Yesterday I had the priveledge of working with Christine and Mike on their beautiful wedding day. They got married at a pretty new venue- The Eagle’s Nest at Cypress’ Navy Golf Course. The building was gorgeous and was essentially all theirs for the whole day. It was pretty unbelievable. Plus, the room itself was gorgeous and with all of the details Christine added, you just couldn’t go wrong. This was a fun one because she chose orange as her central color and TRAVEL as her theme!
To start us off, here’s a few pictures of the bride and site as we all arrived for the day:
The beautiful gazebo and the bride’s first look…
Christine!!
Her hair was to DIE for!
Details, details:
A brooch on her bouquet was Christine’s “something blue”!
Bride’s bouquet from the top [compliments of the lovely Allison of Flower Allie]:
Let them eat cake! [Which Christine doesn't even like- but hers was GORGEOUS]:
Toss Bouquet:
Christine opted to use candle centerpieces that she found at Bed, Bath and Beyond. It was a collection of stemmed votive holders. It was amazing! They were a great deal and looked gorgeous all evening- definately one of those events that kept looking better as the night kept on!
A few room shots:
[They had flowers in each guests' napkin. It was SUCH a cute personal touch! And it made the room so gorgeous...]
And ceremony site shots:
More details:
Remeber how I told you their theme was travel? These escort cards doubled as favors and the ribbon color signified the meals as well. They are cute little silver luggage tags! Everyone loved them!
Cocktail hour set up:
And here is my little beauty taking some pre-ceremony pics:
Now, onto the good stuff. Let’s start with the ceremony:
Communion during the ceremony
The kiss!
Mr. and Mrs!
Singed, sealed, delivered!
The after-moments:
Maid of honor, Beth, signing the marriage license:
The cocktail hour was so great! During the time that the bride and groom were taking pictures [as they didn't see one another before the ceremony], the lovely Alexa Wilkinson graced us with her presence playing accoustic guitar and singing. She is a friend of Christine’s and was a great addition to the evening. She also had a special surprise that came into play a bit later…
Here’s what the bride and groom were busy doing!
Since I didn’t get too many detail shots of the ceremony site prior to the walk down the aisle, here’s a few of the set up:
A few more shots of the room as the sun kept going down…
A sneak at the bride and groom’s pictures together as they finish up before the reception:
Now THESE are love eyes if I’ve ever seen ‘em:
And now, she’s ready for the bustle:
This is what Mike was doing…
Ready for the GRAND ENTRANCE!
Just after the grand entrance Christine and Mike decided to have their first dance. Alexa actually WROTE them a special song that they’d never heard for their first dance. The words were so personal and touching. It was a really great wedding detail. Here’s a few shots of their dance. [Of course, she said a few words first as well!]:
After this we went straight into a welcome by each of the sets of parents. It was truly heartfelt and filled the room with love and support for the union of Christine and Mike. It was such a blessing to be a part of the evening with them! BUT- directly following this touching, heart felt moment, was a German tradition insisted upon by Christine’s mom concerning the “key to the house”. Basically what happens is that the bride and groom both chug a glass of champagne as quickly as possible, and whoever finishes first gets the key to the house, which means that they rule the marriage! It was so fun and quirky and great to bring in her German heritage [quite a few guests, including the "here come the bride" sign holders, flew in from Germany!]:
This one is them talking smack to one another about who will win…
And this is them turned around, facing the wall with their hands on the wall so that the competition can start fair:
This is Christine, handing over the key to her groom… after giving a heck of an effort [what you didn't see is that when Mike slammed the glass on the table, the stem broke off. There was quite an uproar of cheers!]
And, the celebration.
Onto speeches… Beth, the maid of honor, gave a touching speech and finished it by reading a poem that Christine had given to her [and framed for her] for her 16th birthday. It was about love and seasons of life and being a friend. Christine was crying, I was tearing up… it did the trick!
A little fix, a little veil removal, a little boogie…
Oh, P.S. that’s the mother of the bride dancing to Thriller with the groom…
Here’s the father/daughter and mother/son dance:
During most of dinner, my assistant and I were breaking down the cocktail area and prepping for the rest of the evening. Here’s a few shots of my last-minute idea for the sparklers. We displayed them early because they ended up pretty cute. I didn’t get a picture of the whole table… but there were 4 sparkler vases and 3 rows of matches. It was awesome!
Onto the cake:
This is Christine’s “What do I do now?” face:
Bouquet and garter…
Last dance of the evening… [which, of course, was Let's Get It On by Marvin Gaye]
And these are my terrible pictures of their grand exit! The sparklers were amazing! Everything was so beautiful and there were quite a few people still around to send them off:
A special THANK YOU to Christine and Mike for letting me be a part of their day! They were such a happy and relaxed couple! Even though Christine was exhausted and not feeling great, she totally rocked her day! We packed up her meal and a box of rolls to go, to settle her stomach, and the guests never knew the difference. She is definately a trooper, and she married a man that LOVES her and you could see in his eyes how much he longed to sweep her off of her feet and take care of her forever. Luckily, they have another day or two before leaving for Maui… I know it’ll be a much needed and appreciated vacation!
