Brenna Without Borders

After Garrett’s extensive and beautifully thought-out proposal, it was time to plan a wedding. I had a lot of ideas of how I wanted this day to play out. After all, most girls, especially girls who plan events for a living, know how they want their wedding day to look and feel. I wanted it to be simple, but beautiful. I wanted it to be elegant without breaking the bank and for people to say “wow, so clever” and “such beautiful simple centerpieces”. There was no doubt in my mind that I would love our wedding because it was the day I pledged my life to the kindest, most amazing man. But it was my goal to create an experience that all my guests would enjoy too.

I know that weddings can be extremely wasteful and bad for the environment. So my first non-negotiable was that my event must be as sustainable as possible. I did not want to buy a bunch of decor that would never be used again or would be thrown out. Second, I didn’t want my friends to spend a ton of money on a dress they didn’t like or would never wear again. I loved fall and wanted deep colors but also wanted the theme to be “there is no theme”. With those ideas in mind, I set out to create what would turn into my vision of an “eclectic, vintage, jewel-toned wedding”.

We decided to get married in Pittsburgh, that is where we met, that is where I’m from, that is where our love story really started. A catholic wedding at a church in the city, reception to follow. Finding a venue was next to impossible. We were fighting with all the postponed pandemic weddings. But what we ended up with could not have been more perfect.

The Energy Innovation Center is an old vo-tech school that has been transformed into office space and event space. It sits on The Hill behind Pittsburgh looking down at the city. The only day available that was closest to my idea of a fall wedding, was November 19th. We agreed quickly with fear of losing it and being on the hunt yet again for a reception space. It wasn’t but a few weeks after picking our date that we realized, November 19th would most likely be Light Up Night again. So now, our first date, our proposal, and our wedding all will have took place on the same day at Pittsburgh Light Up Night. It was meant to be!

The Details

The bridesmaids wore jewel tones. We had marigold, emerald, peacock, navy, and plum. The groomsmen were in dark navy suits.

The florals were mostly red, with pops of blue thistle and some yellow pompom flowers.

Our guestbook resembled a scrapbook. Guests could write notes on a pre-cut piece of paper and decorate with stickers after sticking it into our book. I plan to use this book to put other momentos from the wedding and even add in some photos.

Some people like to do candle or tribute table for grandparents who have past. We chose to do a memory table to honor the loving relationships in our families. At the time, I had two living grandparents that were not physically well enough to attend and I thought it was important to honor them too. The table turned out beautifully and I really believe it paid a tribute to all the lasting relationships that Garrett and I had modeled for us growing up.

Our seating chart was DIY. We found the mirror at an antique shop in Pittsburgh. Spray painted it to give it a little extra shine. I bought stickers that look like wax stamps on Amazon. Then we created our table cards on Canva. We printed and stuck! It was easy and ended up looking so beautiful.

Centerpieces were vases that my mom and I had collected over the past year. I bought candles and votives on Amazon that would match esthetic. I chose to keep the tables simple since we chose a bright blue water glass and jewel-toned napkins to make the tables really pop! There was a lot going on already so sticking to candles and flowers make it all blend together nicely.

The only item I decided to splurge on, which was very unnecessary, was cocktail napkins with the cat’s faces on them. If you know me, you know I love my cats so much and I was trying to figure out how to incorporate them into our day. The napkins were cream-colored with the cats’ faces in gold foil. They said “Cheers! Love, Linus and Willow”. Short and sweet and, hopefully, only a tiny bit weird.

The Church

St.Peter’s Catholic Church in the North Side is where we decided to get married. The priest from my parents’ parish, who I grew up listening to every Sunday, did our ceremony. This church is big and beautiful. My dad told me he believes I picked the longest aisle in Pittsburgh.

There ceremony was about 20 minutes, with three readings, a homily, and of course our vows. I am catholic, but Garrett is not, so we were able to keep it short and sweet.

It was a very surreal experience for me. As a young girl, you always imagine getting married. But then you grow up, you get your heart broken, several times over. You start to wonder if you will ever make it to the aisle and if you do, will it really be everything you imagined it would be? Then I met Garrett and I used to cry just picturing him at the end of the aisle waiting for me someday. But the actual moment was so much more. All of these people who love us, waiting, watching. It was as if I was floating, going through the motions, but another part of me was watching all of this from overhead. My dad grabbed my arm, looked down, and asked “Are you ready?”. I didn’t cry. I couldn’t cry, I was so excited. As I sat and listened to the readings, I just kept thinking, “this is what I’ve prayed for. This is what so many people in this room prayed for. For me!” At that moment I was grateful, I was present, I was excited!

The Reception

As I mentioned we picked the Energy Innovation Center as our venue for our reception. We were planning to have 200 guests in attendance. This space was one we were confident would hold all our guests comfortably. We had cocktail hour in the “glass elevator” that gave guests a birds-eye view of the downtown and of Light Up Night.

We used the hallway for dinner. We did a mix of round and long tables, with a sweetheart table in the middle. Because the hallway was so long, we positioned a buffet at each end of the hall so our guests didn’t have to walk a mile to get their food.

The Bright Space was the old gymnasium (from when the space was a school). They put in these massive, gorgeous windows that look right out into downtown Pittsburgh. This is where the dance floor was, as well as, the desserts. We even could see the fireworks from Light up Night out the windows. We danced the night away. At one point we even got lifted up in the air! Our guests were so fun, we had so much fun. It truly was the best day ever.

This post covers all the details and the logistics, the what and where. I write all this because I don’t want to forget a single thing. Every part of that day I cherished. I felt so loved and supported. Having our friends and family watch us pronounce our love for each other in front of God was such a powerful and incredible experience. Then throwing the best party ever right after, makes for a day I will never forget. I am so grateful to everyone who made our day what it was. I’m so happy to be married now and I know this is just the start of our great adventure.

Vendors:

• Day of Coordinator: Functions Pittsburgh
• Makeup: Bianca Black
• Hair: Simply Captivating Salon
• Florals: Community Flower Shop
• Rentals: All Occasions Rentals
• Catering: Bistro To Go
• Bar: Ace Bartending
• DJ: DJ Joseph Costa, Kenny
• Transportation: Antique Coach Excursions
• Venue: Energy Innovation Center
• Church: St.Peter’s Catholic Church, North Side