Yes, I realize it's easy for me to say who cares about rain on their wedding day, but really....it doesn't matter. I promise you. And if you need any justification on that you can ask Sarah, my bride from yesterday.
A lot of time, detail, sweat, and even some tears went into the planning of their perfect wedding day. Perfect meaning outside. Without rain. Well, Mother Nature doesn't check with brides before making the plan for the day. She certainly didn't check with Sarah yesterday. But it was still a beautiful day.
The couple was married at the gorgeous Villa Terrace. Inside. Which is still beautiful and quaint and rich in history. The room lined with white chairs, the aisle flanked by brown chair ties with gorgeous cabbage roses in the bows thanks to my partner in crime, florist Carrie of Petals, made the room gorgeous. It didn't need much, it's the perfect setting for an indoor ceremony.
Bishop Craig Bergland performed the ceremony and working with him is always a treat. My time was way too short with him yesterday though so we promised to catch up over coffee after the summer wedding madness calms down (Is there such a thing?!?). He is the type of person that you just instantly feel connected to and every couple that meets him always sends me a special "thank you" for referring them to Craig. He's really just that cool.
Unfortunately, I had to rush back to the reception venue, Joey Buona's, to finish setting up as soon as Sarah and her Dad were down the aisle. And by rush, I mean, I'm still thankful I didn't end up with a ticket from the Milwaukee PD. But there was SO much left to do. The venue had said vendors could arrive anytime after 9am to begin setting up. That wasn't true the day of. It was more like Noon. Which meant I had less than 2 hours before the ceremony began and then another 90 minutes once I got back there and before guests started arriving. Luckily, it was done in time and it was so pretty. Carrie's (and her amazing staff!) work was breathtaking; half of the centerpieces were tall trumpet vases filled with even taller branches and then the heads of several roses were attached to the branches, as if suspended. The other centerpieces were cylinder glass vases wrapped in metal branches with a large pillar candle inside on top of a bed of pink roses. The staff at Joey's commented it was one of the prettiest set-ups they had seen.
But there was a lot of work to be done. It was assigned seating, and not just by table. By actual seat. So, each seat had to be adorned with a small picture frame with the guest's name on it. Guests viewed a large seating chart upon arrival to find out which table they were sitting at and then once at the table found their seat by the identifying frame. That is a lot of frames to set out when you're talking about 19 tables! And it took a long time. Then there were menu cards....at each place setting....to be slipped into the pocket of the napkin. Guess what? Joey's doesn't do fancy napkin holds. They do the standard tented napkin. After letting them know that I had specific instructions that these menu cards be placed in the pocket of the napkin and that the bride had discussed this with the event coordinator at the venue, they bent over backwards to learn how to fold those napkins. Almost 200 of them. In less than an hour. I can't say enough about Joey Buona's staff. They are first class and always have been. They never complain. And seriously...I know they didn't want to be doing that yesterday. I've been in their shoes. But they did it. Graciously. I am sending them a very nice thank you note tomorrow. I know a lot of venues that would have told me to screw off. And that's saying it lightly.
Another highlight of the day was I got to see my favorite DJ's, Craig & Amber of All-Star Music! They are some of my most favorite people and they had a baby boy a few months ago who I got to oooh and ahhh over in pictures. I can't say enough good about these two. They have built this company to be one of the most reputable DJ systems in the Milwaukee area. They listen to their clients, do what they ask, and have fun doing it.
Once the wedding party arrived they gathered downstairs to be lined up for the grand entrance and up the stairs they went dancing to music, taking their places at the head table, and a room full of standing ovation as the new Mr. & Mrs. was announced and proceeded to the dance floor for their First Dance. I watched their dance and then made my own exit. It was a very long day, but it was also a rewarding day once I stood there and looked at how awesome that room glowed in candlelight. I'm sure everyone had a blast that night and I know they ate well with Joey's food!
I know I'm behind on pictures. Apparently uploading pictures is a huge task for me, so I promise to have a post just for wedding pictures soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment