Fall in Love at Gather

While summer in Wisconsin has become quite a renowned and beloved vacation spot for many Midwesterners, (with numerous quaint, historic, and adorable towns, beautiful outdoor features and hiking trails, and a selection of cities that have garnered a music and arts scene, it is hard for it not to be) fall in the dairy state has always been where the locals find most of their excitement. 

The dense trees turning plentiful shades of red, orange, and yellow from their vibrant summer green create a magical landscape to fall in love and celebrate with others. According to Gather’s trusted partners and vendors, Gather’s catering manager, Maddy Meyer, Petal Pusher’s owner, Nichole Campbell, and Ruby Design’s lead stylist, Zeb Metzler all agreed and explained why fall is their busiest time of year in the Wisconsin wedding industry.

A short and sweet season

Summer in Wisconsin typically includes the last week of May to the last week of August, leaving a spacious period for weekend weddings, and summer produce and greenery to grow. Fall in Wisconsin is much shorter according to both Maddy and Nichole. “Our Fall season includes September, anything post-Labor Day, into the beginning of November,” said Nichole. “All the leaves have fallen by mid-November, and people start to shift into the winter color palette. The environment has changed and people like to reflect that change in their decor.” 

“I think that we're on borrowed time with Mother Nature anytime we hit the beginning of October, sometimes it even happens before then, but if we're still producing at our farm in the middle and toward the end of October, I'm ecstatic,” grinned Nichole. “Some harvests can handle the cold because not everything disappears, but that first frost is a game changer, for sure.”

Maddy pointed out that she experiences something very similar in these short months for the produce she works with in the kitchen, both in the primary courses and desserts offered! “We work a lot with Adam’s heirlooms, especially because they source most of our ingredients for the Fall Taste Event, and the farmer’s markets typically thin out at this time,” explained Maddy. “Working with root veggies like broccoli and carrots, and other fall produce like Brussels sprouts, squash, and those standard fall flavors are so fun, but I also love the variety Adam’s Heirlooms offers, and being able to do sweet and savory with those things excites me.”

“Many of our fall couples opt for seasonal vegetables, which is so fun in the kitchen,” Maddy grinned. “We have people who love our signature pumpkin, butternut squash lasagna just as much as they love our pumpkin or chai desserts. If you love fall, this is the perfect season to book for your wedding and shape your menu creatively.”

Fall favorites

This short season books out very quickly, so before contacting your florist, catering company, band, design team, photographer, or any other wedding feature, the first step is to secure your venue. Having your location set not only removes the most pressing issue of where all your guests will gather, but also literally sets the stage for all other wedding steps and teams hired as now the companies know the space they will be working within. Once the hired teams and individuals know when and where they will be for the wedding, the fun part of choosing the color palette, decor, florals, menu, and all other customizations comes into play! “Depending on the couple’s chosen color palette and/or style, I have a few different pieces I like to pull out of storage,” Zeb smiled. “Everything Ruby Design has in inventory is offered year-round, and our package pricing with Gather is consistent with what we have to offer throughout the year. We typically ask for photos that capture their inspiration in advance to obtain a clear understanding of what they’re looking for.”

After years of creating beloved desserts for the beloved wedding space, Maddy definitely has a clear understanding of what most couples are looking for regarding fall desserts. For example, she’s noticed the popular choice for couples to switch from the standard wedding cake to pie for fall.  “People don't usually opt towards pies in the summer or spring, which is funny, because there are so many fruit pies to choose from, but I think there's a nostalgic and warm, homey feeling when you think of Thanksgiving and October,” she smiled warmly. “It's getting colder out, so warm pie with warm spices is inviting. The number one thing I see a switch to in these fall months is people wanting those homey and cozy vibes, which leads to pie.”

“Making pies is one of the big things I always look forward to every year because people like to get creative with it too! We’ve booked more than a few weddings that opt for the route of miniature pies, or whole pies that we slice and serve. Fall flavors are so hearty and warm and filling, it's the best time of year for those dishes.”

The warm spices of cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg stir not only Maddy’s creative ideas for desserts and dishes, but also those of our guests! “A few years ago, we catered a wedding for a couple who centered their entire theme around the season and vibes of fall, so all of their desserts were fall-themed, one of them being caramel apple cupcakes,” she grinned devilishly. “I made a cinnamon cake base, filled with apple pie filling, and had a caramel apple on top of it, so it was like a two-in-one dessert. Those were fun because you don't see that often, and I know people love caramel apples in the fall.”

While Maddy primarily tackles kitchen duties and catering tasks, she also steps in to set up the tables holding all of the food she and her team just worked to create for the wedding tasting events and every now and then, the weddings themselves. “When we do our menu tasting event for our fall couples, about a year from the wedding date, we set four tables of different decor so the couples can get a few ideas,” Maddy explained. “When I do the table design for those days, I lean to the brighter fall colors rather than the neutral ones, and it’s been nice to see the general public start to gravitate and play with colors that are reminiscent of fall leaves more often after years of using earthy neutral tones.” 

Colors to leaf you feeling romantic

Our trusted vendors and partners all have varying color palettes they prefer to pick out and work with, but the top priority is to always produce what the couple envisions for their special day. For example, Gather’s experienced pastry chef and catering manager, Maddy Meyer, is more partial to the brighter side of fall, whereas Petal Pushers knowledgeable owner Nichole prefers the muted tones.

“I like those brighter greens, oranges, and reds, they're just as effective at producing a fall atmosphere, to what we've typically seen. We also see classic black and tan quite often in our venue, with black detailing and simple decor, which looks very elegant with Gather's cream, city brick walls,” listed Maddy. “We have two different platter options, black or copper that we tend to use more in the fall, as opposed to the crystal ones we use in the spring and winter.” 

Nichole has noticed gravitation toward deep-colored, textured flowers in the fall months for wedding bouquets and floral arrangements, and while the spotlight has been on Dahlias and sunflowers for the majority of the autumn season, she has another floral variety she likes to work with.  “I’ve been incorporating a lot of amaranthus into bouquets since it provides another texture, adding to the depth of the bouquet both in shape and color,” she explained. “People love to incorporate fall colors such as berry hues, rust, toffee, caramel, and softer greens, leaning to the organic feeling and atmosphere of fall. I really like this aesthetic because it makes the bouquet more visually interesting.”

“One of our favorite looks for Fall is taking the considered ‘classic fall tones’, rust or burgundy, and then pairing it with a softer side of the palette, like blush or champagne,” explained Nichole. ”In my opinion, it takes the edge off the bold color, so it feels a little more like romantic fall and less like rustic fall.”

Working with a large variety of material and greenery, Nichole has played with many different color and texture pairings, coming up with new suggestions for customers who come through, and always keeping her arrangements as fresh and the flowers themselves. “We use a lot of the eucalyptus, which is a softer, sage green, it pairs so nicely and helps to lighten up those deeper fall tones,” Nichole said. “But then, of course, we still see the classic fall foliage as well, and this is the only type of year to play with those, so that's fun! There's always an enthusiasm when spring returns to Green Bay, and I think we have that same enthusiasm when fall comes back. We get excited for the changing of the seasons because it leads to a renewed sense of creativity for us working with the bouquets and arrangements.”

“Personally, I prefer the darker side of the fall palette; burgundy over red, burnt orange over a straight orange – but I also love seeing that blush and champagne variations brought into it to soften it up a little bit. There's even some really beautiful shades that I call like a murky lavender, or gray lavender, where it's not like the pastel, Easter lavender, it's like a deeper version that pairs beautifully with fall too.”

No matter the colors Maddy, Zeb, or Nichole are working with, each team is excited to execute whatever vision a couple has in mind, since no two weddings are ever the same at Gather. 

“Frequently in the fall, we see a lot of couples booking earthy tones such as copper and terracotta. Personally, I love working with our new Panama line of textured linens, which come in an array of rustic, fall colors and are perfect for the warm tones many are going for,” Zeb commented. “I love the overall warmth these fall colors provide, creating a very romantic atmosphere.”

“We do far and away more fall weddings than we do spring weddings, and the most difficult aspect of our fall weddings is trying to accommodate the sheer number of people who want to have a fall wedding with us in the limited number of weekends we have available to us,” Nichole smiled solemnly. 

If these fall flavors, colors, and arrangements are desirable to your special day, don’t hesitate to book your date with Gather today as the short season is easily the busiest of the year!

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