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Turner Hall Ballroom Wedding Full of Heart, Humor, and Karaoke

July 9, 2025

Turner Hall Ballroom Wedding Full of Heart, Humor, and Karaoke
Turner Hall Ballroom Wedding Full of Heart, Humor, and Karaoke

A blended global romance celebrated with pup Clementine in downtown Milwaukee

How They Met

Thanks to a stroke of luck, Nick and Carly met at a wedding. At the time, Carly was living in Berlin, Germany, with no plans to return to the U.S. anytime soon. However, fate intervened, and a trip back home for her cousin’s wedding coincided with another wedding—that of a college friend. Though Carly wasn’t invited to that second wedding directly, she was invited as a plus-one. Nick was also invited, and, by chance, they ended up seated at the same table.

They struck up a conversation, exchanged numbers, and never stopped talking. A few weeks later, when Carly returned to Berlin, she already had feelings for Nick but wasn’t sure what the future would hold. Just a few months later, Nick visited her in Berlin, and before long, they found themselves in a long-distance relationship.

For the first year and a half, their relationship was long-distance, which required them to build a strong foundation based on communication. Looking back, they wouldn’t change a single second of it.

How They Got Engaged

“Nick surprised me while we were on a trip to Japan. He planned a perfect day exploring Kyoto, visiting a bamboo forest, and ending at the moon bridge with a beautiful view of the Arashiyama Mountain. He got down on one knee and proposed. It was very meaningful and romantic.”

The Planning Process

Wedding Date: August 31, 2024
Guest Count: 175
Wedding Colors: Lavendar (Nick’s favorite color) and burgundy
Bridal Shows Attended:

What was your favorite design?
“I was obsessed with our flower arch. We purchased it secondhand from Facebook Marketplace. It was made by a local artist who went foraging to find the perfect wooden branches to complement the silk flowers. We saw many of our guests taking pictures in front of it, which warmed our heart! We also sold it for a fraction of what we bought it for to keep the love going and hope it ends up at many future weddings.”

Weddings Looks

Dress: Bucci’s Bridal
Menswear: While Carly and Nick were visiting Thailand, they bought a custom-made suit
Hair and Makeup: Robert Laurence Salon
Rings: A Trio Jewelry

How many dresses did you try on?
“It felt like a million dresses. I actually got a different dress when shopping with family. I got caught up in the moment and bought a dress that wasn’t right.

After months, I wasn’t able to shake the feeling that the dress wasn’t quite “me.” I started looking around online and found Bucci’s Bridal Still White account. They had my dress as an “off-the-rack” option and I just fell in love. It was a classic wedding dress with a little something extra. It was romantic but still playful. And it fit me perfectly right off the rack.”

Ceremony Details

Location: Turner Hall Ballroom
Photographer: Morgan Photo Co.
Photo stops:
Turner Hall, Old German Beer Hall
Ceremony Decor: Almost exclusively found secondhand at thrift stores or Facebook Marketplace

“My favorite part about the ceremony was getting married! But the two unique parts that stood out were the different people that spoke and made our day so special.

Nick’s aunt was the officiant and she surprised us with the most perfect ceremony speech. She created a speech based on the game of “Clue” and told the story of how we met and dated. Different people were important to Nick and I getting together (for example, the wedding we went to, the person who invited me as a plus-one, etc.), and she had them stand-up and wave. It was a really unique way to get more people involved and caused a lot of love and laughs. She then gave some beautiful advice about love and marriage.

We also invited two of my best friends from Germany to speak. They made the long trip to come to our wedding and gave a fantastic speech that made people laugh and warmed their hearts.

Afterwards, we got so many compliments on those two speeches. People mentioned how personal and funny both were. And also how impressive the speech from our German friends were because it was in their second language!”

Reception Details

Location: Turner Hall Ballroom
Catering and Dessert: All Occasions & Bubbs BBQ

Turner Hall is absolutely gorgeous and has so much character. It was the perfect venue for the big party that we wanted to throw. We loved that it had enough space for our ceremony, that the cocktail hour could be held on the balcony, and that a big turnover wasn’t needed between dinner and dancing. We wanted people to be able to run out and get the party started! We also loved that we’d be able to take pictures on the roof.”

Music & Entertainment: “None. Nick’s Dad is in a band, so we could use all his equipment and play our own playlists. We also used Turner’s stage for Karaoke!”
Dance Lessons:
First Dance Song:

“We loved everything about our reception! We had karaoke breaks throughout the night! Since Turner has a big, beautiful stage, we wanted to put it to good use. We had no idea if it would work or not, but it ended up being a huge hit! Tons of people signed up and it added an extra touch of fun to our big party.

In addition to a mother/son dance, I had a sister/brother dance with one of my brothers. He has Down Syndrome and was so supportive of our wedding. He was our wedding planner and helped us with every decision. Having a brother/sister dance was a really special way to honor all he does for us.

We brought our dog, Clementine, to our wedding! Piccola Pups was the vendor who made it possible that our little girl was able to join us on one of the most important days of our lives. We put out treats for her so guests could feed her during cocktail hour. We also brought a “Where’s Clementine” book (instead of Where’s Waldo) to entertain guests during cocktail hour. It meant so much to us that Clementine could celebrate our big day with us!”

Looking Back

Biggest Wedding Splurge: Open Bar
Which vendor impressed you the most? Piccola Pups, Fantastic Florals, Morgan Photo Co.
Three Words that Described the Day: Party, personal, perfect
What moment sticks with you the most?
“I love this question but it is so hard to answer. The first moment that comes to mind was our ceremony, and particularly exchanging vows with my husband. Honorary mentions are the brother/sister dance, all the karaoke songs, having all our family and friends in one place, and celebrating with Clementine.”

What tips or advice would you share with future couples?
“Find out what is most important to you and follow that. For us, we wanted it to be personal and have it be well-documented. So in addition to a photographer, we had a photo booth and an online gallery guests could upload their pictures to.”

Wisconsin Wedding Vendors:

Wedding Vendor Service Website Instagram
Invitations/Custom Signage The Knot @theknot
Florist Fantastic Florals
Gown Bucci’s Bridal @buccisbridal
Menswear Custom made in Thailand
Bridesmaid Dresses Azazi @azaziebridal
Hair and Makeup Robert Laurence Salon @robertlaurencestudio
Rings A Trio Jewelry @atriojewelry
Ceremony, Reception and Bartending Turner Hall Ballroom @turnerhallballroomweddings
Photographer Morgan Photo Co. @morganphotoco
Catering, Cake/Dessert All Occasions & Bubbs BBQ @bubbsbbq
Bartending Service Turner Hall Ballroom @turnerhallballroomweddings
Dog Concierge Piccola Pups @piccolapups
Others to Note Picture Perfect Photo Booth | Guestpix @pictureperfectphotoboothwi | @guestpix
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