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Carlie and Dan met in college when they both worked at Kohl’s Department Store at Bayshore mall. When the two got engaged, they’d planned a get-away to Chicago with one of their activities being a trip to the top of the Willis Tower Sky Deck. “You are essentially standing on a glass ledge 103 floors above the city,” Carlie says. “There was a professional photographer there, so we went out onto the ledge to get our photo taken. Dan said he wanted to take off his jacket for the next photo, and before I knew what was happening, he got down on one knee. I have no idea what he said because I was in such shock, but he held out a ring, so I just said some inaudible things and then squeaked out a ‘yes!’”
In preparation for the wedding, Carlie attended a handful of bridal shows: the Bridal Expo at the Sheridan in Brookfield, the Best of the Best Bridal Show, and the Wonderful World of Weddings. She found her dress at Bliss Bridal and the bridesmaid dresses as Amelishan Bridal. Dan and Carlie even took dance lessons at Social Style Dance in Delafield to work on their moves. But more on that later.
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The couple planned a simple, elegant wedding with a ceremony at Elmbrook Church and a reception at Westmoor Country Club. Dan and Carlie’s pastor put together a beautiful ceremony for them. “I couldn’t have asked for a better sermon,” Carlie says. Instead of a unity candle at their ceremony, there was a unity cross. “There are two parts to the cross: the strong exterior frame, which represents the man, and the intricate interior design, which represents the woman. There are also three pegs to keep the two parts together, representing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”
Beautiful religious traditions aside, Carlie was lucky she got through the ceremony without laughing. “When we practiced at the rehearsal, during the vows where I say ‘I, Carlie’ I gasped and said ‘Oh no! Like the TV show iCarly!’ and everyone cracked up. I could not get through the rest of rehearsal without laughing. The day of, I made sure to insert a few-seconds pause between ‘I’ and ‘Carlie’ so that I didn’t laugh during the ceremony. It worked!”
Then it was off to the reception, where laughing is luckily strongly encouraged. Walking into Westmoor, Carlie was floored. “The hard work of the past 17 months of detailed planning came together, and it was such an overwhelming experience. My mom helped me plan every step of the way, and it was such a fun bonding time for us. We were both so excited to see it come together so beautifully.” Here’s just some of the unique touches Carlie and Dan — and Carlie’s wonderful mom! — tackled for the reception: “For table numbers, we purchased wire champagne toppers that twisted into the shape of each table number. Our place cards doubled as guest favors; each was tied to a mini champagne bottle (or sparkling apple juice for those under 21). We bought several pairs of flip-flops and put them in a basket for our guests with a sign that said ‘Dancing Shoes.’”
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“Our guest book was also very unique. After dinner, we passed out single guestbook pages to each of the tables, and everyone at that table signed the page. Each page had space in the center for a 4×6 photo, and we took a photo with each table of guests. After the wedding, we placed each photo with the corresponding page. It’s a photo album and guest book in one, and a great memento we keep in our living room.”
And now for the food. For cocktail hour, Dan and Carlie chose garlic peppercorn steak bites, petite chimichangas with guacamole, and buffalo chicken bacon wraps. For dinner, there was orchard salad (seasonal greens, fresh fruit, and walnuts), and a choice between blackened salmon, beef short ribs, and chicken Monterey. For sides: mashed potatoes and carrots. The cake was banana cream with a layer of raspberry filling and buttercream frosting, and there was also a popcorn and candy bar available throughout the evening.
Now remember those dance lessons? “I think my favorite part of the reception was our first dance,” Carlie says. “We took ballroom dancing lessons at Social Style Dance for about a year before our wedding. We started learning our first dance about seven months before. We learned a fast and difficult waltz with a few lifts, dips, and many, many turns. I have danced since I was three years-old, so learning ballroom and performing a choreographed dance in front of our guests was an amazing experience.” Luckily, R&R Photographic Imaging and Aerodef Productions were on hand to capture all of the magic in photos and on video.
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Dance Lessons~Social Style Dance in Delafield
Invitations~Magnet Street Weddings
Rehearsal Dinner~Delafield Brewhaus
Ceremony Location~Elmbrook Church
Reception Location, Catering, Cake/Desserts~Westmoor Country Club
Popcorn Bar~Cedarburg Popcorn Company
Flowers~Flowers by Faye
Music/Entertainment~Rhythm in Motion
Transportation~Brookfield Suites Shuttle from Westmoor to Hotel
Photographer~R&R Photographic Imaging
Videographer~Aerodef Productions
Wedding Dress~Mori Lee from Bliss Bridal
Bridesmaid Dresses~Mori Lee from Amelishan Bridal
Men’s formalwear~Michael Kors from Amelishan Bridal
Rings~Kessler’s Diamonds
Party Rentals~Linens: BBJ Linen (linens)`Chiavari Chairs: Lakes Area Rental
Categorized in: Real Weddings