Ashleigh & Andy’s Vintage Chic Wedding at the Pfister Hotel

When Andy and Ashleigh rode the bus together in grade school, little did they know they’d one day be saying “I do!” Ashleigh and Andy were celebrating their anniversary in Chicago when Andy proposed. They ended up attending a magic show at their hotel, and at the end of the show, Ashleigh was called on stage to assist with an illusion. The magician pulled out a ring and asked the audience if it belonged to anyone. Andy stood up; Ashleigh exclaimed “Shut the front door!” He got down on one knee, and she said yes.

Andy and Ashleigh planned a vintage-chic wedding at the Pfister Hotel’s Imperial Ballroom in downtown Milwaukee, and a rehearsal dinner at Mason Street Grill. “We had fabulous service from the Mason Street waitstaff and excellent communication from their coordinator, who was very accommodating to special requests.”

One of Ashleigh’s favorite things was getting ready with her girls on the day of the wedding: “We had breakfast at Watt’s Tea Room. Then we poured some mimosas while we had our hair done in my suite that had the biggest bathroom in the whole hotel. After our hair was done, we went down to the Orchid Room in the WellSpa of the Pfister to have our catered salad bar lunch and makeup done.”

Then it was finally time for dresses (Ashleigh’s from Bliss Bridal) and the ceremony. “Andy and I didn’t see each other before the wedding,” Ashleigh says. “So it was the first time he was seeing me in my dress.” Finally seeing each other was one of Ashleigh’s favorite moments of the day.

The reception food was catered by the Pfister (“extremely delicious!) and started with butler-passed hors-d’oeuvres. Dinner was four courses: a salad with strawberries and goat cheese, a passion fruit and cava sorbet, entrées of roast chicken, braised beef short ribs, and vegetable strudel, and finally a four-tier cake. “Our display cake was red velvet with cream cheese frosting (Ashleigh’s favorite), and our sheet cake was vanilla with strawberry filling (Andy’s favorite).”

Ashleigh says she’ll never forget the speech Andy’s dad gave. She also loved what happened just before the dancing started: “Andy planned the honeymoon and wasn’t going to tell me where we were going until we got to the airport. But he decided to pull the ultimate surprise and get the DJ involved. The DJ started playing ‘Kokomo’ by the Beach Boys. Then Andy grabbed the microphone and made me stand by him in the middle of the dance floor. The DJ started to loop the song on ‘Aruba’ and asked me if I could guess where we were headed for our honeymoon.”

For décor, Ashleigh’s mom made all of the flower arrangements and centerpieces: birdcages filled with moss and flowers, with small lights at the base and draping pearls. The centerpieces were used to line the aisle during the ceremony, too. For the flowers, Ashleigh’s mom made the bouquets, corsages, and boutonnieres. “My mom also made the backdrop for the ceremony with PVC piping and drapes,” Ashleigh says.

Ashleigh and Andy are so grateful to all of their wonderful vendors who helped bring their vision to life. “We were so impressed by all of them! Their timely responses to emails and phone calls was excellent. We can’t thank them enough for all they did.” Ashleigh says has to give an extra special thanks to their event coordinator, Mickey, at the Pfister.

To capture it all on film, Andy and Ashleigh worked with R&R Photography. “Mark and Danny did an excellent job,” Ashleigh says. “We were so happy when we got the photos back. They did a lot of natural and candid shots, as opposed to pictures looking directly at the camera. Their personalities matched our wedding party so well, and everyone had so much fun taking pictures.”

At the end of the day, the moment that sticks out the most for Ashleigh was a quiet one: “When Andy and I walked out of the ballroom after the ceremony, we were in the ante-room by ourselves at first. We hugged and cried and both said ‘I love you.’ It was a perfect moment for us.”

[table]
Bridal Shows~Bridal Expo at the Brookfield Sheraton & Milwaukee’s Magnificent Bridal Show
Invitations~Paper Envy
Rehearsal Dinner~Mason Street Grill
Ceremony, Reception & Catering~The Pfister Hotel: Imperial Ballroom
Cake~Cakes by Erin Salerno
Flowers~Mother of the Bride
Music/Entertainment~Sound by Design
Photographer~R&R Photographic Imaging
Bride’s Dress~Madison James for Allure from Bliss Bridal
Bridesmaid’s Dresses~Paper Crown from Bella Bridesmaid
Men’s formalwear~Men’s Wearhouse
Rings~Jared
Linens~BBJ Linen
[/table]