Lighthearted, fun, welcoming, Cincinnati-proud, thoughtful and timeless. These characteristics are what we wanted our guests to feel from the moment they received our Save the Date to the last minutes they spent dancing at our reception. The most thrilling aspect of planning our wedding was being able to intentionally create an experience for our loved ones that so genuinely spoke to who we are as a couple; our personalities, quirks and love for Cincinnati. Prior to planning anything, we both voiced the things that were important to us personally and kept each other accountable to make those things top priority and special.
For our engagement session we picked places we normally went on weekends like Findlay market and hiking with our dog in Ault Park, which helped to ease the awkwardness of posing and kissing on cue. Our photos turned out very playful and made for cute, custom Save the Dates that set the initial vibe for our wedding. When it came down to deciding on a venue, Adam’s love of historic Cincinnati crossed perfectly with my background in architecture and design. We visited the Monastery in early 2016 while it was in the middle of an intense renovation and instantly knew it was our venue, even through the rows of scaffolding. Its historical significance coupled with stunning architecture and sweeping views was our trifecta.
As the months rolled on, and believe me they roll fast, we made hundreds of decisions that helped our wedding take shape. Some decisions were more important to me, like designing our printed material and having our dog be the ring bearer; and some decisions were more important to Adam, like booking straight razor shaves for his groomsmen and serving local food at our rehearsal dinner. *ProTip – keep reminding one another what is important vs. what is just a decision that just needs to be made.
Up until our wedding week, most things were just logistics. Where should the DJ set up? What is the order of events? Where do I seat people? But when the day-of finally arrived, the feeling of being lost in logistics turned into a feeling of being lost in the magic. My whole life I’ve heard my wedding day would be the best day of my life and it absolutely was nothing short of that cliché. Everything felt perfect, even if it wasn’t. Suddenly all those little details we’d been planning for months had come together to create a cohesive, welcoming and romantic evening.
In reality, all we really needed to become husband and wife was Adam, myself, two witnesses and our pastor. But for us, our wedding was about more than just him and I. We wanted it to be a celebration of the people in our life that helped shape us into the people each other fell for. We are incredibly thankful for our community of family and friends and had the most brilliant time celebrating with them.
Vendors:
Bridal Registry: MyRegistry.com linked them all together, but we registered at REI, Macy's, Crate & Barrel, and Bed, Bath & Beyond.
Catering: The Monastery Event Center, Receptions
Confections: The Bonbonerie and Holtman's Donuts
Decor/Gifts: I did this myself with the help of Queen City Vintage
Dress: Bridal and Formal
Florist: Petals n' Glass
Formal Wear: Jos A Banks
Invitations: I am a graphic designer, so I created all print material
Jewelers: Welling Jewelers
Limo Service: Cincinnati Motortoys
Photography/Videography: Larrison Photography
Salon: Pump Salon for the girls and Salzano's Barbershop for straight edge shaves for the men
Travel Agent: We planned our trip ourselves and traveled to Italy
Venue: The Monastery Event Center
Wedding Planner: Myself