Celina & Nick’s Romantic, Heartfelt Wedding at Hawk’s View

Nick and Celina met at Carroll University, where they both attended college. Though they were friends through the years, the two didn’t start dating until after they’d both graduated and reconnected while visiting a mutual friend in LA. The couple got engaged in their home — a surprise to Celina. Though they had talked about it numerous times, they’d never had a serious talk about looking at rings. “Nick really surprised me,” Celina says. “He put the ring around my cat’s collar, and afterward he planned a surprise dinner party at Tenutas, where we’d had our first real date. Our families and friends were there, and I was so surprised! Usually Nick can’t hide anything from me, but he did a great job planning the proposal.”

Celina and Nick decided on a vintage-inspired wedding with both a ceremony and reception at Hawk’s View. To prepare for the special day, Celina attended the Sheraton of Brookfield’s Bridal Expo. She found her sleek, lace-backed, Rosa Clara wedding dress at Bucci Bridal, and Nick chose sharp, grey formalwear from DuBois Formalwear out of Eva’s Bridal in Oak Creek.

On the day of the wedding, the ceremony was made extra-special thanks to Nick and Celina’s daughter, then 16-months-old, being a part of it. “When it came time to walk down the aisle, she did not want any part of it,” Celina says. “So my sister carried her down. She was very ready for a nap! Also, a lot of people don’t know this, but Nick and I wrote our entire ceremony with a little help from our officiant. From the welcome to the vows to picking out the exact readings, we customized every part of the ceremony, which made it very unique and special to us.”

Moving into the Hawk’s View hall for the reception, Celina says it all looked amazing. “When you plan something in your head for over two years and finally get to see your dream in front of you, it’s an incredible feeling. We had a wonderful slide show, we had great music (by Audio Therapy) picked out for our dances, and had a great time.” As a surprise, one fun thing the wedding party did was attach a camera to a bottle of Jameson: “They ended up secretly passing it around the head table, where our bridesmaids and groomsmen each said a couple words into the camera. It was a short and hilarious video!”

The food was catered by Hawk’s View. “It was outstanding! Hawk’s View did an amazing job creating three meals.” Nick and Celina were also impressed by Hawk’s View overall. “Their wedding coordinator was amazing at keeping the timeline on track and moving.” Because of the wonderful vendors they hired, from flowers by Pam’s Petals to chairs from AllStar Rentals, Celina says she didn’t really do any particular DIY projects. “A lot of my décor was carefully picked. I’m not a hugely crafty person, so a lot of things were already made and I just pieced them together to get the look I was going for.”

Planning all of the décor, signs, and how the room looked — that was Celina’s favorite thing that she planned for their wedding day. “I had a lot of time to get everything done and was never really stressed out! I have a sister who was already married and a lot of close friends, too, so that prepped me on a lot of things. Everything was done a week before the wedding, so I could relax.” How would Celina describe her and Nick’s wedding day in three words? “Romantic, elegant, and heartfelt.”

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Bridal Shows Attended~Bridal Expo Milwaukee
Rehearsal Dinner~Gino’s East in Lake Geneva
Ceremony, Catering & Reception~Hawk’s View
Cake Designer/Dessert~Jen’s Sweet Treats
Flowers~Pam’s Petals, Waterford
Music/Entertainment~Audio Therapy
Transportation~Hawk’s View
Photographer~SB Photography and Design
Gown~Rosa Clara from Bucci Bridal
Formalwear~DuBois Formalwear
Rings~Bands from Powers Jewelry, Milwaukee
Rentals~AllStar Rentals
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