Stephanie and Gabe's vendors:

Coordinator and Event Design // Jenn Pochobradsky of Harper Hadley Events  |  Seating Chart, Table Placards, Hanging Florals, and Programs // Andrea Wersyn  |  Mason Jar Candles // Evelyn Thomason  |  Florals // Maja Hunt of Every Bloomin' Thing of Iowa City  |  Dress // Blush by Hayley Paige, specific dress is Willow  |  Photography // Erica Cameron Turner of Turner Creative Photography  |  Vintage Rentals // Borrow My Vintage  |  Cupcakes // Scratch Cupcakery  |  Catering // Bread Garden Market & Bakery  |  Venue // Palmer House Stables  |  Jewelry // Kaitlyn Gibbons of Manakin Jewelry  |  Bridal headpieces// Acute Designs

After two years of carrying on secret crushes on each other at work, Stephanie and Gabe decided it was “now or never” and went on their first date. Right away they realized they were soul mates, or as they like to call it “brain-mates.”

With no particular theme in mind, the couple wanted their big day to be special and showcase how much their family and friends helped shape them and their relationship into who they are and what their relationship is today. When picking vendors for their wedding, it was important for them to be able to joke with them and have them feel as if they were as much a part of their day as everyone else on their guest list.

Stephanie used Pinterest to help curate the look she was going for on their wedding day. She wanted it to reflect both her and Gabe’s personalities and the things they loved. “We’re both kind of hipster, bohemian, nerdy, hippies and therefore inevitably we’d be inspired by those trends and items. But we believed that cohesion would come naturally and didn’t limit ourselves to one created avenue. For example, our table numbers were booked that played important roles in our understanding of life and love; we had family pictures as our decorations and stacks of twined wrapped books, because both represent major influences in our life...It was important to us to show appreciation to the people that helped us make it to that moment. Because without the before, there definitely cannot be a happily ever after.”

When focusing on what was important to them during their wedding, they tried not to think about what would or could go wrong, but instead, if at the end of the night all their family and friends were having a great time and dancing the night away then the evening was a success. Stephanie and Gabe chose to have his father marry the two of them, and what stands out the most in her mind from their special day was, “his steady gaze that was full of overwhelming love and emotion is the highlight for me.”

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