If you can get past the stunning Bride, or the gorgeous Bridesmaid dresses, or the layers of amber colored vases tucked inside this affair, you’ll see all of those sums coming together to create a truly elegant whole. It’s a wedding with an old world feel all captured by Aliza Rae Photography and you can see so much more right here in the full gallery.
From the Bride… We didn’t exactly have a theme for our wedding – the venues that we chose had so much personality that I wanted them to shine. The ceremony site, Villa Terrace, has a beautiful garden and courtyard which inspired me to incorporate that idea into the floral arrangements and bouquets. Throughout our engagement I had collected all of the amber vases, mostly from different antique stores and flea markets in the Milwaukee area. My Mom and Aunt, both who live in Michigan, also contributed to the collection of vases as they found them. I had an amazing florist who worked with the vases and my vision of organic seasonal arrangements – she made everything better and more beautiful than I could have imagined!
I tried to do as much DIY as I could, from the table numbers and escort cards, to the advice hearts and the invitations- we tried to pinch pennies in as many places as possible, so I taught myself calligraphy to address the invitations that we used Photoshop to make and then printed at home- I learned a lot in the process!
From the get-go I knew that I wanted my girls to wear different dresses. To make sure that they still went together, I decided on gold and then found a handful of dresses online from which they could choose, it was actually a very simple process! They looked so beautiful together and I was happy that each of their personalities and style could come through. For the boys we decided to forgo traditional boutonnières in favor of unique pocket squares. I made them myself and pre-folded them a few days ahead of time so that they didn’t have to struggle with them the day of; I think they looked really great!
Nick and I decided to write our own vows, we wanted the ceremony to be very personal and heartfelt and I think we achieved that. I think each of our vows complimented the other so well and the ceremony was my favorite part of the wedding- which says a lot because our reception was a blast! We danced all night and had such a good time with all of our family and friends- most of who came from our home state of Michigan. We had a fairly small wedding- 85 people, but it was the perfect amount to be able to talk to and enjoy everyone. It was the best wedding I could have ever imagined, especially now that I am married to the man of my dreams!
Photography: Aliza Rae Photography | Floral Design: Stems Cut Flowers | Reception: The Pfister Hotel | Shoes: Diane Von Furstenberg | Make-up: Wells Spa | Officiant: Kevin Oelke | Bridal Gown: Mori Lee | Wedding Ceremony: The Villa Terrace