Des Moines Salisbury House Wedding Day Details

Nate and Malia had a picture perfect wedding day at the Salisbury House in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, and they did not forget about a single detail for their wedding. There were so many thoughtful touches throughout the day. I could (and probably will) have many more posts about different parts of their day, but we’ll just start with the details!

The Wedding Dress

The wedding dress is one of my favorite parts of the day, but this one was extra special. The bride made and embroidered her own wedding dress while finishing med school (mind blown). It was her to a T. The dress had a magical feeling to it. It was embroidered beautifully with intricate detail on the bodice, and had a flowy skirt that moved in such a lovely way.

The Little Details

I always suggest to couples to have their little details they want photographed together in a bag or box for me to take upon arriving. This helps to have a smooth start to the day by having everything in one place so I can grab + go and get started right away. When I started taking things out of Malia’s box of details, I was amazed at how many beautiful pieces were in there. From a gold hexagon box to display the ring, to a stunningly textured invitation suite. I loved photographing these details, and the best part is we kept running into more thoughtful details as the day went on! The dogs were a big part of the day, so they wore their own flower collars throughout the day, and Malia gifted her mom a clutch with a childhood photo on the inside, and she had a photo pendant of grandparents on her mom’s corsage. The details were endless and they were perfect.

Roxie the Italian Truck

One of my favorite details of all time is Roxie! Roxie is an Italian Truck that was rented from The Good Co. to beautifully display a champagne wall for their guests. Couples who book Roxie can choose to have it personalized with their names on it, which Malia and Nate chose to do. It was decorated with gorgeous florals from Boesen the Florist, and Malia and Nate included their dogs in some photos with Roxie. Everyone needs Roxie at their wedding, in my opinion!

Reception Details

These two knocked it out of the park with their reception details! Upon entering the reception area of the Salisbury House venue, guests got to choose a gift of a candle or a succulent. After guests walked into the space with the tables, they saw the perfectly detailed decor on the tables. The couple’s last name is Lake, so the centerpieces of the tables were all different lakes (embroidered, of course). Guests made their way to find their seat on the handmade hexagon shelving with glass signs for the seating chart, and then signed the guestbook and wrote a message to the bride and groom to read together at a later date. There were delicious and beautifully decorated cookies from Main Street Bakery, petit fours from Hiland Bakery, and a homemade cake for something sweet after dinner. My favorite reception detail was the drinks! They had amazing and brightly colored signature cocktails that were named after their pets. They indicated which drink was which with an adorable wooden drink tag with the pet’s name and picture etched into it. It was perfect!

There were so many incredible details at Nate + Malia’s wedding. They were well thought out and they held meaning and significance. It was such a lovely day that I was honored to photograph.

Jenna McEntee Photography, Des Moines Wedding Photographer