The sweetest Swiss wedding in Oconomowoc
The pains of wedding planning during COVID haven't only been felt by couples across the US. After all, it is a global pandemic. It wasn't really until the inquiry came through from Grégoire that I truly understood this sweeping struggle to simply plan a wedding.
Alexandra and Grégoire reached out back in August of 2020 (riiight in the thick of it). A young couple from Switzerland planning to get married in Wisconsin. A lot of Greg's family lives in Waukesha; and a lot of Ali's family live in the states. They both love the US, and much of their journey began in the South. Ali + Greg planned to visit Wisconsin in the summer of 2020, check out venues + allow their extended families to properly meet before the nuptials.
Spoiler alert: the pandemic raged on, and international boarders closed. Ali + Greg were frozen.
My heart went out to these two throughout our entire planning process. What a struggle! We moved from venue to venue, trying to find the perfect spot, all while risking deposits + commitments, given the climate. Truth be told, there were moments I worried I couldn't even handle it.
On top of the stress of COVID wedding planning, these are clients living across the globe. International travel bans are just not in my wheelhouse! And, if you hadn't gathered this already, I really dislike the inability to make people happy.
During moments of despair, I would sit back on Zoom calls and just listen to Ali + Greg talk to each other in French. Truly, this improved my spirit!
These two get each other. Ali + Greg have an adorable chemistry, and it wasn't until seeing them (finally!) IRL during the week of their wedding that I felt it, sincerely. Opposites attract-meets-Swiss magic.
There's a very warm place in my heart because of these two. For whatever reason, they trusted me with their US wedding - the venue, the colors, the flow, the vendors. With their guidance, I really had the floor to create magic for them. This gave me a ton of anxiety, but also warmed me from the inside out. All I wanted to do was give them the US celebration of love that they so undoubtedly deserved.
It was a tumultuous journey, but this past July we made it! The beautiful Alexandra and the charming Grégoire had their US wedding celebration at the Carriage House at Lac La Belle in Oconomowoc. TJ and Shannon photographed this day, and Lisa with Sunborn Gardens brought in alllllll the wildflowers. Knowing that Ali + Greg wanted to incorporate muted pastel colors, the wildflowers straight from Sunborn fields were nécessaire!
The Swiss juice was worth the squeeze.
To everyone involved in this project, thank you. We didn't know who could enter the states, and we didn't know what toll the pandemic would take. Thank you for this incredibly lovely day. Just so much love. Shannon and I cried during one of the video montages, and we have no regrets. On that, or anything else.
Wedding dresses: Rime Arodaky + Anna Kara
Suiting: Pelikamo
Floral: Sunborn Gardens
Hmu: Arch Apothecary
Entertainment: Milwaukee Airwaves