An Elegant, Winter Wedding at LaBranche in Polo, Illinois

Brooke (24 and a graduate student) and Michael (26 and a truck driver) met while in high school, but didn't start dating until Brooke's senior year. While on a trip to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan , Michael took Brooke to the overlook on the Lake of the Clouds and proposed. He said, "The first time I came here, I thought it was so beautiful I just wished you were with me. And that's when I knew I would ask you to marry me here." Due to the January wedding date, Brooke and Michael got married indoors at the LaBranche in Polo, IL. "LaBranche is a beautiful banquet hall with cedar walls, limestone columns, and fireplaces," Brooke says. "It has a rustic charm while also maintaining the elegance that we were looking for." While drawing inspiration from a Winter sunset, the couple chose deep purple, gray and slate blue  with a pop of silver for their color palette. All flower arrangements were made up of artificial flowers with Brooke's grandmother having designed the bouquets, corsages and centerpieces. Brooke and Michael included their families in every step of the wedding planning. In lieu of favors, Brooke and Michael made a donation to the American Brain Tumor Association in memory of Brooke's mom. "The element of our day that best reflected us as a couple was our commitment to family," Brooke says.