Something Old, Something New

By
September 2018 View more

Melanie Wresinski, 26, and Alex Bauer, 25, made their modern-day love connection through the dating app Bumble in December 2016. A few days later, they they met in person at Empire in downtown Naperville. The pair found they had many things in common, including a mutual dislike for country music—with the exception of “Tennessee Whiskey” by Chris Stapleton.

“Since that first date, that song tended to follow us everywhere, and kind of became our song, unknowingly,” says Wresinski, a hairstylist at Naperville salon Amber Waves. “It would play at bars, friends would dedicate this song to us at weddings and anytime [it] came on, all of our friends and family would immediately think of us.” They fell fast for one another, and about a year later, Bauer, the creative media marketing manager for Onesti Entertainment in St. Charles, surprised Wresinski with a proposal in front of the Fabyan Windmill in Batavia.

The couple married at Warehouse:109, an industrial-chic venue in Plainfield decked out with retro string lights, vintage motorcycles, and an Airstream trailer. “We didn’t want traditional. We didn’t have a seating chart—we wanted people to be able to mingle and for it to be very casual and fun,” says Wresinski, who wore a flower crown and a long-sleeved column dress sewn from repurposed lace.

Wresinski’s brother Kyle played acoustic guitar and harmonica, and Onesti Entertainment owner Ron Onesti officiated the ceremony. “I think of Ron as family,” Bauer says. “He’s done weddings [before], and he’s fantastic at it; he’s a showman.”

Their 140 guests dined on wood-fired pizzas from Wooden Paddle’s mobile oven (including vegan options for the bride) and a sweets table stocked with cookies, brownies, cupcakes, and candy. The first dance was, of course, to “Tennessee Whiskey.”

Bauer and Wresinski minimooned in Kentucky and plan to honeymoon in a yet-to-be determined tropical locale in January. They live in St. Charles with Hazel, their Catahoula leopard dog, and Nash, a golden Pyrenees.

WEDDING DETAILS

Venue Warehouse:109, Plainfield

Catering Wooden Paddle, Lemont

Bride’s dress saldanavintage.com

Bride’s hair Jacki Cope of Amber Waves, Naperville

Makeup Aubrey Miller and Ilana Lombardi

Bridesmaid’s attire showmeyourmumu.com

Groom’s and groomsmen’s attire asos.com

Cake Two Wild Seeds, St. Charles

Invitations Alex Bauer Creative

Music Ceremony by Kyle Wresinski; reception playlist premixed by the groom and Onesti Entertainment production equipment

Florist Stemming from Love, Darien

Rings Hers from bluenile.com; his from Luxuria Jewelers on etsy.com

Photography by Hannah Persson Photo