Alex and Dan at Vista MKE with Roost Photography

A Weekend Celebration at Chef’s Table and Vista MKE

January 15, 2025

A wedding with two days of celebrations: A Private, Gourmet Dinner and a Unique, Exciting Reception!

How They Met

Alex and Dan were introduced by Alex’s older brother at a good old fashioned Wisconsin Bar Crawl.

How They Got Engaged

Daniel contacted The Chef’s Table and crafted a story asking them to reach out to Alex so that Alex & Daniel could come down to the restaurant to be models in a styled shoot. It turned out that Dan had reserved the restaurant for the two of them to enjoy a six course dinner. But the fake styled shoot still occurred. During the 4th course straight out of a Hollywood movie Alex and Daniel were presented with chafing dishes and when Alex opened hers a diamond ring was in sitting wedged in a champagne cork.

The Planning Process

Wedding Date: Thursday, June 20, 2024 | Saturday, June 22, 2024
Guest Count: Thursday 27 | Saturday 150
Style/Theme: Moody, Tropical | White and Black

What was your favorite design?
“Our flowers on both Thursday and Saturday were stunning. We gave Reflections of You a very limited vision. We discussed maybe 2 specific flowers and following that our directions were let’s make Thursday moody and tropical to fit the venue while Saturday should be elegant with all white & black floral. From there Rachel and her team crushed it. Our flowers were so beautiful they’re my favorite part of looking back at our wedding weekend. They were so fresh, so unique, and stood out making our wedding venue really pop!”

Weddings Looks

Dress: Jenny Yoo (Silk Dress from White Dress Bridal Boutique) | Martina Liana (Sparkle Dress from Miss Ruby)
Menswear: Thursday Suit: Harley’s Co. custom made suite | Saturday: The Suit Shop
Hair: Hair By Andrea Riley
Makeup: Lauryn Marie
Rings: Kesslers

How many dresses did you try on?
“My ceremony gown I tried on 3 before finding the one. My reception gown I tried on 8 before finding the one. I knew my ceremony dress was the one because I said “I feel like how Carrie Bradshaw feels in Oscar De La Renta.” My Reception dress I knew was the one because it was the only dress that really felt like me.”

Ceremony Details

Location: The Chef’s Table

“We chose the Chef’s Table because it was an incredibly special place to us… it was the place we’ve had our most memorable date nights and the place where Dan proposed. Anyone has been to the Chef’s Table or for anyone who has yet to have the pleasure, the minute you enter that venue you are family. You are welcomed with open arms with the highest level of service. We are always incredibly blown away with The Chef’s Table.”

Photographer: Roost Photography
Videographer:
Kari Elyse Creative
Photo stops: Milwaukee Public Library, Iron Horse Hotel

“We hired Mitch of Mitch & Jenna weddings to help us design a one-of-a-kind unique ceremony! Mitch helped us by finding a way to make every guest feel special and involved in our ceremony. He took the time to call our friends and family and gather words of wisdom and advice for us as we enter into marriage. He invited our audience to participate in our ceremony and it was very beautiful. We additionally hired AR Violin to play our favorite songs during the ceremony which added a beautiful touch to our intimate ceremony.”

Reception Details

Location: Vista MKE

“We chose our Saturday venue Vista MKE for many reasons. One of which, being a former event planner Alex had not attended an event at this gorgeous venue! That was important to Alex as there’s so many amazing venues in the city, but she wanted to feel like it was a unique experience. The venue offered an outdoor patio which was important for the couple’s vision of an outdoor dance floor and Cigar Bar. Sadly, it rained a majority of the evening but guests were able to step outside at times to enjoy the city skyline. The venue offered two completely different looks as well – one floor the classic historic Cream City Brick while the other floor a more modern look. This ironically fit the apartment styles Dan and Alex had while living in Milwaukee and they felt it was a perfect nod to their story together. The venue was in great proximity to hotels and activities for guests while they were in town as well which was important to us.”

Food and Drink: Noble Catering | Coffee Bar by Roast Coffee | Dessert by Greige Bakery

“Dan and I are avid cooks and wine connoisseurs, so it was incredibly important to us that we showcase that with our wedding menus. We wrote a custom menu with each the Chef’s Table and Noble Catering. It was also important to us that these menus were different as well as some guests would be at both events.”

“Our reception was unique in every way we possibly could. Being a former events industry professional I wanted to plan a wedding unlike one I had ever attended. Dan and I also wanted to be sure we found ways to make each and every guest feel welcomed and special because we chose to have our private ceremony. Our favorite elements: every guest got a handwritten note as their escort card, we had a Silent Disco instead of a standard dance floor which was a HUGE hit with our guests, we had Roast Coffee company provide a live action coffee shop for guests to add an upgraded element to an otherwise expected wedding element. We also brought in ACA Entertainment to roll cigars for our guests as a unique favor & experience.”

Music & Entertainment: AR Violin and Sound by Design | Cigar Rolling by ACA Entertainment
Dance Lessons: Fred Astaire
First Dance Song: “Always Remember Us This Way” by Lady Gaga

“On Saturday we had so many memorable moments. Alex almost fell off her chair during the Hava Nagila.. but the most memorable for us was our Silent Disco! Dan and Alex are not dancers…we avoid dance floors at all costs. So we decided to bring in the element of a Silent Disco which made the dance floor a unique activity. We had so much fun with our three Sound By Design DJ’s who CRUSHED each of their stations. We had two cultures coming together in one wedding who appreciate very different music so our disco worked out perfectly to have a Top Hits Station, a little more Club Style mix, and a Cultural Station including many Russian top hits! Our guests danced the night away switching to all of their different stations.”

Looking Back

Biggest Wedding Splurge: Private Ceremony & Dinner

Which vendor impressed you the most?
“Lauryn Marie was a phenomenal resource for the planning process. She assisted me in recommending a florist & hair. She had great advice and really was rock star on my vendor team. Brandon from Roost was also fantastic. We had a unique wedding weekend and he absolutely crushed it managing our timelines, unique requests, and hard to wrangle large families.”

Three Words that Described the Day: Intimate, Gourmet, Exciting

What moment sticks with you the most?
“Looking back at our wedding weekend we had a few moments that really stood out to us. On Thursday at our private ceremony & dinner at the Chef’s Table it was such an amazing memory looking down at the table and seeing all of our closest friends with our family. Every friend gave us a speech and it was such a memorable evening spending that quality time on the most important day of our lives with those who have been there for our entire love story.”

What tips or advice would you share with future couples?
“Don’t be afraid to plan your wedding the way you want it. We were afraid to plan a private ceremony & dinner with a reception on another date, we truly didn’t want to offend anyone who wanted to see us get married. But we loved the idea of a small private ceremony to keep it as meaningful and stress free as possible. In looking back, we are so grateful we had the support of our friends and family allowing us to have two separate wedding days so we could live out our wedding dreams. We would not change a thing about our wedding weekend!”

Wisconsin Wedding Vendors:

Wedding Vendor Service Website Instagram
Consultant Company & Cheer, Jenna Mickle @companyandcheer
Ceremony The Chef’s Table @thechefstablemke
Reception & Bartending Vista MKE @vistamke
Catering Noble Catering @noblecateringco
Photographer Roost Photography, Brandon Brown @roostmke
Videographer Kari Elyse Creative @karielysecreative
Cake Greige Bakery @greigemke
Flowers Reflections of You @reflectingyou
Rental Companies (linens, chairs, tent, etc.) Windy City Linen @windycitylinen
Invitations & Signage Paper Envy @paperenvyusa
Music/Entertainment AR Violin | Sound by Design @arviolin | @soundbydesign
Transportation Cruise-A-Palooza @cruise.a.palooza
Makeup Artist Lauryn Marie @mslaurynmarie
Hair Stylist Hair By Andrea Riley
Gown Jenny Yoo (Silk Dress from White Dress Bridal Boutique) | Martina Liana (Sparkle Dress from Miss Ruby) @whitedressbridalboutique | @missrubyboutique
Formalwear Harley’s Co. | The Suit Shop @hh_clothing1948 | @suitshopofficial
Rings Kesslers @kesslersdiamonds
Dance Lessons Fred Astaire @fred_astaire_dance_studios
Travel/Honeymoon Service BluSkyy Travel @bluskyytravel
Cigar Rolling ACA Entertainment @acaentertainment
Coffee Bar Roast Coffee Company @roastcoffeecompany
Hotel The Trade Hotel @thetradehotel