Barbara & Matt’s Music-Filled Wedding at Story Hill Firehouse

Four Bands Rocked This Milwaukee Wedding

From Music Scene to “Marry Me?”

Barbara and Matt met in the Milwaukee music scene. They were friends and played in bands together for quite a few years before they started dating. It’s fitting that the two then got engaged on the night Barbara was playing with her band. “I didn’t think too much of it when I heard my family was coming into town for the show, and that a bunch of my friends were going to be there,” Barbara says.

During the show, Barbara recalls finishing a song when all of a sudden, Matt was in front of her, down on one knee with the ring they had picked out together. “Matt had orchestrated the entire evening with invites for everyone. We turned the night into an engagement party.”

As for Matt, he recalls all the work that went into the evening: “I spent all of this time contacting family members and friends, getting orchestrations for the songs we were playing that night, as well as hiring musicians to augment the band. There were a lot of moving parts and I wanted everything to go perfectly, but of course the success of the event hinged on her response!” Luckily for Matt, Barbara said yes.

The Gift of a Gown

Barbara’s wedding dress was given to her by her sister. “When I told her I was getting married she said she had a ‘fairytale’ wedding gown that had never been worn. She asked if I wanted to try it on just for fun. It was so incredibly perfect for me that we were both stunned. It was as if the dress had been waiting in her basement for me this whole time. To be gifted this incredible dress by my sister was such an unexpected joy.”

A Storyhill Firehouse Wedding

Matt and Barbara held both their ceremony and reception at Story Hill Firehouse in Milwaukee. Barbara had met the owner, Janelle, over 10 years ago when one of her bands played for her wedding. “Over the years I’ve gotten to know her, and her business partner Amy, as exceptional wedding and event planners.”

“When I heard she was converting an old firehouse into an event venue, we added it to our shortlist right away. We toured the venue when it was still under renovation and booked it! Amy and Janelle helped us plan the event and made sure that there was nothing we were missing along the way. They went above and beyond the call of duty.” Matt and Barbara’s wedding was one of the first weddings to be held at Story Hill Firehouse.

The Ceremony

Matt’s favorite part of the ceremony was first seeing Barbara in her dress. “It had one of the longest trains I’ve ever seen, and she looked beautiful in it.” As for Barbara, she loved including Matt’s twins in the ceremony. “We had vows for them too and made sure they knew they were a big part of it.”

Dinner & Dessert

Dinner was catered by Pop’s Barbecue. “He’s the best as far as we’re concerned and the guests went crazy for it. We had cupcakes and wedding cake from Classy Girl, and they did a fabulous job.”

Music to Remember

Both Barbara and Matt agree that the music really made their wedding unique. “I was excited about the music also and we are very grateful to have had so many of our talented friends come and perform,” Matt says. There were four different wedding bands on rotation, plus a small orchestra for the first dance.

The bands included Platinum, Velocity, Livin The Dream, North Coast Orchestra, and Hello Cello . For the first dance, Matt surprised Barbara with an orchestra arrangement of “Overjoyed” by Stevie Wonder. “It was incredible! It was music, music, music all night.”

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