Real Bride: Ashley McMahon
Ashley had a "Pinterest Perfect" rustic wedding in Stoughton Wisconsin. If the absolutely stunning decor and picturesque venue doesn't draw you in, I'm sure her adorable puppy sure will!
Your name: Ashley McMahon Grooms name: Brooks McMahon Wedding date: August 19, 2017 City, State: Stoughton, WI
Tell us more about you!
How long have you been together? Brooks and I have been together for six years now! We met the first day of college at the University of Minnesota Duluth and have been inseparable since that day.
How did he propose? (Or how did you propose!) We met in Duluth and grew our love and relationship there. After college, we moved away and always travel back there for vacations—so many amazing memories! It was Labor Day weekend and we stayed at a new hotel in the area that overlooks Lake Superior and the Duluth Harbor. We decided to wake up Saturday morning at 5:30AM to drive down to the beach and watch the sunrise. We set up our chairs, brought our puppy, and sat there and watched the incredible “show.” Brooks knows I love pictures, so I set up my phone on the 10 second timer, propped it on my chair, and we took a photo with the sunrise in the background. When we looked at it, it was a beautiful silhouette of us. Brooks told me to take another one. Within that next 10 seconds, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him…and we got it on camera! It was the most beautiful moment in our favorite place, where we had met.
What was your favorite part of the wedding? My favorite part of the wedding was definitely when we exchanged our vows at the ceremony! Nothing else mattered in that moment and I was so blown away with how amazing Brooks’ vows were. It was such a special moment for the both of us. I would also have to say that our gift opening was also memorable—we both got each other the same thing—a Kimber pistol. Our photographer and videographer both laughed and said “this is a first”…for more reasons than one.
What went wrong with your wedding? I didn’t even realize it until someone told me, but the music for our ceremony did not work due to technical issues. So, our entire bridal party had to walk down the aisle in silence. I was bummed to hear this because I had worked hard to pick out all of our songs. We also had a slideshow with music during the reception that started to skip…but if that was the only thing that went wrong, I would say it was a perfect day. Darn technology!
Did you find any tricks to save you money? Brooks bought me a Cricut machine for my birthday (you make designs and the machine cuts vinyl for signs or stencils) and it absolutely saved us a ton of money! It took a LOT of patience and a LOT of our time, but it was worth it in the end.
If you could go back and redo it, would you change anything and what? I would have tried to be more “in the moment” instead of worrying about my timeline all day long. It is funny…you have people telling you, “just enjoy the moment and relax,” but the same people also want a timeline for what is happening every 10 minutes.
Do you have any advice for new brides? I learned so much from our wedding that I could go on and on, but a few tips: *Having a day-of coordinator (a good one—check reviews) is SO worth it! It helped relieve a lot of our stress the day of. You know when people tell you, “stop worrying about everything and remember the day is about the two of you”…it is true! Yes, I felt the details made our day even more perfect, but at the end of your day, it is about the two of you committing yourselves to each other for life. No one will remember the color of your napkins. *If you are getting ready at your venue, have bins for each bridesmaid with their name on it. Have them throw their things in it the minute you get there. Otherwise, you will be taking photos in your bridal suite with underwear, phone chargers, and stuff everywhere…does not make for great photos ;-) Girls are messy! *Have someone in charge of reminding you throughout the day…”Are you in this moment?” I had someone who reminded me of this throughout the day and it was amazing! It is easy to worry about the entire day…be in the moment. You have planned this day forever, enjoy it! *Take a moment for just the two of you! We skipped our cocktail hour and sat in the ceremony barn and just relaxed together.
Did you over-plan or under-plan or was it just right? I am an over-planner and that is how I operate. It was “just right” in my eyes, but to others it may have been a little much!
Did any of your vendors knock your socks off? Every. Single. One. Not kidding! Do your research and don’t book with the first cake baker you go to.
Did any of your vendors disappoint? No!
What was one (or more!) special element in your wedding that isn’t in most? We literally made almost everything ourselves. It made it more special that we worked so hard on all of the details! We also had a live cam of the Duluth bridge and Lake Superior in the background, which was one of my favorite details, as that is where we met.
What do you wish you’d spent more on (whether you were able to or not)? We spent enough.
Where do you feel like you could have saved money or overspent? We worked really hard to research every aspect of our wedding to get the “best bang for our buck” and I think overall, we wouldn’t change anything. We made a lot of our decorations ourselves and felt that all of our vendors were more than worth the money we spent.
How many guests did you invite vs how many RSVPed vs how many actually came? We invited 283 and about 215 RSVP’d. I would guess about 200-205 showed up.
Wedding venue: The Fields Reserve Caterer: JL Richard’s Photographer: Shan St. Clair Photography Videographer: Simply Love Films Planner: Eventful’s Planning & Wedding Rentals (Day of Coordination) DJ/Band: Jukebox Bandstand Dress Designer: Maggie Sotterro Bridal Salon: Vera’s House of Bridal Bridesmaids designer: Bill Levkoff Bridesmaids Salon: Vera’s House of Bridal Menswear: Nedrebo’s Officiant: Family Friend Florist: Oregon Floral Jeweler: The Diamond Center Hair stylist: Lexa’s Luxurious Looks Makeup Artist: Lexa’s Luxurious Looks
Cake: Little Lainey’s Cake Company Invitations: Minuteman Press Rentals: Eventful’s Planning & Wedding Rentals Bartender: The Fields Reserve Transportation: Friend (school bus)
