Unforgettable Heidel House Wedding

Months to Plan: 18 Months | Guest Count: 300 |
Music down the Aisle: Bridal March- Lohengrin| First Dance Song: You (Acoustic)- Dan & Shay

Emily and DJ’s wedding day at Green Lake was nothing short of unforgettable—
from stormy skies to a sparkling finale.

How They Met

Emily grew up in Tinley Park, IL and DJ is from Rockford, IL but the two were set up by two of their friends at a Happy Camper Pizza Parlor & Bar in Old Town, Chicago. They hit it off right away and scheduled a date for the next night. On their second date, DJ mentioned that he would, someday, like to get married at Green Lake.

The Engagement

After spending some time dating, the couple made a trip to Florida to visit some of Emily’s family. Early one evening, DJ set up the dock at Emily’s grandmother’s house for a surprise proposal. After Emily said “yes,” the couple celebrated with relatives on a sunset cruise to dinner. This was followed by about 18 months of planning the perfect wedding at DJ’s dream location, Green Lake.

The Venue

Emily and DJ were in love with each other and with Green Lake. When they visited Heidel House Hotel, they also fell in love with the venue and the staff. Emily says that “not only were we blown away by the beautiful view, but the people were so kind!” The couple knew right away that this was where they wanted to have their reception. Emily can’t say enough good things about the staff at Heidel House and their venue coordinator, Diane Sicorsicor. “They were so beyond organized and prepared for our very large (and very wet, thanks to the rain) wedding.” The couple’s guest count was just around 300. Emily goes on to say that “Heidel House is the gem of Green Lake and I am so thankful for all the team did to make our wedding day so memorable.”

The Ceremony

Emily and DJ got married at All Saints Parish Catholic Church which sits on top of a hill in Green Lake County. They say that rain on your wedding day is good luck, that it bestows blessings on the happy couple. If that’s true, then Emily and DJ are truly blessed because it didn’t seem to want to stop raining on their day. Despite the rain, guests packed the church. Emily & DJ’s priest, who had made the trip from Chicago, gave a beautiful Homily. Just as the couple were about to say their “I do’s” the sun came out and peaked through the church’s stained-glass window.

Arriving in Style

The couple rented a limousine from Tall Paul’s Limousine Service for their ground transportation. But the couple wouldn’t be arriving at the reception by land. A family friend generously offered to drive the couple to the reception in “Woodie,” his prized wooden boat. As the couple arrived at Heidel House via Green Lake, their guest waited onshore to greet them. An added bonus was that the photographer was able to get some incredible photos of the couple riding on the boat to arrive at the reception.

The Reception

When guests entered the reception hall, they were greeted with a unique “guest book,” a model ship for everyone to sign. This was in honor of DJ’s late Uncle Steve who loved boating and whose picture was included on the sign-in table. Once the couple got on land, they headed to the reception hall. There they started off the festivities with a photo dash, running around to every table to take a quick photo with their guests. The challenge is to make your way around the entire room before the song stops. Emily says it was a great way to greet their guests and they got lots of compliments on it.

The Food

Guests had three choices for dinner, all starting with a house garden salad and spectacularly prepared by the staff at Heidel House. The first choice was an 8oz filet mignon with mushroom demi glaze, roasted broccolini, and smashed garlic Yukon golds. The second choice was a Chicago classic, Airline Chicken Vesuvio with white wine and lemon sauce. This was prepared and served with fire roasted asparagus and smashed Yukon golds. And the third option was roasted mushroom ravioli with brown butter and sage. Dessert consisted of a raspberry swirl cake with buttercream icing and a chocolate chip cake with buttercream icing, both created by Baked Cakes by Design. In addition, the couple offered their guests lemon, red velvet, banana, and carrot cake mini cupcakes.

A Booming Happily Ever After

Emily worked with Cathy Rost at I Do Decorating in Ripon, WI for many of her rentals and when Emily mentioned that she wanted to have fireworks at her wedding, Cathy connected her with Spielbauer Fireworks Co. who could make it happen. As the evening grew later, the couple and their guests gathered lakeside for a magical fireworks display.

The couple had one more surprise in store for their guests. As they returned to the reception hall, a late-night snack was waiting for them. The snack was what Emily had worked with the McDonald’s franchise to prepare: Happily Ever After Meals. The meals consisted of Chicken McNuggets, Double Cheeseburgers and fries, all in a custom designed Happy Meal box.

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