Samantha & Kyle’s Tented Lakefront Wedding at the Milwaukee War Memorial

Samantha and Kyle ran in the same friend group for years before really hitting it off one night after college; they’ve been together ever since. A closet romantic, Kyle proposed to Samantha on their third Valentine’s Day together. “Each Valentine’s Day, he’s gotten me one rose for each year,” Samantha says. “I was expecting three roses that year, but I hadn’t received them that day.” That night, the two cooked Mexican food for dinner and Samantha had only taken a few bites when Kyle asked if she was finished. “He asked if he could give me my gift. I closed my eyes and was waiting for him to say ‘open’ and give me three roses. But Kyle was down on one knee and proposed.”

The couple planned a romantic, glamorous wedding, with a church ceremony and a tented lakefront reception at the Milwaukee County War Memorial. Samantha found her dress at Gigi of Mequon. Her favorite part of the ceremony was walking down the aisle toward Kyle, and one of her favorite moments of the entire day was walking into the reception. “Kyle and I walked in together and it was just breathtaking. It was so fun to see how beautiful everything turned out. We chose not to have any side walls on the tent, so we could see the lake. The day couldn’t have been more beautiful — 75 degrees and sunny, with an orange and pink sunset. It was perfect.”

Relics Vintage Rentals and Coqui Paperie provided all of the decorative rentals to outfit the tent, and DIY projects brought the ambiance together. “I can’t really take credit,” Samantha admits. “My mom bought 45 vintage frames and spray painted them gold, then had her friend (who’s a graphic designer) make the table number inserts for each. My friend Katy made the flower girl’s tutu — it was the most adorable thing! My friend Liz has a talent for hand lettering and wrote my entire menu on a glass mirror that belonged to Kyle’s grandmother. It looked so elegant! She also wrote all the chalkboards by hand.”