Writer: Hailey Evans
Editor’s note: Our very own associate editor married her partner of four years on April 14 at the Salisbury House and Gardens. Naturally, the nosy dsm team pressed her for all the details as soon as she returned to work, and we asked her to jot a few highlights here.
After writing so many of these Local Love entries for dsm over the years, I was excited to share my own. And what better place to do that than our annual weddings section?
When it came to wedding planning, both Nate and I wanted to keep things simple. I joked, naively, “There will be a wedding, there will be food, there will be dancing. I don’t need anything else.” Turns out there were still a lot of other details we needed to plan.
Nate and I both work jobs that allow us to interact with lots of different people on a daily basis. He’s a bartender at Django, and I cover all kinds of subjects for the magazine. So we definitely wanted our wedding to reflect our love of Des Moines. We sourced as much as we could from local businesses. I even sent out Des Moines postcards from Porch Light as our thank-you cards.
The whole day was so much fun, from getting ready with my best friends to everyone dancing to “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction. Having our ceremony in the Salisbury House made the whole atmosphere feel Shakespearean (a comedy, obviously!) and romantic. We didn’t even need to decorate because the house is full of incredible art and history.
During our reception at Django’s Reinhardt Room, the sun set over the Pappajohn Sculpture Park across the street. It gave the room a magical, golden hour glow. I think my favorite part was watching the room while dinner was served, seeing everyone having such a good time.
When you plan your own wedding, there’s satisfaction in knowing that you pulled off this huge event that brought everyone together, and now you get to celebrate being married. I know it’s cliche, but it really was one of the best nights ever.
Photography: KMP Photo
Ceremony venue: Salisbury House and Gardens
Reception Venue: The Reinhardt Room
Food: Django
Desserts: Crème
Reception flowers: Boesen the Florist
DJ: Complete Weddings and Events
Rings: Owen Jewelry Design
Bride’s attire: Pure Bridal
Groom’s attire: Skeffington’s
Groom’s hair: DSM Salon
