This is our first time in Northern Alabama. We were there for a wedding of GT’s high school classmate, Christina. She and her now husband, Chris, both live and work in New York City. However, they decided to have their wedding in Florence, Alabama at Christina’s grandparents’ lake house in memory of her grandfather. Since it was a bit of a travel for most of the guests, they chose a holiday weekend. And it was an eventful weekend, with rehearsal dinner on Friday night, a boat outing on Saturday followed by a cocktail party, pre-wedding breakfast and (finally!) the wedding on Sunday.

Welcome Bag

On Saturday. we were welcomed with a gift bag when we first checked into our hotel room at the Marriott Shoals Hotel & Spa. The bag was filled with snacks, maps, and a schedule. It was so helpful.

Lakeside Wedding

The morning of the wedding was raining cats and dogs. We really didn’t know what to expect knowing that the wedding was going to be outside. But once we got outside to wait for the shuttle about an hour before the wedding, the sun was out and the roads were drying up. Yay! Let’s have a wedding. The shuttle took us through some windy roads, ending at a little wooden cabin by the lake. It was surrounded by some table-clothed tables, pitched tents, and draping lights and lanterns. With the sun peaking through the trees, it was such a perfect setting for a May wedding.

Christina and Chris's Wedding

GT and I have been to over a dozen weddings in the past few years but this was the first of many things. It was our first time witnessing a Greek Orthodox ceremony with a bit of Roman Catholic twist. It was so sweet. It was the first wedding we went to with a live band, Simply Irresistible, which really got the party started. People were dancing non-stop the whole night. It was the first wedding with a fireworks show! So much fun!

The wedding food really reflected the couple, Southern belle bride and a Greek groom. For cocktails, the wait staff pasted around spanakopita and watermelon with feta. And during the reception, there was a generous Southern spread consisting of pulled pork, shrimp and grits, and bbq coleslaw just to start. And for our sweet endings, there was wedding cake, of course, and baklava. It was all so delicious!

And here’s a happy photo of the Montgomery Academy classmates!

The bride with GT

]]> http://www.bigfatcake.com/blog/2010/06/a-deep-south-wedding/feed/ 0 http://www.bigfatcake.com/blog/2010/03/getting-married-at-71/ http://www.bigfatcake.com/blog/2010/03/getting-married-at-71/#comments Mon, 29 Mar 2010 04:01:04 +0000 auschick http://www.bigfatcake.com/blog/?p=2979 Hi Everyone! For the last couple of weeks I’ve been visiting family in Australia – hence the MIA-ness. While I was there, I had the privilege of attending my grandfather’s wedding! That’s right – at the ripe old age of 71, my grandfather decided to get remarried (my grandmother passed away from cancer three years ago).

The ceremony and reception were held at a small wine bar and restaurant (The Sorell Providore) in a rural town in Tasmania, Australia. The restaurant opens out onto a large deck and garden, so the ceremony was held on the deck with all the guests (about 50 people, mainly family) standing and sitting around the edge of the deck.

My grandfather’s brother recently got his celebrant’s license, so he officiated their wedding. Rather than having bridesmaids and groomsmen, the youngest 3 grandkids served as ring bearers and flower girl.

Rather than wearing a traditional white gown, the bride (Jan) wore a purple dress that she can easily wear again.  My grandfather also wore his first wedding band on his right hand, and Jan put his new wedding band on his left hand.

The cake was made by one of my aunts who recently started her own wedding cake business (CalliCakes). Since she lives in South Australia, she literally flew the cake over with her (about 2 hours) – and the best part – only one small dent (apparently). The flowers on the top were also made by her.

Dinner was finger-food, and was served throughout the evening.

They even did the garter and bouquet toss!

My dad served as MC for the night and arranged for various family members to perform music and make speeches. We also did a 25 question quiz with multiple choice questions about the bride and groom. The winner got a fabulous t-shirt (ahem, white t-shirt with iron on transfer) with a picture of my grandfather’s trademark mustache and wedding date on it!

Finally, I should mention that my grandfather is a pretty modern guy.  Believe it or not, he actually proposed via…. Skype!

Congrats to Barbara and Ralph!  Source: Tara

and Scott went to Lawndowne to celebrate with Sarah and Neal:

Jen and her mom did most of the planning for the wedding (seriously, her mom was such a work horse! I didn’t have the benefit of having my mom around to help with mine, but if you do, put her to work! While there are some mom’s who don’t want to help with the wedding, I’m pretty sure that the vast majority do – especially if you’re the only daughter!).

Since Jen’s family live in Lancaster, PA, they chose to have an outdoor wedding at Riverdale Manor in Lancaster.

So, to some highlights for the day:

Jen had both her parents walk her down the aisle. It's perfectly fine to break from tradition and have both your parents escort you, or come down by yourself.

Rather than using an ordained minister of a church, there are a number of couples now who are asking their friends to marry them. Jen and Ka-Wah's friend Christina got ordained online (clicking on the photo will take you to EHow.com with instructions on how to get ordained to marry).

When you have bridesmaids with different body types, skin colors, personalities, etc, it's often better to pick out a color (or range of colors) and let each maid pick out her own dress. Each of Jen's bridesmaids picked out the style of their choice from Alfred Angelo. Rather than renting tuxes, the groomsmen all wore black suits, with Jen and Ka-Wah giving them their ties as gifts. Jen got her dress from David's Bridal and had the straps added.

Everyone received a candle as their wedding favor. Jen also had a candy station (awesome idea!) set up in one corner where guests could fill up Chinese takeout containers with candies of their choice. Jen's mom and friends put the whole selection together, with all the candy either being from Pennsylvania, or homemade using cala-lilly shaped chocolate molds.

To keep the budget down, Jen chose a simple but elegant cake. If you look closely, you can see Mario and Princess Toadstool as the cake topper! Jen told me this reflected both of their geeky sides!

And my favorite thing? Green Appletini's! Yum!!!

Towards the end of the reception, Jen got changed into a cute green dress (also from Alfred Angelo). She also switched into some crazy high heels which she'd found the day before for $30! (Jen is a shoe addict - last count was 75 pairs! She managed to wear just 3 of them on her wedding day.)

I interviewed Jen about some of her favorite (and not so favorite) parts of the wedding and planning process.  Here’s what she said:

Favorite part of wedding planning: “Without a doubt, the dress shopping.  I loved trying on different styles and seeing how they all looked on me, smiling at the pretty ones and laughing my ass off at the hideous ones.  I still watch Say Yes to the Dress on TLC to get my wedding dress fix.”

Favorite part of wedding day: “Too many to name!  I loved that we did a first look prior to the ceremony; it was a truly special moment that we were able to capture in photos.  It was very cute when Ka-Wah took out a paper with his vows and said “I need Cliffs Notes!”  The food was really good, cake was both pretty and tasty.” (Nat: I also loved that the caterer put different food stations at each corner  of the reception hall – definitely helped to keep the lines short).

Any wedding day surprises? “Oh yes.  The Mother’s Day Truck Convoy, where all the trucks drive down one nearby stretch of road and honk their horns, and somehow this raises money for Make A Wish.  Luckily it started after our ceremony, but it could have been disastrous.  Our venue did not make the effort to warn us when we chose the date.”

Warnings/Tips for other brides: “I should have been more firm with the bridesmaids about not choosing thin/stiletto heels for an outdoor wedding.  I let them choose any kind shoe that they wanted.”  (Nat: Since the wedding was outdoors on soggy grass, the girls kept getting their shoes stuck in the ground!)

“Also, I learned very quickly that wind and wireless microphones do not mix.

“Finally, don’t go dress shopping with people who clearly have opposite senses of style to yours (i.e. me and my mom – should have stuck with friends only!).”

DIY Projects:

• Jen made her invitations using a DIY kit from Wilton (available at any craft store).
• She also DIY’d her programs by folding a Letter sized sheet of paper in half and printing it in a similar way to her invitations.
• Jen’s also a bit of an origami fiend, so she made origami boxes for her bridesmaids gifts, and oragami cranes for decoration at the reception.
• Jen’s mom made the centerpieces using candles from Wal-Mart and placemats from TJ Maxx.
• Each of the tables were named after different classical music composers.  Jen printed a composer bio and photo on cardstock and placed each on a small table easel from IKEA.  The escort cards doubled as favors, and were CD’s with songs from that composer.

Jen and Ka-Wah used the following vendors:

• Artistic Difference Photography (she loved the engagement photos, but they’ve been slow to get the wedding day photos back to her)
• Jumpin’ J Entertainment (Jen loved their DJ-ing, and their assistant even took extra photos for them)

Jen and Ka-Wah were able to stick to their budget, but still incorporate things that represented them as a couple and individually.  How will you be expressing yourself in your wedding?

Elyse & Brad's Wedding

It’s all about destination weddings this year. In June it was San Francisco, then there was Honolulu! The thought of just going to Hawaii was a dream. Now having a wedding in Hawaii, this was heaven. The wedding was held at a beautiful hotel by the beach in Waikiki called Halekulani Hotel.

The ceremony was in the center courtyard of the hotel.  The bride wore a gorgeous flowing dress designed by the maid of honor, Jeny Lee.  The bridesmaids and she were also wearing a dress she designed.    It was a beautiful turquoise dress that had accompanied the bride’s dress very well.

I loved how the couple incorporated their different cultures during the reception.  Brad is Chinese and to celebrate his culture, there was a lion dance in the beginning of the party.  It is usually performed as a ceremony to summon luck and fortune. Spectators can hand feed “lucky money” in red envelopes into the lion’s mouth to provide the giver with luck. To get the lions started, each table had a dozen or so balloons, which the guests popped with toothpicks to imitate firecrackers.  The lion dance was one of my favorite highlights of the wedding.  I absolutely loved it!

Near, the end of the reception, they celebrated Elyse’s Korean culture with a tea ceremony.  Along with a series of events, tea was offered to both Elyse and Brad’s parents.  After all the formal gestures, Brad picked up Elyse on his back and carried her out! That was so much fun to watch.

Have you been to a wedding where they incorporated different cultures of the bride and groom? Have you ever been to a wedding in Hawaii? Tell me about it.

This week I’m going to share the rest of Jen and Dan’s wedding with you, as well as some things I learned along the way.  Jen had a lot of ideas for how she wanted her wedding, but with about four months left before her big day there were still a lot of things that weren’t fully organized.  Worried that it wouldn’t come together, I offered to give her a hand with her wedding prep.  This was the second wedding that I’d coordinated, and while there were a lot of pieces to organize and keep track of, the wedding day resulted with only a couple of small hiccups and I actually had some time to still enjoy myself!

Over the months leading up to the wedding, I spent time with Jen going through the Real Simple Wedding Planner checklist (also available in the RS Wedding magazine).  We worked out what still needed to be done, and then divided up the tasks between both Jen and Dan (and members of their wedding party).  Check out my previous post to see the programs that I designed for Jen.

I think the number one thing I learned is that whenever you work with any vendor, get *everything* in writing. And help your vendors out too: stick by their deadlines and avoid changing things at the last minute – this causes confusion and may result in things going the wrong way on the wedding day.  We had a number of issues with the caterer – while their food was great, a lot of things weren’t put in writing and so for some reason, the contract price got changed (to be higher), one of the tables wasn’t put out (suddenly 10 people approached me at the reception asking, “where is table 21?”), and poor Jen found herself getting more and more stressed the week of the wedding.

Jen chose to have an outdoor wedding at Oxon Hill Manor in Maryland, however rain ended up being forecast for the wedding day (Memorial Day), so at the last minute we scored a tent for a fabulous price.  As it happened, the previous day’s wedding was renting a tent.  For $500 Jen was able to keep the tent up, including a stage, dance floor, and decorations (these were usually $12,500!!!). The only complaint I heard, was that some people were getting hot because the heat and humidity was getting trapped inside.  I didn’t personally find this a problem, but if you are having a spring/summer wedding in an area prone to high humidity (like DC) and you want to use a tent, consider getting some industrial fans installed.

Anyway, to the pictures!

Jen cashed in on a stationery store that was closing down, and bought an assortment of different pink and off-white papers. I helped her out by designing about 5 different variants so she could use up all the paper. Here's one of them.

See that sky? It started to sprinkle part-way through the pastor's message (he actually cut out more than half of what he was going to say - including the "i do" part!! woops!). The aisle runner got stuck part way as it was being rolled out before Jen walked down the aisle. I didn't realize it got stuck, and sent Jen down while they were still rolling it out. My bad . It was probably a good thing though, because the rain was looming.

Here's the tent with the vinyl lanterns. There was an extra charge to change the colors from the previous wedding to Jen's wedding colors, so we decided to just leave them be.

I loved these centerpieces! The vases were from the Dollar Store and one of Jen's friends spray painted them white. Because she used regular spray paint rather than paint specially for glass, they had to carefully transport them so they didn't scratch. Also, to keep with the "games" theme, the favors were candy in little board game box packaging (you can see them just behind the vase).

And here we have table 21, seated! On their heads are the super cute escort cards that Jen printed (using a template she found online) with everyone's name as a Monopoly Title card. Each of the tables was a different color. (Photo by LauraKayPhoto.com)

And just for fun, here's my husband - as a groomsman he got to wear a pink vest. I like to remind him that "real men wear pink"

So there you have it – Jen and Dan’s wedding! I spent a good part of the night running around like a mad woman, but all in all, it was fun.  The other two near-dramas that occurred included: Dan forgetting to bring the marriage license (note to any one coordinating a wedding – remind the couple to bring their license to the rehearsal!); and the lighting company guy not bringing a ladder (thankfully I located one in a closet at the manor)!  I did get to work with some excellent vendors though – the DJ was great at working with me to get things back on schedule, the management at Oxon Hill were also really accommodating in helping us get extra time, and Laura from LauraKayPhoto.com was also a dream to work with (it was also fun to see her again as she did the photography at my wedding too!).  As for Jen, her favorite things were the cake, the tent, and a gorgeous wreath created by one of her friends (unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture of it).

I definitely learned a lot of lessons about wedding coordinating at this wedding! Have you coordinated a wedding? What lessons have you learned?

Since Mike and Ellein are both from Hong Kong, they actually got married in HK and had a second wedding in New York.  The wedding was held in a church in Queens, and was followed by a reception in the church’s hall (there was also a tent outside).  All the food was catered by a local Korean catering company and I must say: it was probably *the most* food I’d ever seen at a wedding!

The appetizers - amazingly presented!

A sampling of the food: there was a huge buffet line and the options included Chinese, Korean, and Japanese food. Probably about 30-40 types of food all up!!

They picked up the favors in HK - they were little face cloths shaped like cakes. Yes, I did see one guy holding it in one hand, with a fork in the other!

Michael and Ellein are both fabulous dancers! When they entered the reception, they had changed out of their wedding clothes and into these outfits (they also had top hats!). Ellein choreographed the dance - it was amazing. One of their friends posted up a video on Facebook but unfortunately it is not on YouTube. If I can get a copy Ill post it up here!

The cake was HUGE!

And they had an ice sculpture. Personally, I don't think ice sculptures are worth it, but if it's your thing and you have the extra budget, then it does make a nice decoration. This one was in the shape of their monogram.

And there you have it! I also had the pleasure of meeting David at this wedding! Small world .

I loved that Ellein and Michael included some unique elements in their wedding (especially their dancing and singing!).  We had a great time. The only downside was that although there was a lot of food, it had been sitting in a warm tent for at least an hour before we actually got to eat it! What unique things have you seen and enjoyed at weddings recently?

Last weekend, I attended John and Rachel’s wedding in Lynchburg, VA.  The ceremony was held in a church, and the reception was held at Timberlake Tavern – a beautiful old white building that opened in 1929 as a hotel for rich Lynchburgers (in 1910 Lynchburg had the 3rd highest average income in America! Who knew??!).

I don’t know how much they spent on their wedding, but there were a few things they did to save money:

1. Getting married outside the city – the further away from expensive cities you can be, the more money you can save on the catering and venue.  Lynchburg is 3 hours south of DC (it was the bride’s home town).
2. Rather than renting cloth napkins, silverware, and crockery, they used clear plastic plates (much nicer looking than white paper ones), tumblers, and cutlery.  They also had paper napkins embossed with their names.  While this method is a lot cheaper, the downside is the un-greenness of it (is that a word?!).
3. The bouquets were simple and small, using flowers that were in season (gerberas).  The bouquets seemed pretty simple so they could have easily done them themselves, but they had them professionally done.

Here’s some pics from the day:

John and Rachel leaving the church - everyone lined up to blow bubbles. I loved the bridesmaids bouquets! On another note, the day ended up being quite hot, so if you plan to be outside for any part of your day, remember: sunscreen!

Since the reception hall had limited parking, the guests parked in a nearby field and a limo-bus shuttled everyone to the reception. I wish we'd known in advance - it was so hot and I got burnt!

I love this! Not only do you have the bridesmaid in the front getting really concentrated on catching that bouquet, but you have two girls in the back strangling each other in an attempt to get it! (the bridesmaid caught it!)

One of my friends wore a similar outfit to me! Had to get a shot (I'm on the right)

They made their own imitation Moo cards with a few different engagment pictures and the photographer's info on the back

The lemon and lime filled centerpieces were on the food tables. They had small bud vases with 4 gerberas on each of the guests tables. As much as I love big centerpieces, small ones are much better on wedding tables - otherwise guests feel like they are talking to a big bush instead of their friend on the opposite side of the table (and will probably relocate your beautiful centerpiece on the floor).

Here's their wedding cake and groom's cake. The groom's cake was made by a close relative and reflected John's passion for playing the piano. Speaking of groom's cakes, I went to a bday party recently with a Wii remote shaped cake! So cool!

All of us on the steps of Timberlake Tavern, farwelling the newlyweds.

Overall, this wedding was a lot of fun! A number of my friends were there, and since we were all 3 hours from home, everyone stayed till the very end.  The inside of the tavern was rather small, so the guests tables were scattered all around the place – on the porch, inside, and under a tent.  Since we were so dispersed, everyone wandered around from table to table for most of the reception.  The DJ made sure to have plenty of speakers set up around the place so everyone could hear everything easily.

Patty and Tim's Wedding

We just had the most lovely weekend in San Francisco.  Our friend Patty and Tim got married!  The wedding was held at the Brazilian Room in Berkeley Hills.  The ceremony was outdoors on a paved patio overlooking the mountains of the East Bay Area.  It was a very relaxing and calm to be out there.  We couldn’t believe that a 40 minute drive from the heart of San Francisco can transport you to such a serene and beautiful place.

The reception was in cabin or cottage like building right next to the patio where the ceremony was held.  It was very convenient for the guests.   Since it was a day wedding (first one I’ve been to) we were served a light lunch fare of halibut, steak, vegetables, and spinach ravioli.  The wines were superb.  Lucky Patty had a co-worker who was a wine expert.  The wine selection at the wedding were picked from a list of his suggestions.

After one too many slices of wedding cake and a few witty but cute speeches by the matrons of honor and the best man, there was much dancing, hugging, and of-course picture taking.  We had such a great time! Congratulations to Patty and Tim!

(crickets chirp amidst the silence)

Anyway, corny jokes aside, I went to a wedding in the Salt Lake City area this past weekend. Of all the weddings I’ve attended, I think this one had the best venue. By far. The venue was La Caille, and it’s set in the foothills of Sandy, UT. To enter the estate, you literally have to drive through a narrow gate and up a winding brick pathway.

The ceremony itself was held at an outdoors gazebo. There was a river that flowed right across the estate (This was no weak creek – there was a strong flow. The river must take FloMax), along with peacocks, roosters, swans and ducks freely roaming the grounds. We actually really lucked out – the forecast called for rain, and the morning of the wedding saw pretty strong rain. Thankfully, the skies cleared up and the weather was better than you could hope for during the entire event.

The backdrop was of the mountains. Pretty cool eh?

Nighttime at La Caille.

where the ceremony was held

Where we had the reception. It would've been the rain alternative.

An interesting thing about this wedding was that it was the first non-Saturday event I’ve been to. The bride and groom actually had planned for a Saturday wedding originally, but their original venue bumped them (that’s fodder for another post altogether) and they ended up choosing this as their backup. The day they wanted wasn’t available, so they had to do the wedding on a Sunday. The good thing to that is, from what I heard, they saved a lot of money from an off-peak day. And, like I said earlier in this post, the venue and wedding itself were both great.

I’m really happy for the couple, and while I’m sure they had tons of stress-inducing items to take care of prior to the big day, their big day went off fantastically.

So, if you’re a bride and a HUGE thing like the venue isn’t working out, don’t despair. There’s still hope for an awesome wedding!