This couple was looking for an intimate venue with old-Milwaukee charm, and Onesto fit the bill. For just over $16,000 they had a charming wedding in one of the Third Ward’s hottest venues, Onesto.
Married In Milwaukee Family Used
We were excited to see that they used several Married In Milwaukee Family Members, including:
- Venue: Onesto
- Flowers: Milwaukee Flower Company
- Invites: Cracked Designs
- Desserts: Holey Moley
- Hotel: InterContinetal
Quick Facts – Onesto Wedding:
- Number of Guests: 104
- Ceremony/Reception: Onesto
- Total Costs: $16,174
Wedding Essentials ($3,759):
- Invitations/Stationery: $498 (included: invite, RSVP card, envelopes, RSVP return envelope)
- Save the Date: $20 (designed by a friend/printed online)
- Postage: $86
- Desserts: $165 (doughnuts and doughnut holes from Holey Moley)
- Photographer: $1,450
- Videographer: $875
- Flowers: $665 (included: bridal bouquet, 4 bridesmaids bouquets, 11 boutonnieres 6 wrist corsages, 1 flower crown)
Reception and Ceremony Costs ($8,415):
- Ceremony/Venue Fee: $950 (includes ceremony/reception fee for 7 hour rental)
- Drinks: $2,199 (included: non-alcoholic drinks, craft beer and wine for 4 hours)
- Food: $2,892 (included: passed hot apps, Italian buffet)
- Custom Stamped Doughnut Bags: $60 (bags from Amazon.com; stamp designed by Cracked Designs)
- DJ: $750
- Rentals: $0 (floor vases and ceremony flowers from friend)
- Officiant: $0 (family member)
- Service/Tax Charges: $1,564
Attire, Jewelry and Beauty ($2,495):
- Dress: $352 (includes: alteration, veil and jewelry)
- Bride’s Shoes: $40
- Groom’s Attire: $320
- Rings: $1,580 (custom-made by A-Trio with diamonds and gold from family ring)
- Hair and Make-up: $203 (includes: hair, make up, manicure, pedicure)
Other Costs ($1,505):
- Rehearsal Dinner: $560 (Oscar’s on Pierce: burgers, beer and wine for 42 people)
- Wedding Party Gifts: $420 (included: custom drawings, jewelry, custom bag, ties, suspenders and shave kits)
- Hotel Suite $150 (InterContinental Hotel)
- Transportation: $165 (O’Lydia’s shuttle bus for photos)
- Decorations: $100 (included: frames/photos and chalkboard)
- Marriage License: $110
Honeymoon ($800 – Not Included In Total):
- Lake Tahoe Airfare: $800 (includes airfare only -accommodation provided by a friend)
A Note from the Bride and Groom
We asked the bride and groom to tell us about their planning and budgeting process, and this is what they had to say:
When we started planning our wedding, we knew we wanted it to be simple, romantic, and as intimate as possible. Our primary focus from the get-go was always our guests. At this point we had been to many weddings and we knew what we appreciated as guests and of course, what we didn’t like. We started there and started to build a wedding we’d like to attend.
The Venue:
Getting married in Milwaukee, where we built our life together, was crucial. We were looking for a venue with the cream city brick, Old Milwaukee charm. Onesto fit the bill with the dim lighting, the brick, the windows and natural light, dark wood accents. The spring day we got married the temperature had dropped to 55 degrees and was raining all day. Because of the lousy weather we were able to light the fireplaces. Once inside with all our friends and family it was exactly the quaint, cozy and intimate setting we always had in mind.The Invitations
Having invitations that felt like us was very important. As a big fan of stationery and paper, having something beautiful and original for our invite was always important to us. Cracked Designs was one of the first vendors we contacted and Tara made the whole process so effortless and easy. Just a few weeks after one short meeting she provided us with at least five hand held samples (any of which we could’ve used), then worked with us on refining our final choice.The wording, design, the paper quality/texture, the old Milwaukee map envelope liner… all those details turned it into something we’d never seen done before, absolutely loved and “felt like us.” Even after the invites were done, Tara was more than happy to help us with some last minute projects – a custom “Happily Ever Affholder” ink stamp for the paper doughnut bags and writing the program on our chalkboard.
The Bridesmaids Gifts:
I commissioned custom pieces from one of my favorite Milwaukee artists, dwellephant. He was able to take four phrases that were inside jokes with each of my bridesmaids and conceptualize them into adorable and meaningful gifts. He is the best – I have commissioned many things from him in the past and will continue to do so.The Photos and Video:
We had so many incredible Milwaukee vendors it’s hard to pick just a few to showcase. We couldn’t have been happier with the wonderful ladies who captured our wedding, Lindsay Stayton and Marisa from Video Verite. We only had to worry about enjoying ourselves and mingling with our guests rather than wondering if they were capturing the moments we wanted to relive. That luxury was honestly worth every penny, and it was so fun to see later some of the moments we didn’t get to notice during the wedding.In the end we got exactly the gorgeous intimate wedding we always had dreamed about. Surrounded by our closest friends and family, we danced the night away. Staying true to our original mindset of planning our wedding as a guest –it was the best wedding we have ever attended.
– Katie and Mike, The Bride and Groom
A BIG thanks to the bride and groom for sharing their awesome Onesto wedding and to Lindsay Stayton Photography for the photos!
If you’re currently working on your wedding budget, make sure to read through our previous articles featuring real Milwaukee wedding cost breakdowns.
WOW! Katie and Mike,
It was such an honor to capture your day. Thank you for featuring my photos of your beautiful wedding.
Congratulations! Drinks soon??
Looks like a great wedding to me for only $16k! Whoever did their budgeting did a great job. And Lindsay, you did a great job with the photography! 🙂
I second Tim’s sentiments. Nicely done to the couple and all of the people that made it happen! Onesto , Milwaukee Flower Company, Cracked Designs, Holey Moley, InterContinental. Love the Dwellaphant artwork too!