Jennifer and Matthew tied the knot on the same weekend as the bride’s parents almost exactly 30 years prior, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that their wedding was centered around family, friends, and the love they all share.
One of our favorite aspects of this wedding that was beautifully styled by Girl Meets Party is the fact that the bride
learned calligraphy and then wrote thank you cards for every guest that
were specifically tailored to them. That’s just the tip of the iceberg
of surprises that this bride had in store for her guests. See more
details in the full gallery, photographed by Dabble Me This.
Intimate DIY Wedding Details
When we dreamt of our wedding, we always pictured an intimate weekend
filled with our closest family and friends. With every detail planned
with our guests in mind, we settled on Lake Geneva for its quaint feel,
charming backdrop and proximity to Chicago.
I spent the next 14 months planning nearly every day creating every
little detail I could. I created my niece’s flower girl dress for her
as well as designed our wedding invitations. I wanted our wedding
invitations to be a true preview for the day. To do so, I designed
matching menus.
One Of A Kind Thank You Cards
Labels with Love helped me to create matching mini champagne labels that
I used for our place cards and favors. I created signs for each table
with every ‘first dance song’ and why it was chosen to be inclusive of
all guests.
By far the best surprise at the table though was the thank you cards. I
learned calligraphy for the wedding, and I hand calligraphed our
wedding invitations, a special sign for our rings to be photographed on
and thank you notes for every single guest. We wanted our guests to
know just how special they were to us so we wrote them personalized
thank you notes detailing our favorite memory we had spent with them and
thanking them for being an intricate part to our big day. The cards
were awaiting them at their place setting.
Father & Daughter First Look
Our wedding date was the same weekend my parents married 30 years prior.
As my ‘something borrowed,’ I redesigned my mother’s wedding dress and
wore my grandmother’s engagement diamond as a necklace. As an only
child and a forever ‘daddy’s girl,’ I wanted a first look with my dad.
The second he turned around, he couldn’t help but cry looking at his
‘little girl’ in his wife’s wedding dress.
My favorite part was surprising our guests after dinner with an
engagement & wedding highlight reel.
Wedding Memories In Motion
Matt proposed with a video, and we decided to carry the momentum through
our engagement documenting all events. We captured photos and videos
of all key pre-wedding events: bridal showers, asking our wedding party
attendants, the bachelor and bachelorette parties, our Friday night
sunset cruise and the wedding ceremony. Our videographer, Pat Clark Productions, blended our
moments with the music perfectly. We all gathered around the dance
floor to watch laughing and sharing tears of joy.
We proceeded to dance the night away soaking in as many memories as we
could.
