My first Wedding

 

Photo taken by Lost Creek Photography

I don’t know where to begin with this roller coaster of an event. The bride and groom love adventure, and this wedding was definitely one itself. 

I started working with the bride about 11 months before the wedding. At the beginning, she already had her colors she wanted and the date was set in stone. Our first challenge was location. Their preferred location, where they met, was ideal for what they wanted. Elegance with a hint of pirate. Which was fitting for the couple. But after months, we came to the conclusion that it would not be. The owners of the venue did work with us some, by letting us host their first ceremony there. So I guess one outta two aint bad.

The sign at The Grand the day of the weding

Stress was building toward the end of 2016 when the bride and groom hadn’t found their location yet. And knew without the location, catering and décor rentals were still on hold.  With fears of having to postpone the wedding another year, luck rained down on us. A venue in the bride’s home town opened back up and we booked our tour on January 2^nd.

Now this place wasn’t the castle they had originally wanted, but it was beautiful. The new owners had brought it back to its glory from the 1920’s. And we all agreed, it would be perfect. The contract was signed and we had our venue, and photography. What were the odds that the owner was also a photographer?



The Grand

       After that, everything started to fall into place. The dress was bought, shoes were found, (or as I call them, the disco balls) the cake was being made by the grooms grandma, and décor was slowly being bought and rented. But that left us with bridesmaid’s dresses, alterations, and catering. I and the bride’s mother decided we could do alterations on all the dresses. With her many years of sewing experience, we had it covered. The bride decided dinner should be DIY, so we became the catering team too.

       Sixty days till the wedding and we were all ready…except for some important parts…dresses. We had found the main dress the bride needed. But she had a small ceremony the day before that needed a different style, one we all thought would be super easy to find, wasn’t. She had 1 matron of honor, 2 bride’s maids, and a flower girl that still needed dresses, not just one dress each, but 2 dresses each. So the hunt was on, we scoured bridal shops, thrift shops, outlet stores, and even online. The stress was building. We finally found all 8 needed dresses. And with little time to spare, all dresses were altered as needed for the girls.

The backdrop for the wedding ceremony.

We thought catering would be easy. They decided on a 4 course meal, appetizers during a cocktail hour, a salad course, a choice of 2 different main courses, then dessert. Our main courses we kept simple, Chicken Marsala or Slow Cooked Beef. Both options came on a bed of white rice, served with steamed vegetables and roasted green beans and potatoes.

Less than a week till the wedding, the bride’s mother and I are at a local grocery store buying enough food for 80 plates. Cause that’s how many people finally RSVP’d. Which getting those was an event in itself. Plans were made, and we started cooking the day before the wedding. Everything was ready for the venue at 3 am the morning of the wedding. Yes, we still had that first ceremony the day we cooked everything. And it was beautiful. I wish I had pictures.



The tables before the candles were placed

The big day started for all of us at 6 am. By 8:30 I was picking up the rentals while the others towed food and purchased décor. Our rehearsal was that morning, and the wedding at 3. We were to start rehearsal at 9…. But it was closer to 10.

As the girls got ready I decorated and prepped, with help from some guests who arrived early, as well as some family members. Even some of the bridesmaids came down to help.  Now, note we thought 80 people were coming, so we set 80 place settings, and rented for such.  But none the less, once the candles were placed, and the lights dimmed like she wanted, the dinner space was beautiful.

The bride and groom at the head table

We were behind for the entire day. The Wedding was to start at 3, but we delayed it 30 minutes in hopes to get some before wedding photos and hope some of the guests showed up. Of the 80, only about 30 came.

The colors were plum and grey, which worked well with the “hint” of pirate. I say it like that, because by the big day, the pirate took over. But it was more the couple that way. The vows were just, can I say perfect again? They used a treasure chest as part of their unity ceremony. With some key items, to help with an adventure on their first anniversary.

·        A bottle of Rum to enjoy when they reach their destination.

·        A map with a secret location marked chosen by the bridal parties.

·        A compass so they don’t get lost

 

 

Most of our problems came with dinner. We had a case of misunderstanding and guests were informed it was a self-serve dinner. Luckily we were able to remedy the situation before it went crazy. 



The cake table. The table also has the guest book. Guests wrote a message on a little peice of paper, rolled it up and tied it with ribbon, then dropped it in the big clear bottle. By the end of the night the bottle was full!

 

The bride and groom using a cutlass to cut their cake

 

 

Some foods we planned to make, never saw the light of day, like the spinach artichoke dip, while others became the stars of the dessert table. I didn’t get to taste the cake, but I have to say, the groom’s grandmother did an amazing job, it was beautiful.

I heard so many compliments for the homemade cheesecake bites, that I think they were the crowd favorite. My personal favorite was the strawberry shortcakes!

The couple weren’t without their charm, as the time came to cut the cake, instead of the traditional cake server, they used a cutlass to cut the first slice. To be honest, we expected cake to I loved the way they enjoyed the day even with all the problems we had. More than I shared I assure you. But every wedding will have their problems. But this couple sailed through like they were nothing. They both enjoyed their night and as did the guests. I loved working with them and pray they have a long, happy, and loving marriage. I was, and still am honored, to have had this creative and very unique wedding as my first wedding.