An Intentional, Mystical Celebration - Dylan & Madison's Wedding at Jupiter Next

 

Typically when I'm writing a blog post, it's focused on dance (makes sense, right? This is a dance business after all). But it's also a wedding business and every so often a wedding is so off the charts magical that I just have to feature a lot more than solely dance pictures. And Dylan & Madison's wedding was one of those celebrations.

I had the pleasure of working with Dylan & Madison almost weekly for four months. Being a retired professional ballerina, Madison had high hopes for her first dance and wanted to make sure her fiance with no dance experience felt comfortable and confident on their wedding day. From our very first lesson we hit it off. We had many things in common, including a shared love for everything foodie, aligned political beliefs and a passion for pitbull advocacy and rescue. Throughout our weekly lessons and discussions I also learned how much care and attention to detail they were putting into every single element of their wedding day.

 So when I opened up their wedding gallery I wasn't surprised to see all the personal details they'd told me about in their pictures, but what was different then some other wedding galleries was how touched I felt looking through their pictures. Part of that is of course compliments to their outstanding photographer, but a huge part of it was the fact that Dylan & Madison made sure that every single element of their day was truly a reflection of who they were. And because I was lucky enough to spend so much time with them leading up to their wedding I got to know them really well and was able to appreciate the unique, stunning choices they made for their wedding.

A few of the things I loved the most:

-GRANDMA. Grandma's #1, always. Grandma is the name of their senior pitbull and she played a huge part in the wedding. She was not only adorned with a floral collar during the ceremony, featuring the skull of her nemesis the duck, but she was also present at the reception, being pushed around in her four wheel stroller by the bride & groom and other doggy babysitters. I couldn't love her more or love D&M more for making her such a big part of their special day.

 -The florals. OMG the florals! Glasshaus Gardens knocked it out of the park with breathtaking creations that made you feel like you were in a tropical jungle. The bride's bouquet was also incredibly original and awe inspiring, featuring a fluorite crystal wand handle, a fox skull and several terminated fluorite crystals throughout the arrangement. 

 -The groom walked down the aisle hand in hand with their officiant (and friend), who was clad in a kilt and no shoes

 -The flower girl was an adult woman who lofted leaves in the air

 -Dylan's custom suit was a work of art, lined with bright comic book images which both contrasted and somehow complimented his suave dark green suit perfectly.

-Madison chose to wear the same high heels as Sarah Jessica Parker did in that special Sex in the City scene when Big proposes to her (Manolo Blahniks! Except Madison's were green instead of blue)

 -Their party favors were match books and condoms (both practical and useful!) 

 -The name place cards were replaced with engraved stones.

 

And of course they paid careful attention to what music would be played. When I first met D&M they already had most of their music chosen for the special moments of their wedding day and their first dance was no exception. In line with their at times darker, alternative theme, they chose to dance to "Don't Fear the Reaper" by Keep Shelly in Athens. I choreographed their dance keeping previous injuries (and currently ailments) in mind and tried to make sure that their dance also aligned with their personalities. The most challenging element for them with this song was how slow it was. We eventually ended up shortening their song a smidge and allowed some moves to be executed quicker than originally planned, adjusting the dance to what felt most natural to them instead of trying to force the dance to fit them. Their passion and connection was always electric and with time Dylan proved to be the perfect lead and support for his wife with flawless, elegant technique.

I absolutely loved these two. We became good friends in the end and I really miss seeing them. I hope this gallery and their wedding day inspires you to put more personalized touches on your wedding day, because I think you'll enjoy it more and your guests will too. Be original, be honest, be you. Don't copy and paste for your big moment. People can feel the difference. Congratulations D&M! You're the best. Give Grandma some scratches from me. Enjoy some more pics of their beautiful dance below.

 

Vendors:

Venue: Jupiter Next 

Planner: MH Events 

Photographer: Georgy Shiskin 

Catering: C'est Si Bon 

Florist: Glasshaus Gardens 

Invites/Signage: Crave Design 

Stationary: Oblation Papers 

Rentals: Arden Event Collective 

DJ: Stumptown DJs 

Cake: Cascadia Kitchen  

HAMU: Luxe Artistry Group 

Suit: Wildwood & Company 

Bad Portraits: Karlee Patton