Emerald Green Wedding at The Renaissance

Sami and Tyler's wedding at The Renaissance is as ideal as possible, fusing traditional wedding customs with modern big-day looks. Unsurprisingly, the event was elegantly sparkling with Wanderlust Weddings and Events at the helm. The intricate elements of their design were based on a traditional black-and-white color scheme with accents of gold and emerald green. Luxurious emerald table linens from Lendable Linens, gold candelabras, chairs, votives, frames, and all-white flower arrangements glistened with the selected pigments. Sami's half of the wedding party wore beautiful emerald green Morilee bridesmaid dresses with a lush velvet texture. Tyler could see Sami's magnificent Lillian West wedding gown and custom cathedral veil from Blanc de Blanc Bridal during a lucky break in the inclement weather that allowed for an outside first look. Before their customized wedding ceremony, which took place on the hotel's grand staircase, the couple secretly exchanged vows. The evening concluded with the Pittsburgh DJ Company playing "Summer Nights" from "Grease," a song that first united the two many years ago and featured a Pittsburgh favorite of Prattle's almond torte cake. The entire day was a touching and personal experience. We were fortunate that Lex King Photography expertly documented every event!

About the Couple

In the fall of 2012, Sami and Tyler first crossed paths at Penn State. They participated in Greek Life, and their groups were matched to sing "Grease" in the yearly Greek Sing competition. Sami was a dancing pink lady, and Tyler was Danny Zuko. After one of the rehearsals, Tyler asked Sami for her phone number. She gave it to him by mistake, but he was still confident enough to follow up with her Facebook direct messages. Soon after, they began dating.

Tyler and Sami were on vacation in Orlando in October 2021. Tyler had prepared a delicious meal on the water while staying at the Grand Floridian. He had intended to pop the question before the dinner, but the weather had other ideas. When a downpour hit just as they were about to cross the resort for dinner, Tyler hurried to the closest gift shop and bought two incredibly expensive Disney ponchos, which they will always treasure. After donning the ponchos, they crossed the resort and made their way to the end of a dock on the water next to the eatery. On the pier beneath a covered gazebo, he proposed. He hired a photographer to document the event, and fortunately, he instructed Sami to remove her poncho just before dropping down on one knee, resulting in adorable and unscripted pictures.

About the Wedding

The wedding's overall concept and style were sophisticated and exquisite. The intention was to honor some wedding customs while adding a contemporary touch. Our primary goal was to find a location with a stunning ceremony space and a spacious reception area; the Renaissance offered all that and lodging! From the start, I was certain that I wanted solely white flowers for bouquets, centerpieces, and other arrangements. I added gold and emerald embellishments because I wanted a splash of color, even though I knew I wanted the color palette to be predominantly black and white. I pictured a big head table covered in candelabras, hurricane candles, and flowers. Thanks to our florist, this truly came to Life, and it looked fantastic. Her work on our ceremony's staircase was flawless as well. After I showed her photos of the stairs, she came up with the design independently, and I trusted her judgment—and she did not let me down. We used picture frames, votives, candlesticks, chargers, Chiavari chairs, and candelabras as gold accents. With velvet table runners and velvet cake table linen, we could add emeralds to the head table. We sought a photo booth, a good DJ, and a fun dance floor. All night, the bridal party handed sunglasses around the dance floor, and we gave glow sticks to our guests. Our signature drink was inspired by our dog, who was also featured in some of the cookies on the cookie table. We chose chocolate with raspberry because we love Prandtl's burnt almond torte, but we also wanted to provide two different kinds of cake, and both were delicious!

Favorite Moment

It isn't easy to choose just one moment because the entire day was so incredible! Our initial glance would be between Tyler and myself alone. We weren't even sure if we could take pictures outside because it was pouring intermittently throughout the day, but we managed to get a little reprieve from the weather long enough to take our first look at our hotel's rooftop. With no one else around, it was such a quiet and affectionate moment between us. Before the first glimpse, we decided to read our vows in privacy, which was the ideal way to start seeing each other. I like taking a first look because it lets us relax and spend more time together all day. When "Summer Nights" from "Grease" was performed toward the end of the evening, everyone was united for a minute. Seeing our favorite friends together, dancing and singing the song that united us ten years ago, was a memorable experience!