All photography in the blog by Madison Ison Photography
Meet Katie & Brian.
Meet Katie & Brian, this adorable dream team. We consider them our dream client – lovely, kind people who are easygoing and were a delight to plan a wedding with. Katie is a first grade teacher, which is so funny – it seems the couples who choose to work with us are either in education or the medical field!
Katie and Brian knew that they wanted an outdoor wedding in a beautiful place in the Wisconsin Northwoods, and Honeyrock camp was the perfect venue. Near Eagle River in the tall pines of Three Lakes, Wisconsin, Honeyrock is a camp affiliated with Wheaton College with beautiful grounds, buildings, and accommodations for a smooth, beautiful wedding day.
This was my (Marsha) second time planning an event at Honeyrock, and this experience, like the other, was very smooth, thanks to the helpful staff ready to assist. The space is beautiful, and they have the buildings to accommodate weddings like ours, complete with a lovely space for the girls to get ready.
The rustic, beautiful pines, the lakes that border three sides of the camp, and the permanent benches at the ceremony site all made for a very lovely ceremony venue. After crossing over a beautiful, quaint bridge, guests got to the ceremony site.The bonus to having those permanent benches allowed us to not have to order rental chairs to bring to the location; that allowed for easier execution on the wedding day.
There was a logistical hoop we needed to jump through, and that was the long driveway (and when we say long, we mean, like a half mile!). We needed to find a way to make it easier for guests who need extra assistance to make their way down the dirt road to the ceremony site. The solution? Golf carts! We used golf carts to shuttle guests down to the ceremony site instead of having to walk the whole way.
When it came time for the ceremony, everybody had their fingers (and toes!) crossed for good weather. The morning was rainy and we were worried that we’d have to move the ceremony indoors, but we lucked out! The outdoor lakeside ceremony was able to move forward with gorgeous weather and fresh air, and that made for a happy bride and groom and happy guests.
On the walk to the ceremony site, Katie and Brian chose to have a memorial walk where the guests walked past photos of loved ones who had passed away. This personal touch allowed for guests to connect, grieve and celebrate, and was a beautiful way to honor those who Katie & Brian wished could have been there.
The wedding reception was located at a gorgeous private property barn in Eagle River, owned by some family friends of the bride and groom. This lovely and peaceful site was such a sweet place for the reception, and having the barn’s owners onsite allowed for very smooth logistics.
The reception took place upstairs at the barn, and the caterer used the downstairs portion of the barn to do food preparation. The caterer’s station was set up in a stall where horses used to be. How charming!
Fun Factory Sweet Shoppe does such a tremendous job creating delicious, creamy custom gelato. I can hardly count the number of couples who have chosen to use them as a dessert at their wedding – it feels like almost half the weddings we have planned incorporate them in some way! Their gelato cart full of flavors chosen by the bride and groom is always a hit.
Katie & Brian's Vendor List
Ceremony Venue: Honeyrock
Reception Venue: Private Barn in Eagle River
Photographer: Madison Ison Photography
Videographer: Brandon Dahlquist
Florist: Forth Floral
Baker: Jena Kendall
Caterer: Rockman’s Catering
Live Band: The People’s Choice
Ceremony Musician: Electric String Quartet
Hair & Makeup: McKenna Will
Furniture Rental: AC & Sons
Dessert & Linen Rentals: Party Envy
Gelato: Fun Factory Sweet Shoppe
Our heartfelt thanks to the tremendous wedding vendors, listed above. We couldn’t do our job without you! To be directed to each vendor’s website, click on their name above.
To the vendors who collaborated with us to execute such a gorgeous, perfect day for these two, thank you. To Brian and Katie, it was an absolute delight to plan this wedding with you – thank you. All our love as you welcome your new baby on your first wedding anniversary!
Love, Marsha & Team