With their Energy Innovation Center wedding, Dez and Tyler threw the ultimate gathering for friends and family who came from near and far to witness their love. Their goal was to enhance the already beautiful Pittsburgh wedding venue with memorable details. The result was a mix of all things timeless with a twist of modernity and personal touches. To make the aesthetic happen, leaves of magnolia, olive, and eucalyptus (representing some of their favorite places) were incorporated into the design with cream colored linens and clear chiavari chairs from Eventioneers playing up the light and airy vibe. Wanderlust Weddings and Events had each windowsill covered with lit candles to set the romantic ambiance, which highlighted the city views that guests were able to soak in even with the rainy skies. The couple chose to incorporate cuisines to honor the life they share together in Madrid, Spain by having Spanish style tapas. This was paired with nods to Dez’s southern roots with dishes like shrimp and grits and Tyler’s Pittsburgh upbringing with some pierogies and stuffed cabbage – which all of course happened thanks to Bistro To Go. Since the pair also loves to travel, guests wrote well wishes to Dez and Tyler on postcards of places where they’ve been and plan to go in the future. Enjoy a little slice of their wedding paradise in these photos by Tyler Norman Photography and this video by Just Hitched Films.
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About the Couple
Ty and I met as many couples do – online. We began talking right before New Years Eve in 2014, and he sent me the sweetest text at midnight before we even met in person. Our first date was an eight hour Sunday funday in Washington, DC in January 2015, where we tried all of our favorites – lobster rolls, bloody marys, beer, and Indian food. I knew based on our easy chemistry right away that he was special.
After two years in DC, we moved to Madrid, where I teach at the American School of Madrid. We were together for six years before he booked a surprise trip to Copenhagen, where he proposed.
About the Wedding
As soon as we walked into the main space of EIC and saw all the natural light streaming in, we knew it was the perfect blank canvas for us to create the wedding we’d been envisioning.
We wanted our wedding to feel romantic, fresh, timeless, and authentically us. We wanted to bring in natural elements to highlight the ethereal feel of the venue so we chose greenery, blush, and cream-toned florals to play up the romantic vibe. We chose magnolia leaves to honor the magnolia trees that I climbed in my grandmother’s front yard in North Carolina, and olive and eucalyptus leaves to commemorate our time living in Spain. Our florist knew precisely the feel we were going for, and was so generous in his suggestions. He did an excellent job capturing what we wanted.
Our wedding planners are phenomenal, and lit dozens of candles in the windows during dinner, which also played up the romance. One guest described it as “a dreamy wedding in the clouds,” as the windows began to fog up when it rained during dinner. Since my family and friends hadn’t traveled to Pittsburgh before, the venue’s tall windows and rooftop allowed them to see gorgeous views of Ty’s hometown.
My family is from the South, and Ty is from Pittsburgh, however we’ve built a beautiful life together in Madrid. We wanted to highlight our traditions by way of food and our guest book. We had Spanish style tapas during cocktail hour, and Southern and Pittsburgh stations for dinner. Guests also wrote their wedding wishes on different postcards of places we’ve traveled and would like to travel. We also couldn’t pass up the chance to show my family and our friends a Pittsburgh cookie table! People still talk about what a delicious and exciting new treat that was for them.
Our hope was that our wedding day would feel uniquely us, and it really captured that. A lot of time and thought was put into making sure our guests would walk away seeing bits of us in everything. I believe our wedding did exactly that! From choosing our first dance song from an era my grandparents met to taking a traditional wedding shot of Croatian plum wine with Ty’s parents, our day felt so true to us and what or who shaped who we are today.
Favorite Moment
Taking in our venue after all our guests cleared out, and seeing the little things from the messy tablecloths from lots of food and drink to chairs being pushed aside to make room for more dancing meant so much to us. Our guests came from all over to celebrate us after such a hard year – it was a family reunion and wedding rolled into one, and to top it off, we had also had the wedding of our dreams. It was the best feeling.
