Posts tagged ‘reception’

August 29th, 2012

Real Weddings: Jacqueline and Jake, Wisconsin

I absolutely love it when couples embrace all things midwestern for a wedding.  Sure our region of the country has tons of amazing big cities, with lots to offer couples getting married, but nothing seems more personal than a couple getting married at a location that has special meaning to them and their family.  Jacqueline and Jake were struggling with two things while planning their day.  One was the theme, and two was the venue.  Their 500+ guest list didn’t leave them a ton of options so when Jake suggested they get married on his families farm in a corn field Jacqueline couldn’t of been happier.  She, and a team of talented designers ran with the theme incorporating hay bails, cowboy boots, and other farm elements into the day.  Despite a little rain during the ceremony, everything turned out beautifully, and the mix of elegant and country provided a setting that was uniquely their own.  A big thank you to Jacqueline for sharing all the details of the day, and to Lace Hanky Photography for the lovely images.

Real Wisconsin Wedding: Jaqueline and Jake

Who, What, Where ~ Ceremony/Reception: Private Residence.  Photography: Lace Hanky Photography.  Flowers: Bo Jons Flowers.  Caterer: River City Catering.  Baker: Lunds and Byerlys.  Stationer: A Milestone Paper Co.  Make-up: DIY by the bride.  Linens and Rentals: Festivities!

Bride and bridesmaids bouquets.

Real Wisconsin Wedding: Jaqueline and Jake

Beautiful tent for the reception.

Dessert table, filled with cupcakes.

Signature cocktails.

 

Even more loveliness…

 

From the bride, Jacqueline…

I met Jake in High School, in my mother’s Chemistry class.  We dated some in high school but decided that we should go our separate ways when Jake left for college, as he was a year older than me.  Fait brought us back together when we both ended up at University of Wisconsin La Crosse and the rest is history.

This wedding was truly a team effort with nearly all family members involved. As Jake and I were still in school details were worked out between wedding planners and family members as well as the two of us. Whether it was working out details of booking vendors or crafts to be completed or even the work that needed to be done on the wedding site the entire Johnson and Steinmetz family made our special day possible.

It ended up raining in the middle of our ceremony but everyone seemed to have made the best of it as we gathered for drinks before heading back out and I was reminded that it’s good luck if it rains on your wedding day.    Jake’s great Grandma Killian was able to be present and this was truly special as she passed away only a few weeks after the wedding.  My father/daughter dance was one to remember, as my father and I swing danced to Frank Sinatra’s “The way you look tonight” played and sung by my Grandma Frank Steinmetz on his accordion.

My favorite part of the day was the moment I got to see Jake for the first time, in the middle of the cornfield.  It made my heart stop and made me realize just how lucky I am to have him in my life.

 

July 26th, 2012

Love is Sweet: Bake Sale Dessert Buffet

I’m so excited to be kicking off a brand new feature on Middle of the Map called “Love is Sweet”.  The inspiration for this new feature came to me when the talented Erin Johnson submitted an inspiration shoot that featured seven (yes seven) different dessert buffets.  With so many amazing events now sharing candy and dessert bars that are as tasty as they are lovely it seemed like a perfect fit for MOTM.  Today I’m kicking things off with the bake sale inspired buffet created by Erin Johnson Photography in collaboration with Sarah of On Solid Ground Vintage Rentals.  These ladies styled each buffet with care, and created lots of hand made elements, such as the banners, and picks for this particular shoot.  Erin says she loved having the vintage aprons hanging in the background, and Sarah added her own antique scales and milk jugs.  Great work ladies, can’t wait to share the rest in the months to come!

Location: Spill the Wine.  Desserts: Sweets Bakeshop.

 

Bake Sale Inspired Dessert Buffet

Macarons

Cupcake buffet

Vintage aprons.

Pinwheel picks for cupcakes.

Cherry on top.

Bake Sale inspired dessert buffet.

 

Do you have a wedding with a beautiful cake, or a dessert or candy buffet you think should be featured on Middle of the Map?  I’m NOW taking submissions for future “Love is Sweet” features, so send them my way!

 

March 2nd, 2012

Real Weddings: Heather and Wayne, Fayette, Missouri

One thing I absolutely love about this wedding is that Heather and Wayne met while living in a firehouse together.  Such a unique story, and I love that Heather is such a kick-butt woman.  As a couple these two spent a lot of their relationship enjoying the outdoors, so it was important to them that this element be a part of their wedding.  They were lucky enough to get an amazing fall day and had both their ceremony and reception outside.  My favorite pics are the ones with the fire truck.  They definitely made their special day all their own.  A big thank you to Heather for sharing all the details of their day, and to their photographer Amy Melito for her lovely images.

Who, What, Where ~ Ceremony and Reception: Midway Farms.  Photos: amyMELITOphotography.  Cake: Sweet Creations by Bridget (the brides sister).

Even more loveliness…

From the bride…

Wayne and I first met in October 2008 when he moved into the fire station. We had a great friendship that developed over the first 5 months while doing drive time in fire apparatus’ just getting to know one another.  It was March 2009 that we officially started to date and our relationship slowly grew stronger.  Over the next year and half we enjoyed going fishing, hunting and doing anything outdoors. Then on Christmas Eve in 2010 Wayne took the plunge and asked for my hand in marriage. Of course I said yes.

Once we had confirmed the engagement with our families, it was time to plan. We officially chose October 8, 2011 at Midway Farms in Fayette for everything. Our concept behind the wedding was rustic chic.  We knew we wanted our wedding to comfortable and relaxing and also include all the things we love the most, like the great outdoors.

For wedding day attire the groomsmen wore their class “A” firefighter attire, with the exception of one who was Wayne’s friend from high school in a blue tux. The bridesmaids were dressed in strapless olive green dresses with tan cowboy boots.  I wore my cowboy boots along with a firefighter garter with the dress. The garter was created by my grandmother who used old firefighter bunker gear.

For each guest we had a mason jar filled with red velvet and cream cheese icing or Italian crème cake and cream cheese icing, wrapped with raffia and attached were wooded thank you tags and small wooden spoons. We found it easier to have the cakes done this way, and I loved this option since for most weddings I never get around to eating the cake.

The event went off great, as we danced throughout the night under the stars and enjoyed the beautiful weather!

December 9th, 2011

Real Weddings: Andrea and Wing, Carmel, Indiana

Today’s post isn’t the usual real wedding, in fact it’s not a wedding at all.  Most of Andrea’s family lives in Illinois, most of Wing’s family lives in Hong Kong, so they decided it would be perfect to have a destination wedding in Hawaii and let everyone meet in the middle.  They had a beautiful and intimate ceremony, but of course wanted to celebrate with all their family and friends back at home too, and that’s what I’m sharing on the blog today.  They both love spring,  and wanted a venue for their reception that was outdoors and surrounded by nature.  They let this idea guide the color palette and look of the rest of their wedding, and ended up with an event that was fresh and perfect for celebrating their new life together.  A big thank you to Andrea and Wing for sharing all the details of their day, and to Bowersock Photographers for the lovely images.

Who, What, Where ~ Reception: Monon Community Center, Photography: Bowersock Photographers.  Caterer: Ritz Charles.  Dress: Sarah Seven for JCrew.

From the bride…

Wing and I originally met through my sister.  While I was studying Interior Design in Chicago, and she was living in Indianapolis, she decided to make a few trips up to visit the Windy City with some of her friends.  Wing of course tagged along on a couple of those weekends and at that point I had merely just been acquainted with him.  There were a few times when I had heard from him between those trips, but to my knowledge…he was just a friend of my sister and just trying to be friendly!  After graduating college, I decided to move to Indianapolis for a short period of time before jumping across the country to start a job in Interior Design.  During this time, Wing and I sparked interest in one another, and our relationship continued to grow.  My short term stay in Indianapolis has now grown to 3 years and we are thoroughly enjoying our time here as a newly married couple

The one heirloom that we used was a locket necklace that my late-grandfather had given to my grandmother while they were dating.  We had this on the guestbook table where we also commemorated our grandparents who are no longer with us.

Everything was perfect!  Being outside, eating great food, dancing and being celebrated!

Honestly, it is amazing to me how an event like this is able to bring everyone you love and who is so important to you together at one given time.  I’m not sure there is another time during your life when you are surrounded by that, and especially to celebrate you as a couple!  There is no other feeling like it.

May 24th, 2011

Inspiration: Ariel and Dave, Summer Reception

I came across Ariel and Dave’s pictures on Jessie of Simply Jessie Photography’s blog.  What struck me instantly about them was how casual, relaxed, and genuinely sweet they felt.  I thought they’d be a perfect couple for Middle of the Map.  Ariel and Dave decided to have a private ceremony in January, but then threw a big celebration party with all their friends and family in the summer.  Since these pictures aren’t of their actual wedding day, I thought it would be a perfect post to share as “inspiration”.

I asked Ariel some questions about her and Dave’s planning process, and why they decided to have a separate ceremony and reception:

Our main goal was to keep things as simple as possible, we knew we wanted our party to be stress free, authentic, and facilite opprotunities to genuinely celebrate with our guests.  This is what led to us splitting our wedding ceremony and reception to begin with.  Having already exchanged our vows in a ceremony with our family prior to our reception, we were free to relax and enjoy celebrating with everyone we love.

Ariel and Dave are both casual by nature, but they still wanted their event to have unique flair.  Ariel spent countless hours researching Etsy and wedding blogs to get fun ideas for their decor and favors.  They both love BBQ’s so they decided to go with an outdoor celebration with lots of good food, and fun yard games to keep their guests entertained.

Thank you to Ariel for sharing some of the details of their sweet summer reception, and to Jessie for her lovely images.

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