Photo by Steph

They were married before a lovely arbor trellis entwined with fall accents that was built by Armand.  Both sides of the aisle were lined with autumn flowers in mason jars.  The Reverend very happily and dramatically pronounced them husband and wife.  “Kiss now!” he urged.

The First Dance

I don’t often give “best of” prizes for our weddings because each is unique and moving in its own way, making it impossible to compare them.

But I’m making an exception for Armand and Amanda.  They get best first dance of the year…maybe the best first dance EVER.

A few years ago, Armand had an accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down.  The doctors told him that he would never be able to use his legs again.  Well, Armand proved them wrong, regaining his strength and mobility bit by bit.

As a surprise for everyone, Amanda and Armand took dance lessons for months and performed a choreographed first dance to,

Photo by Steph

“Always” by Atlantic Starr.

Armand smiled and laughed and guided Amanda through those nervous moments in their dance.  The man they said would never walk again danced with his new wife.

If that doesn’t earn the Best First Dance award, I don’t know what does.

The Details

Amanda is beautiful anyway, but on her wedding day she looked stunning in her gown and veil.  Her sister, the Maid of Honor, wore a burnt orange dress, and the girls carried bouquets of fuchsia, yellow, orange and white flowers with just the hint of fall color.

Photo by Steph

The table linens were dark brown with fuchsia napkins and centerpieces that matched the bouquets.  (Even Jeff and I had a brilliant fuchsia linen for our DJ table!)  Guests received tulip bulb wedding favors wrapped in fuchsia and orange paper.

Just before the cake, Amanda changed into a second, less formal white gown cut shorter in the front to reveal an alluring bit of leg.  We played, “Let’s Get Married” by Jagged Edge as she made her re-entrance.

The Desserts

Parties by Tomas did a fabulous job with the family style meal, but it’s possible that the desserts stole the show.  The chocolate wedding cake was decorated with orange and fuchsia, and Amanda surprised Armand with a groom’s cake made to look like a skater park!  In addition, guests feasted on a buffet featuring chocolates and lolly-cakes, fruit tarts and cream puffs.

The wedding planner, JoAnn, and her team did a fabulous job making sure Torne Valley Vineyard’s inaugural wedding went off smoothly.  Somehow they even managed to get the torrential rain to stop!

Amanda and Armand, you brought your personalities to this day and gave us all a celebration to remember.  Thanks for inviting us!

Catering by Parties by Tomas

Photography by Kiley Mullen

Wedding Planning by What Dreams Are Made Of

The couple glowed in the rays of the setting sun during their ceremony on the hilltop.  They chose orchestral covers by The Vitamin String quartet for their processional music: “In Your Eyes” (originally by Peter Gabriel) for the bridesmaids and “Stolen” (originally by Dashboard Confessional) for Christina.  The groomsmen wore black suits with red ties to match the ladies in red.

CEREMONY READING: An excerpt from Plato’s Symposium.  “And when one of us meets our other half, we are lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy, and would not be out of the other’s sight even for a moment. We pass our whole lives together, desiring that we should be melted into one…”

Christina and Chris’ wedding reception under the West Park Winery tent erupted into unbridled energy.  They were introduced to “Love You Madly” by Cake and shared a lovely first dance to Tom Petty’s “Wildflowers.”

THE DETAILS:  Red rose flower arrangements on the tables, favors of chocolate monograms in elegant silver boxes, hearts on the menus and on the place cards.  Two baskets of brown and red flip flops were a huge hit with the ladies in high heels.

We worked in groups Incubus and 311 into the dinner music, then dove into crowd pleasing sing alongs by Journey and Bon Jovi.  Christina and Chris had dreamed of creating a fun, laid-back “dive bar” atmosphere for their wedding, and the experience at West Park was a perfect fit…except the food was much, much better than any bar!

Thanks for letting us share in such an amazing day.  Enjoy Aruba, guys!

West Park Winery

Photos by Todd Laffler of Laffler Photography *All photos in this blog post courtesy of Todd Laffler

Day of Wedding Coordination by JoAnn of What Dreams Are Made Of

Flowers by Aubrey Flowers

Cake by La Deliziosa