A Fun, Traditional Wedding at the Fountain Square Theatre in Indianapolis, Indiana

For their wedding, Laura Berlage (25 and director of religious education) and Kevin Flanagan (26 and a PH.D. candidate in molecular biology) combined timeless elegance with lots of fun twists, for a totally unexpected evening. The day kicked off with a traditional Catholic ceremony at Our Lady of Lourdes in Laura’s hometown of Indianapolis, IN, followed by a lively evening full of dancing, music and delicious eats at Fountain Square Theatre. While the wedding was understated and classic in style, with delicate, timeless arrangements of deep purple blooms by Ayers Flowers Wholesale, elegant fashions and a color palette of ivory, white and purple, it was the extra details that infused the day with fun and truly reflected Laura and Kevin's personalities. Father Pete, a priest at Notre Dame and a good friend of the couple, presided over the ceremony and later kicked the reception into high gear, spinning an upbeat playlist of Laura and Kevin’s favorite songs from college. Shimmery handmade guest books were placed on each of the reception tables for guests to write down their well wishes for the newlyweds at their leisure. The books also served as the table numbers, so each anniversary of the corresponding year (i.e. table nine’s book would be read on their ninth anniversary) the couple could enjoy the sweet messages left by their family and friends. The unique theater venue is connected to several restaurants, so later on in the evening, when the reception was in full swing, the catering staff brought in comfort foods like soft pretzel sticks with Havarti and beer cheese sauces and pulled pork sliders for guests to snack on. Another extra special touch? Laura’s one-of-a-kind gown made entirely by hand by her mother. “I really wanted something classic and elegant,” says Laura. “My mother is a talented seamstress, so after we settled on a style while dress shopping at bridal salons, we found a basic pattern to make my gown. We then bought beautiful lace fabric and ivory peau-de-soie for the dress and ivory silk dupioni for the sash. My mom spent the next 8 months handcrafting the dress herself.”