Garrett and Joelle’s June wedding was held at Epikos Church and Turner Hall Ballroom in Milwaukee. The day had a vintage and steampunk theme and was full of emotional and special moments. “Garrett wrote me a really special note and a poem that I read in the morning. I love that we got photos of that moment because it was really emotional”, Joelle wrote. “One of my favorite moments though was when we prayed together before the wedding and held hands on either side of a door. That was a really amazing moment and reminded us of why we were getting married in the first place.”
“The ceremony was my favorite part of the day because it was exactly what we wanted”, she continued. “I loved singing during it and I loved when our bridal party prayed for us on stage. A few other favorites were the dancing, seeing all our guests have fun with the props for the photo booth and all the tables lit up with the flameless candles inside the blue mason jars. Oh and my dress. I absolutely LOVED my dress and brooch bouquet.”
Joelle wore a dress from Allure Bridals and her vintage brooch bouquet was home made. “It was made completely out of vintage brooches that were either my mother’s, grandmother’s, donated by friends, or found in antique shops”, she explained. “My sister, Julia, assembled it and on the back we had a picture of my father attached because he passed away unexpectedly in March of this year.”
The hall was decorated by the couple themselves from things that were found at thrift stores, antique stores, TJ Maxx, Hobby Lobby, or just donated by friends and family. They also had friends and family who made the cake and made and arranged the paper flowers. “Garrett and I both really love old things and all things steampunk – gears, clocks, old cameras, etc. So we really took off with that idea. We didn’t get hung up on making everything look perfect or completely put together though. The thriftiness of our décor is really what made our wedding unique.”
“I worked really hard to make sure each centerpiece was unique yet still had common themes such as mason jars, old books and clock paper. Having paper flowers instead of real flowers is something that really set our theme apart from other weddings. Also each bouquet of flowers for every table and bridesmaids bouquets were made out of different scrapbook paper or maps.”
“I loved both our reception hall and the church.They both had an aged look that we both love. The stained glass in the church was beautiful as were the old wood pews and doors, and the hanging lantern lights were all exactly what we wanted. We didn’t even need to decorate the church at all.”
“Overall, our wedding was essentially perfect!” she concluded. “However the one thing we would of done differently would of been to question our caterer more. We ran out of food really fast and almost seven tables didn’t get chicken, mashed potatoes or bread! The food was amazing but that was a huge disappointment. I would definitely suggest that couples questions their caterers, and if they go with a buffet like we did, make sure the caterer is aware of exact numbers so you don’t run out of food!”
