You could say that this wedding lands in touchdown territory, of maybe even proclaim that it’s a ‘field of dreams’. Either way, no matter what you choose to title it, it’s plain and simple – these two planned the coolest wedding reception ever. Complete with newlywed portraits at their favorite professional football stadium, Karen Ann Photography captured the fun to share in The Vault!
From The Bride…Jay was taking care of one of my patients and naturally he made me blush (I mean he is so darn handsome!) when he asked about her condition. A week later I invited him over a Packers game. He texted me the next day asking if we were still on for the game, I had to come clean at this point! I actually didn’t have a tv equipped with anything but Netflix! He laughed and invited me to his place for the game. He was nervous and cute and charming and from that day I knew he was going to be the one.
On May 23, 2015 I was set to have a large party for my graduation from nursing school. The night before I had to work till 11pm and when I came home and pulled in the drive way he was on 1 knee with candles that said “will you marry me?”. It was romantic and perfect in every way! The next day was basically a graduation/engagement party. It was really a huge moment for us both, I was graduation from nursing school and he was graduating from his internal medicine program and we planned on moving to Green Bay from Milwaukee and the timing was perfect to start our forever life together.
We started our day meeting the guys at Jay’s parents house, then traveled to St. Mary’s Church in Luxemburg. I found the girls and Michelle started photographing the details. Kelli did an AHHH-MAAZZZINNNG job with her wedding details. Her dress was a two tone, a-line gown with a sweetheart lace bodice. The wedding bouquets were made by Buds & Bloom FULL of succulents, peonies, hydrangeas and roses. Jay’s grandmother gave Kelli a silk rose to use as her “something old”. Grandma carried this rose in her bouquet the day she married Jay’s grandfather in 1946. Each bridesmaid wore a different shade of pink, cream or purple dress. Everything coordinated perfectly!
After their full Catholic ceremony we traveled to Northbrook Country Club where we photographed the bridal party plus the first of the Newlywed portraits. After a few minutes we were off to the Green Bay Packers Stadium for the wedding reception. We had a pretty strict schedule of events for this wedding because of the travel time, so I made sure to keep us on schedule. After arriving to Lambeau Field our timeline slowed down and we added a few extra minutes to walk around on the field. Yes the field!…Which wasn’t in the original plan and maybe not even allowed but when the groomsmen walked up to me and said “Sooo…look to your right. See those stairs down to the field? Yeah…we’re going to walk really fast, walk down those stairs and do the Lambeau Leap…and GO!” Of course I followed and photographed the guys as each did the Lambeau Leap. Obviously! This was the best part of the wedding for Jay and his groomsmen. Even Kelli and the bridesmaids loved being at the stadium. This is also why I had Michelle assist at this wedding, when you travel to Wisconsin it’s usually a tradition to stop and take a photo outside the stadium. Well…Michelle had her photo taken on the field!
It was finally PARTY TIME!! Monzu Bakery made the cutest cake with a “Dr. & Mrs.” cake topper. Sash and Bow did an amazing job coordinating and decorating the Legends Club Room for the reception. PLUS again Buds & Bloom created the beautiful centerpieces. After dinner Shaun from The New Dance Machine played the perfect music for LOTS of dancing.
What was your color palette and your style vision?
The most important thing about this question is that I’m not the girl who has been dreaming of having a wedding for my whole life. I never thought about my wedding dress or had a Pinterest page full of wedding ideas. When we got engaged I quickly realized I could not do this alone and sought expert guidance. I meet with Sash and bow and buds and bloom and just told them I didn’t really have a vision or anything specific in mind. I like the succulents and I wanted something springy, soft and romantic. They basically had only that sentence to go off and I must say they nailed it!
What unique elements or DIY details did you include?
I ordered the Dr and Mrs cake topper off Etsy and spray painted it silver glitter, that is my favorited DIY detail I had. I’m so unbelievably proud of Jay for his dedication and hard work to become a doctor and thought it seems like a silly title being a physician is a huge part of Jay and our relationship as Im an emergency room RN.
What was your favorite moment? Your favorite crafted detail?
My favorited moment was walking down the aisle and staring at the man I love thinking this is exactly where we are supposed to be and this is exactly how it is supposed to be. My heart was literally pounding and I could have burst for the amount of love I felt for my husband in that moment. After the wedding we were talking about our favorite moments and Jay said this was also his favorite.
Tell us about your flowers, your gown, your favors, your cake, etc.
My flowers were the most beautiful bouquets I have ever seen! They were also heavy! The flowers pulled all the colors of the bridesmaid dresses together perfectly. I have to give credit to buds and bloom because they did a fantastic job with the tiny amount of guidance I gave them. The men’s boutonnières were also stunning, a simple succulent that added the finishing touch. I was fearful that Lambeau was going to be a hard place to make look soft and romantic but the large stunning centerpieces stole the show! The room was literally breathtaking with the details from the candelabras to the kissing menu. Like I said before since I have not been dreaming about my wedding since childhood I had no idea what kind of wedding dress I would like. I tried on 4 dress and as soon as I put it on I knew that it was the one. It was elegant and totally me. the color of the dress is what I loved the most, in some light it looked white but it was a very light pink; champagne. I wanted something I could dance in and feel comfortable in.
What is one piece of advice that you could give brides-to-be?
My advice for brides-to-be is to remember why you are having a wedding. Let the day be the day and roll with it. Remember why you are doing all this planning and budgeting and stressing out! Remember its to spend the rest of your life with the person you love. Stick in your means and enjoy it, enjoy the mistakes, enjoy the tears, enjoy the red wine stain down your dress and dance,dance,dance! We lived in the moment with and we had an absolute blast! Also splurge on a photographer! The photos are what we have to remember that day and I have some AMAZING photos! Karen did an amazing job keeping the timeline on schedule, her jokes made everyone laugh and happy. That totally helped Jay and I stay calm and relaxed on our wedding day because we knew she was going to make sure we were happy with everything and where we needed to be. She is much more then a photographer but also a coordinator. I am so happy we found Karen to photograph our wedding!
Photography: Karen Ann Photography | Coordination: sash&bow | Floral Design: Buds 'n Bloom | Wedding Dress: Tie The Knot Bridal Boutique | Cake: Monzu Bakery | Ceremony Venue: St. Mary's Church | Reception Venue: Lambeau Field | Bridesmaids' Dresses: David's Bridal | Hair: Elite Aesthetic | DJ: The New Dance Machine | Groom's Attire: Jos. A. Bank | Groomsmen Attire: Jos. A. Bank