Haylie & Andy’s Wedding at Historic Courthouse 1893 in Downtown Waukesha

New Year, New Love

Haylie from Pewaukee and Andy from New Berlin met on Tinder and first met just days before New Year’s Eve. “Our first date was at People’s Park in Waukesha,” Haylie recalls. “At the end of the date, I spontaneously invited Andy to a New Year’s Eve party. The rest is history!” When Andy proposed, it was at their home in Waukesha on Christmas morning — in their pajamas, just the two of them.

Finding Joy in Planning

The couple planned an August wedding at Historic Courthouse 1893 in Waukesha, less than a mile from where they live. The theme was classic, romantic, and elegant with colors of sage green, gold, navy, and rosy pink. Haylie chose a Wtoo by Watters gown, which she found at Miss Ruby Bridal Boutique. Overall, she and Andy had a rather novel goal with wedding planning: to enjoy it!

“We kept a journal and took photos together throughout the planning process so we’d remember all the little details. We also developed some fun traditions like going to the same bar for a celebratory drink after all of our vendor appointments. Now anytime we visit that bar, we reminisce on all our planning — and the wedding itself, of course.”

Andy and Haylie also scheduled regular “Wedding Summits” throughout the months leading up to the big day. “These involved an entire day dedicated to wedding planning,” Haylie explains. “We often went somewhere fun, like the Memorial Union at UW-Madison, where we could brainstorm, make calls, and go through our checklists. We had one summit about nine months before the wedding, one about three months before, and the last one a couple of weeks before. We found it difficult sometimes to keep on top of everything, so if we had an idea or to-do item, we’d add it to a running Google Doc and address it at our next summit.”

Haylie’s last bit of advice: “Go to all the wedding expos, even if you don’t need anything! Wonderful World of Weddings was our favorite, followed by WEDMKE at Turner Hall. It’s so fun to be called ‘bride’ and ‘groom’ — it’s only so long before you’re called ‘husband’ and ‘wife!’”

Capturing the Day

Andy and Haylie took all of their photos at Historic Courthouse 1893. They even took all of their couple and group photos before the ceremony so that they could be fully present with their guests from cocktail hour through to the last song. “Unfortunately it rained during our portrait photos, but the décor and aesthetics of the venue are absolutely stunning, so we really weren’t disappointed. Luckily the rain let up in the evening, so we were able to sneak outside after dinner during golden hour for some outdoor shots.”

The photographers also came to Haylie and Andy’s welcome party the evening before the wedding in Downtown Waukesha. “Waukesha hosts a weekly street music festival on Fridays in summer called Friday Night Live, which we’ve regularly attended over the years. Our photographers were able to get some fantastic candid shots of us, our wedding party, and our wedding guests in our natural habitat — at the House of Guinness, one of our favorite bars, and on the streets of Downtown Waukesha!”

A Very Special Ceremony

For their Historic Courthouse 1893 ceremony, Haylie and Andy wrote their own vows, keeping things a bit lighthearted. “Neither of us are very serious people, so we enjoyed some moments of laughter throughout the ceremony. We each had different vows, but decided to stick to a similar formatting to keep things balanced. We also practiced saying them to each other a couple of times before the wedding. The wedding day is emotional enough without hearing heartfelt words from your lover for the first time!”

The bride and groom also have nothing but good things to say about their officiant, Judge Derek Mosley. “He suggested several elements that we and our guests absolutely adored. There was ring warming, knot tying, and sealing a wine box with letters to each other that we’ll open on our first anniversary. Our friend hand-made our wine box, which made it even more special!”

Cocktail Hour & Dinner, Catered by Chef Jack’s

The bride and groom did their Grand March at the start of cocktail hour, rather than waiting for the start of dinner. “All of our guests were waiting with a champagne toast. Cocktail hour has always been a favorite part of weddings we’ve attended, so it was important to us to enjoy ours with our guests.” During cocktail hour, caterer Chef Jack’s served passed appetizers of grilled cheese with tomato soup shooters, twice-baked baby potatoes, tenderloin crostini, caprese skewers, artichoke crostini, and chestnut rumaki. “Everything was delicious!”

For dinner, a “dual plate” was served to each guest. Each plate included steak, chicken, whipped potatoes, and a vegetable. There was also a vegetarian and vegan option. Several vegetarian guests — Haylie included! — said it was the best vegetarian meal they’ve ever had a wedding. Alongside dessert, Chef Jack’s served Irish cream cordials, which guests also greatly enjoyed.

Haylie and Andy have nothing but wonderful things to say about Chef Jack’s and Historic Courthouse 1893 as vendors. “Honestly, all of our vendors were phenomenal. These two were especially amazing with planning and day-of coordination. They were easy to work with, very kind and responsive, and open to our ideas.”

Curating the Music

Andy and Haylie worked with their DJ to put together different musical vibes for each portion of the evening. “We had a playlist of classics from Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, etc. that set the tone for our ceremony. Cocktail hour was full of some of our favorite current songs that aren’t quite appropriate for the dance floor, but that we still wanted to hear on our wedding day. We also had playlists for dinner and dancing. I suppose we made the DJ’s job pretty easy — we definitely heard exactly what we wanted from start to finish!”