With all of Rachel & Max’s wedding events happening in downtown Iowa City, we had close proximity (albeit tricky parking!) to all of the locations we needed to be at. We started the day at Hotel Vetro, where Rachel and her girl friends were getting ready (this hotel is the best in the area for natural window light in the rooms!), then went to the Pentacrest for photos, then took a quick walk down the street to the Englert Theatre for their ceremony, and finally circled back to Hotel Vetro for their reception.

Rachel & Max first met in high school when she had decided to take an auto maintenance class. It wasn’t long before they had their first date. Their relationship had its ins and outs during the next several years, as most relationships do. She moved away for undergrad, but she says she knew he was the one when he came all the way from Iowa to Virginia to be at her graduation. People who saw them assumed they had been dating for a while, even though they weren’t even officially dating at that time. She continued to medical school and he visited her there as well, only reinforcing the feelings she already had for him.

They got engaged in early 2016 while on vacation. “Max planned a surprise to Cancun. When we go to this beautiful resort, he planned a romantic dinner on the beach, but it got rained out. This happened 2 other nights as well. Finally, on the last night, the weather was perfect and the dinner went as planned. After we finished dessert and our after-dinner drinks, he asked the waiter if he could take a picture of us. He had me stand up to pose for a photo, then took my hand and dropped to a knee and proposed. The picture shows my genuine surprise. He told me had had had to wait 3 nights to do it and have been so nervous, which is cute because Max isn’t really the type to ever get nervous.”

They shared their first look over near the Old Capital and we were able to do all of their photos there, with the bridal party joining us a few minutes later!

It was a quick walk back to the Englert Theatre in downtown Iowa City for the ceremony. The Englert has such history and it was fun to see a wedding done in there!













Their reception was held at Hotel Vetro, with the cocktail hour being perfectly situated up on the rooftop terrace.

It was starting to sprinkle outside so we only managed a few minutes on the rooftop terrace for sunset photos, but I’m so glad we snuck out anyway!

And then it was back inside for dancing and more dancing!

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Photography: Emily Crall Photography

Florals: Hy-Vee Coralville

Ceremony Venue: Englert Theatre

Reception Venue & Catering: Hotel Vetro

DJ: Unique Events of Iowa

Makeup: Katlyn Steufen

Hair: Kaylan Tadlock

Paper Suite: Zephyr Weddings

Bridal Gown & Maids’ Gowns: Heart to Heart Bridal

Suits: Men’s Wearhouse