It seemed only natural to Lauren that her college sweetheart, Lee, would invite her to take their dog, Bernie, on a walk. Not knowing what was in store, Lauren asked his sister to come along to enjoy the fall colors, too. “We walked for a mile or so, and stopped to take a picture,” Lauren says. “Lee pulled me close, told me he loved me, got down on one knee and asked. I said yes immediately.” Meanwhile, Lee’s sister was recording the whole thing on video.
Residents of Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood, Lauren and Lee decided to stick around for their winter engagement photo session with Valo Photography (and Bernie!). “We felt that it was the most ‘us’ place in the city,” explains Lauren. “The area has some great architecture and views of the river and cityscape.”
“It was unbelievably cold that day,” says the bride. “When we were done, we offered to buy [photographers] Simon and Jake a beer at our favorite bar, Wolski’s, to warm up. We had a blast!”
Lee and Lauren got married on July 21 at a simple and chic riverside ceremony in Hubbard Park. Family and friends pitched in to give this fun-loving couple a great send-off. College friends and owners of Atchison Entertainment came from Minneapolis to provide the music, and Lee’s mom and sisters arranged the green and white flowers, thanks to a gift from family friends at Stoney Point Flowers.
“[The Lodge] has a great stone fireplace, exposed brick, a wooden ceiling and very cool light fixtures,” says Lauren of their reception space. The intimate feel is just what the newlyweds ordered—perfect for such a close-knit bunch.
Photographs by Valo Photography
Congratulations, newlyweds!
By the end of high school, Ellie Martin Cliffe was completely enamored of journalism, so she chose the most logical college major possible: anthropology. Disappointed by the minimal emphasis on writing and editing, she changed tracks and earned a comm degree from Carroll College. Ellie has since tackled many facets of the field including books, magazines and the Web at places like The Knot and Reader's Digest. She now works full time in book publishing, and is thrilled to get her wedding fix with WedInMilwaukee.com. When she isn’t wielding her (red) pen, Ellie can be found in the garden, at any concert that showcases a fiddle, playing pub trivia or in the kitchen. She and her husband live in Riverwest with their hedgehog, Guinness, and grapefruit tree, Sprout.
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