Cherish & Matt’s Backyard Pandemic Wedding

Get That Rock!

Cherish and Matt met at Adventure Rock in a class Matt was teaching. “We ended up climbing together most of that week, and about a month later, started dating.” When he proposed, Matt chose a gorgeous opal ring from Lake Country Jewelers. He popped the question in the aquarium tunnel at Discovery World in Milwaukee. “My opal ring matched the water pretty closely,” says Cherish.

A Wedding at Home in a Time of Pandemic

Matt and Cherish had always planned on a small backyard wedding, so the fact that their big day fell during the pandemic certainly worked in their favor. The two did almost everything themselves: “A ton of yard work, reserving and scheduling with the caterer, photographer, officiant, flowers, plus tent, table, and chair rental from Equipment Rentals of West Bend. We of course had a lot of help from family members and friends that live close by, but we organized it all ourselves.”

“The whole pandemic situation led to a lot more communication all around, making sure all of our vendors would be open to our original planned date. Our plans of a small backyard wedding saved us. We did have several guests decide not to come, which we understood. We set up a live stream so that people could watch from home. We made sure to have masks and hand sanitizer available for people to use.”

Cherish put a lot of time into the desserts — an ice cream buffet! — and flowers. She ordered flowers in bulk from Bank of Flowers and put all the centerpieces together the day before the wedding with the help of Matt’s aunt and cousin. Matt is a carpenter, so he made a small mahogany box for him and Cherish to each put a letter in that they will read on their one-year anniversary.

A Backyard Bash

Matt and Cherish turned to backyard traditions and their favorite down-to-earth eats to make their wedding celebration a homey and meaningful one. “Bonfires are always a favorite for us, so of course we had to have one! We also had a bunch of yard games out. Really, just getting to see everyone and visit with people was great.”

For dinner, the bride and groom turned up the heat, serving barbecue from Smoked. “We used to live in an apartment near 3 Cellars in Menomonee Falls where the Smoked food truck operates several times a month. We loved eating there, so as soon as we got engaged, we knew they had to be our caterer for the wedding.”

To satisfy guests’ sweet tooth, there was the aforementioned ice cream buffet complete with build-your-own sundaes, plus Cherish and Matt’s Mom’s each made brownies, cookies, and cupcakes. “Originally we were planning on people going through the ice cream bar as a self-serve set up, but to minimize the number of people touching things, we asked a couple friends to be our servers instead. They stepped up right away to help us out.”

More Than A Photographer

Matt and Cherish chose Allysha Noelle as their photographer. “We came to her knowing we wanted a backyard wedding and knowing who we wanted to cater dinner, but we didn’t know much else. Allysha helped us put together a time schedule and kept us not only on track, but ahead of schedule.” Cherish and Matt particularly loved their first look. “Allysha suggested doing this and all of the couples photos before the ceremony. It was really fun and definitely made us both a lot more comfortable!”