Helen + Dylan: An Intimate Wedding in the Woods

This awesome, offbeat wedding took place at Hoyt Park in Madison, WI

On what was easily the hottest, most humid day of the year so far, Helen + Dylan said "I do" under the shade of a beautiful grove of trees in Hoyt Park. It was a fun, quirky, and short ceremony, followed by scones, juice boxes, and celebrating with delicious vegan fare at their near East side apartment! 

Thankfully everyone survived the heat and had plenty of energy left over to to laugh, eat, and dare each other to freestyle rap as a toast! 

Helen wore a blue wedding gown (have a mentioned how much I love non-traditional wedding gown colors?!) with a 100+ year old Obi from her family's time spent living in Japan. Their ceremony incorporated readings in English & Japanese, as well as readings from the Bahai faith. While I don't know Helen + Dylan well, it seemed to me as though they created a wedding day that was perfectly suited to the two of them, which we love! 

Congratulations to Helen + Dylan, and thank you so much for inviting us to celebrate with you on your wedding day! Also for the food. WOW was that good! <3 

-- Sam 

Here are the wedding day vendors that helped make Helen + Dylan's day so awesome! 

Ceremony Venue: Hoyt Park 

Reception Venue: Helen + Dylan's apartment

Florals: Abundance Acres Flowers

Wedding Gown: Purchased used and altered by Bride

Wedding Tux: Jazzman

Cake: Cara Moseley of The Green Owl Cafe

Catering: Lao Laan Xang of Willy St

Rentals: Benches from Mickelz Rustic Wedding Rentals

Celtic Harp: Rachel Avery

Carrie + Tom: A Fun Library Wedding with Trivia!

This wedding replaced first dances with some kickass Geeks Who Drink Trivia! 

Carrie + Tom have just about the greatest 'meet cute' story you've ever heard. They actually became roommates when they both moved up to Madison to work for Epic, and lived together for quite a while before they started dating! They bonded over Vincent Price movies, Edgar Allen Poe, wonderful Wisconsin beer, and surreal cartoons. They eventually decided to start dating (all while still being roommates)! 

How is that for a great way to start things off? 

For their wedding day, they definitely did it their way, including having Geeks Who Drink Trivia in place of dancing! (It was so fun to see the tables competing for first prize!) They also had a custom house crest (House of Crowlack) designed that combines their two last names into a SUPER sweet and mythical house beast! 

Congratulations to Carrie + Tom! It's been so wonderful getting to know you two and we are thrilled to have been able to celebrate your wedding with you! If you'd also like to check out their Engagement photos, click here! 

-- Sam 

Here are the vendors (with links!) who made their wedding day A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! 

Ceremony & Reception Venue: Madison Central Library

Officiant: Dr. Jo Carter (friend of the couple)

Wedding Dress: David's Bridal

Tux: Lucca Men's Clothing

Trivia: Geeks Who Drink (Hosted by Devin Renner) 

Florals: DIY! 

Cupcakes & Cake: Bloom Bake Shop

Catering: Willy Street Co-Op

Tea Favors: Matcha Tea Company

House of Crowlack Design: Rhea Ewing

Erin + Chris: A Modern Vegan Wedding

This illinois wedding was fun, stylish, and full of joy! 

Erin + Chris have been together a while. Neither of them are the kind of people who enjoy being in the spotlight (that's a common theme for our wedding clients!) and they were both a little nervous about having a day that was so intensely focused on the two of them. They wanted to make sure their guests had a lovely time, that their wedding was sustainable (100% vegan catering and compost piles), and most importantly that the ended up married at the end of the day! But it would be impossible for their loved ones not to love these two and shower them with attention, so I'm glad they held up so well and had a blast doing it! 

These two sweethearts met in high school homeroom in the north suburbs of Chicago and have been dating since they were 17! They went to separate colleges and eventually moved in together in Columbus, OH, before they were able to move back to Chicago together, to start their life with their rescue kitties and start their wedding planning!

Erin + Chris' sunny and light-hearted wedding day was everything you could want in a wedding. Congrats to these two as they start the next chapter in what is sure to be an amazing adventure! 

--Sam 

Here are the vendors (with links) that helped make their wedding day awesome! 

Ceremony & Reception Venue: Elawa Farm

Officiant: Jessica Erwin (friend of the couple)

Wedding Dress:  BHLDN

Wedding Rings: Family Heirlooms

DJ: Just Press Play Productions (Zach)

Hair & Makeup: Chroma K8 Hair Salon (Mary M)

Chuppa & Ceremony Chair Florals: Ooh-Ahh Floral

Other Florals: DIY! 

Cupcakes & Cake: West Town Bakery

Cake Decorating: DIY! 

Tent and Table Rental: Big Top Tent & Party Rental

Catering: Fancy Plants Catering and Kitchen17

Composting: Healthy Soil Composting

Alcohol: Binny's

Mary + Tanya: A Romantic Downtown Madison Wedding

A sweet and enthusiastic wedding celebration!

Mary + Tanya met at a New Year's Eve Party in 2016 and started dating after their first real hangout at the Crystal Corner Bar on Willy Street (a Madison staple!) I think the story of their engagement, in particular, really tells you just how excited these two were to start their life together! The couple took a vacation to Florence, Italy, and even though Tanya had a ring waiting back home, and a proposal planned involving the their kitten, she was so excited that she spilled the beans about the proposal one night in Florence, after a particularly romantic Rick Steve's "Renaissance Walk," audio tour. They picked out a placeholder ring at one of the many gold and sliver shops along the Ponte Vecchio and celebrated by eating gelato everyday until returning home. 

That enthusiasm carried over into every aspect of their engagement (check out these FREAKIN' ADORABLE engagement photos by clicking here) and into their wedding day! We see a lot of amazingly in love couples, and you could tell how incredibly devoted Tanya + Mary are to each other in how excited they were to see each other for their first look, how they held hands, and looked at each other all throughout the day, how they both teared up during their wedding ceremony, and how much they danced and laughed and celebrated at the reception! 

It was an honor to celebrate with them, and we are wishing all the happiness in the world! Congrats Mary + Tanya! 

--Sam

Here are the vendors (with links) that helped make their wedding day awesome! 

Ceremony Venue: First Unitarian Society

Reception Venue: The Madison Concourse Hotel

Wedding Dress: Brandi's Bridal 

DJ: Jukebox Bandstand (Austin) 

Cupcakes & Cake: Bloom Bake Shop

Catering: The Madison Concourse Hotel

Erin + Eric: An Intimate Backyard Wedding

diy Lavender accents, a handmade dress, and some super tasty vegan pizza and cupcakes made this wedding all the more magical

Erin was working in IT at a hospital out in New York when she first met Eric. He was assigned as the Epic support for her hospital. They were long-distance friends for years, until 2016, when they both made their feelings known, and began dating long-distance, and eventually, Erin (and her 2 pups) made the move to Madison! Then, on a romantic weekend getaway in fall of 2017, Eric proposed (Erin obviously said YES) and the wedding planning started! 

For their wedding day, they wanted a small and intimate backyard wedding at their house, with their closest friends and family (and their beloved dog Daisy) celebrating with them! And they wanted their first look to be at the Epic campus in Verona, given how instrumental Epic was in their life together! Then they wanted to eat pizza, drink tasty drinks, and eat cupcakes, and I'd say they knocked all of those goals out of the park! 

It was so awesome to celebrate with Erin + Eric! You could tell when they recited their self-written vows just how much they mean to each other, and how happy they are to be 'officially' starting their life together as a married couple. Also, I LOVE that they had pizza at their wedding, cuz let's be real, who doesn't like pizza? 

Congrats to Erin + Eric, and thanks for letting me celebrate with you! 

--Sam

Here are all the amazing vendors (with links)that helped make their day magical! 

Ceremony & Reception Venue: Their house! 

Officiant: Mark Stuart (Family Friend) 

Wedding Dress: Custom Made Gown by Kate McKay (Bride's BFF)

Wedding Suit: Macy's

Bride's Jewelry : Custom Made by Kate McKay (Bride's BFF)

Groom's Wedding Band: Boone Rings (Etsy)

Bride's Engagement Ring: Raven Fine Jewelry (Etsy)

Bride's Wedding Band: Chalmers Jewelers

Hair & Makeup: Abby Paljieg (Groom's Sister)

Cupcakes: Bloom Bake Shop

Pizza: Roman Candle

Fireball X: Apocalypse

Fireball Never Dies... 

Okay, I may have teared up at the final Fireball... kind of a lot. I LOVE this event, and was so sad that this was the final year, BUT, if it had to go, it definitely went out with bang. Enjoy the photos, and if you're feeling daring, you can check out some NSFW photos here (fair warning, there are flesh hooks, so if that is not your thing, which is totally okay, just know that it's coming!) 

--Sam 

Carla + Dylan: An Outdoor Amphitheater wedding

A DIY WIsconsin wedding at blue mounds state park

Carla + Dylan had exactly the kind of wedding they wanted, organized by themselves (they're whizzes at spreadsheets and planning!) and some very helpful friends. They were married in the outdoor amphitheater at Blue Mounds State Park, with the reception to follow at Brigham Park. 

One of the most unique aspects of Carla + Dylan's wedding (besides that the fact that the bride handmade her dress, and she and her friends and family hand crocheted the bouquets and boutonnieres for herself, Dylan, and their wedding party pals) is that they self-officiated. Yep, you heard that right, they not only married each other (yay!) but they married each other, which was really cool, and something Rob and I had never seen before! 

These two, both former theater kids, weren't shy in front of the camera, and we had a great time following them around for the day, as they danced, laughed, joked, and kissed their way through their wedding day. 

Carla + Dylan have written a guest blog post about their experience and decision to self-officiate, which you can check out here!

--Sam 

Fireball IX: The Nine Muses

The Fireball Masquerade is a Madison Original! 

I would try to describe this event, but honestly, the annual Fireball Masquerade that happens every January in Madison is, without a doubt, nigh impossible to describe. I'm going to highly encourage you to do yourself two favors: 

• Look at these photos, because they will do a much better job of describing this amazing event than I will! 
• Go to this event next year! You can check out all of the details on the event website: http://www.fireballmasquerade.com

Also, as you may be able to tell, this event is a little risqué. Rather than just surprising you, we chose some "safe for work" (or maybe a little borderline) photos for this blog post, but if you'd like to see more, check out some of our other favorite photos here and please note that the additional photos are probably NSFW. 

Enjoy, and we hope to see you next year! 

--Sam

How Sweet It Is: Dessert Table Inspiration!

Something Sweet to Think About This Week... 

Okay, so maybe it's because I'm hungry, but I've been daydreaming about cupcakes and pie all day and for those of you who might also appreciate both some good wedding dessert inspiration or just really dig sweet stuff, this post is for you! 

--Sam