Cowboy boots – one pair in particular – were the unlikely inspiration for the Western disco theme of Caleb and Danielle Nickel’s wedding.
“We were on a road trip in Texas [during the solar eclipse in April] and went to this cool shop in Fort Worth,” says Danielle, who was living in Chicago when she met Caleb (who owns Ormson Supply, an antiques and vintage shop in Bay View) on Hinge, and later moved to Milwaukee.
“I bought the boots, and a few days later, he proposed to me while I was wearing them. I thought, ‘I want to wear these boots when we get married,’ and it all kind of spiraled from there.”
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Foreshadowing the proposal was another moment during that trip. “We stopped in Arkansas and did one of those old-timey picture themes,” says Caleb.
“She didn’t know but I knew we would be using this picture for our save-the-date.” In that photo, they’re wearing cowboy boots and Danielle’s in a wedding dress.
At the reception they served barbecue, and the mix-and-match china was diligently sourced by their mothers.
“We had cocktail napkins with disco balls and cowboy hats,” explains Danielle. “All of our flower girls wore cowboy boots and cowboy hats. The party favors were a custom matchbook with a disco ball on it.”
Another fun touch was a backdrop the couple painted to emulate the desert, complete with cacti.
“In rope, we had written ‘The Nickels,’ for everybody to take a photo under,” says Danielle.
As for their outfits, Caleb wore a maroon suit, cowboy hat and loafers while Danielle donned a dress from Anthropologie, only the second one she tried on. It defied what she thought she wanted: a short dress to show off the cowboy boots. “It was long and not at all the dress I pictured myself in, [but] it had a slit with my boots peeking out,” says Danielle.
The final accent to Danielle’s outfit was a surprise. A cousin brought her late Aunt Joyce’s jewelry for women in their family to wear – including a pearl fringe necklace for Danielle. Up until that point, Danielle hadn’t found a necklace that meshed with the dress’ big sleeves. “It really was the most perfect addition,” says Danielle. “I felt like Beyoncé in the Cowboy Carter album.”
