Hotel Hosts 4 Generations of One Family's Weddings
See four generations of wedding photos over 90 years.
— -- Call it a family tradition. Not Sunday dinner or vacationing in the same spot year after year. Instead, four generations of this Milwaukee family each choose to spend the most important day of their lives -- their wedding day -- at the same hotel.
It's a first for the historic Pfister hotel, which hosts about 70 weddings each year. The hotel said that while they have had three generations of families married at the hotel, the June 29, 2014 wedding of Andrea (Winter) Kitsis and Robert Kitsis marked the first time a fourth generation celebrated their nuptials at the property.
The newly-married Kitsis couple had their ceremony in the hotel's Imperial Ballroom and the reception in the Grand Ballroom; the same rooms as their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. "Having them follow our journeys made this day even more special," said Susan Winter, the bride's mother, who was married at the hotel in 1979.
Pictured above are the couple who began the tradition: Morris & Dorothy Paschen, married at the hotel in 1924. The hotel's general manager, Paul Ohm, estimates the cost of a wedding at the Pfister in the 1920's was about $500.
Pictured below are Charles & Bernalee Winter, the grandparents of Andrea Kitsis, the just-married bride. They share a wedding anniversary with the new couple: June 29. The Winter's celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary at their granddaughter's wedding.
Charles Winter is 91 years old and, according to Susan Winter, the bride's mother, has been saying for the last 10 years, "'I want to be there to dance at Andrea's wedding."'
Here are the bride's parents, Bruce & Susan Winter, married at the hotel on July 3, 1979. The newlywed couple gave a special toast in honor of the parents and grandparents.
Finally, the newlyweds, Andrea (Winter) Kitsis & Robert Kitsis. The hotel said the average spend on a wedding at the hotel is between $15 - $25,000. "We knew our wedding at the Pfister was meant to be; it is so incredibly special to continue this wonderful family tradition," said Andrea Kitsis.