The Wedding Story of... Matt and Jenna Butler

There is really something that can't quite be put into words about high school sweethearts who marry one another. The truth is, it gives us all a little hope to hear about two people who made it through the dynamics of growing up and the inescapable changes of life. Love really proves itself when two people can turn young love into forever love. That sentiment is evident in the wedding of Matt and Jenna Butler, a couple who fell in love as teenagers.

 

First Comes Love

Matt met Jenna during her sophomore year of high school before later asking her to prom. However, it wasn't until senior year that Matt mustered up the courage to take Jenna on a date. And, as seen in many romantic movies (think Lady and the Tramp), a spaghetti dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory sealed the deal. "It was love at first sight! We have been inseparable ever since! says Jenna. (We think she's talking about Matt, not the spaghetti :) ). 

 

 

 

Then Comes Marriage

When it came time to propose, Matt took Jenna to Fogo de Chao for her 23rd birthday. When they finished dinner, he took her to the Monument Circle, in the heart of downtown Indianapolis. As they climbed the stairs, he knelt down and asked her to marry him. Matt also enlisted the help of Jenna's best friend since the fifth grade to take photos during the proposal. 

 

 

 

Then Comes A Lot of Planning

With a June engagement in 2014, the couple set their special date for October 2015. The first item they checked off their list was to secure Jenna's longtime dream venue: the Scottish Rite Cathedral. "I have loved the Scottish Rite Cathedral my entire life!" says Jenna. When they toured the historic downtown Indy venue, they felt that the theater and grand ballroom were exactly what they wanted.
The only other thing that Jenna knew she wanted in her wedding was that the bridesmaid dresses HAD to be royal blue, her favorite color! The remainder of her vision came from Pinterest, but she used her own creativity and personal spin on each pin she found. When it came to her wedding vendors, Jenna based her decisions on reviews and recommendations, and mostly, her gut. She also credits her mother for helping her to plan almost every detail of the wedding. "We make a great team!" says Jenna.

The final result? See for yourself!

 

 

The Venue

The Scottish Rite Cathedral is one of Indianapolis' truest treasures. Matt and Jenna's wedding ceremony took place in the theater with a long aisle and colored art glass windows. Their reception was held in the two-story ballroom surrounded by an overlooking balcony. In 1929, The Scottish Rite Cathedral was voted as one of the seven most beautiful buildings in the world by the International Association of Architects so clearly Jenna has exceptional taste!

 

 

 

The Floral

As Jenna knew she wanted royal blue to be the distinctive color in her overall theme, she gave creative freedom to her florist Dave from The Empty Vase. He determined the accent colors of purples, ivory and deep pinks for the bridesmaid bouquets and centerpieces. Jenna's bouquet stood out with its simplicity of ivory roses, while the bridesmaid bouquets were a mixture of roses, hydrangeas, gladiolas, larkspur, delphinium, disbud mums and other seasonal blooms.

The use of both tall and shorter centerpieces on the tablescapes gave the already-dynamic ballroom even more visual appeal. The tall centerpieces used tall garden bouquets with elongated blooms like gladiolas, larkspur, delphinium and greens. Meanwhile, the shorter centerpieces used silver cubes and revere ware bowls that overflowed with bridal blooms.

 

 

The Dress

Some brides talk about how they fell in love with the first dress they tried on. In Jenna's case, she found "the dress" after trying on 30 dresses that were not "the dress." "I tried on everything from strapless to big ball gowns, but nothing was hitting that WOW factor..." says Jenna. That is...until she found "the one," a Maggie Sottero Justina at Bridal and Formal Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio. "It was perfect in every way! It had the lace, sparkle and a gorgeous train that wasn't too much. The detail on the back of the dress was my favorite. I knew I wanted my back covered and the beautiful lace detail was exactly what I was wanting."

 

 

Special Moments

The personalization in Jenna and Matt's wedding came from Jenna doing much of the work herself. She created the seating chart table, the programs, the ceremony aisle bows, the bar signs, and the memory sign for their family members who had passed. 

Jenna and Matt made their wedding truly their own with special touches. Her and Matt returned to the site where he proposed for their "first look," creating another intimate moment for the couple. Jenna also wore her mother's veil from her wedding and had custom cuff links made for her dad that had a father-daughter picture on them and said "Father of the Bride." Their cake topper was a silhouette of the couple with their dog Bernie!

 

 

 

What We Love

Well, we're kind of crazy for that Maggie Sottero dress. The fact that they ended the night by serving mini cheeseburgers and chocolate chip cookies, and arranging a sparkler send-off makes the entire affair perfect from beginning to end.