Drew and Ethan both met on staff at their local church. She was on staff and he had just moved from Michigan to Chicago to accept the job as video director. Even though the two of them had worked on a few projects here and there, it wasn’t until a church-wide event that Drew noticed Ethan’s great sense of humor and wanted to get to know more about him.

He asked me out and our first date was surprisingly eight hours long. He had a Jeep Wrangler at the time and we opened it up and drove for hours on end, just talking and exploring together.

Drew loves Ethan’s tenacity in pursuing what he wants.

In his personal, professional, and spiritual life, he always goes full speed ahead until he achieves his goal and it is inspiring.

“I love Drew’s passion and fierce loyalty. Also, while we have very different personalities, they usually balance out in this incredible way; it’s cheesy, but she really does complete me.”

Drew knew Ethan was the one a few months after she told him she loved him. She took him to the Christmas light show at the Morton Arboretum in December to tell him for the first time.

Ethan had the best reaction and it was such a fun night. A few months later, I remember thinking quite clearly, “I could imagine spending the rest of my life with this man.”

After that, Drew and Ethan started pre-engagement counseling, which they feel was one of the best things they’ve ever done.

It taught us how to work even better together as a team and solidified that Ethan was definitely the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

When it came time to propose, Ethan wanted to do something unique. He recreated part of their first date, driving to get ice cream at a local spot with an open Jeep and then back to a waterfall they had explored before.

He had seemed to know, without me ever hinting at it, that I had wanted the proposal to be a private, intimate thing.

No photographer, no big large public gesture, just us and a meaningful moment.

With the ring in hand, Ethan got down on one knee, shocking Drew.

After I, of course, said yes and squealed in excitement more than once, we gathered up and started walking back to the Jeep where I saw that he had gathered all of our family and friends.

It was amazing to celebrate with everyone and my in-laws hosted a beautiful dinner at one of our favorite pubs and it was easily one of my favorite days ever.

Anyone that knows Drew, knows that she is a planner—she needs an outline, a guide and measure of how to get there.

I made my wonderful fiancé at the time laugh because after only being engaged for about 48 hours, I already had a master spreadsheet prepared with a rough guest list, addresses, budget outline, and timetable.

And that spreadsheet ended up being a lifesaver for the two of them!

When it came time to pick a venue for their wedding, Ethan and Drew chose The Haight because of the stunning atmosphere.

One of my best friends was married there, and it was actually at her wedding that Ethan wanted to tell me that he loved me for the first time.

The space held a special memory for the two of them and beyond the memories—they love the environment and look of the whole space.

The industrial and chic vibe throughout the whole building is something that we both really liked. Neither Ethan nor I are incredibly gifted with decorating or highlighting an event space, so we were both grateful that The Haight was gorgeous enough just as bare bones, that we didn’t need to do much decorating to it to make it look stunning for photos.

It’s hard for Drew and Ethan to pick a specific part during their wedding day that was their favorite.

Right after we got married and recessed down the aisle, we went straight back into the bridal suite and had a few minutes to just be together as newly pronounced husband and wife. That time was so special because we got to relish in the moment and reflect on the vows we had just made.

I love how The Haight was set up that we had a space to go back to while everyone else filed down to the cocktail hour.

Drew’s second favorite memory was a surprise that Ethan had planned—playing his saxophone with the band during a few songs.

He had studied professional saxophone in college and was quite good, or so I heard. The entire time we had been dating and/or engaged, I had never heard him play live, only on recordings. So he had orchestrated it so that when the band played for the reception, he’d hop in and do a few songs with them. I was so surprised and loved every minute of fangirling over my new husband.

Drew’s advice for newly engaged couples is to keep date nights and wedding planning separate.

We kept a recurring Wednesday date night throughout our engagement and used that time to connect with each other and ignore all wedding planning. It helps to keep them separate so you don’t get overwhelmed with the details and stress of it all.

Wedding Vendors

Photographer: Aethereus Media

Flowers: Eden | Catering Food: South Moon BBQ | Catering Staff: Cuisine America | Cake & Sweets: Country Donuts

Popcorn: Mama Lee’s Gourmet Popcorn| Band: The Ramblers