A Modern Memphis Wedding with a Chicago Twist

When the love of your life shows up, you just know. Nicole and Trey met in high school and had a few mutual friends in common. They easily became friends but quickly knew that being friends just wasn’t going to cut it. Neither of them would have guessed, in a million years, that they end up marrying their high school sweetheart. Although Nicole knew she was going to marry her high school sweetheart, she wanted to finish college and get settled into her career before getting married.

Wedding Date: 10.26.13
Wedding Location: Opera Memphis, Memphis, TN
Wedding Theme: Nicole and Trey had a modern wedding with a Chicago twist
Favorite Accessory: Her favorite accessory was most definitely her hairpiece. It was a beautiful addition that added the perfect touch to her simple, yet elegant wedding gown.
First Dance Song: “Stay With You” by John Legend played as the couple danced their first dance together. Afterwards, they did a fun dance number to a montage of their favorite songs of the year.
Wedding Cake Flavors: Strawberry and Red Velvet
Wedding Menu Favorite: The guests were treated to a Chicago food station where they were able to enjoy Chicago style deep-dish pizza. What’s a Chicago style wedding without deep-dish pizza?
Bridesmaids Gifts: Each of the bridesmaids were gifted flip-flops to change into, wine tumblers, wedding jewelry, handmade hangers with each of the bridesmaid’s names, and clutches.
Groomsmen Gifts: The groomsmen were given matching socks and custom Converse sneakers that embossed their names as well.

The Proposal

Once Nicole was ready to get married, she was a little discouraged when she and Trey would take perfect proposal trips came and went and many of her friends had begun to get engaged. Just when she was ready to give up hope on getting her ring anytime soon, the two of them planned a trip to Chicago. Nicole loves to travel and was excited for the trip together. She was hoping that it would be THE trip and packed her favorite outfits. They missed their flight and ended up getting to Chicago very late. She had no idea that her engagement ring was in the luggage on the flight they had missed. On the very last day of their trip, Trey told her that he had made breakfast reservations for the two of them at the only time that was available that morning. Because she’s not a morning person, she wasn’t in the greatest of moods, put her hair in a ponytail, and threw on jeans, a t-shirt, and flip-flops. She didn’t speak at all on the entire ride to breakfast. Needless to say, her entire mood changed when they arrived at the Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower for the private breakfast the Trey had planned. At the end of their breakfast, Trey played a very sweet slideshow of various pictures of them throughout the years, to a song that would later be used as their first dance song. By the time the slideshow ended, Nicole was in tears and Trey was down on one knee, professing his love for her and asking for her hand in marriage. Nicole was presented with “the most beautiful ring she’d ever seen.”

To top off the proposal, their waiter had captured every moment of the proposal in a video, after which Trey played a video of all of Nicole’s family and friends congratulating the on their engagement. They’ll always have the videos to look back on and remind them of that special moment. It was the perfect ending to a perfect proposal.

Wedding Style: Nicole wore a fit-and-flare ivory dress with a beaded belt and corset back. The bottom was tiered with satin trim.
Incorporation of Culture: Nicole is part German and made sure to incorporate German food and wine during the cocktail hour.
Most Memorable Moment: The most memorable moment for Nicole was the first look, where she able to spend a few moments with Trey prior to the ceremony. She states that she’s glad that she did it and that it didn’t take away from the her special moment of walking down the aisle. They both cried.
Help A Bride-to-Be Out: “Consider doing a first-look. I was able to spend so much more time with family in the end because we didn’t have tons of pictures to take immediately after the ceremony. If you are able to budget for a planner, do it! It was the best decision I’ve made of the whole wedding. She took all the stress away from planning and made it more fun.”
Wedding Advice: “Make your wedding your own. It doesn’t have to be a certain way because each couple is different. Why should any two weddings be the same? It’s a day to celebrate the two of you so plan it how you’d want it to be.”