Rachael & David’s Performing Arts Center Wedding

David and Rachael’s love story started at Marquette University. “David was my first friend at Marquette,” Rachael says. “We both did Army ROTC and met on the very first day of school. We became best friends instantly and remained best friends for about two years until we started dating.”

Both David, now a logistician, and Rachael, now a nurse, were stationed at Joint Base Lewis McChord in Tacoma, Washington, when David proposed. “David and I love to hike in our free time, and he knows I love mountains,” Rachael says. “David proposed to me at the top of a mountain with Mount Rainier as the backdrop. I immediately broke into tears and said yes.”

The two planned an October wedding at the Marcus Center for Performing Arts in Milwaukee. “We both love the rustic farmhouse style, but felt that our venue was too classy for that. So we decided to go with a floral, only slightly-rustic theme. We absolutely loved it! Our colors were burgundy, navy, blush, succulent green, and frost green.”

The ceremony was held where their romance began: on Marquette’s campus. “Our favorite part of the ceremony was getting married at our Alma Mater’s on-campus church, Gesu.” Rachael was also baptized at Gesu and her parents were married there. “The church itself has a lot of meaning to us.”

David says that his favorite moment of the day was standing at the altar and seeing Rachael walk toward him, clutching her father’s arm. “Gesu has a very long aisle to walk down,” he says. “From afar, I could only slightly see what Rachael’s gown looked like, but that was it. As she walked toward me, I loved seeing all the little details come to life — her smile, hair, makeup, jewelry, the dress. Rachael looked, and is, so beautiful. Watching her come to life as she walked down the aisle was amazing.”

After David and Rachael said “I do,” the party moved to Milwaukee’s Performing Arts Center (PAC). The space was decorated with signage by Coqui Paperie, who had also done the invitation suite. “They were absolutely amazing! All of our “Coqui” paperie products turned out fantastic!”  “The PAC did an amazing job coordinating and planning our wedding. We were both stationed in Washington State, and the PAC still did a wonderful job planning with us from afar via email and phone calls. When the day-of coordinator we had hired cancelled the morning of our wedding, the PAC seamlessly took over the tasks. They were so helpful before, during, and after the wedding. Karin, our coordinator for the PAC, was especially amazing. We can’t thank Karin and PAC enough!”

Saz’s  catered a dinner of tenderloin spiedini, salmon, and a mushroom vegetarian option. “The food was fantastic! We also had gourmet popcorn as a late-night snack: cheddar, parmesan, caramel, and truffle.” But Rachael’s favorite part of the reception? “Dancing! The Performing Arts Center is one huge ballroom, and we had a live band knowing both of our families love to dance. The Bluewater Kings Band rocked the dance floor all night long.”

When all was said and done, Rachael’s major advice to future brides is just to relax and enjoy. “Stop all wedding planning and prepping at least three days before the wedding. Give yourself time to relax, grab coffee with a friend, or do yoga. Keep busy and visit with family. If something isn’t set three days before the wedding, it’s not worth stressing over. Also, remember that it’s okay to be assertive. Give trusted people tasks the day of. Most of all, enjoy your wedding day! You don’t want to look back and think about how stressed you were.” With the help of good vendors and the support of family and friends, a stress-free wedding can be a dream come true.