The Lantern Room Wedding in Cleveland, Ohio | Kate + Tyler
“Mariah is simply the best there is. We had the most incredible and fortunate experience working with Mariah on our engagement photos and our wedding day. Professional, kind-hearted, outstandingly creative, extremely knowledgeable, she made us feel like super models. From start to finish, we had the absolute greatest experience and could not stop smiling. It was an honour to have her with us on our wedding day, the photos are breathtaking and mean everything to us. Thank you, Mariah, for sharing your gift with us!!!” – Kate + Tyler
Kate and Tyler had the most beautiful wedding at The Lantern Room in Cleveland (I probably say that about everyone lol) but seriously! Take a look! It was STUNNING! Penthouse Events did such a beautiful job with their venue. The Lantern Room is on the roof of Church + State Apartments. The Lantern Rooms says they are “a creative event space steeped in modern design.” I’d have to agree! It has a mix of modern, vintage and an industrial vibe. You get a beautiful view of the city as well! You could have that view for your ceremony, dance area or even the reception and dining. It’s really versatile! There’s an indoor section of the Lantern Room which can be used for the reception/ dining area like what Kate and Tyler did or you could have your ceremony in there if the weather is bad or it would be great for a winter wedding! Photographers and videographers will appreciate the amazing floor to ceiling windows surrounding the room as well so the light is amazing.
And the florals! My gosh – Blossom Cleveland made the prettiest floral arrangements for the wedding. Again, just looook. They were breathtaking. I’m kind of obsessing with the babys breath floral arrangements that are really hot right now. They are so classy and elegant and not over the top. Even though, can you even have over the top flowers? Probably not. I digress. I asked Kate and Tyler to answer some questions for me including how they met and they told me their cute story so I just had to share! Keep reading to learn about how this adorable couple met and learn a little about them and their wedding planning process.
How did you guys meet?! Tell me your story!
Oh boy, here we go! Kate is from Boston, MA but has lived in Oakville, ON most of her life (American & Canadian) and Tyler is from Aurora, ON (Canadian). We met at a country bar called Dallas in 2012 in Kate’s college town Waterloo, ON (Wilfrid Laurier University). Kate went to college and became very close friends with some of Tyler’s lifelong buddies, 8 of which make up for the 13 groomsmen you will meet on our wedding day! Tyler was visiting these friends during a school break from Dartmouth College. Kate approached the group to say hello and Tyler asked Kate to dance. She was dating another guy (total jerk lol) at the time and felt his friends glaring at her protectively across the bar. While it was very hard to decline, she had to say no but she really never stopped thinking about him. Tyler was the first guy she followed on Instagram upon ending that relationship!
Fast forward to a 2014 senior college year bar night in London, ON (Western University) we were both visiting friends at that college along with our mutual friends and we danced the night away! Tyler took Kate’s number, sent her home in a cab like a gentleman but …they could not stop thinking about each other. After a few texts throughout the following days, Tyler made a bold move. He knew he was leaving for Dartmouth a few days later so he sent the text: “Hey Kate I forgot my gym back at Laurier, I have to come back and get it. I would love to take you out to dinner while I am there!”. Butterflies and shrill screams erupted in Kate’s all-girl apartment when THE Tyler Sikura asked her on a date. We went out the next night, it could not have been more natural, we just knew we were meant for one another. The rest is history. No, Tyler did not actually forget his gym bag and yes, he literally drove through hurricane-like winds and rain to take Kate to dinner. It was a slightly dangerous journey but beyond worth it. It was sealed with a *romantic* kiss in the rain. We went on to work through long distance for the rest of our senior college years. Kate attended approximately 60% of her classes at Laurier and she spent the rest of the time flying to and from Boston and bussing up to Dartmouth to be with Tyler as much as possible.
Kate graduated with a BA Communications degree and Tyler the two-time captain of the Dartmouth Men’s Hockey Team graduated majoring in Sociology. Kate continued on to work in Toronto for a year in marketing sales then shifted back into her passion of Dance and the arts as a choreographer, costume designer and office manager. For Tyler, professional hockey started right after graduation, long distance continued from 2015 to 2019 as Tyler played in Springfield, MA, Toledo, OH, Rockford, IL until COVID came swinging in 2020. We have lived together ever since, we bought our first home in January 2021, we have planned 3 weddings and our love has never been stronger. We are insanely excited to get married and celebrate our love with our friends and family.
What’s each of your favorite foods? Drinks?
We both LOVE to cook and have quite the universal pallet. If we had to pick a favourite food though, we would both agree on Japanese (especially sushi), Italian and Mexican cuisines! While we enjoy making fresh juices at home to support our health, we love a night on the town. We both really like red wine, anything tequila and the odd local beer or cider.
What do you like to do for fun?
We love the outdoors and we love animals so generally most activities involving the two are a win for us! We like to go for walks with Nash (our dog daughter), explore new local restaurants and shops and soak in the beauty of wherever we are in the world. We love to travel and enjoy going for drinks and laughs but also love lazy nights in with pyjamas and a bottle of equally.
What’s been the most fun thing you’ve done while wedding planning so far?
Shifting the entire wedding to Cleveland and feeling like we actually know all of our vendors has been amazing! We were supposed to get married in 2020, then 2021 and then 2022 in Ontario, Canada. Due to COVID restrictions we had to keep pushing. We grew tired of waiting and got so many signs from the universe that shifting to Cleveland was the right thing to do. Every step of the way planning our third wedding has been fun, exciting, no-stress and we’re super stoked.
What has been the biggest challenge?
We are super grateful to say that we feel our biggest challenge was taking the leap of faith to cancel our Canadian wedding. Our biggest challenge so far is behind us and we are currently experiencing our most enjoyable leg of wedding planning yet (by far lol). We are super grateful and excited to have you on board with us, Mariah!
Hugging photos will forever be a favorite of mine. They always turn out so sweet, sometimes they even invoke some tears which I am aaaalllll about on a wedding day. Happy tears of course! Those are never a bad thing. So get ready for the hugs on your wedding day! <3
If this isn’t the sweetest photo of a bride and mama you’ve ever seen 😭😍
Yes, you two are married now (or if you are an engaged person reading this, you will be married soon) but you should always take a photo with your parents alone. Nothing against your partner but you need a photo with these two important people who raised you and mean the world to you and vice versa. I don’t mean to sound depressing, but they will only be around for so long. This may be one of the last times you even manage to get a photo with them. So do it! You can still add your partner in later, but don’t skip out on the solo shot. You won’t regret it later, I promise.
Book me for your wedding here!
