Danielle & Ryan’s Red Circle Inn Wedding in Nashotah, Wisconsin

A Frame-worthy Proposal

In 2015, Danielle, originally from Waukesha, spent the summer in Appleton with her best friend, Maggie. “Maggie knew Ryan and his brothers and we all met over Fourth of July weekend. When Ryan found out I was from the Waukesha area, near where he was living at the time, I came home and showed him downtown Waukesha and my favorite fountain in Frame Park.”

Fast-forward three years and the two were living in Waukesha near the park. One day, Ryan asked Danielle if she wanted to go on a walk. “This was a week before our three-year anniversary,” Danielle recalls. “We were reminiscing about our time together and decided to go sit by our favorite fountain.” While Danielle was busy admiring the view, Ryan dropped to one knee and pulled out the ring. A friend hiding in the trees even snapped photos of the proposal.

The Ceremony

Before walking down the aisle, Danielle had one of her favorite moments of the day: a first look with her dad. The reveal happened by the bar on the first floor of the Red Circle Inn. “My bridesmaids and mom were sitting at the bar, too,” Danielle says. “I tapped my dad on the shoulder for him to turn around. His eyes immediately started to tear up. My bridesmaid Morgan said, ‘I thought you weren’t going to cry, Kevin!’ My dad responded, ‘With Danielle looking like this, it’s hard not to.’”

Ryan and Danielle made sure to keep their ceremony unique and meaningful. For starters, they wrote their own vows to each other. They also incorporated both Catholic and Jewish marriage rituals. “For example, we lit a unity candle and got married under a chuppah.”

Modern-Rustic at Red Circle Inn

Ryan and Danielle decided on an October wedding in Lake Country at the Red Circle Inn. The theme: “I called it modern-rustic,” Danielle says. “Inside, the Red Circle Inn has light grey walls and wooden bars. For centerpieces, some were slabs of wood with flowers and some were flowers around a lantern.” Ryan and his dad made a tiered wooden tray for a cookie display, and the memory and gift tables each featured slabs of glazed oak.

For colors, Danielle chose deep plum and charcoal grey. The bridesmaids dresses were found at Bucci’s Bridal, where Danielle also found her Stella York gown. Bringing the bling, Ryan and Danielle chose rings from Craig Husar Fine Diamonds and Jewelry Designs.

To help bring the vision to life at the Red Circle Inn, the bride and groom leaned on Angela, the Director of Weddings and Special Events. “She was fantastic to work with! She met with us a few times and we showed her how we wanted the reception room setup. Angela and her team went above and beyond and made every space — the ceremony/dancing room and the reception room — look amazing.” For photos, the bride and groom stayed on the grounds of the Red Circle Inn. “There were so many picture-perfect areas, and our photographer loved that we stayed in one location.”

Red Circle Catering

Dinner followed shortly after, catered by the Red Circle Inn. “We had chicken marsala and mahi mahi with champagne sauce. Both options came with their own choice of potato.” And for dessert: cookies, served on the tiered display made by Ryan and his dad.

Reflecting back, Danielle advises, “Anything you can get done ahead of time, like DIY projects, do them as soon as you can. People told me a wedding was work, but there are so many details a bride and groom have to decide that I wasn’t aware of before.” Her favorite thing she and Ryan planned for the wedding: “The music! We went through our playlists and danced around our apartment picking out which songs we wanted.”