Maybe I’m absolutely crazy, but in August of 2023, just TWO WEEKENDS before our own wedding, my fiancé (at the time) and I made the trek to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for Shannon and Mike’s wedding! And it was absolutely worth it:)

My second time in Milwaukee, I enjoyed driving through the city to check out the area we would be staying and the venue location. Shannon and Mike’s venue, Black Swan MKE, was right on the river with gorgeous river-walk access and lots of great restaurants and spots to hang out nearby! We booked a hotel a five minute walk away, but we arrived before check in time, so first thing was to unload all my supplies into the venue. 

Once I got my supplies inside, I then had my assistant/fiancé park the car at the hotel. He checked us in while I got myself set up for a nice long day of painting! I like to arrive long before guests do so that I can have a nice base started. That way, too, I can get the “ugly” part of the painting out of the way before guests enter and think I have no clue what I’m doing! 

Shannon and I had talked before the wedding to get a sense of where she wanted me to set up and focus the background of the piece. We decided on this entryway leading into the reception hall with gorgeous, rustic details and these three big glass doors that you can see in the painting above.

I painted for the entirety of the reception and  got the painting just complete enough to “reveal” to the couple at the end of their wedding day! Their reactions were so sweet, and Greg was able to help me capture some really lovely videos:)

Overall, while it might have been crazy to book such. big job right before our own wedding, Greg and I both agreed that it was honestly a lovely experience! We were in the thick of final details leading up to our wedding, and getting to be engrossed in Shannon and Mike’s big day reminded us what we were working toward! Plus, these two crazy kids had an absolutely awesome party, and I had a lot of fun dancing along to the music while I was painting!! 

10/10 would paint there again 😉

Below, enjoy a few snaps of me painting, the “final” painting at the end of the night (before I took it back to my home studio to touch up), some venue details, and a selfie of me and my handsome assistant!