Ali & Brett’s Candlelit Wedding at the Delafield Hotel

How They Met

Ali from Waukesha and Brett from Ryan, Iowa, met because Ali’s mom was Brett’s neighbor. “I saw him walking his little white dog in the neighborhood and thought he was really cute,” Ali says. After about six months of trying and failing to get Brett’s attention, Ali’s mom bribed her with a new computer to go over to his house and ask him out. “I was in college at the time and really wanted a new computer,” she laughs. “So after I built up the courage, I walked over to his house, rang the doorbell, and asked if would get a drink with me. Brett agreed and we’ve been together ever since!”

The Proposal

Brett asked Ali to marry him during a trip to Paradise Island in the Bahamas in May of 2018. “After a nice dinner, we walked toward the beach to capture a photo of the sunset that swept over the ocean,” Ali recalls. “With the camera set to a 10-second timer on a tripod, I ran to stand next to Brett. I was hoping to get a photo of us on the beach, only to have my breath taken away when he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.” Magically, that breathtaking moment was captured on camera.

The First Look

Ali and Brett planned their wedding at the Delafield Hotel with a romantic, candlelit garden theme in colors of mauve, black, and ivory. Before the ceremony, the bride and groom did a first look at Ice Age National Scenic Trail by the Delafield Fish Hatchery building. “Brett turned around to glance at me for the first time and his eyes welled up with tears — as did mine,” Ali says. All other photos were taken in front of the Delafield Hotel, on top of the tower at the Delafield Hotel, as well as in the rooms.

The Candlelit Ceremony

Brett and Ali’s Delafield Hotel ceremony was gorgeously lit with candles. “It was so breathtaking and emotionally overwhelming in the best way,” Ali says. “We had almost 300 floating candles in cylinder vases that illuminated the aisle, which added such a romantic touch to our ceremony.” Ali’s grandpa walked her down the aisle — one of her favorite things about the ceremony. “My other favorite was when Reverend Chris told us what we had written about each other, specifically what we loved in one another. That really got the tears flowing, so much so that our reverend even started tearing up. It was truly the perfect day and it was filled with so much love with all of our friends and family there supporting us.”

The Hotel Reception

At the reception, the Mother of the Bride’s speech left a lasting impression. “She made it very humorous and sweet and had the entire audience laughing.” Guests also raved about the food and amazing service provided by the Delafield Hotel. “All throughout the night we received compliments on everything from the ceremony to the food and venue.”

The Shutterbooth photo booth rental was another stand-out favorite. “They did an amazing job — very friendly, prompt, organized, and provided our guests with plenty of props to take photos with. They had so many backgrounds to choose from and you could customize the text, design, layout, font, and color at the bottom of your prints.”

Dinner & Dessert

Dinner, dessert, and bartending services all came courtesy of the wonderful staff at the Delafield Hotel. In Ali’s words, it was “absolutely sensational!” Cocktail hour started with margaritas and a choice of three hors d’oeuvres: caramelized onion and parmesan tartelettes, smoked trout on potato crisps with horseradish and fresh dill, and reuben fritters with tangy thousand island dipping sauce.

For dinner, there was a mixed green salad with house red wine vinaigrette to start. Entrées included three options: asiago and roasted red pepper stuffed chicken breast with broccolini and pesto cream sauce; angus beef tenderloin with roasted forest mushrooms, roquefort shallot butter-herb whipped potatoes, and chef’s vegetable with red wine demi glaze; and finally a spinach, mushroom, and goat cheese strudel.

To satisfy their sweet tooth, guests had the option of two different cupcake flavors for desert: yellow or chocolate cake with cream cheese buttercream. Ali and Brett also served the bottom tier of their wedding cake, which was chocolate with cream cheese buttercream and strawberry mousse filling, covered in a mauve fondant. They chose not to serve the top tier of the cake, covered in silver leaf, so they can enjoy it on their first anniversary.

“The Delafield Hotel did exactly what we envisioned for our cake design,” Ali says. “It turned out beautifully! Not to mention the cake was out-of-this-world delicious. The cupcakes turned out perfectly as well, and our guests loved them.” As a late-night snack, Brett and Ali chose truffle fries with garlic aioli and both cheese and pepperoni pizza.

A Perfect Experience at the Delafield Hotel

Of all their wedding vendors, Ali says the Delafield Hotel was definitely at the top of their list of favorites. “They went above and beyond to make sure our day was perfect. They helped coordinate and execute all of the details of our wedding. They spent a lot of time filing up all of our cylinder vases and arranging them so they looked beautiful and wouldn’t be a safety hazard once they lit all the floating candles.”

“Their staff also made a huge impression on our guests with their exceptional table service. It was like a well-conducted orchestra. When our wedding coordinator, Kim, gave the signal to the staff, they all put our salad plates down at the same time at the head table. We were blown away. They also brought the dinner plates out to our guests in record time.The food was hot and so delectable. We all were very impressed.”

 

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Our happily ever after at the Delafield Hotel. 💕

A post shared by Ali Walker (@a.l.i.w.a.l.k.e.r) on Jul 16, 2019 at 6:50pm PDT