"I can still remember that feeling I got walking into the front room of the Carondelet House on our initial visit. Looking over at Scott, I knew we finally agreed -- this was where we wanted to get married! From that day forward, planning our wedding became one of the most fun adventures Scott and I have had together. We spent countless hours scouring the millions of posts on Pinterest to help us find all the unique touches that would reflect our love for each other and our closest friends and family." -bride & groom
About their wedding: We wanted our guests to feel at home the moment they
walked through the door and we planned out every detail to make sure they did.
From wedding photos of our parents, grandparents, and siblings on the cake
table to thank you notes at their place settings. We even used our mother's
special cake recipes that we have had for every birthday, since childhood --
Strawberry for Scott and Banana for Me, with a marble cake in the middle. The
most fun (and exhausting), though, was hand-making wine-bottle candles as favors
for our guests. A project that quickly became a family event as they helped us
save wine bottles, cut bottles and made trips to every Michael's store in the
city for more wax. Now those candles sit in each of our relative's and friend's
homes as a reminder not just of that day, but of our gratitude for their
support.
Scott and I really wanted to make the day as
meaningful as possible for each other. Not knowing what the other had picked
out, Scott and I both ended up giving each other sentimental boxes and
different representations of our time together. I gave him a journal with my
favorite memories, as well as these great cufflinks with photos of his
grandparents who had passed away on them. It almost made him cry, and he never
cries. Scott gave me a set of pictures of the two of us. We each used this time
as an opportunity to spend a priceless moment together before walking down the
aisle.
We also wrote our entire ceremony (not just the vows),
and Scott's brother performed it. We aren't religious so we wanted the ritual
to reflect our personalities and relationship. We spent the months before the
wedding compiling our favorite poems and vows that we pieced together for the
ceremony. We also included hand-written letters to one another's parents to
express our appreciation for them. I can't express how meaningful it was to go
through the ceremony knowing that Scott and I had hand-picked every word --
together.
Our amazing wedding coordinator, designer and florist
made sure all of our ideas came to life like magic. We will never forget
sneaking to the back room to see the dinner all set up. It was amazing. The
white flowers on the table surrounded by candles made the room glow. We both
ran to get our parents so they could see the room untouched. My mom, who until
then hadn't quite understood why we didn't want ice sculptures and a 7-tier
cake, finally understood what we meant by an intimate and warm setting. We all
had the same feeling on our wedding day that Scott and I had had the first day
we walked in to Carondelet -- simple joy and wonder.
