Emma & Jack’s Tiki Wedding at South Shore Pavilion

Jack and Emma are both from upstate New York, but met in Milwaukee. Jack proposed in Disney World, in front of Emma’s family. “He was very nervous about smuggling the ring through TSA without me seeing it,” Emma laughs.

Their wedding theme was unique indeed: Tiki! A color palette of aqua and coral kept things bright, upbeat, and fun, and Emma found her lovey dress at at Eva’s Bridal. Both the ceremony and reception were held at South Shore Pavilion and featured rentals from Well Dressed Tables by Arena Americas and loads of DIY projects by from the bride and groom.

“It was hard to find tiki-themed wedding decor!” Emma says. “I love that we had an actual tiki bar for our reception and that our guests had tiki glasses as favors.” The two also made lanterns, table signs, special cocktails, wedding programs, and coloring books for the kids.

For the ceremony, Jack and Emma wrote their own vows and had their good friend Sarah officiate. “It was a very funny and sweet ceremony. We both promised to disobey each other,” Emma adds with a wink. Following the ceremony, photos were taken outside at South Shore Park along the lakefront. Emma says that Kara from Kara Reese Photography was “so helpful in figuring out our timeline and keeping us on track.”

Dinner was a scrumptious Hawaiian buffet with whoopee pies for dessert. “Whoopie pies are an east coast thing, so it was a nod to where we are from.” Then the dancing started. One of the bride and groom’s favorite memories: “When we made a giant conga line with all of our guests during Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believing.’” Emma’s advice to future brides is to not worry so much. “Everything came together just fine in the end,” she says. “And anything that didn’t come together didn’t matter!”

[table]
Make-up~Blush by Brittany
Hair~Lauren Heiden from Neroli
Invitations~Shutterfly
Rehearsal Dinner~County Clare
Ceremony & Reception~South Shore Park Pavilion in Bay View
Catering~Ono Kine Grindz
Dessert~Wicked Whoopies Whoopie Pies
Flowers~Wild Petals Florist
Entertainment~A Personal Touch DJ
Transportation~Uber/Lyft
Photographer~Kara Reese Photography
Gown~Justin Alexander from Eva’s Bridal
Formalwear~Men’s Wearhouse
Rentals~Well Dressed Tables by Arena America’s
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