I know, it sounds sappy beyond belief, but it really was just this joyous day. Now don't get me wrong, that's what most wedding days are supposed to be, but this one? This one was different.

Maggie & Piero have been my email companions for months and months now. That's how they booked me, that's how I helped them with some of their details, that's how we finalized details of their day. I got to meet them about a month before the wedding and it was just awesome. They are one of the coolest, most laid back, most genuine couples I have ever met.

Both are from Wisconsin, but they live in upstate New York these days. And Piero's family is Italian. And I don't mean Italian like a lot of people claim to be. I mean, they are the real deal! Trust me, I heard the language being spoke and everything and it literally gave me goose bumps. And Maggie's family? A dream. Really. That is the only way to describe her parents, her sisters, her brother, her adorable nephew. They were just good, good people. The type of people that you want to surround yourself with on a continuous basis.

Maggie & Piero were married at the beautiful and well appointed Gesu Parish on the Marquette University campus. Gesu may be a bit strict on their wedding policies, but it's all for good reason. The outcome is always a gorgeous venue with an even more gorgeous wedding commitment. Maggie & Piero's was no different.

The minute I saw Maggie pull up to Gesu that afternoon, I got tears in my eyes. She wasn't even dressed yet! I nearly lost it when I opened the dressing room door and there she was...a vision of herself in golden ivory tones. Certainly a sight to be seen. But she threatened me with bodily harm if I cried, so I held it in and moved forward with letting them all know that it was almost wedding time!

Frogman Productions captured everything on video that day and you can view a clip of it on their blog. It is perfection and captures the personalities of Piero & Maggie to a 't'. Heather Cook Elliott was the photographer on the scene and as always she was so great to work with. She runs around like it's nobody's business and gets the best shots. I can't wait to see their pictures! With a half-naked ring-bearer toddler running around at the reception there is sure to be some fun blackmail pictures for the future for this little one. :)

Mike & Scott at the Renaissance Place made everything so easy for me. They took care of nearly all the set up and since they are the masters of pulling off flawless events, I knew we were all in capable hands. It was gorgeous. The centerpieces were varying sizes, heights, arrangements...proving yet again people that NOTHING HAS TO BE MATCHY MATCHY! It was by far one of my most favorite table displays. Linens draped in chocolate brown with gold napkins hanging over the place settings, elegant menu cards delicately placed on top, votives scattered about. It oozed romance.

Piero & Maggie took dance lessons and choreographed a dance for their first dance as husband and wife. It was spectacular. If you are familiar with Bob Marley it was his song "Mellow Moods," one of my favorites of his. Imagine just the coolest dance filled with smiles, emotions, and just pure love. They pulled it off so well!

Magge Speaks (the band, not Maggie the bride) was the entertainment and those guys were easy to work with, nicer than nice, and did a phenomenal job from the little I saw. They were already on my vendor list as a band that I recommend, but they are now getting stars or something placed next to them!

Oh, and no cake. Another tradition bucked! You go guys! They instead opted for a dessert station. Yum! I highly doubt any of the guests missed a cake after that.

One of my last duties that evening was to take care of putting out their favors. These were not just any favors. These were homemade tall bottles of Piero's family recipe of dipping oil. Each guest was going to take home a fancy bottle with a personalized label and a green mesh bag to put it in. Genius! And I must say, the table display creation ended up looking pretty darn good. How could you not take one?!? :)

I'll post pictures later!

Maggie & Piero...I know you are enjoying Barbados (because they emailed to say thank you cuz that's just the kind of couple they are) this week, but I have no doubt in my mind that you will continue to enjoy every single day of your lives together. Thank you for being the sweetest couple and THANK YOU for realizing that your goal that day was to marry your best friend. You had the perfect wedding day because you had perfect focus through the entire planning process and most importantly on that day. I think you should start a class on how to be the perfect bride & groom. Love you!