in their own words
“Despite our similar vision of
what makes a perfect marriage,
we began our engagement
with very different ideas
of what makes a perfect wedding.
And so, in what was sure to be the first of many great
compromises, we strove for our wedding to be in perfect
balance: elegant, but fun; traditional, but personalized. To
set this tone, we opted for a traditional reception site, the
Grand Ballroom at La Paloma Resort and Spa, but a nontraditional
rehearsal dinner location, the Reid Park Zoo, where
open access to the zoo, giraffe feeding, Eegees and a Mexican
buffet awaited our guests. We came to decide on this spot
due to our mutual love for animals and our desire for the
kids in our wedding, all seven of them, to have a great time.
Our ceremony site
was a quaint, picturesque church nestled in the west facing
slope of the Catalinas. Our guests were enchanted with
mountainside views from one end and city lights from the
other. Our personal touches during the ceremony included
a bagpiper in full dress, seven very special kids and a sand
ceremony, which brought together sand from our native
states—Arizona and Illinois. We chose to use sand from
the towns where we grew up because we wanted the sand
ceremony to not only represent the blending of our present
and future lives, but also our pasts.
Once we officially became
husband and wife, we wanted our guests to let loose! To
help the process along, we had a Photo Fun Booth waiting
for them at the cocktail hour. Our friends and family
enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and drinks while taking goofy photos
and creating one-of-a-kind scrapbook pages that we will
cherish—and laugh at—for many years to come. To tie the
Photo Fun Booth into our reception further, we bought
frames that were the perfect size for the pictures the Fun
Booth created. Upon arrival, each guest found their seating
assignment card in the frame, which, together with their
favorite photo of the evening, created a great favor.
One of the most
memorable events of the night was when our wedding party
was introduced. Instead of having the DJ announce their
names as way of introduction, we decided to do the honor
ourselves. We selected a song for each bridesmaid and
groomsman and choreographed the order with the DJ. The
chorus lines of each song were played while we said a few
sentences about its corresponding wedding party member,
highlighting as many endearing and laughable qualities as
we could. At the end of each introduction, we revealed the
name of the person we had just described, all of which led
to moments of uninhibited laughter, not only because of
what we said, but because of our wedding party’s reactions.
Ultimately, we wanted to give them some well-deserved
recognition for all the years of friendship and months of
wedding help they gave us.”
Location:
Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa
Photographer:
Patrick Grimes Photography
Florist:
Floral Art by Rachel
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