Amy and Daneen opted for a romantic, private, intimate ceremony with just 25 guests. Then, they threw a reception to remember. Think food stations, local singers, homemade desserts and beer waffles.
THE LOVE TALE
A mutual friend knew that we would be a perfect match. They arranged for us to meet at a birthday celebration. Since we were both too shy to make initial overtures, our friend formally introduced us. It wasn’t long until we were inseparable.
Both growing up playing soccer, being competitive is one of the many things we have in common. When it came time to propose, neither of us wanted to be outdone, so we both gave proposing a go!
Amy proposed first on a trip to the Grand Canyon. We took a walk along a high ridge, and after about 5 hours, Amy insisted Daneen check the map. To her surprise, there was a laminated picture of their dog and cat in bow ties with a handwritten note on the back asking Daneen to marry her.
A few months later, Daneen executed her plan. She loves art and drawing, and so she created an illustrated book of their love story. She wrapped the book up, and sent Amy on a scavenger hunt around their apartment, complete with clues. The last one leading to the ring.
THE WEDDING DAY VENUE
After a brief discussion, it made complete sense to both of us that our ideal wedding venue would be a craft brewery. Since we both love exploring and supporting local craft breweries and we wanted to be married at a non-traditional venue.
We stumbled across a local brewery on the outskirts of the city. As soon as we stepped through the doors, we immediately knew that this was where our special day needed to happen. Not only were we greeted by an adorable dog, but we immediately realized that the space itself was a perfectly intimate location that would not only suit our needs, but would exceed expectations of our family and friends. The modern, open-concept, picnic table style seating was exactly what we had envisioned.
The exposed wood beams, wrapped with twinkle lights and brick interior were exquisitely intimate.
For us, the icing on the cake, (pardon the pun), was when the brewery operators told us that we could have our ceremony in the tank room of the brewery, between the giant vats.
THE WEDDING DAY
Being private people, we decided to have a small and intimate ceremony with 25 of our closest friends and family in attendance. We wanted our ceremony to be personal and representative of who we are. Our dog, Bear, was our fuzzy, four-legged ring bearer. We feel that our handwritten vows and music played by Amy’s brother contributed to the intimacy of the evening. The brewery created a specialty raspberry brew for us. We were able to cheers with on our walk out of the vats.
Shortly after the ceremony, the rest of our friends and relatives showed up to join the celebration.
We really wanted our day to be welcoming, laid-back, fun, and filled with love. There was live music played by a local singer/guitarist, multiple food stations, ping pong, homemade desserts, and beer-battered waffles for everyone to enjoy.
We tried to incorporate as many personal touches as possible, drawing inspiration from the venue itself. We designed our own drink coasters, personalized beer labels, handmade posters of our love story. And, we created centerpieces made from spray-painted beer cans and growlers. Our guestbook consisted of snapping a polaroid instead of a traditional signing. And, in place of a takeaway gift, we made a donation to the Rescue Organization that we adopted our dog from.
Although the day passed by with a blink, it was everything we wanted and more. We are truly excited to start the next chapter of our lives together, with the unwavering love and support of our family and friends!
Photography by Studio Baze
