Make Mine Milwaukee

DOES YOUR HOMETOWN love run as deep as a brandy old fashioned-induced slumber? Add one or more of these native-vibing ideas to your nuptial celebrations.

For receptions at Schlitz Audubon Nature Center (schlitzaudubon.org), you can have a variety of birds of prey (owls, falcons, hawks, eagles) “mingle” with guests during cocktail hour and even join the wedding portraits.

Line up the Bucks’ Bango, UW Athletics’ Bucky Badger or the Brewers’ Racing Sausages to liven up your reception. Queue the jock jams. These costumed crusaders of cheer have packed schedules – they are celebs, after all – so it’s based on availability. (nba.com/bucks/ entertainment/bango; uwathletics.com; mlb. com/brewers/fans/ mascots)

Board Milwaukee’s streetcar at the Intermodal Station on West St. Paul Avenue and hit some bars along the route – The Wicked Hop and Café Benelux in the Third Ward, Elsa’s and Taylor’s near Cathedral Square, County Clare and The Knick in Yankee Hill. (The streetcar runs until close to midnight.) An Uber or taxi can pick guests up at the end of the night and take them home.

St. Francis-based The Cake Lady (cakelady designs.com) can Milwaukee-ize your dessert, with examples ranging from a tiered cake incorporating the Milwaukee skyline to one with a Cheesehead theme for the groom.

Along with its Friday night fish fry (served 4-9 p.m.) featuring cod, walleye and smelt, Lakefront Brewery (lakefrontbrewery. com) offers live, accordion-driven polka music. You can’t get much more Milwaukee than that.

YOU WANT TO show your out-of-town guests what makes this place so special. Help them learn more about our city by suggesting some neighborhoods and spots to explore, either as a group or on their own before they head back home. For instance, a walk through Bronzeville or Historic Mitchell Street will uncover many hidden gems. Stroll Bradford Beach or take in the breathtaking view from Atwater Park in Shorewood. Given our wealth of distinctive, independently owned restaurants, you could also arrange an indulgent culinary adventure. Start with a little nosh at Allie Boy’s Bagelry & Luncheonette in Walker’s Point, grab a midday meal from the taqueria inside an El Rey market, transition to the night with a drink at Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge, then dinner at Old World-style Three Brothers followed by a frozen custard dessert at Leon’s. For more ideas and a downloadable guide, go to milwaukeemag.com/outoftown.

Looking for something a little less expected but still uniquely Milwaukee? Photographer Ari Rosenthal (arirosenthalphotography.com) has a few suggestions:

LOOK FOR A COLORFUL MURAL Black Cat Alley is full of them, but many others make excellent backdrops. Rosenthal likes the four-story Westown in Bloom by Emma Daisy on James Lovell Street and Wisconsin Avenue.

EXPLORE AN ALLEY. Rosenthal particularly likes the alleys in the Third and Fifth wards because of the rich variety and character of brick. One of note: the alley behind the Marshall Building on Buffalo and Water streets.

CONSIDER AN OUTDOOR STAIRWAY. For instance, Rosenthal recommends the steps leading from Stubby’s Gastropub to the Milwaukee River (off of Humboldt Avenue, just south of Riverboat Road).