We balance each other out because I’m the most extroverted person you’ll ever meet!
Gretchen —— We live in downtown Chicago and have been together almost six years. I’m a talent acquisition manager and Nathan recently left the music industry and now works in business development. We connected via a dating app in 2018 and finally met up for drinks and a concert.
My first impression of Nathan was how sweet he was; he’s still the sweetest man I’ve ever met. Nathan is a bit reserved until you get to know him. We balance each other out because I’m the most extroverted person you’ll ever meet!
Nathan proposed on my family’s boat. He asked me to “come look at this” on the boat deck and as soon as I saw rose petals on the floor, I knew what was happening and started shaking! Our families joined us shortly after he popped the question, and we ate and drank the night away as the sun set over Lake Michigan.
When we started to curate our wedding weekend, we came across this quote: “If you’d never been to or heard of a wedding, how would you picture yours?” That stayed with us throughout the planning process. Each decision was based on our feelings. We wanted whimsical, playful, colourful, authentic, romantic, emotional and memorable. We actually never met our wedding planner in person! All of our communication with her was via email, Skype and text.
When we visited the area for the first time to see venues, she had another wedding to attend and during our wedding weekend, there were airport strikes in Milan and her flight from London was cancelled. It was a stressful moment with 48 hours to go, but the founder of the wedding planning company was able to take over.
For our welcome party, we wanted guests to have fun with their looks (since we were in Italy) and opted for the theme of La Dolce Vita. I steered away from the traditional white bridal look and wore a chartreuse mini dress by Aje, platform heels by Jeffery Campbell, a Gucci hair scarf and Marc Jacobs bag. Nathan rocked a forest green Ted Baker suit with a crisp Robert Barakett tee and brown suede loafers. For our wedding day, I wore a Danielle Frankel gown. It was the only dress I tried on that made me emotional. The moment I looked in the mirror, I knew I had to have it. There were two accessories I wore that are very sentimental to me: a hankie that my great-great-grandmother used on her wedding day, which has been passed down to each generation since, and a ring that my mother gifted me moments before she walked me down the aisle. Nathan wore a Ted Baker tux and accessorised it with a Tissot watch, which I had gifted him moments before we left for Italy.
PHOTOGRAPHER Kristin Piteo, @kristinpiteophoto VIDEOGRAPHER Marco Laboria, @marcolaboriawedding CEREMONY LOCATION Villa Carlotta, @villacarlotta_lakecomo RECEPTION LOCATION, CATERING & CAKE Grand Hotel Tremezzo, @ghtlakecomo CELEBRANT Tom Behm BRIDE’S WELCOME PARTY DRESS Aje, @_aje_ BRIDE’S WELCOME PARTY SHOES Jeffrey Campbell, @jeffreycampbell BRIDE’S WELCOME PARTY PURSE Marc Jacobs, @marcjacobs GROOM’S WELCOME PARTY SUIT Ted Baker, @tedbaker GROOM’S WELCOME PARTY SHIRT Robert Barakett, @robertbarakett GROOM’S WELCOME PARTY SHOES Aldo, @aldo_shoes FLORA Riccardo Ciceri Flower Designer, @riccardociceri STATIONERY Grand Hotel Tremezzo, @ghtlakecomo; Chelsi Architzel, @byeyedesign.studio HAIR & MAKEUP Oriana Curti, @weddingbyjoy BRIDE’S FRAGRANCE Gucci, @gucci GROOM’S FRAGRANCE Chanel, @chanelofficial BRIDE’S GOWN Danielle Frankel Studio, @daniellefrankelstudio GROOM’S TUXEDO Ted Baker, @tedbaker BRIDE’S SHOES Valentino, @maisonvalentino GROOM’S SHOES Nordstrom, @nordstrom BRIDE’S RING Cartier, @cartier GROOM’S RING Windy City Diamonds, @windycitydiamonds BRIDE’S EARRINGS Mejuri, @mejuri BRIDE’S HANKY Passed down from great-great-grandmother GROOM’S WATCH Tissot, @tissot_official BRIDE’S SUNGLASSES Le Specs, @lespecs GROOM’S SUNGLASSES Ray Ban, @rayban GROOMSMEN’S ATTIRE The Black Tux, @theblacktux BRIDE’S AFTER PARTY DRESS Alexis, @shopalexis BRIDE’S AFTER PARTY SHOES Asos, @asos ENTERTAINMENT Blunotte Eventi, @blunotteventi PLANNER Wedding Box Lake Como, @weddingboxlakecomo
