Category Archives: Wedding Planning

Melissa & Nate’s Sheboygan Engagement

Ellie Martin Cliffe

Melissa & Nate’s Sheboygan engagement

Ten years after they parted ways, Melissa gave in to her co-worker’s coaxing and asked Nate on a date. And he said yes! “We spent the entire night catching up, and talked to the morning hours,” says Melissa, who’s mom to daughter McKenna. “We have been together ever since, and feel so blessed that w...

Milwaukee Wedding Jewelry For Any Couple

Ellie Martin Cliffe

Milwaukee wedding jewelry for any couple

It’s a fact: The round diamond solitaire and plain wedding band are here to stay. They’re the classic symbol of marriage in America, and if you love all things traditional, the choice is clear. If you’ve got another kind of style, you might have to do a bit more looking. We asked four area jewelers ...

"Think Pink" At Your Milwaukee Wedding

Ellie Martin Cliffe

“Think pink” at your Milwaukee wedding

With Breast Cancer Awareness Month in full swing, the color pink is everywhere: T-shirts, water bottles, billboards…even kitchen appliances. And it can be at your wedding, too.

Julie & Kweku's Milwaukee Engagement

Ellie Martin Cliffe

Julie & Kweku’s Milwaukee engagement

A Walgreens bag containing orange juice, cough drops and Sudafed proved to Julie, who had a bad cold, that her UW-Madison classmate Kweku was a super-sweet guy. Years later, on Julie’s birthday, Kweku gave her another Walgreens bag. This time, the Sudafed was missing, and in its place, an engagement...

Farm Weddings In Wisconsin

Ellie Martin Cliffe

Farm weddings in Wisconsin

Since we live in the Dairy State, it’s only natural that many Wisconsin couples choose to marry on a farm. These weddings have a style all their own, mixing down-to-earth sensibility with homespun hospitality, and vintage elements that honor a rich heritage.

Wedding Diary: Tiffany's Bachelorette Party

Tiffany

Wedding Diary: Tiffany’s bachelorette party

Hello, brides and brides-to-be! I am about five weeks out from my wedding date and am glad to have survived one of the more fun events during my wedding planning journey—the bachelorette party! I am fortunate to have some of the best friends ever, all who wanted to celebrate my last days as a single...

Milwaukee Wedding Trend: Comfort Food

Ellie Martin Cliffe

Milwaukee wedding trend: comfort food

Next time you’re outside, look around. Fields, gardens and orchards are brimming with abundance—the produce we’ve been waiting for since spring: squash, beets, apples, cranberries and much, much more. It’s the stuff of comfort food, and if you’re like us, your mouth waters just thinking about ...

Milwaukee Wedding Q&A: Fall Flowers

Ellie Martin Cliffe

Milwaukee wedding Q&A: Fall flowers

It’s officially autumn (yes!), and that got us wondering how flower trends are changing with the seasons. To find out, we sat down with Milwaukee florist Emily Neubauer, AIFD. Over the nine years she’s owned Belle Fiori, 931 E. Ogden Ave., Neubauer and her team’s timeless, romantic desig...

Milwaukee Wedding Trend: Trash The Dress

Ellie Martin Cliffe

Milwaukee wedding trend: trash the dress

We’ve all watched them…those YouTube videos of a bride accidentally falling off a pier or tripping into a mud puddle. From the look on her face, it’s clearly not the destiny she’d envisioned for her gown. But we’ve also seen images of a bride who’s filthy or soaked, and she’s grinning. Either ...

Look Gorgeous Your Whole Wedding Day

Amanda Shallow

Look gorgeous your whole wedding day

The day of your wedding finally approaches! Fast-forward through the ceremony, formal photos and cocktail hour. How do you think your makeup will withstand the craziness? As hectic as your day is, you’ll probably be keeping a checklist that includes items from your dress and shoes to accessories and...

Wedding Diary: Tiffany's Bridal Showers

Tiffany

Wedding Diary: Tiffany’s bridal showers

For most brides, a special part of the wedding process is when friends and family “shower you with love.” Traditionally, one or two showers were the norm, but lately it seems like three or four are the trend. Whether they’ve had one, two or three showers, brides before me have said each was a unique...

What To Do With Your Gown After "I Do"

Ellie Martin Cliffe

What to do with your gown after “I do”

Just a few weeks ago, my husband, Ian, and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary (there we are in the photo!). Throughout the day, my mind wandered back to whatever event was taking place around that time: sending an undercover “good morning” text to my groom, arriving at the salon,...

How To Get A Wisconsin Marriage License

Ellie Martin Cliffe

How to get a Wisconsin marriage license

You’re planning to apply for a marriage license, you’ve lined up your two adult witnesses and booked a state-approved officiant (right?), but do you know all of the other requirements—like the five-day waiting period, the fee and more—that you’ll need to meet to make your bond official? We’ve ...

Wedding Diary: Tiffany's Adventures In Bridesmaid Dress Shopping

Tiffany

Wedding Diary: Tiffany’s adventures in bridesmaid dress shopping

Every bride has her own special way of asking, “Will you be one of my bridesmaids?” For me it was a personal, individual experience with each of my attendants, and I was so excited to ask those closest to me if they would stand by my side as I walk down the aisle this November. My fiancé, Nick, and ...

Milwaukee Wedding Trend: Proposal Photos

Ellie Martin Cliffe

Milwaukee wedding trend: proposal photos

For Megan Tarrolly, June 26 started as an ordinary Tuesday. Mid-morning, her boyfriend, Adam Dixon, called to invite her to dinner that night. He wanted to eat at the Silver Spur, the spot where they’d met and where they planned to go for their third anniversary a few weeks later.

A Warm Milwaukee Welcome (bag)

Ellie Martin Cliffe

A warm Milwaukee welcome (bag)

Ask Milwaukeeans what’s on the docket for summer, and they’re likely to offer two answers: festivals and weddings. But they don’t keep all the fun to themselves—festival-goers and to-be-weds alike invite friends and family from near and far to be their guests.

Creative Centerpieces For Any Budget

Ellie Martin Cliffe

Creative centerpieces for any budget

A lush and romantic mix by Belle Fiori; photo by m three studio If dancing is one of the most anticipated parts of a wedding reception, sharing a meal with friends and family is surely the other. And as everyone feasts, the table centerpieces are certain to catch their eye. Here, area wedding pros s...

Wedding Diary: Tiffany's Gift Registry

Tiffany

Wedding Diary: Tiffany’s gift registry

Registering is a fun part of wedding planning. Even before I was officially engaged, I started to collect items in catalogues and make mental notes at friends’ weddings regarding the things we should be sure to add to our registry. My fiancé, Nick, and I just went through the process, so here’...

Wedding Guide: Beauty

Ellie Martin Cliffe

Wedding guide: beauty

A bride’s gown and winning smile are only part of her wedding-day look: head-to-toe beauty plays a big role, too. That’s why it’s important for brides-to-be to truly trust their stylist, makeup artist and nail technician. With the growing popularity of hair and makeup trials and fr...

Wedding Diary: Tiffany's Dress Search

Tiffany

Wedding Diary: Tiffany’s dress search

Planning a wedding is a big deal. After all, these decisions shape one of the most important days of your life, and it can be really easy to feel overwhelmed and lose sight of what’s really important. Meet Tiffany (not her real name), a real Milwaukee bride who’s agreed to share her plan...