What inspired your vision for your wedding day? Do you have a theme or color palette (I use this to bring stuff for shooting details!) How do you envision your ideal wedding day?

I wanted our wedding decor, and our overall wedding experience, to incorporate mine and George’s two greatest passions: music and mixology. Sheet music, a curation of liquor/wine bottles, and wine corks will be worked into our decor in various places, from the wedding party boutonnieres to the reception centerpieces and escort cards. Our main wedding colors are navy, berry, and metallic gold, and our accent colors are burgundy, forest green, eucalyptus, and blush. In a non-COVID world, my ideal wedding day would be stress-free, big on little details, seamless when it comes to both the decorations and the timeline, and an absolute blast for all in attendance. I still want all of those things, but now my main concern is for the day to actually happen and for everyone we love to still be in attendance, still be safe, and still have a good time.

What is the most anticipated moment of your wedding day?

My most anticipated moment of our wedding day is our first look, though the five minutes we get to be alone right after the ceremony and the moment we’re done with all the planned events and can just enjoy the rest of the evening are up there as well!

What was your favorite part of wedding planning?

Taking our engagement photos, picking out my wedding dress, and doing our catering tasting with Bistro to Go and my parents.

How did you two meet?

We went to the same high school, and though we had various mutual friends and even had a class together, we never really got to know each other. Our paths crossed many years later at a party, after which we became social media friends, but it wasn’t until another two years after that, once I had moved back to Pittsburgh from New York City, that George approached me by the jukebox at Bigham Tavern and we had a real conversation. He got my number that night, we went on our first date about a month later, and we’ve been inseparable ever since!

Tell me about the proposal!

I knew the proposal was coming, but I was totally surprised in the moment when it actually happened! I came home from work and when I opened the door and walked into the kitchen, there was a bouquet of flowers on the counter with the beer glasses we saved from our first date, and I could hear “our” song playing. A path of rose petals led me into the dining room, which George had made into a walk-through collage by hanging a ton of our pictures, ticket stubs, notes to each other, etc. from over the years on strings coming down from the ceiling. The rose petal path continued into the living room, where George was waiting for me in a suit down on one knee. We were both crying, and I was so excited to say yes that I flung myself at him before I even got to see the ring! It was perfect.

What is some advice you’d give to a newly engaged couple about the whole wedding planning process?

Hire a wedding planner. Give yourself room for things to go wrong (in your timeframe, in your budget, etc.). Decide on a few core things that are important to you (ours were photography, food, and music)—make those your priorities and don’t sweat so much about the rest.