On the beautiful Mississippi River Museum in Dubuque, Iowa, Hope and Charlie tied the knot on September 12, 2015 with a modern romance wedding surrounded by beautiful shades of blush and gold.
"When we got engaged a year ago to the date of our wedding, we knew we wanted to have an outdoor wedding. Living in Iowa, that can be very risky as it can be warm and sunny one day and the next can be brisk and rainy! From the moment we got engaged, we wanted our wedding to be different. There aren't many wedding venues to choose from in Dubuque, IA, especially if you want an outdoor tented reception, like us. When we found out the Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium could accommodate our guest list in their boatyard area and that no one in Dubuque has done that before, we fell in love with the idea!
A lot of the inspiration for our wedding came from Pinterest, Etsy, and Instagram. I wanted light, neutral colors with accents of pastels, metallics, and textures. I had all of my bridesmaids pick out their own dresses. I told them to pick short dresses with different fabrics, shades of neutrals, and to have fun with it! Wedding planning was so much fun and I just couldn't get enough of it! However, with our busy lives we decided to hire Cathy from Second to None to help decorate our venue including all of the flowers. I gave her a few ideas and pictures of what our vision was and she nailed it! We loved every part of our beautifully elegant tented wedding reception.
The wedding day was truly the best day ever. It started off by waking up with my bridesmaids who stayed with me the night before. We relaxed, shared memories, practiced yoga, and laughed. Our hair and makeup stylists came to us while we got ready, which helped tremendously. I couldn't have asked for a better way to start our wedding day - stress free. Thankfully we had Mother Nature on our side, as the weather was 68 degrees and sunny which offered great lighting for our outdoor photos. Our ceremony was short and sweet, but very meaningful to us, from the officiant's homily to the musician's lyrics. We shared those moments with the ones we love the most, and included those who no longer walk the earth with us. Once the ceremony ended, our photographer snuck us away as the sun was setting to capture some stunning photos. This was one of my favorite moments that I will cherish forever. It was our first time as a married couple to really be with each other, in the moment. The rest of the night was just as amazing as the day! We ate, we drank, we danced, and we celebrated! It was The. Best. Day. Ever." - Hope, The Bride
