Mallory and Jake’s Dreamy Milwaukee Art Museum Wedding

Mallory and Jake met on March 27, 2012. “We remember the night we met so clearly — the spark was strong.” Jake’s best friend Casey lived next door to Mallory and came by her place one Wednesday night before heading out to bars, a few guy friends in tow. “I was in the bathroom freshening up for the night when Jake popped his head in and said ‘Hi, I’m Jake!’ I felt something right from that very second,” Mallory says. That night, the two spent hours talking at Mikey’s bar. Jake even called Mallory before work the next morning: “Neither of us remember what we talked about, but we both remember not wanting to hang up. Every year on March 27th, we go to Mikey’s to celebrate the night we met.”

The night they got engaged started with Jake concocting a story about having had a big day at work and wanting to go out to celebrate. “Jake said to cancel our plans because we were going to Eddie’s,” Mallory says. “We only go to Eddie’s when we’re celebrating something really special.” After scrumptious steak and wine, the couple took an Uber home from the restaurant. Jake told the driver they wanted to have one more drink in Cathedral Square; they were still blocks from the nearest bar when Jake said they’d get out here.

It had started to rain, so Mallory wasn’t all about getting out of the car so soon — but Jake grabbed her hand and pulled her along. They took off running through the sudden downpour, stopping once they reached the middle of Cathedral Square Park. Jake got down on one knee and proposed. The first ring he proposed with was a gold band with string wrapped around it. “I’d always said the ring didn’t matter — I would marry Jake with a piece of string,” Mallory says. Without even noticing the string, Mallory said yes. Jake then pulled out the real engagement ring. “We skipped (yes skipped!) to Distil to call our friends and have champagne. When we walked in the door, both our families were at the back of the bar, waiting to celebrate.”

Jake and Mallory planned a beautiful ceremony at St Casimir Church and reception at the Milwaukee Art Museum. One memorable moment from the ceremony was when Mallory’s darling little nephew got cold feet about walking down the aisle. “My dad and I were waiting behind the church doors when we heard a burst of laughter from inside,” Mallory says. That was nephew Jack running circles around the fountain at the back of church, instead of walking down the aisle on cue. “Jake, realizing Jack was never going to walk down the aisle alone, walked up the aisle, picked up Jake, and carried him to the end. Thankfully through photos and video, I was able to relive this moment.”

Mallory says her heart was racing in the moments leading up to the big reveal. She was standing beside her dad, wearing a gorgeous gown from by Paloma Blanca (found at Gigi of Mequon ). This was the moment Mallory had been dreaming of since she was a little girl. As the doors opened, Jake’s eyed locked with hers. “It was the sweetest moment of my entire life. As soon as I made my way to him at the end of the aisle, I unknowingly did a little jig out of excitement.”

After the ceremony, the party moved to the stunning Milwaukee Art Museum. “The reveal of the museum was a moment we will never forget. We were silent, jaws dropped. It was absolutely beautiful, incredible, and completely over the top in the best way.” The two styled their wedding with the striking style of the Art Museum in mind. “We wanted to show it off, but also make it feel intimate and dreamy. A hard task, but our coordinator Janelle from Evenement Planning did it! We had lots of draping to make it feel enclosed and more intimate without taking away from the incredible architecture.”

Mallory loved working with Janelle. “It was fun to come up with out-of-the-box ideas and see them come to life,” she says. “I loved our sweetheart table. Janelle designed it without me knowing any of the details. Seeing it in person and now in photos and video, it was beyond what I ever expected. Sweet, romantic, classic, modern, dreamy. I loved sitting at this table as my first meal with my new husband. Janelle is incredible!”

Flowers came from Impressions by Esther Fleming. Mallory didn’t want something typical, so Esther created four huge floating flower arrangements that hung from the middle of the Art Museum ceiling. “It was definitely a ‘wow’ moment,” Mallory says. Music from the Michael Walters band, booked through ACA, gave the gorgeous space a fun vibe. “The band was interactive with our guests and we had upbeat music playing between food courses to make sure there wasn’t a lull. We had so many compliments on how fun it was — dancing from the very beginning of the reception is definitely the way to go!” Another guest favorite was the sparkly gold photo booth manned by Shutterbooth. “The pictures were hilarious! Shutterbooth did an awesome job and had the best props!”

The food, catered by the Art Museum, was also a huge hit. Everyone had a shrimp cocktail waiting for them at their seat, plus a meat and cheese board prior to dinner being served. “Guests liked that they could have a little snack after cocktail hour, especially since dancing began right away and dinner was served a little later in the night.” Guests options for dinner were a filet, chicken, or salmon. “All were delicious!” For a late-night snack, Jake and Mallory chose mini grilled cheese sandwiches with a shot of tomato soup and a mini hot dog bar. For dessert, there was oreo tuxedo cake from Baked Custom Desserts. As an extra snack: A popcorn bar from Lush Popcorn, which was a real hit.

Mallory’s final words of advice for future brides: “It’s all worth it in the end. I was meticulous about the details leading up to the wedding, and because of that I was able to just enjoy the most magical day of my life.”

Registry~Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn & Bed Bath & Beyond
Wedding Consultant~Janelle Meyer-Brown, Evenement Planning
Invitations~Broadway Paper
Rehearsal Dinner~Onesto
Ceremony Location~St. Casimir
Reception Location~Milwaukee Art Museum
Caterer~Milwaukee Art Museum
Cake Designer~Rachel Schmidbauer at Baked Custom Desserts
Flowers~Impressions by Esther Fleming
Music/Entertainment~ACA Entertainment- Michael Walters Orchestra
Photographer~Image is Found
Videographer~David Schulta
Popcorn Bar~Lush
Photo Booth~ShutterBooth
Printing Needs~Clark Graphics
Dress Designer~Paloma Blanca
Bridal Salon~Gigi of Mequon
Formal Wear~The Black Tux
Rings~Power’s