Our wedding is in just 99 days! We'll be tying the knot on September 25, 2010! Our wedding is very special because it represents who we are. We are getting married at Venuti's in Addison, Illinois. It's a beautiful venue!
We were engaged on December 25, 2008, so we have had a lot of time to plan our perfect day!
To start, our rehearsal dinner will be on Thursday, Setpember 23, 2010. I wanted to surprise Dan with something that would knock his socks off! He is a big poker fan and we love to go to Vegas together. We are having our dinner at the Pyrmid Club which is a sports bar with 2 private dinning rooms. After dinner I will ask our guests to head into the other room for 'dessert' and waiting for everyone to enjoy will be casino games including black jack, roulette, and poker!
Dan and I are big food fans, so it was very important to have the best!
We are having 4 types of unlimited butler servered Hors D'Oeuvres during cocktail hour. We are also having two signature drinks, along with an open top shelf bar, and two drink luges!
For dinner, guests will be able to select their entree that night! No need to decide what you want to eat 2 months before! We'll be having a salad course, pasta course, intermezzo, entree, and Bananas Foster for dessert!
My favorite thing about our wedding is the dessert room! Yes, room! We are having a chocolate fountain, sweet table, our cake(inspired by Buddy Valasco), canoli station, and candy buffet! We'll also have an ice cream truck come at 11:45 pm and wait outside so guest can take a sweet treat home as they leave for the night!
Then later in the evening we'll be having some late night snacks which include itailan beefs and hot dogs with french fries on top! We'll also be serving spiked frozen italian ice lemonade shots and strawberry margarita jello shots!
As the party gets started, we'll both be changing into different outfits! Dan will change out of his black tuxedo into an all ivoy tuxedo! I'll be changing out of my gorgeous Enzoni gown into another stunning gown by Maggie Sottero!
Our wedding will also be featuring a photo booth which we are both super excited about! We also have a fantastic DJ, lighting, and florist! Our florist is even making a custom 3D piece of champagne flutes to be featured on our place card table. To end the night, we'll be hosting an After Party for our guests that want to continue to celebrate! It will be on the other side of the venue at the V Lounge!
I'm so lucky to have found my best friend and can't wait to start off our marriage with a bang! I'm so glad to be able to say we are having our dream wedding!
Dear Annie, My fiance and I would love to have our wedding featured! We are in the beginning stages of planning for our June 2011 wedding. We are both really looking forward to designing the most amazing day of lives to share with our families and friends. A few things that make us unique... My fiance, Robert, has never been in a long term relationship until we started dating. I have been in several long term relationships, but I never been in a relationship as fantastic as what we share now. Robert has done a greatjob of making me feel like the most amazing woman on earth. He totally surprised me when he proposed. I actually kind of wrecked his original proposal plan. We were on our first REAL vacation as a couple in Lake Tahoe. We had flown from Florida to ski for a whole week and just spend time hanging out with each other. Well, on our first day of skiing...we had a major challenge. We had spent the first half of the day on the "bunny slope" so Robert could reacclimate himself to skiing. After lunch we deicided to make our way to the top of the mountain and work on some new slopes. At the top of the mountain, for our first true run, I started skiing down the hil and fell. Normally this would not be a big deal because I have been skiing most of my life, but this time I was not able to get up. Long story boring...I ended up being transported down the mountain and to the hospital. I had fractured my hip and I was devastated because I ruined our ski vacation...the first REAL vacation for just the two of us. Robert promised that he would find a way to put a smile on my face, but I was incredibly upset and in a TON of pain. The next day we got up and went to return our rental skis. All I could think about was all of the money we spent to get there, get lift tickets, stay mountainside, and rent equipment. To cheer me up, Robert suggested we ride the gondola up the mountain to the scenic look-out. He told me he had checked and I could go up the gondola with crutches. I told him I thought I would be okay doing it as long as we walked/crutched slowly and he carried my purse (what an amazing man!). We rode up to the look-out, walked/crutched around, and took some pictures. There were a fair number of people at the look-out so he pulled me to the side so we just stand there and take it all in (or so I thought). I look over at him and he is putting my purse on the ground...and I could not believe it! All I could think about was that my purse was on the ground in the snow. He was talking to me, but I definitely wasn't listening. All of the sudden he says "so I called and talked to your dad..." I thought "shoot, I haven't been paying attention". He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. This definitely put a smile on my face and I said yes. Talk about a great way to make your feel better about being injured. My fiance is fantastic. I am so blessed to have him in my life. I cannot wait to spend forever with him. We are both excited to be planning our wedding. He is super cute because he keeps telling me how little he knows about planning a wedding and asking how he can help. It is really nice to be planning my own wedding since I have spent a lot of time planning my friends' wedding (so much time that people ask me if I want to plan weddings as a job). Thank you for your time and for reading my story. Have a super day!
I can not wait to marry my Fiance Jason on 10.10.10. in Center Point, TX outside by the Guadalupe River and would love love love for the knot to be there aswell!
We definitely have a budget but some how have been so blessed with still getting everything we wished for and more. Things have just fallen into place and have been so easy that I keep looking over my shoulder waiting for things to sneak up on me and be difficult.
My centerpieces, arch decor, reception decor and invitations are my lil DIY projects along with little surprises during the reception
In 114 days i will be walking down the isle to the sounds of harp and a gorgeous river in my custom made antique lace dress and snazzy cha cha blue shoes to marry an absolutely amazing man who is everything i need and want.
VICTORIA
135 Invited so far! 90 Are ready to party! 40 Will be missing out! 5 Are MIA!
We met at the University, accidentally getting to know each other through an impromptu dinner with a mutual friend. From there, the romance blossomed from an unspecified first date, to a broken down car, and culminated in a romantic kiss on the bridge.
This is our wedding story, and the reason The Knot should consider featuring us!
Daniel and I met at DU in 2005 through a mutual friend, whom I had called to meet for dinner and was invited to join her and "someone else". Little did I know that this accidental meeting would result in a marriage five years later!
Daniel and I hit it off that night and I couldn't believe what a nice guy he was. Unfortunately, my friend who introduced us had expressed an interest in him and gave me the clear signal to back off. Therefore, it took us from February to April before we were able to go on our first date (after my friend and I had a falling out and she had moved onto a new guy).
He asked me if I had ever been to a local coffee shop, which I hadn't. He then asked me if I'd like to go, at 7 on Friday. I couldn't tell if this was a date or just a friendly hang out.
It was awkward, there's no denying that. I don't drink coffee, so he was the only one who ordered a drink(plus, not knowing if this was a date, I didn't want to be presumptuous thinking he would pay...or insult him trying to pay for myself!). There was live music that night, so we watched them play. After a good half an hour of trying to decide if this was a date and playing with the candle on the table to see if he wanted to hold my hand, Daniel finally grabbed my hand, startling me completely. It was wonderful...until we left the coffee shop to return to his car at 11 at night.
His car that he had left the lights on for 4 hours. Yes, you guessed it - the battery was dead. After multiple phone calls to friends for a jump (and him calling me by the wrong name!), we finally got his roommate to come down. And we were unsuccessful in jumping the battery. We got a lift back to the dorms and decided to go for a walk to relieve the stress of the night - I really liked this guy and couldn't let him get away!
Hours of walking later, we found a bridge near campus and stood on it. While there, he kissed me for the first time! It was terribly romantic and perfect for the night.
Fast forward five years. The relationship has blossomed, through thick and thing, for better or worse, for richer or poorer...you know the deal. Daniel had returned from Kansas where he was finishing his Masters to celebrate our five year anniversary. While we had discussed getting married, I didn't know when exactly he was planning on proposing. He swept me off my feet once again.
We stayed in a hotel downtown to celebrate our anniversary. He took me out for a breakfast near the University the next morning, then took me to our bridge. The bridge where we had our first kiss, where we first said "I love you", where we frequented much of our time whenever we could go back to the area. Unbeknownst to me, he planned to make this bridge even more memorable...he proposed to me there and had his uncle photograph the whole thing! It was absolutely perfect and breathtaking.
While a marriage on the bridge would seem like the perfect end to this story, unfortunately the bridge is not exactly the ideal location for a wedding. (It's rather small and in a very tiny park). So, we're going for the next best thing. Next summer, Daniel and I will marry on a different sort of bridge - the bridge of a ship! We're planning a cruise wedding so we can have a small, intimate wedding with our closest family and friends (and a couple thousand strangers). It works ideally for us, as we will spend a majority of our engagement in long distance (his job is in WA while mine is in CO). However, the best part is that we will be able to celebrate our marriage once again on a bridge - a complete circle!
Our wedding is going to be a spectacular event. We live in Edmonton and our wedding is set for July 10th, 2010 at the Royal Alberta Museum. The ceremony will take place outdoors on the museum grounds, in a little courtyard backed by a huge historic building called Government House. The courtyard is surrounded by flowers and the best thing about that is that when you are there, all you can smell is the scent of the flowers. The reception is taking place in the museum's Upper Lobby, with white marble walls and a marble dance floor. We are going to have one of the adjacent galleries open for our 160 guests to wander through which includes bugs, rocks, animal displays and dinosaurs! Our budget was originally $30,000.00, but unfortunately my future FIL got laid off so after we booked everything and signed contracts, we had to cut our budget by $5,000.00! Well in the last six months, I've been going craft crazy, making everything from the centerpieces to bridal party bouquets, flower arrangements, even sewing cute purses for bridesmaid gifts. Our color scheme is a light wedgwood blue with a soft champagne gold. My dress was an amazing find. After trying on four dresses, the saleslady knew exactly what I was looking for and pulled out a champagne colored silk Romona Keveza gown. We have worked hard to make this wedding the way we want it and I know that our wedding is going to be absolutely beautiful.
There's a few unique elements to our wedding day & wedding celebration! First, we decided just 3 weeks ago that it was time to get married! We have a 9 month old baby girl and decided to put all the "dates" in June in her wipes box and let her pick the paper that would decide when we should get married! She picked the 25th! (ironically her bday is 9/25) SO, after almost 3 years together, we're finally getting married! I have had about 3 weeks to put something fun and intimate together. So, on the 25th, at sunrise by the water, we will have an initmate ceremony with our daughter and my two sons as well. I've found a wonderful officiant to marry us (that early wasn't an easy task!) and a free-lance photographer on Craigslist that would do it for free to be able to add the photos to her website/portfolio! We've searched for the perfect vows and the perfect rings in just 3 weeks! And, I've gotten everything for the sand ceremony to include the kids in the celebration! The big deal..? No one knows! I've only told 2 people! My best friend and my grandmother who lives out of state and is sworn to keep it a secret! It's going to be the most romantic, perfect way to join my sons and our daughter into our circle of love and happiness! We have decided once the ceremony is over, we will send out an e-vite-type email to let everyone know we've gotten married and to save-the-date...for our wedding celebration! We've decided to celebrate it with our daughter's 1st Birthday! It will be a day to celebrate her first year of life and our marriage as well. I'm starting to piece that all together, I have 3 times the amount of time, so I'm trying to make sure I make everything just as I want it! So far, we've decided on the location, a venue that has a room with ceiling to floor windows on the water, to bring that back as the background we'll have for our ceremony. We have decided on making the centerpieces include photos, one side a picture of us from the ceremony, the other side will be a photo of our daughter. We've decided on a sweetheart-type table for us and our daughter to share, which will be decorated in her birthday theme of little monkeys, the rest of the party will have our theme, which is still being decided between a red, black, & white party or a yellow, charcoal, & white...which seems more summery to represent our wedding day in June! The minor details just need to be planned out! And just today, I finally got a formal proposal!
I would absolutly love to have my wedding features on The Knot or Wedding Channel.com.
A Little Background
My fiance, Jason, and I will be married after 6 years together. Our entire relationship is a gift from God. We met in college. We were both dating other people in long term relationships when we met randomly one night when common friends wanted to go on a date but needed "buffer" friends. Of course its funny that we met going to a Gay Club So we were both tagging along. For me, it was love at first sight. He was cute and his smile lit up the world. For him, it might have taken a little more convincing. I broke up with my boyfriend shortly after and then he did the same thing. After a little rocky start we fell in love and have been together since. October 31, 2009 he took me to Kutztown University of Pennsylvania (where we met) and proposed to me. We walked around the campus and he kept trying to hand me those plastic spider rings everyone gets on Halloween. I wasn't having it...i told him i didn't want any rings unless it was an engagment ring. He kind of laughed it off and asked me if i wanted to go around the campus one more time. I was so tired I told him the only way I would do that is if he would propose. Little did I know, that was the plan, and of course he didn't let me know. He told me that, that definitely wouldn't happen but we were still going to do it. When we came to the end of the walk he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I thought he was joking so i told him to shut up...and then i saw the ring. The one that I had been looking at for almost two years. I cried, he cried...I called my mom, and she cried. It was the happiest moment of my life.
The Wedding Plans (October 16, 2010)
Our wedding will be a little unique. I am not the country club kind of girl. I was the baby in my family for almost 18 years and I always wanted to be different than my brother and sister. I couldn't do a country club or a hall, or a hotel...I wanted something unique. I am getting married at a Catholic Church in Whitehall PA and then my guests will be directed to The Bank St Annex in Easton PA. It is an old historical bank that is now a reception hall. It is three floors, beautiful and historic. Marble staircase, the reception dining area has a three story tall ceiling. My wedding will represent my fiance and my personalities with table names and numbers resting on books (i am a reading teacher) and movies (he is in film and production). bankstannex.com Our wedding colors are pink, brown and ivory with Gerbera Daisies as our flowers. My girls are wearing Brown dresses with pink sashes (which i had the company add, because i am very OCD). Our wedding will be tradition with a elegant feel. I know its not a cruise or a destination wedding but it is what a wedding is supposed to be, the heart and soul of a relationship. Representing the love and commitment a man and a woman make to each other . I will either be the bride that cries the whole time during the ceremony or I'll be the one that is hysterically laughing.
I am a very overwhelmed bride, mostly because I want everything to be perfect. Picking out invitations I found out that there are 22 different colors of light pink and sable brown and brown brown look exactly the same to everyone in this whole world.................. except for my mother .
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Here’s why I think our wedding should be featured on The Knot:
My fiancé, Mitch, and I have been together for more than 10 years. We had been dating for a long time and talked about getting married, but in 2008 Hurricane Ike swept through our town in Galveston, TX and we were both without a home for several months. Luckily we were in a situation where we could live in a motor home and were back into our houses by Christmas. That Christmas was when we decided to make it official and buy a ring. After spending months living together in a motor home (without TV, computer, or a normal shower) how could we “knot” get through the rest of our lives together?
We’ve decided to get married on December 31, 2011, and make it a New Year’s Eve wedding! We mainly wanted to wait for his son, who’s the Best Man, to graduate high school and for the racing season to end. (Mitch also owns and races Top Fuel dragsters) Mitch owns a candy factory in Galveston, LaKing’s Confectionery, which is where we met and “hunkered down” for the hurricane. So we thought it would be the perfect place for our ceremony. I also met my Maid of Honor when we both started working there fourteen years ago! So this building has a special place for both of us.
After the ceremony, we’re thinking about having the reception at the Roof Garden (a Knot vendor!) which is only a block away from the ceremony. My parents and I know the owners of the local carriage companies and would like for them to take guests to the reception, or if they prefer to walk they can.
Since I have a while for the wedding there are many DIY projects I plan to do. The colors of the wedding will be black and white with pink accents. Even though it is on New Year’s Eve I still wanted to have a theme, which is old Hollywood glamour. Since we have access to all sorts of wonderful homemade chocolates, we want to give each guest a white, dark, and milk chocolate turtle as favors. I’m planning on making my own STD’s, invites, survival kits for the bridesmaids and groomsmen, the flower girl’s accessories, the bouquet I throw, the ring pillow (or in my case a candy box), card box, centerpieces, etc. I really feel that since I have the time and skills I can make more things than just buying them. Even though I don’t have a budget set yet (YIKES!) I’m already cutting down the cost!
Another reason why we should be featured on The Knot….Even though you have featured Galveston, TX weddings before, those couples weren’t from Galveston. We’re a local couple who’ve survived and endured rebuilding our lives in the town that we love and we want to celebrate it in the town where we built our relationship, with the people who know, understand, and love us.
Josh and I would love to have our wedding featured on The Knot! Our wedding is on 9/10/11 at the exquisite Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City's Columbus Circle. (we will also be playing around with that date and have it be a recurring theme in our save the date/invitation/reception). It will be a formal wedding with many personal touches, including photo booths, an ice bar, personal logos/monograms, a customized afterparty, and much more. We haven't seen many weddings featured at this amazing venue, and we would love to be a couple that shows other brides and grooms how much we love this hotel. It has breathtaking views of Manhattan and Central Park, and the staff, food and service are all excellent. More importantly though, given our love of the city, this venue and vibe really speaks to us as a couple.
The ceremony will also take place at the hotel, during sunset with the Manhattan skyline behind us with a floor to ceiling view. Josh is Jewish and I am Catholic, so we will be mixing our favorite traditions into the ceremony, including an appearance from our 'flower dog' Sadie. People from all over the US and out of the country (Philippines, London) will be coming in, and the bride will also be paying tribute to her Filipino culture during the ceremony.
Our color scheme is a mix of dark blues and champagne, with deep/bright pink flowers as an accent, which we also have not seen many people use, and the overall vibe will be very romantic and fun, with plenty of dancing, good food and good friends. We hope to make this wedding as "us" as possible - even the engagement ring was designed by the groom to be and the mother of the bride's MOH/best friend. Our wedding will be filled with many personal touches and emphasize the importance of our family and friends, and we have enlisted the help of one of NY's most wonderful and established event planners. Theknot.com has given us so many great ideas, and we will certainly continue to use it as inspiration for our own big day.
Of course, we'd love for our wedding to be featured!! Just over three months ago, we got married in Las Vegas---while it was a wedding in Vegas, it was not a "Vegas wedding"---no Elvis present! My husband and I are from two different states, we spent time at different colleges, different grad schools--and, no matter where we got married, everyone would have to travel. So, to be fair, we decided it would be the most fun to pick an exciting location, yet still reachable and affordable for all who needed to travel.
We didn't have tons of DIY, or special unique "us" things. We spent over a year pulling pieces and parts together, storing all the little details on a bookcase in our house. All of these little details had to be packed up and put on a plane to Vegas---there was that little bit of fear that our luggage would get lost, and we'd never see our things again! But, everything arrived safe and sound---especially my dress and hand-dyed (one of my few DIY's) crinoline, both of which I had put in a Space Bag to make sure they'd fit in my carry-on luggage!!
Although our wedding was on the small side, we were able to have a wonderful amount of friends and family out to Vegas to celebrate our wedding with us. It was the first time many of our friends and both of our families had been to there--so, we were able to show guests around prior to the wedding, and after.
We still get grateful nods from our guests--the food was amazing, the atmosphere was better than imagined, and the wedding was beautiful. And, of course, I'm still getting the incoming comments on my dress! Not too many brides are willing to wear a Coffee colored bridal gown
I feel like a little kid in class - "PICK ME - PICK ME!!!!
I met my darling Casey at a friends wedding. She will be one of our bridesmaids this October 16 when we marry 4 1/2 years later.
We are planning the majority of our wedding ourselves and are going extremely non-traditional. We are both theater people and so are getting married in an Opera Hall that was built in the 1890's in his home town of Sonora, CA. We are holding the ceremony and reception in the same building using fall colors to accent the local countryside at that time of year. Each of the 4 bridesmaids will be in different color dresses that I am sewing. Their groomsman will have matching bow ties that I am also making. We are decorating with a rustic feel to match the hall. All the centerpieces are going to be unique. I have bought vases from the local thrift stores so they are not all alike and are going to put in silk wildflowers. The vases will be set on squares of calico that reflect the colors of maple leaves like the girls dresses.
My boss at work does floral arranging as a hobbie and her gift to us is to do the flowers for the event. We are again going with unstructured and more natural looking bouquets.
Even more untraditionally, we have decided to have our best friends be next to us. My best friend is male, and his is female, so I have 3 bridesmaids and a "Man of Honor" and he has 3 groomsmen and a "Best Maid". All will walk down the aisle as normal, but at the last minute, Brian and Bree will look at each other, change sides and move into position. Those who know us won't be suprised at all.
We are not going to have a DJ, we are going to pre-load the music into our laptop and have it hooked into the sound system. We have asked a dear friend to be our MC for the evening. He will announce the festivities such as the cake cutting, first dance etc. He won't be tied to the stereo to keep things playing, so he can enjoy the event as well, but we will have someone who knows us making the announcements. It will make it much more personal.
Our photographer is someone that Casey went to High School with, and she has made quite a name for herself in the Modesto/ San Francisco area, we have also hired a choreographer for our first dance who was featured on NBC's "Race To The Alter"
We would love to share all of the details of our special day. It has been a long rocky road that brought the two of us together, and I cannot wait to become Mrs. Casey Jones. Come party with us!!!
Our wedding should definitely be featured. Travis and I have gone through much adversity since we have started dating and we have made it through everything because of how much we love each other. He proposed to me by tattooing his arm with black light ink that said "Jen, will you marry me". He blew me away with his unique idea on how to propose. Our wedding is very important to us because not only do we want to be together forever but we also want to show his six children how much we love each other and that we plan on being together not just for us but for them also. So having them enjoy this day is extremely important to us. We are keeping it local to keep things easy for all eight of us. We are having it at the local legion which has a beautiful auditorium for September 17 of 2011. I want it to be a day of joy for all guest and plan on inviting around 225 guest. I plan on doing as much as possible as diy so that I can throw in extras for the kids. I want to have the two youngest boys wear superhero capes that say ringbearers and I am even planning on doing a "teddy bear" toss after Travis and I do our bouquet and garter toss. I hope it to be a memorable day for all 8 of us.
Our wedding would be perfect for your feature!! Not only is our venue perfect, but our guest list is unbeatable and we have many elements that compliment our fun and funky style! But let me start with the venue. We are having our entire wedding at Hudson Gardens in Littleton Colorado. Not familiar with the venue? Hudson Gardens has three classy and elegant locations to have the ceremony and reception-we chose the rose garden because it was beautiful! As the bride, I will walk down a brick walkway surrounded by the prettiest arrangement of flowers you have ever seen (if you were to take a bird's eye view of the garden, it makes the shape of a butterfly with the path becoming the butterflies body). The background of the alter itself has beautiful fountains. Our guests will not only enjoy watching our picturesque ceremony, but will have the opportunity to explore the entire facility. I am super excited about this venue because we will get AMAZING photos--there are tons and tons of places for pictures including water fountains, beautful lakes, and amongst all the flowers and trees. I feel in love with this site the moment I saw it (I actually got the goose bumps!)
Enough about that though, now on to the guest list. Our wedding will be about 100 of our closest friends and family--all of which make a tight knit group. We always have a blast when we get together and our wedding will be no exception--it will be a party you won't want to miss!
Although we are still in the early stages of planning, we would love for you to feature our wedding! It already has many DIY elements because we want to incorporate our own quirkiness into the elegance of having a wedding while sticking to our budget (hey, when money is in limited supply, you have to get creative!). I don't want to give anything away, but we are in the process of creating our own invites, centerpieces, and decorations. Of course, the most important aspect of a wedding should be the celebration of our love for one another. We want our shindig to be just that! It will be a night to remember and we hope that you will be there to celebrate with us!!
Eric and I have known each other since the 5th grade. He sat behind me in 8th grade English and had a secret crush on me; no wonder I couldn't get him to talk to me. We parted ways for high school, then met back up a couple of years post graduation; our brother's were roommates and we both attended a party at their house where sparks flew. We've now been together for over 4 years and have built a beautiful home and life together and are so excited to share our love and happiness with those closest to us.
Our wedding will be on May 12, 2011 in Oceanside, CA. We live in Phoenix, but have always enjoyed vacations to San Diego, so decided that a relaxed ceremony on the beach sounded perfect for us! We found a beautiful beach house that sleeps 28 people, where both of our families will stay with us. We'll have our ceremony on the sand and our reception on the two roof top decks of the amazing beach house. We're going for a laid back, fun party; no bridesmaids or groomsmen, no chairs for the ceremony, no tuxedo for Eric. My brother will play the guitar while I walk down the "aisle", and my best friend from high school will officiate the service. We expect around 40 guests and have budgeted the wedding to be within $10,000 with a few DIY projects and some money saving ideas. Though the wedding will be non-demominational, we will be incorporating some of the jewish traditions to celebrate my heritage.
I've also managed to incorporate both Eric's and my lifelong obsessions; Spiderman and Marvel Comics for Eric, and Elephants for me. I've created a "Sleeping Chart" for the beach house and will label each room with a different Marvel character.; guests will find their rooms by finding the cardboard standup character that has his/her name on it and locating the matching sticker on a floor plan. We'll also have a special guest book: an oversized comic book that guests can insert polaroids of themselves into and fill in the captions. I found a beautiful stone carved elephant statue for the cake topper and will add subtle touches of elephants to the decor throughout the wedding... so very us!
We then plan to have a post-wedding celebration back in Phoenix for all of our friends to help us celebrate. I've been gradually planning the wedding and spreading out costs and have yet to had a stressful moment. I am NOT a girl who has thought about her wedding for her entire life; in fact, I never thought I would actually WANT to get married... Eric has changed that. This experience has been so much fun!
One of the biggest concerns I had to overcome was the fact that I've had a rocky relationship with my father my entire life and I had to decide how much I wanted to involve him in the ocassion, as well as find out how much (if at all) he would want to help. To my surprise, after a lot of lengthy emails with bullet points (he's a lawyer and as such, tends to be very formal) he told me that he would split the cost of the wedding with my mom! In the end, I am glad that he will be a part of the most important day of our lives.
I think we should be featured on The Knot or WeddingChannel.com because the story of our relationship is so unique, the wedding we are having is $10K, and Eric and I are frequently referred to as the "Fun Couple". We couldn't be more excited for our special day!
I would love to have our fantastic wedding plans featured!! The best way to tell you our story is to give you a little perspective from both sides
Kris: It all began back on February 7th, 2009. It was the first gathering of the Team in Training Summer teams for a very chilly run around Lake Calhoun.Quite often a handful of runners get together before the team run to get in a few extra miles.I was not really up for the idea considering the icicles that would likely form on my face but peer pressure by two of my close friends at the time got me out of bed.We arrived at the lake and there was a handful of people there I knew and some that I didn't.One "newbie" caught my eye.All dressed in black with the best blue eyes and smile.Granted that's about all that was exposed due to the layers upon layers of run clothes but still That was my first introduction to Mark. Mark: I was looking to run a bit farther then what was scheduled for that morning and a TNT staff member forwarded an email indicating that a few people were meeting before the group run for a few extra miles. I almost did not go for the early run because it was so cold but I am glad I did because I got to meet someone new. Kris: My friends and I took off for our run and needed to stay at a low heart rate for our training.I saw right away Mark was one of the speedy runners but he spent a few moments here and there running along with my group and I did my best to keep chatting . After our team run, we all went over to Caribou Coffee (another love of ours) and we ended up in our own little world talking about anything and everything and I knew right away when we parted company that day that there was something special with this guy. Mark: Kris and her group of runners were running slow, “Zone 2” training for something called an Ironman Triathlon. I wanted to run fast but something kept me from running off so I stuck with the group and chatted with Kris. Afterwards we did go to Caribou Coffee and warmed up sitting next to the fireplace. We were definitely in our own world. We only had eyes for each other and I was not even aware that there was anyone else around. I did not want the morning to end Kris: Last summer, our first summer together was incredible.Having someone that enjoys the multi-sport world has made a huge difference for me.We are NOT the same speed by any means but have found a great balance in our training and races.Some we do just for fun and stay together, and others we race separately at our own pace.Either way, we do our best to fully support each other. Mark: Last summer was my introduction to multi-sport world and I have loved every minute of it. It was a new experience to have someone to train and race with. Most importantly it is amazing to have someone cheer me on and be there at the finish line to celebrate with me. Kris:On the one year anniversary of when we met, we went to Lake Calhoun for another chilly run around the lake.There was maybe a lingering idea in my head that he would propose this day but on loop two around the lake, right by a bench we have stopped at many times, he pulled the "hang on, I need to fix my shoe" routine and when I turned around, he was down on one knee.I was so surprised and so happy I forgot all about being cold Mark: Since Kris helped me pick out her engagement ring I figured that she would figure out when I was going to propose. In fact when I actually proposed, it was plan C. The original plan was to propose right before we jumped into Lake Minnetonka on January 1st as part of the polar plunge. In the end I am very happy with how I proposed but I am very surprised that Kris did not figure it out, especially when I suggested (and would have insisted) that we go for a run around Lake Calhoun (where we met) on the one year anniversary of the day we met. I loved the fact that I was able to surprise her and make our engagement something very memorable. Kris:So the quick summary of our wedding plans....We met running, we got engaged on a run so we decided to get married running.We are headed to the Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll Marathon on Dec 5th, 2010.It's a unique event in which 3.5 miles into the marathon course, a group of couples pull over to get married or renew their vows in a mass ceremony under the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel.The ceremony only takes a few minutes; you say "I Do" and take off to finish the marathon.I often get chills just thinking about how incredible it's going to be.We will have a reception for family and friends back home the Friday after.We also have some very special plans to incorporate our running life into that as well Mark: Kris has completed my life and I now truly have my running mate who makes me a better person and the one person I want to be with me at every finish line. Kris:I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with Mark.He's my motivator and has made me a better person and a better athlete.
Hey Annie! My fiance Joel and I should have our wedding featured on the Knot because our wedding is not going to be traditional at all, but instead a fun, tasteful party with a pagan/earth based ceremony. First of all Joel and I are have quite a past. We dated in middle school, (ask my bridesmaids, i had the biggest crush on him!) then in high school, and eventually met up again in college where we fell in love.
Our ceremony is being performed and ordained by our old hippie neighbors who we met when we moved into our first apartment together. The woman (Connie) is ordained and is going to write a ceremony that includes jumping the broom and planting a tree, and of course some romantic quotes by classic authors. The man (John) is a retired Saint Louis symphony musician who is going to play native american flute as I walk down the aisle.
Now for the reception: We are holding it at the Palladium (featured on the knot), which is a large event building that was converted from the old city hospital. We are basing the inspiration of our reception on a 1920's "Great Gatsby" party. In light of the theme, we having it on a Friday as a cocktail reception with passed appetizers, a sushi station, signiture cocktails, low lighting and of course dancing! There are still a lot of details to work out, but the point is this is a party and we are not going to be sitting down for a long dinner, just having fun!
We love vintage EVERYTHING and it is a fall wedding so our colors are mustard yellow and burnt orange. Yes, my bridesmaids will be wearing mustard colored dresses! And the guys will be wearing that 70's colored cordouroy brown.
The Knot, My wedding is offically planned for Nov. 6, 2010. But here is the secret, we are already married! Chris and I eloped Dec. 24, 2008!
We decided to elope because he is in the military; and when the decision was made we didnt know who was going to be president or what was going to happen as far as him being sent over seas.
Only my mom and best friend knows that we are married, so we are planning a ceremony and reception for the rest of the family. Since we are both Northerns living in Florida, and both love to sail we found a beautiful lake house, with a corresponding nautical theme. We are both super excited... And very lucky, since we are planning to pay for the wedding ourselves, we set a $15,000 budget. I haven't skimped on anything and our total came to $8,000. I have some great resources through my job and therefore much of the details are DIY.
The only glitch is that the date is set for Florida State University's Homecoming Game, and since this is Jimbo Fisher's first year as coach (seeing as Booby Bowden retired) they are expecting upwards of 90,000 football fans that day. (I started the planning process before the new season schedule was announced) I say it is just going to make the pre-wedding festivities even better! With Downtown Get-Down and the Parade on Friday, and a noon football game on Saturday our guests and ourselves will have plenty of fun and exciting things to do in this generally sleepy Florida capital city!
I woke up on our wedding day, a crisp October Sunday, feeling rested and relaxed- certainly not the emotions I had envisioned while planning over the past year! I had pictured anxiety attacks over the weather report and meltdowns over unnoticeable details. Arriving at our venue, a Victorian brownstone in Boston, I couldn’t believe that: A. this was our wedding day and B. everything seemed to be going in tip-top shape (my bridesmaids were in the lobby, my hair and makeup teams had already arrived, the coordinator checked in with me- perfection)! Being so much more focused and “in the moment” than I thought possible, my girls and I began the many hour-long process of looking like the best version of ourselves. Then, in the middle of my perfection, I received a phone call that made me make this face (much thanks to my professional photographer for recording this moment in time):
My father’s shirt was the wrong size! He’s going to wear a BLACK shirt instead (which he brought just in case this might happen- what?!)! Months and months of obsessively taking pictures, pasting them together to test coordination, printing out fake boutonnière’s to hold up to tuxedos and being generally crazy about the whole attire process was down the drain! And even worse- my Zen state of mind flew out the window as I started calling the local tux shop to have them rush a shirt over and bridesmaids bustled about trying to help me with the situation. Then- all of a sudden- it was time to get married! And walk down the aisle! This was really happening! Luckily (with the help of a tux shop employee whom I thanked on my hands and knees the next day), we managed to pull it all together and capture one of my favorite photos from the day:
Sure, we had DIY details (my invites took me four months to design and create) and a blend of vintage and romantic charm (including a metal birdcage card box and many unique antique frames featuring us, our family and friends, scattered rose petals and candles). But I think our wedding deserves to be featured in The Knot because it wasn’t perfect- things did go wrong (whether our guests noticed or not). Perfection is debatable- our wedding was special, meaningful and, I can honestly say, the best day of our lives!
Our wedding will be a culmination of romance that has spanned almost a decade, with a unique theme that focuses on the things that have formed the backbone of our relationship: games.
Both of us have been gamers in a very geeky sense since the early days of videogames and Dungeons and Dragons. We met online on a text-based cyberpunk role-playing game and got to know each other as we dodged bullets and hacked our way around a virtual internet. When our relationship really took off, we stuck with each other through five years of a long distance relationship, playing online games ranging from online Scrabble to first person shooters to bridge the 1000 mile distance. Playing together made the time between visits bearable and gave us a way to spend quality time with each other remotely. Rather than a majority of our shared memories being of going to a party together or walking on the beach, instead they were of cooperatively building civilizations and of accidentally (or not so accidentally) fragging each other.
At our wedding we will be striving to balance the elegance of a traditional wedding with our desire to share the joy and love that games have given us with our guests. For example: our invitation is designed to be elegantly done in white and silver, while our Save The Date cards were modeled off of a game screen.
Our ceremony will be traditional but will have a reading on the value of play, while our reception will incorporate both a traditional first dance and a first "rock out" where we'll play a song with the Best Man and Maid of Honor on Rock Band 2. Our cake will be traditional but the topper will be our two favorite characters to play standing together, and during dancing we'll have a small table set up with a variety of simple non-traditional games (e.g. The Stars Are Right, Fluxx, Munchkin, Citadels, etc.) that a majority of people have probably never seen so that those who don't want to dance can try their hand at playing instead.
To top it all off, we'll be mixing in some of our families' cultures in the form of favors from Japan, and possibly Chinese tea and kilts!
Our wedding will be on October 16, 2010, so we're still sorting out some of the other details like the possibility of making a small display of screenshots with a brief history of our relationship along with some of our saved real photos, for people to look at. We're hoping that all of our guests, both gamers and non-gamers, will have a great time and that it will be unforgettable!
We would be honored to share our wedding day experience with future brides and grooms by representing The Knot! It's been an amazing experience thus far and we are so anxious for the big day to arrive (August 7, 2010).I like to be different and yet am pretty traditional so we have a nice mix of both. We have put a big emphasis on the meaning of family through our planning by utilizing their creativity, ideas, and assistance.Chris and I met 2 and a half years ago through our friends while going to school at South Dakota State University. We are both from small towns (and by small town I mean small!- 150 people and 700 people) and grew up with LARGE families (60 to 80 cousins each)! We hit it off right away when we learned how much we had in common and how much family really means to us.What makes our wedding unique is the small town atmosphere, our large families, and the fun, laid-back attitudes of everyone involved.Weddings are such an extraordinary day and we want to share that experience with all of our family and friends! We are planning a wedding for about 500 guests back in my hometown of Slayton, Minnesota on August 7, 2010.We’ve had the most wonderful time planning- It doesn’t have to be stressful!Our emphasis on DIY puts a new twist to planning a wedding. J Almost all aspects of our wedding have been planned with the help of family members or friends and I couldn’t be happier with the way things are turning out.I love being crafty and making sure all the details are planned out.Small town weddings often get categorized separately with a “hick” name, but I’d love to show people how classy, fun, and unique a small town wedding can be.We’ve come up with some awesome ideas that are really unique to most weddings and put that extra little twist into everything we planned.
*Kelly
Gosh- maybe I should include some of the "actual" details!
First off- I am honored to have recieved my grandma's 65 year old wedding ring as my engagement ring! It means the world to me!
Colors: Yellow and Charcoal
Wedding Party: My sister and two brothers standing up for me and Chris' three brothers standing up for him. All 5 boys will be the ushers as well.
Party Favors: Handmade cookbooks of our favorite recpies Chris and I made up. (we LOVE to cook) We thought it would be a wonderful favor since so many of our family and friends ask us what is in everything we cook.
Reception: We haven't decided on the meal yet, but we are serving Root Beer Floats and cookies instead of cake.
Photography: A family friend who takes beautiful pictures and my sister will help edit them since she goes to school for graphic design. My sister also did our engagement pictures.
Rehearsal: Picinic out at our family cabin on the lake the night before. All the attendants/helpers gifts are homemade pictures frames by Chris and I.
Invites, Programs, Flowers, Unity Candle, Veil, Garter: ALL homemade and turned out great!
Plus so many more ideas, but I cant spoil the surprise on everything!
Hi Annie! We would love to have our wedding featured on The Knot! Although our wedding is not until April 27, 2012, we are getting more and more excited as the days go by. We have our venue set for the Rams Head Inn, in South Jersey and are looking forward to the great food they have there! I know that we have more than a year until our wedding date, but I've been planning like crazy, and have almost everything set!
My fiance and I have been dating since 2002, and it will be almost 10 years of dating when we get married! We met in high school during our English class, and we have been together ever since. Our relationship grew stronger and stronger, until we realized that we were meant to be together forever!
In August 2009, Jonathan asked me to marry him by the Barnegat Lighthouse in NJ. This is one of our favorite spots to visit, and he knows I love lighthouses!I just have to tell you the story of our engagement, because it was very sweet!) It was my fiance’s birthday weekend and I had planned on taking him out to dinner. Instead he said he wanted to take me to get ice cream and walk around the lighthouse. I thought this was strange but agreed even though it was raining at the time. We drove up to the lighthouse, got our ice cream, and used our umbrella. We walked out onto the jetty and turned to look up at the lighthouse. After a few minutes, Jon looked out towards the rocks of the jetty and said he saw something shiny. I didn’t see anything, but he went over to the rocks and put something into his pocket (or it seemed like it at the time!). He came back and said he found a shiny mussel shell. He pulled a mussel shell out of his pocket and asked if I wanted to see inside of it. Not knowing what was inside I said, “Definitely not! Eeewww how gross!” Well as he was opening the mussel shell he got down on one knee!!I was so shocked. I didn’t expect it at all! Of course I said yes. My fiancé had eaten out of that mussel shell earlier in the week, cleaned and soaked it, drilled two tiny holes into it, tied the ring inside with string, and then glued it back together. It was such an amazing effort and so original. And of course I still have the mussel shell!
Throughout the past 8 years together, we have been through a lot of difficult times, but my fiancé always makes me smile. He is such a fun-loving, care-free, happy person, and it is absolutely infectious! I would love for us to be featured because I know it would make him happy, and I would like to give him happiness in the same way he always gives me happiness! Thank you for considering us to be featured on The Knot, this would be a wonderful opportunity for us!
P.S. Here are some pictures from our Engagment party that we had in October! We had a pirate/shore theme, and even ended up making our own lighthouse cake!
Our Wedding should be featured in THE KNOT because we have planned our wedding in less than 5 months! For our July 17th, 2010 wedding, high stress levels, drama, and anxiety have all surrounded us, but we've managed to keep it together. The result: An organic but modern feel from the ceremony straight through to the reception.
Our ceremony will take place at the Fort Tryon Park near the Cloisters in upper Manhattan. They always say opposites attract and it couldn't be illustrated any better than in our relationship. City Boy meets Country Girl, and it is reflected perfectly in this gem hidden within the concrete jungle. The beautifully manicured gardens, walkway areas and Terrace where the ceremony will take place blends both of our personalities.
We are a non-traditional modern couple with a limited budget, so in order to stay within it, we decided on a brunch reception. Aaron's favorite time of day is Sunset. Since we couldn't have a sunset wedding, we would bring the colors of the sunset into the colors of our wedding, with a touch of oppulence. My Matron of Honor will wear a JS Designs Coral dress, and my three flower girls will wear ivory/buttercup lacy dresses with an added coral ribbon as a belt and carry ivory baskets with Sunset colored petals to throw. The two groomsmen will wear a light brown suit, ivory shirt, suspenders and a Calvin Klien beige and coral striped tie---All with a touch of gold.
The ceremony site will be on a terrace overlooking the Hudson river and the George Washington Bridge. It will be decorated with rows of white chairs and ivory bows with ivy. Fesh flowers will run from the last row to the two pilars of ivy at the head. We will have a basket of personalized fans for the ladies and a bucket of personalized water bottles for our guest to beat the heat. We plan on walking down the isle to a single violin surrounded by our very close loved ones, and the public around us, since we will be in a public park.
The reception will take place at a beautifully decorated latin restaurant for a buffet brunch for our 90 guests. The food is incredible, featuring mangu, steak, chicken, pancakes, an omelet station, fish and rice. Our cake will be the non traditional cupcakes with the top tier being our 'sweetheart' 6" cake, and we will have unlimited mimosas and our signature drink 'Dream Punch'.
The table settings include red and white wine that will act as table numbers. Also there will be Ivory/Gold confetti with champagne rhinestones spread across the table with votive candles. We have designed the Save the Date and invitations, so the other elements in our wedding also have carried the same theme. This includes the Table numbers and Menu Cards which will be on every individual small plate and napkin. We will have our own sweetheart table so everyone can see us!
Instead of having a Guest Sign in Book, we will have a Picture Frame featuring the picture from our Save the Date card, where guests can sign the board around it. It will be placed at the entrace where guests can pick up their escort cards. After the wedding, we will put up our frame in the living room as a momento from the wedding.
The restaurant reflects the my heritage, but the music will reflect both of our backgrounds and personalities. We plan on celebrating all afternoon long. When the brunch party is over, we will head over to a rooftop terrace club in Midtown Manhattan for a night cap and more dancing!
This day will be so special to us, and we are so happy to be celebrating with all of our friends and family. This is just the beginning
I married my wonderful husband, Jason, on June 5, 2010. We would love to have our wedding featured in The Knot because despite the fact that I am a busy lawyer and my husband is a touring concert lighting designer, we created a beautiful, intimate destination wedding that was filled with details honoring the people most important to us. Our Story Jason’s parents met in 1966 at the famous Roseland Ballroom, when both were living in New York City. Like his parents, we also met in a NYC nightclub—only our meeting happened nearly 30 years later, at a concert on the Lower East Side.Weary from working two jobs, I was napping in a corner while the band set up.When I woke up, I saw Jason, who was there with a mutual friend.After talking for a few minutes, I knew he was going to be my boyfriend for a very long time. While the band we saw that first night has long since broken up, we stayed together even while I traded a career in photography for one in law and Jason quit his day job at an Internet company to pursue concert lighting design full-time. Jason saw me through three knee surgeries, bringing me food and supplies when I couldn't make it down the stairs of my fifth-floor walkup. When I left for Philadelphia to attend law school, Jason supported me even though it meant our relationship would become long distance.
Not wanting to interfere with my legal studies, Jason waited until the end of my third year of law school to propose. He took my dog and I on a surprise weekend trip to the beach. During a midnight walk under the stars, with my dog as a witness, he asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes! Our Location I have wanted to get married on the island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands since I first visited at the age of 12.After years of family vacations involving a station wagon, a tent, and destinations like North Dakota, my family had taken its first luxurious trip—a cruise to the Caribbean.When the cruise ship docked in St. Thomas, my mother and I took a ferry to St. John for a magical afternoon of snorkeling at Trunk Bay.I never forgot the undisturbed beauty of the island. Coincidentally, when Jason proposed we already had plans to go on a Caribbean cruise to celebrate my graduation from law school.Once again, the cruise ship stopped in St. Thomas.We headed to St. John to view the Caneel Bay resort, and immediately knew it was the right fit—the gorgeous beaches were perfect for me, and the relaxed vibe suited Jason’s laid-back style.
We were certainly nervous that the cost would deter our closest friends and family from attending. Our fears were unfounded--we ended up with an intimate wedding consisting of 40 guests, which felt perfect for us because we both get intimidated by large crowds. The Glitch
After we paid our nonrefundable deposit to reserve our wedding date, Jason was offered a job with indie rock band The National as a lighting designer on their international tour.The tour would be a huge career boost for Jason, but the dates conflicted with our wedding—in fact, the day we intended to wed in St. John, the band was scheduled to play our hometown of Philadelphia!
Even though it would create some added stress, I encouraged Jason to take the tour as long as he could work it out with the band.Luckily, the band found a replacement lighting designer for our wedding day, but leaving in the middle of the tour meant that Jason arrived in St. John two hours before our rehearsal dinner on Friday and left at 6:00 a.m. the following Monday.
Fortunately, his flight arrived on time, so my nightmares of being alone on my wedding day were put to rest.He was a little tired after sleeping only a few hours on the plane, but there was so much excitement that he had no problem staying awake for the big day! The Details My maternal grandmother passed away three months before the wedding.Family was my grandmother's highest priority, and as a result my mother's side of the family is extremely close.To honor my grandmother's memory, we used her brooches on the bride and maid-of-honor’s bouquets and prominently displayed her wedding photograph at the reception.
I have always been creative, but during my three years of law school there weren't many opportunities to use my artistic skills.The wedding provided a perfect chance!The most time-consuming task was learning calligraphy, which I used to address envelopes, make signs, and hand-letter our escort cards.I also painted a canvas with our names and wedding date to hang over the fireplace; created signs to lead guests to the ceremony and reception; and tied raffia, ribbon, beads, and sanddollar charms on anything that would stand still! Once I realized I couldn’t quite do everything myself, I enlisted the help of talented artists from Etsy and other sites who created our programs, gift bag tags, ring dish, cake toppers.Perhaps the best addition was my purchase of small teal and blue LED lights, which I bought to pay tribute to Jason’s job as a concert lighting designer (he uses much larger LED lights on tour).While dancing, my sister and brother picked up the lights and started waving them around. The other guests followed, and all soon it looked like a huge light show! The Imagery Finally and perhaps most importantly, our wedding would make a lovely feature because our photographer, Amanda Julca, did such a wonderful job capturing the day.As a former fashion photographer, I had high standards for photography. Amanda, a young photographer we flew in from Miami, exceeded our expectations.You can see for yourself—her pictures are available on her blog:
On June 11th of 2011, I will marry my best friend in the wedding of our deams.
When I met my fiancee, neither of us was looking for a steady relationship. I was at the tail end of a bad relationship, he was too and laid off on top that. Even though neither of us was looking for a steady relationship, we both fell easily into a very comfortable, loving relationship that had an aire of easiness.
We had a lot in common too. We are both graphic designers; he focuses in motion graphics and web design and I focus in print and advertising. Together, we completely cover the graphic design field!
I am not impulsive when it comes to telling someone "I love you." I think I might have said it first on accident.He smiled at the time but didn't say anything. I kinda felt stupid for saying it. But later Brent told me the most lovely thing I'd ever heard; he said after feeling lilke things were so rough for so long, when I told him I loved him, he felt a sense of peace he hadn't felt in a long time and then he told me he loved me too. I knew right then that I was really and truly in love, head over heels, truly madly and deeply.
We had only dated for eight months before Brent proposed. During this time Brent's field had completely collapsed in our area and he still wasn't working. To top everything else off, I was recently laid off and working temporarily. I'm still not sure how we made it on what we collected from unemployment, but we did it.
During this time, we started to plan our wedding. On no budget!
Immediately, Brent wanted to be actively involved in all aspects of the wedding. And I didn't get a say in that fact. We make all the decisions together, from colors, to tuxes, bridesmaid dresses, guests, food and everything else. We bicker like old ladies, but together we come to a consensus and agree on every decision we make. Slamming doors are not exempt from this process, but no wedding planning is perfect unless someone else is doing it for you.
Besides the bickering, it's been hard to plan our wedding with our budget. We've managed though to plan exactly what we want.
We are getting married at an old 1920's public golf course that Brent's gandfather worked at. We both love to golf - he's better. I found my dress two weeks after getting engaged. It was the first dress I tried on! The dress was a clearance item marked down from $1500 to under $400 in the exact designer I wanted and with all the design features I wanted, corset lace and all. We also decided together, after looking at hideous cake toppers, to make our own. We both got Munny's and have decorated them to look like us. We've done a lot of work for our wedding ourselves by planning and making our own items like our toppers, ring bearer pillow and flower-girl basket.
People ask me if I am sad for not getting a fairytale dream wedding with a bigger budget. A bigger budget would be nice but I laugh because I know I am getting the fairytale wedding and the happily ever after i've always wanted - andthe best part will be sharing the ride with my best friend.
Wedding Date: June 11th 2011 Budget: None! Location: Under an old oak tree at the 1920's golf course where his grandfather worked - Columbia Heights Manor Theme: Asian inspired Contemporary Design Elements: Orchids, Bamboo, green paper lanterns, green candy table Color: Spring Green and Dark Silver My Dress: Maggie Sotero - Charmaine His Tux: One button, our color Green Vest and dark silver tie Bridesmaids dresses: Black Jim Hjelm cocktail dresses Our minister: His family minister Photography: Bellagala - on a supremely awesome deal! DIY Projects: Cake toppers, ring bearer pillow, flower girl basket, invitations,save the dates, favors, decorations, Our wedding song: "Around the Bend" The Asteroid Galaxy Tour
Reason to pick us: After overcoming so many obstacles, sharing our story would mean the world to us!
Our November 13 wedding should be featured because it's going to really be unique. We have a fun color scheme, some "different" ceremony feautres, live music at our ceremony and reception. My wedding gown is truly unique to me, a princess and my custom reception dress is fit for the diva side of me. We have some incredible things we are going to be doing for our guests at the reception including a milk and cookie buffet to end the night. Our wedding website has everything that speaks to us and more plus pictures.
Our qedding will start with some Friday night festivities and end with our Sunday night send off to Antigua.
Just a brief summary of some of the Wedding Day Elements that might make a our wedding a great candidate for being featured on the knot. We have been together for 8.5 years and are finally marrying on July 31, 2010. Our wedding will be in Healdsburg Caiifornia (Events will be held all weekend for the mostly out of town guests) He is from New Jersey and he is moving to Cailfornia for me - so we want to give his relatives and friends the Cailfornia experience. A lot of things about our wedding are somewhat traditional, but we tried to sneak in personal touches where ever possible. I'm a graphic designer and artist so I was inpsired to do a lot of the decorations, gifts, etc. myself. I also had trouble selecting a simple color palette... so I will have 8 bridesmaids in grey empire waisted tea length dresses. They each have their own color shoes that coordinate with their color bouquets. (Blue, Teal, Yellow, Purple, Orange, Magenta, Lime Green, and Peach) I made the "flowers" they are carrying by painitng twigs and seed pods silver and grey and adding elements of their colors to them. The 8 groomsmens will be in matching ties to the ladies and have handmade 2x2 canvas pinned to their lapels. Square canvas come into play all over the wedding - I painted 162 4x4 canvases in the 8 colors and signed them with our "logo" as the party favor (that way we have our 8 colors, one at each seat, at the tables) The table numbers are painted in the colors on a 3x3 canvas set on a small easel. Our seating chart is a huge (60x60 canvas) with all 8 colors and our guest names painted on. Our invitations ask guest to "Help us create our masterpiece" and continue with the art theme. Our rehearsal dinner will be held in a gallery/barn wear all the bridemaids gifts will be decorating the walls - guess what - they are paintings too! These are just a few elements that I had a lot of fun making for the day. The wedding itself is set under a vine covered arbor and oaks - overlooking fields of vineyards in the distance. Our carter, florist, and winary are all local and certified GREEN businesses. Our wedding enterance will be all my ladies and I riding in on the back of classic restored cars (my dad's hobby - and his favorite part of the day I'm sure!) During our ceremony we will sign a Bible that has been in my family since the 1880s and it is tradition to add your new family names to the heritage on your wedding day. Other than these details, we just want to dance and have fun with our friends and family as we start our life together. I can't wait!
Before I get started, I think I first need to tell you how I met my fiance as its a very intertwined story...
My bestfriend Stacey met her Husband who was my former boss and teacher, they ended up getting married and now have a beautiful baby girl who is our flower girl. Stacey's twin brother is my fiance. Another cool part about my life is between my own sister and her husband. My sister's name is Aimee, she married a guy named John Lockington, My fiance's name is John Amy. When stacey got married her last name changed to Kennedy and they named their little girl Amy. Needless to say, I am surronded by John's, Amy's and a whole lotta family
Now onto the wedding...
Our wedding is special in many ways. First and foremost we are having a destination wedding in mexico in November followed by a formal reception in Jan. Its special because out themes are very different. In Mexico our theme is more casual and fun and in Jan. we are having a winter wonderland. I think its unique as they are two polar opposites and it would give my guests (and potenially more if we are selected) ideas of how to pull off both types of weddings. I think another major part of my wedding that makes it different and would reach out to a lot of brides in my situation is that fact that I have recently and unexpetedly lost my sister 2 months ago. My sister was to be in my wedding party. As a result I've had a huge response from my friends and family to help me with this wedding. The type of support that we've gotten is just outstanding. I think whats unqiue is that we will be including my sister's memeory in every part of our big day. I think that this may also reach out to brides in my situation and give them hope and ideas of how to include a loved one who passed into your big day.
Hi! My fiancee Evan and I are getting married next Saturday, July 3rd. I think we should be feautured because nearly all of the details of our wedding have been DIY and because we represent the couples working on a budget and paying for the total cost of their wedding on their own. Evan is a high school teacher and I am an ER nurse right out of nursing school and with being new homeowners, we haven't had a lot of money to spend but still wanted to make our wedding beautiful and a night to remember.
We have selected Santillane Bed and Breakfast in Fincastle, VA as our venue, it is a beautifully restored colonial home and we are getting married in the back surrounded by gardens and the mountains of the New River Valley. Selecting a beautiful outdoor scene has allowed us to really save on decorations because there isn't much decorating to be done, the mountains, gardens and beautiful home set a beautiful scene themselves.
We have selected turquoise and and a kiwi green as our colors to accent the beautiful colors of the mountains that will be surroundig our ceremony and reception. Our bridal party will be in turq attire, and the groom and our table linens will be in kiwi green.
I hand made our invitations using a turq base, and then printing on a kiwi green overlay with an edged border, completing with a turq bow at the top. We got so many compliments on them and were asked where we had bought them from.
As we all know how expensive the cost of flowers can be, I have ordered gorgeous green and antique blue hydrangeas wholesale online and am assembling my boquets, corsages and centerpieces myself.
We have selected an amazing caterer to provide the food for our reception and have chosen to present in stations to allow for a more interactive reception. We will start with international cheeses, crackers and bread, and then pass around some light starters including philly cheesesteak sliders, lemongrass shrimp shooters and waffle cones with fried chicken covered in a maple butter glaze. For our main course, we will have a New York strip carving station, mashed potato bar with the works, sweet potato biscuits with country ham, an alvocodo shrimp pecan salad, and a shrim, andouille sausage and grits station.
For favors, we have made apple soap bars that are a kiwi green color and labeled with our wedding date, as well as assembled tiffany blue boxes with a monogram sticker on the top, filled with turq and kiwi green chocolates to further incorporate our colors.
For centerpieces, we have one large votive filled with turq/green crystals that will will be filled with hydrangeas, surrounded by four small votives with alternating turq, green tealights. In addition, we bought mason jars and placed a photo of us in the center, tying green and turq ribbon around the rim. To complete our centerpieces, we have bought bird nests and filled them with replicated robins eggs to tie in more turq with the green linens.
We have borrowed a projector from Evan's school and will be playing a slideshow of photos during the reception of when we were children and from our relationship thus far. This was absolutely no cost to us and is very sentimental!
I know there are probably thousands of contestants, we would be so honored to have our wedding featured! I have absolutely loved the experience of creating our wedding on a small budget and simple scale but in a beautiful way. This experience has made me want to be a wedding planner as I have loved hammering out the fine details and planning a wedding with little funds but still having amazing results. Thank you so much for your time!
Hey!! After 6 years of dating (we were high school sweethearts ), buying a house, and running a business together... WE ARE GETTING MARRIED Since I was a little girl, I have always dreamed of having a fairy tale wedding. Since we got engaged in January 2010, everything seems to be falling beautifully into place for our wedding on May 21, 2011. Just after our engagement we stumbled upon a gorgeous castle like setting on the Rhode Island coastline (instantly we fell in love). On a trip to Boston today, I bought the most stunning chantilly lace bridal gown. I am very conscious of every detail that is going into our special day (from full light green hydrangeas drapping the ceremony site overlooking the ocean, to engraved wine glasses as all of the guest favors). I truly believe that out wedding deserves to be featured, because now that my fairy tale (and now ours) is coming true, I would really love to share it with other brides out there!
Re: Have your wedding featured on The Knot or WeddingChannel.com!
Our wedding is in just 99 days! We'll be tying the knot on September 25, 2010! Our wedding is very special because it represents who we are. We are getting married at Venuti's in Addison, Illinois. It's a beautiful venue!
We were engaged on December 25, 2008, so we have had a lot of time to plan our perfect day!
To start, our rehearsal dinner will be on Thursday, Setpember 23, 2010. I wanted to surprise Dan with something that would knock his socks off! He is a big poker fan and we love to go to Vegas together. We are having our dinner at the Pyrmid Club which is a sports bar with 2 private dinning rooms. After dinner I will ask our guests to head into the other room for 'dessert' and waiting for everyone to enjoy will be casino games including black jack, roulette, and poker!
Dan and I are big food fans, so it was very important to have the best!
We are having 4 types of unlimited butler servered Hors D'Oeuvres during cocktail hour. We are also having two signature drinks, along with an open top shelf bar, and two drink luges!
For dinner, guests will be able to select their entree that night! No need to decide what you want to eat 2 months before! We'll be having a salad course, pasta course, intermezzo, entree, and Bananas Foster for dessert!
My favorite thing about our wedding is the dessert room! Yes, room! We are having a chocolate fountain, sweet table, our cake(inspired by Buddy Valasco), canoli station, and candy buffet! We'll also have an ice cream truck come at 11:45 pm and wait outside so guest can take a sweet treat home as they leave for the night!
Then later in the evening we'll be having some late night snacks which include itailan beefs and hot dogs with french fries on top! We'll also be serving spiked frozen italian ice lemonade shots and strawberry margarita jello shots!
As the party gets started, we'll both be changing into different outfits! Dan will change out of his black tuxedo into an all ivoy tuxedo! I'll be changing out of my gorgeous Enzoni gown into another stunning gown by Maggie Sottero!
Our wedding will also be featuring a photo booth which we are both super excited about! We also have a fantastic DJ, lighting, and florist! Our florist is even making a custom 3D piece of champagne flutes to be featured on our place card table. To end the night, we'll be hosting an After Party for our guests that want to continue to celebrate! It will be on the other side of the venue at the V Lounge!
I'm so lucky to have found my best friend and can't wait to start off our marriage with a bang! I'm so glad to be able to say we are having our dream wedding!
My fiance and I would love to have our wedding featured! We are in the beginning stages of planning for our June 2011 wedding. We are both really looking forward to designing the most amazing day of lives to share with our families and friends.
A few things that make us unique... My fiance, Robert, has never been in a long term relationship until we started dating. I have been in several long term relationships, but I never been in a relationship as fantastic as what we share now. Robert has done a greatjob of making me feel like the most amazing woman on earth. He totally surprised me when he proposed. I actually kind of wrecked his original proposal plan. We were on our first REAL vacation as a couple in Lake Tahoe. We had flown from Florida to ski for a whole week and just spend time hanging out with each other. Well, on our first day of skiing...we had a major challenge. We had spent the first half of the day on the "bunny slope" so Robert could reacclimate himself to skiing. After lunch we deicided to make our way to the top of the mountain and work on some new slopes. At the top of the mountain, for our first true run, I started skiing down the hil and fell. Normally this would not be a big deal because I have been skiing most of my life, but this time I was not able to get up. Long story boring...I ended up being transported down the mountain and to the hospital. I had fractured my hip and I was devastated because I ruined our ski vacation...the first REAL vacation for just the two of us. Robert promised that he would find a way to put a smile on my face, but I was incredibly upset and in a TON of pain. The next day we got up and went to return our rental skis. All I could think about was all of the money we spent to get there, get lift tickets, stay mountainside, and rent equipment. To cheer me up, Robert suggested we ride the gondola up the mountain to the scenic look-out. He told me he had checked and I could go up the gondola with crutches. I told him I thought I would be okay doing it as long as we walked/crutched slowly and he carried my purse (what an amazing man!). We rode up to the look-out, walked/crutched around, and took some pictures. There were a fair number of people at the look-out so he pulled me to the side so we just stand there and take it all in (or so I thought). I look over at him and he is putting my purse on the ground...and I could not believe it! All I could think about was that my purse was on the ground in the snow. He was talking to me, but I definitely wasn't listening. All of the sudden he says "so I called and talked to your dad..." I thought "shoot, I haven't been paying attention". He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. This definitely put a smile on my face and I said yes. Talk about a great way to make your feel better about being injured.
My fiance is fantastic. I am so blessed to have him in my life. I cannot wait to spend forever with him. We are both excited to be planning our wedding. He is super cute because he keeps telling me how little he knows about planning a wedding and asking how he can help. It is really nice to be planning my own wedding since I have spent a lot of time planning my friends' wedding (so much time that people ask me if I want to plan weddings as a job).
Thank you for your time and for reading my story. Have a super day!
Amy Vaughan
We definitely have a budget but some how have been so blessed with still getting everything we wished for and more. Things have just fallen into place and have been so easy that I keep looking over my shoulder waiting for things to sneak up on me and be difficult.
My centerpieces, arch decor, reception decor and invitations are my lil DIY projects along with little surprises during the reception
In 114 days i will be walking down the isle to the sounds of harp and a gorgeous river in my custom made antique lace dress and snazzy cha cha blue shoes to marry an absolutely amazing man who is everything i need and want.
This is our wedding story, and the reason The Knot should consider featuring us!
Daniel and I met at DU in 2005 through a mutual friend, whom I had called to meet for dinner and was invited to join her and "someone else". Little did I know that this accidental meeting would result in a marriage five years later!
Daniel and I hit it off that night and I couldn't believe what a nice guy he was. Unfortunately, my friend who introduced us had expressed an interest in him and gave me the clear signal to back off. Therefore, it took us from February to April before we were able to go on our first date (after my friend and I had a falling out and she had moved onto a new guy).
He asked me if I had ever been to a local coffee shop, which I hadn't. He then asked me if I'd like to go, at 7 on Friday. I couldn't tell if this was a date or just a friendly hang out.
It was awkward, there's no denying that. I don't drink coffee, so he was the only one who ordered a drink(plus, not knowing if this was a date, I didn't want to be presumptuous thinking he would pay...or insult him trying to pay for myself!). There was live music that night, so we watched them play. After a good half an hour of trying to decide if this was a date and playing with the candle on the table to see if he wanted to hold my hand, Daniel finally grabbed my hand, startling me completely. It was wonderful...until we left the coffee shop to return to his car at 11 at night.
His car that he had left the lights on for 4 hours. Yes, you guessed it - the battery was dead. After multiple phone calls to friends for a jump (and him calling me by the wrong name!), we finally got his roommate to come down. And we were unsuccessful in jumping the battery. We got a lift back to the dorms and decided to go for a walk to relieve the stress of the night - I really liked this guy and couldn't let him get away!
Hours of walking later, we found a bridge near campus and stood on it. While there, he kissed me for the first time! It was terribly romantic and perfect for the night.
Fast forward five years. The relationship has blossomed, through thick and thing, for better or worse, for richer or poorer...you know the deal. Daniel had returned from Kansas where he was finishing his Masters to celebrate our five year anniversary. While we had discussed getting married, I didn't know when exactly he was planning on proposing. He swept me off my feet once again.
We stayed in a hotel downtown to celebrate our anniversary. He took me out for a breakfast near the University the next morning, then took me to our bridge. The bridge where we had our first kiss, where we first said "I love you", where we frequented much of our time whenever we could go back to the area. Unbeknownst to me, he planned to make this bridge even more memorable...he proposed to me there and had his uncle photograph the whole thing! It was absolutely perfect and breathtaking.
While a marriage on the bridge would seem like the perfect end to this story, unfortunately the bridge is not exactly the ideal location for a wedding. (It's rather small and in a very tiny park). So, we're going for the next best thing. Next summer, Daniel and I will marry on a different sort of bridge - the bridge of a ship! We're planning a cruise wedding so we can have a small, intimate wedding with our closest family and friends (and a couple thousand strangers). It works ideally for us, as we will spend a majority of our engagement in long distance (his job is in WA while mine is in CO). However, the best part is that we will be able to celebrate our marriage once again on a bridge - a complete circle!
Our budget was originally $30,000.00, but unfortunately my future FIL got laid off so after we booked everything and signed contracts, we had to cut our budget by $5,000.00! Well in the last six months, I've been going craft crazy, making everything from the centerpieces to bridal party bouquets, flower arrangements, even sewing cute purses for bridesmaid gifts. Our color scheme is a light wedgwood blue with a soft champagne gold.
My dress was an amazing find. After trying on four dresses, the saleslady knew exactly what I was looking for and pulled out a champagne colored silk Romona Keveza gown.
We have worked hard to make this wedding the way we want it and I know that our wedding is going to be absolutely beautiful.
Hi Annie!
There's a few unique elements to our wedding day & wedding celebration!
First, we decided just 3 weeks ago that it was time to get married! We have a 9 month old baby girl and decided to put all the "dates" in June in her wipes box and let her pick the paper that would decide when we should get married! She picked the 25th! (ironically her bday is 9/25) SO, after almost 3 years together, we're finally getting married! I have had about 3 weeks to put something fun and intimate together. So, on the 25th, at sunrise by the water, we will have an initmate ceremony with our daughter and my two sons as well. I've found a wonderful officiant to marry us (that early wasn't an easy task!) and a free-lance photographer on Craigslist that would do it for free to be able to add the photos to her website/portfolio! We've searched for the perfect vows and the perfect rings in just 3 weeks! And, I've gotten everything for the sand ceremony to include the kids in the celebration! The big deal..? No one knows! I've only told 2 people! My best friend and my grandmother who lives out of state and is sworn to keep it a secret! It's going to be the most romantic, perfect way to join my sons and our daughter into our circle of love and happiness! We have decided once the ceremony is over, we will send out an e-vite-type email to let everyone know we've gotten married and to save-the-date...for our wedding celebration! We've decided to celebrate it with our daughter's 1st Birthday! It will be a day to celebrate her first year of life and our marriage as well. I'm starting to piece that all together, I have 3 times the amount of time, so I'm trying to make sure I make everything just as I want it! So far, we've decided on the location, a venue that has a room with ceiling to floor windows on the water, to bring that back as the background we'll have for our ceremony. We have decided on making the centerpieces include photos, one side a picture of us from the ceremony, the other side will be a photo of our daughter. We've decided on a sweetheart-type table for us and our daughter to share, which will be decorated in her birthday theme of little monkeys, the rest of the party will have our theme, which is still being decided between a red, black, & white party or a yellow, charcoal, & white...which seems more summery to represent our wedding day in June! The minor details just need to be planned out! And just today, I finally got a formal proposal!
Thanks for reading! :-)
Hi Annie!
Here’s why I think our wedding should be featured on The Knot:
My fiancé, Mitch, and I have been together for more than 10 years. We had been dating for a long time and talked about getting married, but in 2008 Hurricane Ike swept through our town in Galveston, TX and we were both without a home for several months. Luckily we were in a situation where we could live in a motor home and were back into our houses by Christmas. That Christmas was when we decided to make it official and buy a ring. After spending months living together in a motor home (without TV, computer, or a normal shower) how could we “knot” get through the rest of our lives together?
We’ve decided to get married on December 31, 2011, and make it a New Year’s Eve wedding! We mainly wanted to wait for his son, who’s the Best Man, to graduate high school and for the racing season to end. (Mitch also owns and races Top Fuel dragsters) Mitch owns a candy factory in Galveston, LaKing’s Confectionery, which is where we met and “hunkered down” for the hurricane. So we thought it would be the perfect place for our ceremony. I also met my Maid of Honor when we both started working there fourteen years ago! So this building has a special place for both of us.
After the ceremony, we’re thinking about having the reception at the Roof Garden (a Knot vendor!) which is only a block away from the ceremony. My parents and I know the owners of the local carriage companies and would like for them to take guests to the reception, or if they prefer to walk they can.
Since I have a while for the wedding there are many DIY projects I plan to do. The colors of the wedding will be black and white with pink accents. Even though it is on New Year’s Eve I still wanted to have a theme, which is old Hollywood glamour. Since we have access to all sorts of wonderful homemade chocolates, we want to give each guest a white, dark, and milk chocolate turtle as favors. I’m planning on making my own STD’s, invites, survival kits for the bridesmaids and groomsmen, the flower girl’s accessories, the bouquet I throw, the ring pillow (or in my case a candy box), card box, centerpieces, etc. I really feel that since I have the time and skills I can make more things than just buying them. Even though I don’t have a budget set yet (YIKES!) I’m already cutting down the cost!
Another reason why we should be featured on The Knot….Even though you have featured Galveston, TX weddings before, those couples weren’t from Galveston. We’re a local couple who’ve survived and endured rebuilding our lives in the town that we love and we want to celebrate it in the town where we built our relationship, with the people who know, understand, and love us.
Thanks for your time,
Ava
Josh and I would love to have our wedding featured on The Knot! Our wedding is on 9/10/11 at the exquisite Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City's Columbus Circle. (we will also be playing around with that date and have it be a recurring theme in our save the date/invitation/reception). It will be a formal wedding with many personal touches, including photo booths, an ice bar, personal logos/monograms, a customized afterparty, and much more. We haven't seen many weddings featured at this amazing venue, and we would love to be a couple that shows other brides and grooms how much we love this hotel. It has breathtaking views of Manhattan and Central Park, and the staff, food and service are all excellent. More importantly though, given our love of the city, this venue and vibe really speaks to us as a couple.
The ceremony will also take place at the hotel, during sunset with the Manhattan skyline behind us with a floor to ceiling view. Josh is Jewish and I am Catholic, so we will be mixing our favorite traditions into the ceremony, including an appearance from our 'flower dog' Sadie. People from all over the US and out of the country (Philippines, London) will be coming in, and the bride will also be paying tribute to her Filipino culture during the ceremony.
Our color scheme is a mix of dark blues and champagne, with deep/bright pink flowers as an accent, which we also have not seen many people use, and the overall vibe will be very romantic and fun, with plenty of dancing, good food and good friends. We hope to make this wedding as "us" as possible - even the engagement ring was designed by the groom to be and the mother of the bride's MOH/best friend. Our wedding will be filled with many personal touches and emphasize the importance of our family and friends, and we have enlisted the help of one of NY's most wonderful and established event planners. Theknot.com has given us so many great ideas, and we will certainly continue to use it as inspiration for our own big day.
I met my darling Casey at a friends wedding. She will be one of our bridesmaids this October 16 when we marry 4 1/2 years later.
We are planning the majority of our wedding ourselves and are going extremely non-traditional. We are both theater people and so are getting married in an Opera Hall that was built in the 1890's in his home town of Sonora, CA. We are holding the ceremony and reception in the same building using fall colors to accent the local countryside at that time of year. Each of the 4 bridesmaids will be in different color dresses that I am sewing. Their groomsman will have matching bow ties that I am also making. We are decorating with a rustic feel to match the hall. All the centerpieces are going to be unique. I have bought vases from the local thrift stores so they are not all alike and are going to put in silk wildflowers. The vases will be set on squares of calico that reflect the colors of maple leaves like the girls dresses.
My boss at work does floral arranging as a hobbie and her gift to us is to do the flowers for the event. We are again going with unstructured and more natural looking bouquets.
Even more untraditionally, we have decided to have our best friends be next to us. My best friend is male, and his is female, so I have 3 bridesmaids and a "Man of Honor" and he has 3 groomsmen and a "Best Maid". All will walk down the aisle as normal, but at the last minute, Brian and Bree will look at each other, change sides and move into position. Those who know us won't be suprised at all.
We are not going to have a DJ, we are going to pre-load the music into our laptop and have it hooked into the sound system. We have asked a dear friend to be our MC for the evening. He will announce the festivities such as the cake cutting, first dance etc. He won't be tied to the stereo to keep things playing, so he can enjoy the event as well, but we will have someone who knows us making the announcements. It will make it much more personal.
Our photographer is someone that Casey went to High School with, and she has made quite a name for herself in the Modesto/ San Francisco area, we have also hired a choreographer for our first dance who was featured on NBC's "Race To The Alter"
We would love to share all of the details of our special day. It has been a long rocky road that brought the two of us together, and I cannot wait to become Mrs. Casey Jones. Come party with us!!!
Kellie
Operation Wedding Day-July 28th 2011
Our wedding would be perfect for your feature!! Not only is our venue perfect, but our guest list is unbeatable and we have many elements that compliment our fun and funky style! But let me start with the venue. We are having our entire wedding at Hudson Gardens in Littleton Colorado. Not familiar with the venue? Hudson Gardens has three classy and elegant locations to have the ceremony and reception-we chose the rose garden because it was beautiful! As the bride, I will walk down a brick walkway surrounded by the prettiest arrangement of flowers you have ever seen (if you were to take a bird's eye view of the garden, it makes the shape of a butterfly with the path becoming the butterflies body). The background of the alter itself has beautiful fountains. Our guests will not only enjoy watching our picturesque ceremony, but will have the opportunity to explore the entire facility. I am super excited about this venue because we will get AMAZING photos--there are tons and tons of places for pictures including water fountains, beautful lakes, and amongst all the flowers and trees. I feel in love with this site the moment I saw it (I actually got the goose bumps!)
Enough about that though, now on to the guest list. Our wedding will be about 100 of our closest friends and family--all of which make a tight knit group. We always have a blast when we get together and our wedding will be no exception--it will be a party you won't want to miss!
Although we are still in the early stages of planning, we would love for you to feature our wedding! It already has many DIY elements because we want to incorporate our own quirkiness into the elegance of having a wedding while sticking to our budget (hey, when money is in limited supply, you have to get creative!). I don't want to give anything away, but we are in the process of creating our own invites, centerpieces, and decorations.
Of course, the most important aspect of a wedding should be the celebration of our love for one another. We want our shindig to be just that! It will be a night to remember and we hope that you will be there to celebrate with us!!
Our wedding will be on May 12, 2011 in Oceanside, CA. We live in Phoenix, but have always enjoyed vacations to San Diego, so decided that a relaxed ceremony on the beach sounded perfect for us! We found a beautiful beach house that sleeps 28 people, where both of our families will stay with us. We'll have our ceremony on the sand and our reception on the two roof top decks of the amazing beach house. We're going for a laid back, fun party; no bridesmaids or groomsmen, no chairs for the ceremony, no tuxedo for Eric. My brother will play the guitar while I walk down the "aisle", and my best friend from high school will officiate the service. We expect around 40 guests and have budgeted the wedding to be within $10,000 with a few DIY projects and some money saving ideas. Though the wedding will be non-demominational, we will be incorporating some of the jewish traditions to celebrate my heritage.
I've also managed to incorporate both Eric's and my lifelong obsessions; Spiderman and Marvel Comics for Eric, and Elephants for me. I've created a "Sleeping Chart" for the beach house and will label each room with a different Marvel character.; guests will find their rooms by finding the cardboard standup character that has his/her name on it and locating the matching sticker on a floor plan. We'll also have a special guest book: an oversized comic book that guests can insert polaroids of themselves into and fill in the captions. I found a beautiful stone carved elephant statue for the cake topper and will add subtle touches of elephants to the decor throughout the wedding... so very us!
We then plan to have a post-wedding celebration back in Phoenix for all of our friends to help us celebrate. I've been gradually planning the wedding and spreading out costs and have yet to had a stressful moment. I am NOT a girl who has thought about her wedding for her entire life; in fact, I never thought I would actually WANT to get married... Eric has changed that. This experience has been so much fun!
One of the biggest concerns I had to overcome was the fact that I've had a rocky relationship with my father my entire life and I had to decide how much I wanted to involve him in the ocassion, as well as find out how much (if at all) he would want to help. To my surprise, after a lot of lengthy emails with bullet points (he's a lawyer and as such, tends to be very formal) he told me that he would split the cost of the wedding with my mom! In the end, I am glad that he will be a part of the most important day of our lives.
I think we should be featured on The Knot or WeddingChannel.com because the story of our relationship is so unique, the wedding we are having is $10K, and Eric and I are frequently referred to as the "Fun Couple". We couldn't be more excited for our special day!
I would love to have our fantastic wedding plans featured!! The best way to tell you our story is to give you a little perspective from both sides
Kris: It all began back on February 7th, 2009. It was the first gathering of the Team in Training Summer teams for a very chilly run around Lake Calhoun. Quite often a handful of runners get together before the team run to get in a few extra miles. I was not really up for the idea considering the icicles that would likely form on my face but peer pressure by two of my close friends at the time got me out of bed. We arrived at the lake and there was a handful of people there I knew and some that I didn't. One "newbie" caught my eye. All dressed in black with the best blue eyes and smile. Granted that's about all that was exposed due to the layers upon layers of run clothes but stillMark: I was looking to run a bit farther then what was scheduled for that morning and a TNT staff member forwarded an email indicating that a few people were meeting before the group run for a few extra miles. I almost did not go for the early run because it was so cold but I am glad I did because I got to meet someone new.
Kris: My friends and I took off for our run and needed to stay at a low heart rate for our training. I saw right away Mark was one of the speedy runners but he spent a few moments here and there running along with my group and I did my best to keep chatting .
Mark: Kris and her group of runners were running slow, “Zone 2” training for something called an Ironman Triathlon. I wanted to run fast but something kept me from running off so I stuck with the group and chatted with Kris. Afterwards we did go to Caribou Coffee and warmed up sitting next to the fireplace. We were definitely in our own world. We only had eyes for each other and I was not even aware that there was anyone else around. I did not want the morning to end
Kris: Last summer, our first summer together was incredible. Having someone that enjoys the multi-sport world has made a huge difference for me. We are NOT the same speed by any means but have found a great balance in our training and races. Some we do just for fun and stay together, and others we race separately at our own pace. Either way, we do our best to fully support each other.
Mark: Last summer was my introduction to multi-sport world and I have loved every minute of it. It was a new experience to have someone to train and race with. Most importantly it is amazing to have someone cheer me on and be there at the finish line to celebrate with me.
Kris: On the one year anniversary of when we met, we went to Lake Calhoun for another chilly run around the lake. There was maybe a lingering idea in my head that he would propose this day but on loop two around the lake, right by a bench we have stopped at many times, he pulled the "hang on, I need to fix my shoe" routine and when I turned around, he was down on one knee. I was so surprised and so happy I forgot all about being cold
Mark: Since Kris helped me pick out her engagement ring I figured that she would figure out when I was going to propose. In fact when I actually proposed, it was plan C. The original plan was to propose right before we jumped into Lake Minnetonka on January 1st as part of the polar plunge. In the end I am very happy with how I proposed but I am very surprised that Kris did not figure it out, especially when I suggested (and would have insisted) that we go for a run around Lake Calhoun (where we met) on the one year anniversary of the day we met. I loved the fact that I was able to surprise her and make our engagement something very memorable.
Kris: So the quick summary of our wedding plans....We met running, we got engaged on a run so we decided to get married running. We are headed to the Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll Marathon on Dec 5th, 2010. It's a unique event in which 3.5 miles into the marathon course, a group of couples pull over to get married or renew their vows in a mass ceremony under the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel. The ceremony only takes a few minutes; you say "I Do" and take off to finish the marathon. I often get chills just thinking about how incredible it's going to be. We will have a reception for family and friends back home the Friday after. We also have some very special plans to incorporate our running life into that as well
Mark: Kris has completed my life and I now truly have my running mate who makes me a better person and the one person I want to be with me at every finish line.
Kris: I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with Mark. He's my motivator and has made me a better person and a better athlete.
Our ceremony is being performed and ordained by our old hippie neighbors who we met when we moved into our first apartment together. The woman (Connie) is ordained and is going to write a ceremony that includes jumping the broom and planting a tree, and of course some romantic quotes by classic authors. The man (John) is a retired Saint Louis symphony musician who is going to play native american flute as I walk down the aisle.
Now for the reception: We are holding it at the Palladium (featured on the knot), which is a large event building that was converted from the old city hospital. We are basing the inspiration of our reception on a 1920's "Great Gatsby" party. In light of the theme, we having it on a Friday as a cocktail reception with passed appetizers, a sushi station, signiture cocktails, low lighting and of course dancing! There are still a lot of details to work out, but the point is this is a party and we are not going to be sitting down for a long dinner, just having fun!
We love vintage EVERYTHING and it is a fall wedding so our colors are mustard yellow and burnt orange. Yes, my bridesmaids will be wearing mustard colored dresses! And the guys will be wearing that 70's colored cordouroy brown.
We strive to be different. Pick us!
The Knot,
My wedding is offically planned for Nov. 6, 2010. But here is the secret, we are already married! Chris and I eloped Dec. 24, 2008!
We decided to elope because he is in the military; and when the decision was made we didnt know who was going to be president or what was going to happen as far as him being sent over seas.
Only my mom and best friend knows that we are married, so we are planning a ceremony and reception for the rest of the family. Since we are both Northerns living in Florida, and both love to sail we found a beautiful lake house, with a corresponding nautical theme. We are both super excited... And very lucky, since we are planning to pay for the wedding ourselves, we set a $15,000 budget. I haven't skimped on anything and our total came to $8,000. I have some great resources through my job and therefore much of the details are DIY.
The only glitch is that the date is set for Florida State University's Homecoming Game, and since this is Jimbo Fisher's first year as coach (seeing as Booby Bowden retired) they are expecting upwards of 90,000 football fans that day. (I started the planning process before the new season schedule was announced) I say it is just going to make the pre-wedding festivities even better! With Downtown Get-Down and the Parade on Friday, and a noon football game on Saturday our guests and ourselves will have plenty of fun and exciting things to do in this generally sleepy Florida capital city!
My father’s shirt was the wrong size! He’s going to wear a BLACK shirt instead (which he brought just in case this might happen- what?!)! Months and months of obsessively taking pictures, pasting them together to test coordination, printing out fake boutonnière’s to hold up to tuxedos and being generally crazy about the whole attire process was down the drain! And even worse- my Zen state of mind flew out the window as I started calling the local tux shop to have them rush a shirt over and bridesmaids bustled about trying to help me with the situation. Then- all of a sudden- it was time to get married! And walk down the aisle! This was really happening! Luckily (with the help of a tux shop employee whom I thanked on my hands and knees the next day), we managed to pull it all together and capture one of my favorite photos from the day:
Sure, we had DIY details (my invites took me four months to design and create) and a blend of vintage and romantic charm (including a metal birdcage card box and many unique antique frames featuring us, our family and friends, scattered rose petals and candles). But I think our wedding deserves to be featured in The Knot because it wasn’t perfect- things did go wrong (whether our guests noticed or not). Perfection is debatable- our wedding was special, meaningful and, I can honestly say, the best day of our lives!
Both of us have been gamers in a very geeky sense since the early days of videogames and Dungeons and Dragons. We met online on a text-based cyberpunk role-playing game and got to know each other as we dodged bullets and hacked our way around a virtual internet. When our relationship really took off, we stuck with each other through five years of a long distance relationship, playing online games ranging from online Scrabble to first person shooters to bridge the 1000 mile distance. Playing together made the time between visits bearable and gave us a way to spend quality time with each other remotely. Rather than a majority of our shared memories being of going to a party together or walking on the beach, instead they were of cooperatively building civilizations and of accidentally (or not so accidentally) fragging each other.
At our wedding we will be striving to balance the elegance of a traditional wedding with our desire to share the joy and love that games have given us with our guests. For example: our invitation is designed to be elegantly done in white and silver, while our Save The Date cards were modeled off of a game screen.
Our ceremony will be traditional but will have a reading on the value of play, while our reception will incorporate both a traditional first dance and a first "rock out" where we'll play a song with the Best Man and Maid of Honor on Rock Band 2. Our cake will be traditional but the topper will be our two favorite characters to play standing together, and during dancing we'll have a small table set up with a variety of simple non-traditional games (e.g. The Stars Are Right, Fluxx, Munchkin, Citadels, etc.) that a majority of people have probably never seen so that those who don't want to dance can try their hand at playing instead.
To top it all off, we'll be mixing in some of our families' cultures in the form of favors from Japan, and possibly Chinese tea and kilts!
Our wedding will be on October 16, 2010, so we're still sorting out some of the other details like the possibility of making a small display of screenshots with a brief history of our relationship along with some of our saved real photos, for people to look at. We're hoping that all of our guests, both gamers and non-gamers, will have a great time and that it will be unforgettable!
*Kelly
Gosh- maybe I should include some of the "actual" details!
First off- I am honored to have recieved my grandma's 65 year old wedding ring as my engagement ring! It means the world to me!
Colors: Yellow and Charcoal
Wedding Party: My sister and two brothers standing up for me and Chris' three brothers standing up for him. All 5 boys will be the ushers as well.
Party Favors: Handmade cookbooks of our favorite recpies Chris and I made up. (we LOVE to cook) We thought it would be a wonderful favor since so many of our family and friends ask us what is in everything we cook.
Reception: We haven't decided on the meal yet, but we are serving Root Beer Floats and cookies instead of cake.
Photography: A family friend who takes beautiful pictures and my sister will help edit them since she goes to school for graphic design. My sister also did our engagement pictures.
Rehearsal: Picinic out at our family cabin on the lake the night before. All the attendants/helpers gifts are homemade pictures frames by Chris and I.
Invites, Programs, Flowers, Unity Candle, Veil, Garter: ALL homemade and turned out great!
Plus so many more ideas, but I cant spoil the surprise on everything!
My fiance and I have been dating since 2002, and it will be almost 10 years of dating when we get married! We met in high school during our English class, and we have been together ever since. Our relationship grew stronger and stronger, until we realized that we were meant to be together forever!
In August 2009, Jonathan asked me to marry him by the Barnegat Lighthouse in NJ. This is one of our favorite spots to visit, and he knows I love lighthouses! I just have to tell you the story of our engagement, because it was very sweet!) It was my fiance’s birthday weekend and I had planned on taking him out to dinner. Instead he said he wanted to take me to get ice cream and walk around the lighthouse. I thought this was strange but agreed even though it was raining at the time. We drove up to the lighthouse, got our ice cream, and used our umbrella. We walked out onto the jetty and turned to look up at the lighthouse. After a few minutes, Jon looked out towards the rocks of the jetty and said he saw something shiny. I didn’t see anything, but he went over to the rocks and put something into his pocket (or it seemed like it at the time!). He came back and said he found a shiny mussel shell. He pulled a mussel shell out of his pocket and asked if I wanted to see inside of it. Not knowing what was inside I said, “Definitely not! Eeewww how gross!” Well as he was opening the mussel shell he got down on one knee!! I was so shocked. I didn’t expect it at all! Of course I said yes. My fiancé had eaten out of that mussel shell earlier in the week, cleaned and soaked it, drilled two tiny holes into it, tied the ring inside with string, and then glued it back together. It was such an amazing effort and so original. And of course I still have the mussel shell!
Throughout the past 8 years together, we have been through a lot of difficult times, but my fiancé always makes me smile. He is such a fun-loving, care-free, happy person, and it is absolutely infectious! I would love for us to be featured because I know it would make him happy, and I would like to give him happiness in the same way he always gives me happiness! Thank you for considering us to be featured on The Knot, this would be a wonderful opportunity for us!P.S. Here are some pictures from our Engagment party that we had in October! We had a pirate/shore theme, and even ended up making our own lighthouse cake!
Our Wedding should be featured in THE KNOT because we have planned our wedding in less than 5 months! For our July 17th, 2010 wedding, high stress levels, drama, and anxiety have all surrounded us, but we've managed to keep it together. The result: An organic but modern feel from the ceremony straight through to the reception.
Our ceremony will take place at the Fort Tryon Park near the Cloisters in upper Manhattan. They always say opposites attract and it couldn't be illustrated any better than in our relationship. City Boy meets Country Girl, and it is reflected perfectly in this gem hidden within the concrete jungle. The beautifully manicured gardens, walkway areas and Terrace where the ceremony will take place blends both of our personalities.
We are a non-traditional modern couple with a limited budget, so in order to stay within it, we decided on a brunch reception. Aaron's favorite time of day is Sunset. Since we couldn't have a sunset wedding, we would bring the colors of the sunset into the colors of our wedding, with a touch of oppulence. My Matron of Honor will wear a JS Designs Coral dress, and my three flower girls will wear ivory/buttercup lacy dresses with an added coral ribbon as a belt and carry ivory baskets with Sunset colored petals to throw. The two groomsmen will wear a light brown suit, ivory shirt, suspenders and a Calvin Klien beige and coral striped tie---All with a touch of gold.
The ceremony site will be on a terrace overlooking the Hudson river and the George Washington Bridge. It will be decorated with rows of white chairs and ivory bows with ivy. Fesh flowers will run from the last row to the two pilars of ivy at the head. We will have a basket of personalized fans for the ladies and a bucket of personalized water bottles for our guest to beat the heat. We plan on walking down the isle to a single violin surrounded by our very close loved ones, and the public around us, since we will be in a public park.
The reception will take place at a beautifully decorated latin restaurant for a buffet brunch for our 90 guests. The food is incredible, featuring mangu, steak, chicken, pancakes, an omelet station, fish and rice. Our cake will be the non traditional cupcakes with the top tier being our 'sweetheart' 6" cake, and we will have unlimited mimosas and our signature drink 'Dream Punch'.
The table settings include red and white wine that will act as table numbers. Also there will be Ivory/Gold confetti with champagne rhinestones spread across the table with votive candles. We have designed the Save the Date and invitations, so the other elements in our wedding also have carried the same theme. This includes the Table numbers and Menu Cards which will be on every individual small plate and napkin. We will have our own sweetheart table so everyone can see us!
Instead of having a Guest Sign in Book, we will have a Picture Frame featuring the picture from our Save the Date card, where guests can sign the board around it. It will be placed at the entrace where guests can pick up their escort cards. After the wedding, we will put up our frame in the living room as a momento from the wedding.
The restaurant reflects the my heritage, but the music will reflect both of our backgrounds and personalities. We plan on celebrating all afternoon long. When the brunch party is over, we will head over to a rooftop terrace club in Midtown Manhattan for a night cap and more dancing!
This day will be so special to us, and we are so happy to be celebrating with all of our friends and family. This is just the beginning
Karen Nazario and Aaron Ash
I married my wonderful husband, Jason, on June 5, 2010. We would love to have our wedding featured in The Knot because despite the fact that I am a busy lawyer and my husband is a touring concert lighting designer, we created a beautiful, intimate destination wedding that was filled with details honoring the people most important to us.
Our Story
Jason’s parents met in 1966 at the famous Roseland Ballroom, when both were living in New York City. Like his parents, we also met in a NYC nightclub—only our meeting happened nearly 30 years later, at a concert on the Lower East Side. Weary from working two jobs, I was napping in a corner while the band set up. When I woke up, I saw Jason, who was there with a mutual friend. After talking for a few minutes, I knew he was going to be my boyfriend for a very long time.
While the band we saw that first night has long since broken up, we stayed together even while I traded a career in photography for one in law and Jason quit his day job at an Internet company to pursue concert lighting design full-time. Jason saw me through three knee surgeries, bringing me food and supplies when I couldn't make it down the stairs of my fifth-floor walkup. When I left for Philadelphia to attend law school, Jason supported me even though it meant our relationship would become long distance.
Not wanting to interfere with my legal studies, Jason waited until the end of my third year of law school to propose. He took my dog and I on a surprise weekend trip to the beach. During a midnight walk under the stars, with my dog as a witness, he asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes!
Our Location
I have wanted to get married on the island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands since I first visited at the age of 12. After years of family vacations involving a station wagon, a tent, and destinations like North Dakota, my family had taken its first luxurious trip—a cruise to the Caribbean. When the cruise ship docked in St. Thomas, my mother and I took a ferry to St. John for a magical afternoon of snorkeling at Trunk Bay. I never forgot the undisturbed beauty of the island.
Coincidentally, when Jason proposed we already had plans to go on a Caribbean cruise to celebrate my graduation from law school. Once again, the cruise ship stopped in St. Thomas. We headed to St. John to view the Caneel Bay resort, and immediately knew it was the right fit—the gorgeous beaches were perfect for me, and the relaxed vibe suited Jason’s laid-back style.
We were certainly nervous that the cost would deter our closest friends and family from attending. Our fears were unfounded--we ended up with an intimate wedding consisting of 40 guests, which felt perfect for us because we both get intimidated by large crowds.
The Glitch
After we paid our nonrefundable deposit to reserve our wedding date, Jason was offered a job with indie rock band The National as a lighting designer on their international tour. The tour would be a huge career boost for Jason, but the dates conflicted with our wedding—in fact, the day we intended to wed in St. John, the band was scheduled to play our hometown of Philadelphia!
Even though it would create some added stress, I encouraged Jason to take the tour as long as he could work it out with the band. Luckily, the band found a replacement lighting designer for our wedding day, but leaving in the middle of the tour meant that Jason arrived in St. John two hours before our rehearsal dinner on Friday and left at 6:00 a.m. the following Monday.Fortunately, his flight arrived on time, so my nightmares of being alone on my wedding day were put to rest. He was a little tired after sleeping only a few hours on the plane, but there was so much excitement that he had no problem staying awake for the big day!
The Details
My maternal grandmother passed away three months before the wedding. Family was my grandmother's highest priority, and as a result my mother's side of the family is extremely close. To honor my grandmother's memory, we used her brooches on the bride and maid-of-honor’s bouquets and prominently displayed her wedding photograph at the reception.
I have always been creative, but during my three years of law school there weren't many opportunities to use my artistic skills. The wedding provided a perfect chance! The most time-consuming task was learning calligraphy, which I used to address envelopes, make signs, and hand-letter our escort cards. I also painted a canvas with our names and wedding date to hang over the fireplace; created signs to lead guests to the ceremony and reception; and tied raffia, ribbon, beads, and sanddollar charms on anything that would stand still!
Once I realized I couldn’t quite do everything myself, I enlisted the help of talented artists from Etsy and other sites who created our programs, gift bag tags, ring dish, cake toppers. Perhaps the best addition was my purchase of small teal and blue LED lights, which I bought to pay tribute to Jason’s job as a concert lighting designer (he uses much larger LED lights on tour). While dancing, my sister and brother picked up the lights and started waving them around. The other guests followed, and all soon it looked like a huge light show!
The Imagery
Finally and perhaps most importantly, our wedding would make a lovely feature because our photographer, Amanda Julca, did such a wonderful job capturing the day. As a former fashion photographer, I had high standards for photography. Amanda, a young photographer we flew in from Miami, exceeded our expectations. You can see for yourself—her pictures are available on her blog:
Portraits: http://www.amandajulcablog.com/blog/2010/6/15/karen-jason-caneel-bay-part-i.html
Ceremony, Reception, and Details: http://www.amandajulcablog.com/blog/2010/6/19/karen-jason-caneel-bay-part-ii.html
www.amandajulca.com
. . .
Caneel Bay, St John USVI
When I met my fiancee, neither of us was looking for a steady relationship. I was at the tail end of a bad relationship, he was too and laid off on top that. Even though neither of us was looking for a steady relationship, we both fell easily into a very comfortable, loving relationship that had an aire of easiness.
We had a lot in common too. We are both graphic designers; he focuses in motion graphics and web design and I focus in print and advertising. Together, we completely cover the graphic design field!
I am not impulsive when it comes to telling someone "I love you." I think I might have said it first on accident.He smiled at the time but didn't say anything. I kinda felt stupid for saying it. But later Brent told me the most lovely thing I'd ever heard; he said after feeling lilke things were so rough for so long, when I told him I loved him, he felt a sense of peace he hadn't felt in a long time and then he told me he loved me too. I knew right then that I was really and truly in love, head over heels, truly madly and deeply.
We had only dated for eight months before Brent proposed. During this time Brent's field had completely collapsed in our area and he still wasn't working. To top everything else off, I was recently laid off and working temporarily. I'm still not sure how we made it on what we collected from unemployment, but we did it.
During this time, we started to plan our wedding. On no budget!
Immediately, Brent wanted to be actively involved in all aspects of the wedding. And I didn't get a say in that fact. We make all the decisions together, from colors, to tuxes, bridesmaid dresses, guests, food and everything else. We bicker like old ladies, but together we come to a consensus and agree on every decision we make. Slamming doors are not exempt from this process, but no wedding planning is perfect unless someone else is doing it for you.
Besides the bickering, it's been hard to plan our wedding with our budget. We've managed though to plan exactly what we want.
We are getting married at an old 1920's public golf course that Brent's gandfather worked at. We both love to golf - he's better. I found my dress two weeks after getting engaged. It was the first dress I tried on! The dress was a clearance item marked down from $1500 to under $400 in the exact designer I wanted and with all the design features I wanted, corset lace and all. We also decided together, after looking at hideous cake toppers, to make our own. We both got Munny's and have decorated them to look like us. We've done a lot of work for our wedding ourselves by planning and making our own items like our toppers, ring bearer pillow and flower-girl basket.
People ask me if I am sad for not getting a fairytale dream wedding with a bigger budget. A bigger budget would be nice but I laugh because I know I am getting the fairytale wedding and the happily ever after i've always wanted - andthe best part will be sharing the ride with my best friend.
Tatiana Bryan
Wedding Date: June 11th 2011
Budget: None!
Location: Under an old oak tree at the 1920's golf course where his grandfather worked - Columbia Heights Manor
Theme: Asian inspired Contemporary
Design Elements: Orchids, Bamboo, green paper lanterns, green candy table
Color: Spring Green and Dark Silver
My Dress: Maggie Sotero - Charmaine
His Tux: One button, our color Green Vest and dark silver tie
Bridesmaids dresses: Black Jim Hjelm cocktail dresses
Our minister: His family minister
Photography: Bellagala - on a supremely awesome deal!
DIY Projects: Cake toppers, ring bearer pillow, flower girl basket, invitations,save the dates, favors, decorations,
Our wedding song: "Around the Bend" The Asteroid Galaxy Tour
Reason to pick us: After overcoming so many obstacles, sharing our story would mean the world to us!
Thanks,
Tatiana Bryan
Our qedding will start with some Friday night festivities and end with our Sunday night send off to Antigua.
http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/LeaNelson&VincentMcCastle
We have been together for 8.5 years and are finally marrying on July 31, 2010. Our wedding will be in Healdsburg Caiifornia (Events will be held all weekend for the mostly out of town guests) He is from New Jersey and he is moving to Cailfornia for me - so we want to give his relatives and friends the Cailfornia experience.
A lot of things about our wedding are somewhat traditional, but we tried to sneak in personal touches where ever possible.
I'm a graphic designer and artist so I was inpsired to do a lot of the decorations, gifts, etc. myself. I also had trouble selecting a simple color palette... so I will have 8 bridesmaids in grey empire waisted tea length dresses. They each have their own color shoes that coordinate with their color bouquets. (Blue, Teal, Yellow, Purple, Orange, Magenta, Lime Green, and Peach) I made the "flowers" they are carrying by painitng twigs and seed pods silver and grey and adding elements of their colors to them. The 8 groomsmens will be in matching ties to the ladies and have handmade 2x2 canvas pinned to their lapels. Square canvas come into play all over the wedding - I painted 162 4x4 canvases in the 8 colors and signed them with our "logo" as the party favor (that way we have our 8 colors, one at each seat, at the tables) The table numbers are painted in the colors on a 3x3 canvas set on a small easel. Our seating chart is a huge (60x60 canvas) with all 8 colors and our guest names painted on. Our invitations ask guest to "Help us create our masterpiece" and continue with the art theme. Our rehearsal dinner will be held in a gallery/barn wear all the bridemaids gifts will be decorating the walls - guess what - they are paintings too! These are just a few elements that I had a lot of fun making for the day.
The wedding itself is set under a vine covered arbor and oaks - overlooking fields of vineyards in the distance. Our carter, florist, and winary are all local and certified GREEN businesses. Our wedding enterance will be all my ladies and I riding in on the back of classic restored cars (my dad's hobby - and his favorite part of the day I'm sure!) During our ceremony we will sign a Bible that has been in my family since the 1880s and it is tradition to add your new family names to the heritage on your wedding day. Other than these details, we just want to dance and have fun with our friends and family as we start our life together. I can't wait!
Before I get started, I think I first need to tell you how I met my fiance as its a very intertwined story...
My bestfriend Stacey met her Husband who was my former boss and teacher, they ended up getting married and now have a beautiful baby girl who is our flower girl. Stacey's twin brother is my fiance. Another cool part about my life is between my own sister and her husband. My sister's name is Aimee, she married a guy named John Lockington, My fiance's name is John Amy. When stacey got married her last name changed to Kennedy and they named their little girl Amy. Needless to say, I am surronded by John's, Amy's and a whole lotta family
Now onto the wedding...
Our wedding is special in many ways. First and foremost we are having a destination wedding in mexico in November followed by a formal reception in Jan. Its special because out themes are very different. In Mexico our theme is more casual and fun and in Jan. we are having a winter wonderland. I think its unique as they are two polar opposites and it would give my guests (and potenially more if we are selected) ideas of how to pull off both types of weddings. I think another major part of my wedding that makes it different and would reach out to a lot of brides in my situation is that fact that I have recently and unexpetedly lost my sister 2 months ago. My sister was to be in my wedding party. As a result I've had a huge response from my friends and family to help me with this wedding. The type of support that we've gotten is just outstanding. I think whats unqiue is that we will be including my sister's memeory in every part of our big day. I think that this may also reach out to brides in my situation and give them hope and ideas of how to include a loved one who passed into your big day.
We have selected Santillane Bed and Breakfast in Fincastle, VA as our venue, it is a beautifully restored colonial home and we are getting married in the back surrounded by gardens and the mountains of the New River Valley. Selecting a beautiful outdoor scene has allowed us to really save on decorations because there isn't much decorating to be done, the mountains, gardens and beautiful home set a beautiful scene themselves.
We have selected turquoise and and a kiwi green as our colors to accent the beautiful colors of the mountains that will be surroundig our ceremony and reception. Our bridal party will be in turq attire, and the groom and our table linens will be in kiwi green.
I hand made our invitations using a turq base, and then printing on a kiwi green overlay with an edged border, completing with a turq bow at the top. We got so many compliments on them and were asked where we had bought them from.
As we all know how expensive the cost of flowers can be, I have ordered gorgeous green and antique blue hydrangeas wholesale online and am assembling my boquets, corsages and centerpieces myself.
We have selected an amazing caterer to provide the food for our reception and have chosen to present in stations to allow for a more interactive reception. We will start with international cheeses, crackers and bread, and then pass around some light starters including philly cheesesteak sliders, lemongrass shrimp shooters and waffle cones with fried chicken covered in a maple butter glaze. For our main course, we will have a New York strip carving station, mashed potato bar with the works, sweet potato biscuits with country ham, an alvocodo shrimp pecan salad, and a shrim, andouille sausage and grits station.
For favors, we have made apple soap bars that are a kiwi green color and labeled with our wedding date, as well as assembled tiffany blue boxes with a monogram sticker on the top, filled with turq and kiwi green chocolates to further incorporate our colors.
For centerpieces, we have one large votive filled with turq/green crystals that will will be filled with hydrangeas, surrounded by four small votives with alternating turq, green tealights. In addition, we bought mason jars and placed a photo of us in the center, tying green and turq ribbon around the rim. To complete our centerpieces, we have bought bird nests and filled them with replicated robins eggs to tie in more turq with the green linens.
We have borrowed a projector from Evan's school and will be playing a slideshow of photos during the reception of when we were children and from our relationship thus far. This was absolutely no cost to us and is very sentimental!
I know there are probably thousands of contestants, we would be so honored to have our wedding featured! I have absolutely loved the experience of creating our wedding on a small budget and simple scale but in a beautiful way. This experience has made me want to be a wedding planner as I have loved hammering out the fine details and planning a wedding with little funds but still having amazing results. Thank you so much for your time!