Allie and Brian describe their first moments of falling in love as ‘like the same existential self-discovery that so many people waxed lyrical about in the late ’60’s and early 70s’. So, coupled with their love of music from the same era (cosily nestled between the folk and Rock n Roll genres), they used this as a starting point for the shaping their wedding around that same kind of ‘groovy, grounding energy.’

They also have the benefit of not really knowing what’s ‘expected’ from a wedding – neither had attended that many, so they were able to plan their day free from the weight of societal expectations. They simply followed their hearts and told their wedding party, officiant and families to do the same. “We wanted the weekend to feel like a music festival or camp-out experience,” explained Allie. They hit up a booze cruise with all their friends a couple of days prior to the wedding, and their wedding party stayed for the weekend at the bed-and-breakfast venue with them. “It was important to us, since we were celebrating in the city that Brian used to live in when we first fell in love, that we really live it up the way we used to back in our Dubuque days.”