July 4th Tropical Wedding | Dayton Art Institute | Ohio Wedding Planner

As a decade-long (former) employee of Wedding Wire, Ashley knew exactly what she didn’t want for her and Brien’s special day. They both wanted an atmosphere filled with complete fun embracing the holiday, destination weekend. They started their wedding weekend off with a private welcome party at the Dayton Dragons Stadium where they and their guests were treated to Fourth of July fireworks.

Their design was inspired by mid-century modern and wicker furniture, Palm Springs, their favorite Texas restaurants (they are Dallas transplants by way of Austin), large-scale plants, and botanical prints.

One of my favorite portions of their wedding day was their “dinner experience stations” with tasting portions. Food plays an important part in their relationship and they wanted to showcase their favorite dishes (including from land, from the sea, and dessert!) to their guests. Once guests had their meal they were ushered into one of several lounge areas composed of mixed high and low seating. And who did the ushering? The adorable Australian Shepherd that Ashley and Brien adopted during the lockdown. Ginger served as the unofficial “museum director.”

Their wedding was certainly memorable and fun, just as they had hoped. Their hashtag reflected the groom’s last name #reastlemania and a custom wrestling belt was purchased for the couple and made several appearances! We also worked together closely to curate their wedding welcome bags. Brien is a commenter for the NFL and a cartoonist he’s worked with created a custom piece for the couple which we incorporated with a bottle opener hockey puck signed by the couple. And a private last dance? No way, this couple had a private FIRST dance so they could just focus on themselves and then enjoy the party!