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Bridget and Kyle’s relationship started off as a high school friendship. When they each followed their older siblings to college at the University of Minnesota, that’s when it felt like fate; the two haven’t left each other’s side since! To pop the question, Kyle planned a daytime date a week after Bridget’s birthday.
During a walk along their favorite bridge, Kyle surprised Bridget with a letter taped to the bridge banister. The note ended, “If this letter doesn’t prove my love for you, turning around will.” Kyle was down on one knee, and a photographer immediately started snapping pictures. “I blurted out YES before he even said anything,” Bridget laughs. “It was one of the best moments of my life, next to saying ‘I do.’”
Kyle and Bridget planned an elegant April wedding in Lake Country, with a rehearsal dinner at Oconomowoc Lake Club, a traditional Catholic ceremony at St. Jerome’s church, and a classy reception at the Delafield Hotel. The bridesmaids wore taupe dresses and carried cream flowers. Décor was accented with black and white, to match the Delafield Hotel. The bride and groom agree that their favorite part of the ceremony was their first look, as Bridget walked down the aisle with her dad.
Between the ceremony and reception, the happy couple had pictures taken in the church, on the party bus, and at a nearby restaurant on the lake. Their photographers, Indian Summer Photography, proved to be a wonderful team. “We first met Rhonda during our complimentary engagement session,” Bridget says. “She was calm, sweet, honest, and gave feedback based on what our tastes and desires were for the pictures. Rhonda turned what can sometimes feel awkward into something that was hilarious and fun.”
“On the day itself, Rhonda and her assistant, Kejt, were incredibly professional and prompt. They adhered to the schedule and kept our large group on track the entire day! They had some awesome ideas for picture opportunities — especially considering the not-so-fun weather we had. We would work with Indian Summer again in a heartbeat!”
From cocktail hour to the late-night after party to hotel accommodations, the Delafield Hotel handled it all beautifully. “The venue is a perfect mix of charming, contemporary, warm, and elegant, and it’s in the perfect location. Not to mention how fun it was that we had the opportunity to ‘buy out’ the hotel so that all 38 rooms would be occupied by our guests. We have stayed in many hotels, and I have never seen rooms as beautiful, luxurious, and spacious as this.”
Cocktail hour started in the hotel’s Cushing Room, where guests enjoyed butler-passed Old Fashioned cocktails and domestic and European cheeses. The staff at the hotel also helped with setting up the reception room. “They are such can-do people who handled the finishing touches, including lighting candles, displaying the dessert table, and setting up the beautiful linens and chair covers. They made our vision perfect.”
For dinner, there was house-made bread and butter, a seasonal mixed green salad, horseradish-crusted salmon with braised red cabbage and browned butter, pan-seared chicken breast with lemon and thyme, and sweet potato cakes with quinoa, roasted apples, and Brussels sprouts. “Dinner was delicious, the speeches were wonderful, and we made it to every guest table by the time dinner was complete.”
The hotel also catered four flavors of cupcake for dessert: chocolate cake with peanut butter buttercream, white cake with European buttercream, carrot cake with cream cheese buttercream, and red velvet cake with cream cheese buttercream. As a late-night snack, Kyle and Bridget chose a nacho & fracho bar, complete with house-made tortilla chips and fries with all the fixings.
At the end of the night, the Delafield Hotel helped clean up and box all of the décor, and guests kept the party going until 2:30 AM at I.D., the restaurant and bar connected to the hotel. Kim, the on-site coordinator at the hotel, offered invaluable service. “Kim made the preparation for the wedding seamless,” Bridget says. “You would have thought we were her only bride and groom, because she gave us her full, undivided attention. We had the pleasure of working with her for one year during our engagement, and there wasn’t a single time that she didn’t respond within a few hours, know the answer, or make me feel like her top priority.”
To top it all off, Bridget and Kyle stayed in the Delafield Hotel honeymoon suite following the reception. “It was absolutely beautiful. We will definitely be spending our anniversaries there for a staycation! We were welcomed with cupcakes, champagne, and a handwritten note from Kim. We love details, and there wasn’t one that they missed that weekend. Thank you, Delafield Hotel, for a truly magical evening!”
[table]
Make-up Artist~Amanda Mudrets
Hair Stylist~Geneviève Berghouse and Molly Loizzo
Invitations~Sister-in-Law, Rachel Moore (graphic designer)
Rehearsal Dinner~Oconomowoc Lake Club
Ceremony Location~St. Jerome Catholic Church, Oconomowoc, WI
Reception, Catering, Bartending, Cake~Delafield Hotel, Delafield, WI
Chalkboard/Custom Signage Artist~Taylor Dirkes Calligraphy
Flowers~Bloom Floral and Event Design
Music/Entertainment~Xcite Entertainment
Transportation~Cruise-a-Palooza
Photographer~Indian Summer Photography
Travel/Honeymoon Service~The Scott Resort and Spa
Videographer~Tina Polve and Alex Buban
Gown~Mikaella from The Wedding Shoppe, Inc. (St. Paul, MN)
Formalwear~Men’s Wearhouse, Wauwatosa, WI
Rings~Brookfield Diamonds
[/table]
Categorized in: Ballroom, Classic, Real Weddings, West