Justin and I met early on in our undergraduate studies while attending the University of Wisconsin in Madison, but lost touch later in our college careers. Eight years later we were both living in Chicago and ran into each other one evening (literally, Justin walked right into me) while out with friends. Justin asked me to go out on a date, and I initially accepted but called him a couple of days later to decline. Justin continued to pursue me and eventually convinced me to go out with him. We spent the next year taking trips around the country together, sharing our passion for travel. On my birthday, less than a year after we started dating, Justin took me to France for a long weekend. After our first day sightseeing in Paris Justin presented me with an engagement ring during a quiet moment at the hotel before heading out for dinner. I accepted, of course. When Justin and I got engaged, we immediately knew we wanted to have an intimate wedding. With fewer than 40 people, we had the opportunity to really focus on the details of the day and do exactly what we wanted in terms of decor, food, drink, flowers and everything in between. We wanted our wedding to be romantic, classic, and one that we can look back on in years to come. My mother took the reins as our wedding planner extraordinaire and she spent over a year planning the most perfect day any of us could have imagined. With the help of her A-team (nearly 40 of her closest friends!) almost every detail at our wedding was either borrowed, handmade, or given with love, and that made the day even more special than it already was. Our day really wouldn’t have been the same without the help of our friends and family. We had our ceremony outside, followed by a cocktail hour with yard games for the kids (the adults played too!). Our reception dinner was in the formal living room of the
house, followed by cocktails and dancing in the family room overlooking the back patio, which was illuminated by dozens upon dozens of candle-lit lanterns, tree mounted votives, and candelabras. Our colors were white and blush pink, which we felt added to the classic nature of the event. Guests were served blush pink champagne as they arrived through the white arbor leading to the ceremony site in the back yard. The cherry blossom trees were in full bloom, and in the light breeze the white and light pink petals fell across the ceremony site. My flowers were blush pink peonies, and my broach bouquet (all of which were from my grandmothers collection) included only white crystals, and blush pink ribbon. The light champagne satin platform and handle of the broach bouquet was taken from the extra fabric of my wedding dress, and the bouquet itself was lovingly made by one of my mothers best friends. The flowers in the mason jars lining the aisles, and the arrangements at the guests tables for dinner, were all white, a touch of pink was included in the arrangement at our head table. The flowers on the arbor under which we were wed, were dried hydrangeas, and dried hops from our house in Wisconsin. The chandelier hanging from the arbor had blush pink crystals as well, which worked well with our chosen color palette (a gift from one of my sisters from a small town in Pennsylvania during a family trip where I actually bought my dress). We prayed for good weather for over a year and in the midst of the rainy, cold May Chicago had, we really hoped we would be able to have the backyard wedding we had dreamed and planned for. We had no backup plan for our outdoor ceremony and were very lucky to have a sunny seventy-degree day.
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