Erika & Zach celebrated at one of Cincinnati’s most glamorous and historic venues, The Omni Netherland Hilton Hotel. The building is known as being one of the finest examples of French Art Deco architecture. The ballroom and Hall of Mirrors speak for themselves with every detail adding to the beauty and rich historic moment of the space.
Erika & Zach wanted to enhance the sophistication and elegance of the hotel with neutral, classic florals in vessels of varying heights to add dimension to the large halls with their massive ceilings. We asked Erika to travel down memory lane from meeting Zach to “I do”!
Leppert Photography captured their day.
Tell us about meeting Zach.
Zach and I met through mutual friends sometime in the Fall of 2013. Over time, we hung out more and more as “just friends”, though Zach loves to tell people that he expressed interest multiple times and I shot him down. 🙂 Eventually, in the summer of 2017, I had a change of heart and we began casually dating, then made it “official” November, 2017. Within less than a year– September 2018– we moved in together, and unbeknownst to me, Zach had told his brother at that time that if things were going well within the first couple months of cohabitation, he was planning a proposal.
A FEW MONTHS LATER,
on January 19, 2019– a day before my birthday– he took me to my favorite restaurant, seemingly for a birthday dinner. After dinner, he said we were going to meet our parents at the bar where we originally met (Rhinehaus in OTR– it will always have a special place in our hearts!) because they wanted to have a birthday drink with me. Shortly after arriving at the bar, Zach grabbed my hand and got down on one knee. I knew what was coming and the answer was a resounding YES! He had also had his brother and my sister and sister-in-law fly in for the occasion and they appeared from the back of the bar after the proposal.
AS IF ALL THAT WAS NOT SURPRISE ENOUGH,
when we returned to our condo, he had all of our friends waiting for an engagement party, complete with decorations and flowing champagne. It was a night I will never forget!
Describe your wedding style.
I would describe our wedding style as sophisticated and elegant. We went with very classic colors (midnight blue, cream, and gold) and nude and blush-toned flower arrangements.
What were your biggest wedding planning challenges?
Our original videographer, unfortunately, had to back out due to health reasons, which stressed me out of course. Luckily, we were connected with Vivid Wedding Videos, and they did an incredible job.
What was your wedding floral vision?
I wanted flowers with a subtle tone– mostly cream, with some blush sprinkled in. Kristen really helped me narrow down specifically what I was looking for. I wanted understated but elegant bouquets for my bridesmaids and simple, classic pieces for the ceremony and the reception.
Kristen even worked into my bouquet a silver cuff link that belonged to my late father, so that I had a piece of him with me that day. We had a beautiful variety of small, medium, and tall arrangements on the tables at the reception, which really added a lot of dimension to the room and looked very elegant.
Tell us about finding your dress. How do you feel it worked with your floral design?
I found my dress in one day! As soon as I got to Amanda’s Hyde Park Bridal, I knew I’d find my dress there. I tried on a LOT of dresses and finally narrowed it down to a couple. In the end, I went with a classic, ivory all lace Calla Blanche dress with a dramatic train. It had a nude underlay which looked fantastic with our neutral-toned floral arrangements.
Describe your wedding day.
Perfection. We had the most wonderful wedding planner. – Briana from Orange Blossom Events and despite some issues arising during the day, Zach and I were blissfully unaware because Briana handled it all calmly and quietly.
Most memorable moment?
The whole ceremony. Our dear friend served as officiant, so his commentary and stories were very intimate and personal. Zach and I also wrote our own vows which were uniquely “us”. We had many people tell us after that it was the best wedding ceremony they’d ever been to.
I can’t express enough how PERFECT this day was! It was truly our dream wedding. Everything from the ceremony to the flowers to the food to the music– it was all just as we imagined it, if not better.
We also had THE BEST photographer in Cincinnati capturing it all– Laura Leppert Knabe of Leppert Photography. I have many wedding photos on display in our home and I love looking at them and at our album to relive all the wonderful moments of our big day.
Creative Partners
Erika’s Dress: Amanda’s Hyde Park Bridal, Calla Blanche | Shoes: Badgley Mischka | Bridesmaids Dresses: Alfred Sung Dessy Collection | Catering & Cake: Hilton Netherland Plaza | Ceremony Venue: Hilton Netherland Plaza: Continental Room | Reception: Hall of Mirrors | Planning: Orange Blossom Events (Briana Warm) | Stationery: M. Hopple | Music: DJ Joey (DJ Toad) | Ceremony Music: The Innocenti Quartet | Linens, Chairs, Chargers: All Occasions Event Rental | Napkins: BBJ Linen | Photography: Leppert Photography | Videography & Photo Booth: Vivid Wedding Videos | Wedding Rings: Kirk & Company Jewelers | Lighting: Clear Lighting | Officiant: Pavan Parikh | Rehearsal Dinner & Catering: 3 Points Urban Brewery
