a + c wedding: part I

I can't even begin to recap this whirlwind of a month. Chaz and I exchanged vows, shared our love with others, and celebrated the continuation of our love story on Saturday, 8/15/15. We are so blessed to have so many loved ones in our lives: loves ones who helped coordinate things, offered their skills and talents, celebrated joyfully and showered us with congratulatory wedding bliss. Our wedding day was a dream come true and Chaz and I will forever be thankful. I'd personally like to thank you for your love and support. And I'd also like to share a few photos... The fantastic duo, Jillian & Ryan, of With Love & Embers captured our wedding day in a way that felt so natural. I can not wait to see the story that they have documented. Chaz and I are so thankful that we were able to have With Love & Embers photograph our wedding day. We know that their images will be stunning. [caption id="attachment_9352" align="aligncenter" width="660"] photo by with love & embers[/caption] [caption id="attachment_9328" align="aligncenter" width="660"] photo by with love & embers[/caption] I spent 3 days prior to our wedding day creating the floral arrangements I have dreamt for my wedding for years. Using my parents' garage as a studio was so neat. Amongst our old mini bike, train table & car parts, I constructed more than 70 flower arrangements. My parents worked endlessly to transform their home into the most magical wedding venue. It meant the world to me to get married in my parents' back yard. The memories of my childhood that were running through my head as we set up our wedding tents, constructed our ceremony site, and put together our reception space were so vivid and so comforting during such an excited time of my life. You went above and beyond all expectations and desires, Mom and Dad. Chaz and I cannot thank you enough. I used a colorful and textural blend of my favorite flowers placed in eclectic vases, bottles, jars, tins, boxes, and various containers. Chaz built more than a dozen wooden boxes to be used as our centerpieces. Together with his brother, Jesse, Chaz also made whimsical tree branch vases to hold single stems. Gold mercury glass vessels were filled with billowing arrangements and placed upon rustic wood slices made by our friend Clifton. I wanted wooden accents to be a uniting theme throughout our wedding atmosphere. I tried to stick to a color scheme of deep red, bright red, mustard yellow, coral, ivory & gold. It was a color scheme differing from traditional weddings. Feathers, tiny honey bees, little bitty birds, tropical pineapples, gold flamingos and foxes added a whimsical special touches to our flower arrangements. I hope that our wedding guests had fun stumbling upon these details because I smirked each time I tucked one of these gems into our decor. Chaz and I personalized many of the items at our wedding... including all of the personal flowers & bridal party florals. Chaz wore a red rose, ranunculus and burgundy scabiosa boutonniere. A tiny vintage brooch boasting a double headed bird accented the flowers. The best man & brother of the groom, Jesse, wore a boutonniere similar to Chaz's but accented with a gold 'love knot'. My father wore a boutonniere tied with a strand of swavorski crystals and vintage crocheted lace. Chaz's father and stepfather wore boutonnieres donning small freshwater pearls and vintage crocheted lace. Our grandfathers wore boutonnieres of red spray roses & a stem of wild veronica. A silver tractor, a silver honey bee and a sparkling rhinestone charm personalized the bouts for our beloved grandfathers. Our grandmothers wore wrist corsages of ranunculus, marigolds & scabiosa. A seashell locket, a golden bird, and a gold sparrow added interest and personalization to each corsage. My beautiful cousin, Ashley, was responsible for making sure each of the items on our wedding to-do list was checked off and taken care of. Without her coordination on the days leading up to and day of our wedding I would have been an absolute mess. Because of Ashley, I knew that I could breathe a little easier and trust that everything would be okay. Thank you for your help and love while planning this special day, Ash. Our dear friend, Diana, snapped some beautiful photos throughout our wedding ceremony & reception. I cried my eyes out while looking at her images and thoughtful comments on Facebook the day after our wedding. Check out Diana's photo business, Lemon Shots Photo. [caption id="attachment_9329" align="aligncenter" width="660"] photos by lemon shots photo[/caption] [caption id="attachment_9330" align="aligncenter" width="512"] photos by lemon shots photo[/caption] [caption id="attachment_9327" align="aligncenter" width="660"] photos by lemon shots photo[/caption] [caption id="attachment_9331" align="aligncenter" width="660"] photos by lemon shots photo[/caption] [caption id="attachment_9355" align="aligncenter" width="660"] photos by lemon shots photo[/caption] [caption id="attachment_9354" align="aligncenter" width="660"] photo by lemon shots photo[/caption] [caption id="attachment_9353" align="aligncenter" width="362"] photos by lemon shots photo[/caption] There are so many other loved ones that I would like to thank for contributing their time, efforts & help to make our wedding day extremely special: Randy, Randy, Gina, Jesse, Mike, Amanda, Brian, Nikki, Matt, Mike, Robin, Paul, Linda, Tracy, Jillian, Steve, Kenny, and so many others. I appreciate you more than you will ever know. To all of our family members and friends who traveled to Pennsylvania to attend our wedding - thank you! To the team of wonderful wedding vendors who stood by our sides to understand our vision and make it come true - thank you! To all who wished us a lifetime of happiness - thank you! You have all added so much love and happiness to our lives and we can't wait to share our love with you. xoxo - Ami