We just got married this past Saturday, June 14 downtown Milwaukee, and everything went so perfectly!
Ceremony: Zilber Park. This urban park is right next door to the Brewhouse Inn and Suites (although they are not affiliated with one another). It was the perfect setting for us- we had about 100-115 people at the ceremony and it was a great size. There are benches there, but we also rented chairs to supplement seating. The park is so pretty, and there is a grassy hill at the front perfect for an "alter"
If you are interested in renting the park, you contact Zilber Developers.
Rentals: Chair rental from Canopies. They set up the seats right where we asked, delivered on time, and picked up on time. Great communication with them from the start.
Ceremony music: Monarch Wind Quartet. I worked directly with one of the ladies in the quartet, Paula, and she was wonderful to work with! From the very start she was so pleasant and helpful. Our guests told us numerous times how beautiful the music was, and I can't wait to see our wedding video so I can hear all of it as well! We asked them to learn and play a specific song for the bridal march and they happily obliged and did an incredible job! I loved it so much, and so did everyone else.
Flowers: Greenfield Flower Shop. We worked with Greg and he really helped me narrow my vision to flowers that would fit our budget and be accessible when I needed them. He made all the "wear and carry" flowers, and we ordered stems in bulk through him to put together our own centerpieces. He was super easy to work with and the bouquets and corsages were a million times more beautiful than I had imagined! Also, we felt that his prices were extremely fair.
Dress: Casablanca gown bought from Savvy Bride in Brookfield. The girls at the store are very friendly and helpful. We had a great time trying on dresses! There were a few glitches with my dress when it first came in (due to casablanca, not savvy bride), but the managers and sales girls at Savvy bride went above and beyond to make sure everything ended up being perfect.
Alterations: I used a woman that works on gowns in her spare time out of her house. She lives in Cedarburg and please feel free to contact me directly if you would like her information. She was an absolute joy to work with and my dress was PERFECT! Very affordable, very detail oriented, and super sweet.
Tux Rental: Mens Wearhouse. Not many choices of places to rent tuxes- average service. Tuxes looked great though.
Bridesmaid dresses: Alfred Angelo. I had worn an AA dress for another wedding I was in, so I was familiar with their variety of styles and it was an easy choice for me. My girls and I felt that the prices were very affordable, and the dresses were gorgeous. I picked the color and fabric, and the 4 bridesmaids each chose their own style. AA really had a dress that fit each girls personality and style perfectly.
Photographer/Videographer: Do yourself a favor and look up Mann Frau. This husband and wife team work magic. We not only are confident that we will receive some breathtaking photo and video from them, but we also had a blast just hanging out with them! They are extremely creative and they love to really personalize their photos.
DJ: Accent Events. We met Alan at a bridal networking event set up through Married in Milwaukee and the second we started talking to him, we knew we wanted to have him at our wedding! He is such a fun person to be around, and he kept our dance floor absolutely packed all night. He is a true wedding professional and our night ran so smoothly because of him.
Reception: Hinterland in the Third Ward. Hands down, one of the best decisions we made when booking things for the wedding. Good food and an awesome vibe were huge factors for us in searching for a reception venue. The food, service, and drinks were absolutely the best of any wedding I have ever been to (and I promise I'm not being biased
) Andrea was awesome to work with and every detail was perfect.
Desserts: We could have had Hinterland provide desserts, however I am a vegan so we booked a baker who does vegan desserts. We met Molly from Miss Molly's Pastries at the Married in Milwaukee bridal networking event. She is so sweet and ohmygosh her desserts are to die for! We had a tasting with her and from the first bite, knew that we would without a doubt be booking her. We had 4 different mini desserts and she set up a beautiful dessert buffet for us at Hinterland. We had 2 different kinds of cupcakes, hand pies, and lemon tarts and I am still dreaming about them- so delicious!
Day of Coordinator: We asked an acquaintance of ours to take on this task. She is an event planner at a local restaurant, and we have seen her eye for detail at other events and knew she would do an amazing job helping us out with the wedding. She set up all the decor at Hinterland and it was more beautiful than I envisioned! She kept everyone on time and things running smoothly the day of. We could not have done it without her! Also, since she doesn't do this professionally, I won't post her info but would be happy to connect you to her if you are interested in speaking with her.
Officiant: Rev. Tom Maluga from Celebrate Your Love our of Chicago. Tom was fantastic to work with. He helped us come up with a wonderful, personalized ceremony and he took the time to put together a beautiful "love story" about my husband and I to tell during the ceremony. All of our guests raved about his heartfelt ceremony!
Shuttle Service: Lamers. We had a 20 person shuttle and the driver was amazing. Our guests said they had such a blast riding with him! Highly recommend.
Limo: Big City Limo. My husband was the one who exclusively booked and communicated with the limo company, so it was sight-unseen for me until the day of, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But our driver, Bob, was the nicest man! He was so ready to do whatever we needed him to do. He was so friendly and fun. Definitely recommend him.
Pretty much anything else we tackled by ourselves! We designed and printed all of the invites, programs, escort cards, etc. Gathered decor from antique stores, goodwills, and borrowed items from friends and family, etc.
Good luck in all your planning