Rural Wisconsin Styled Shoot: Blanchard Hall

What is my number one favorite part about being in the events industry? Vendor Collaboration! When I work with a couple planning their wedding, it brings me great joy to be able to pair them with a full roster of creatives who are ready to fulfill their exact dreams. And it equally brings me just as much joy to build strong relationships with those vendors far past just working one event together. I am constantly inspired by the amount of talent and opportunity there is my industry and how it is constantly evolving year after year.

The shoot below was the product of such a collaboration, especially meant to highlight that beautiful events can occur outside the Madison city-limits in locations you might not think to look. I had never been to Blanchardville, WI before I met Paul, the owner of historic Blanchard Hall, at a Summer 2019 networking event. However when he graciously offered for me to tour his venue I was excited to take an adventure outside of Dane County.

As I toured the venue I was immediately inspired by how comfortable I felt. If I were to host something in this space it could almost feel like I was hosting within my own home or backyard, and that’s what I chose to run with when pulling together the design. I wanted to lean into details that felt attainable, yet elegant, and that you didn’t need to search further than our own region to find (hello New Glarus and Wollersheim)

For our main lounge, I wanted a space that was attractive for guests to sit back and reminisce for an evening with old friends. My favorite touch to this was the afghans provided by Velvet Rentals, layered on top of the venue’s own furniture.

Our sweetheart table was all about the Classic Wisconsin Supper Club. When I asked Brandi of Weddings by Blooms to help me dress this up she over-delivered, with bud vases so delicate and perfect I wanted to snag all of them home with me at the end of the night. I also would be remiss to not mention my intern Maggie when talking about this table, who put together the most beautiful charcuterie tray with goodies from The General Store.

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Designing for weddings and events involves a lot of finger crossing that the final product and photos will turn out exactly as you envisioned them in your head. And even if you take every single necessary step to ensure that they do, you just never know!

BUT I can say with 100% certainty that this ceremony set is exactly what I had envisioned it would be, and I cannot thank Tim Fitch enough for that. He hung with me to get the lighting and angles just right for our most out-of-the-box setup of the evening. The venue had these amazing curtains that I just HAD to figure out how to incorporate, and I’ve been in “love” (ha) with neon signs for awhile so… Voilà!

We chose to end the evening on the adorable outdoor patio. Similar to the lounge, I envisioned what I would want when hosting my nearest and dearest in my own backyard. Great food, cold drinks, pretty blooms, and ambiance. Don’t forget to catch the cute little wooden six-pack carrier from Revel!

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By the way, how amazing does Taylor look in this gown from Moments to Cherish Bridals and styling through Styled by Melaney?

We were extremely lucky to have Caleb Jahr on-site with us, capturing and showcasing everyone’s hard work from a totally different perspective. If you’re unsure about hiring videography for your wedding, DO IT.

Thank you to our entire team that pulled this together. We can’t wait to do something again soon!

Sincerely,
Sarah

The Dream Team:
Design, Planning + Coordination: HUE by Sarah Davidson
Photography: Tim Fitch Photography
Videography: Jahr Wedding Films
Venue: Blanchard Hall
Floral: Blooms by Brandi
Rentals: Velvet Rentals
Catering: The General Store
Bridal Gown + Mensware: Moments to Cherish Bridals
Bride Styling: Styled by Melaney
Wooden Beer Carrier: Revel
Bridal Model: Taylor Boelkes