A White + Lilac Romantic Wisconsin Wedding

Taylor and Cameron’s gorgeous wedding day started in Durand with a beautiful church ceremony. With a white, blush and lilac hotel wedding reception, there was so much beauty and so much love throughout their beautiful wedding day. Scroll on down to take a peek for yourself!

Photography: Alisha Marie Photography | Ceremony Venue: Durand United Methodist Church | Reception Venue: Sleep inn and suites and conference center | Floral: Allure Premiere Event Florists | Stationery: Cards and Pockets | Wedding Cake: 29 pines | Hair: reflections | Wedding Dress: David Tutera Justice | Groom's Attire: Allure Premiere Event Florists | Bride's Shoes: TOMS | Submitted via: Matchology

A Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor Wedding

Paul and Emily met while in college at Villanova, but they were only ever acquaintances. It wasn’t until the pair ended up attending the same medical school that they became friends. They bonded over a conversation about consciousness, and after that Paul knew he needed to get know Emily better. He waited a few months before asking her on a date, and the rest was history. After two years of supporting one another through the challenges of medical school, Paul popped the question on the bay in Ocean City, Maryland on Thanksgiving Day.

As Paul and Emily began planning their wedding, they knew they wanted to make sure their day would bring their families and friends together. They also had their hearts set on having the ceremony at the Baltimore Basilica. They fell in love with its magnificent architecture and ornate details, and it also represented the traditional elements of their Catholic faith. Emily wanted to incorporate her favorite things about Maryland throughout the day as a way of introducing them to Paul’s family and friends, who were from New York. Of course the food included lots of crab cakes, oysters and they added Maryland themed stickers to indicate meals on their place cards. They even included the famous crab chips with Chesapeake Bay crab seasoning and other local treats as late night snack takeaways for guests.

With so many wonderful memories from the day, it was hard for the couple to pinpoint just one. Emily was so thankful that her mother and a few friends put together their bouquets, boutonnieres and centerpieces. Each and every time she saw them she thought they were not only beautiful but saw the love, time and effort put into each and every one of them. After their reception they snuck away to steal a few moments together before the after party, and those photos are some of their absolute favorites.

Emily wanted to share this piece of advice to couples that are in the midst of planning, “Definitely keep an open line of communication with family during the planning. It really helps when everyone is on the same page. And keep in mind, everyone has the same goal: to help make this one of the best days of your life!”

Ceremony Venue | Baltimore Basilica of the Assumption
Reception Venue + Catering | Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards
Photography | Be Photography 
Wedding Coordination | Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards
Floral Design | Costco
DJ + MC | Santana Entertainment
Bakery | Charm City Cakes
Bridal Gown | Alfred Angelo
Bridesmaid Attire | Alfred Angelo

Reserving Hotel Rooms for Guests

For our wedding, everyone was coming from out of town. While a majority of my family and friends flew in town for the weekend, everyone had to at least drive a couple of hours. So having guest reservations was a must for us! And even if everyone is from in town, I would highly recommend setting up room blocks for those who want to stay...for those partying a little too hard the night ;)

First of all, I recommend setting up room blocks with two hotels...more than two overwhelms your guests, believe it or not, and it is fun for them to be altogether! The hotels you choose should have the following:
   - Have one higher priced and one lower priced hotel to cater to all of your guests
   - Shuttles! If possible, choose hotels that will provide shuttles to and from the wedding!
   - Proximity to your wedding site. Don't choose hotels that are 2 hours from your wedding, no matter how nice they are! You can generally find a hotel within 10 minutes of your wedding and walking distance is even better!

When setting up room blocks with a hotel, there are different ways you can set it up:

1. Reserve the rooms - This means that you will have to enter into a contract with the hotel and guarantee a certain number of rooms will be booked by guests. If that number is not reached, then you will have to pay for the remainder of the rooms. The positive to doing it this way is that your rooms will not sell out because they are reserved for you and only you!
2. Room rates only - Yes, you can get special room rates even at hotels you are not getting married at just by asking! Some will provide a link and some will put the reservation under your name. In this case, hotels may potentially sell out, even before your guests have reserved their rooms. However, if no one stays there, you don't owe the hotel anything!

So there are pros and cons to the different hotel room blocks, so just make sure you do what is going to work best for you and your guests. Traveling to a wedding is costly for your guests so make it as simple as possible as you can :)