Jan

categories: fabulous reception sites, floral inspiration, real weddings, Wedding Inspiration

I have never been much of a “flower” person. I don’t really want my husband to bring them home to me and I don’t really feel the need to grow many around my house. However, weddings like Samantha and Christopher’s are changing my mind. I really love how varying textures and colors can take floral arrangements to another level so when wedding coordinator Rhonda Rush (whom I have dubbed the Queen of Get It Done) of Impact Events shared this wedding with me, I was thrilled.

You are just going to love the quiet elegance and modern styling of this Arizona Biltmore Wedding

I love Samantha’s bouquet for it’s simplicity but also for it’s femininity

And the bridesmaids bouquets are so gorgeous too- the shades of pink and coral with greenish-gray flora balance nicely with the gray dresses

You would never know it, but the weather put a damper on Samantha’s outdoor wedding plans and what you see here is “plan B”!

Originally, I had envisioned a romantic outdoor “garden party” theme for the reception, complete with a tent structure and al fresco lighting to set the mood. To our great fortune, the Arizona Biltmore had perfect outdoor spaces and was able to accommodate both our outdoor ceremony and reception requests. Usually, April weather in Arizona is pretty reliable, with warm temperatures and sunny skies. The weather gods had a different plan for us, however, as it decided to pour the day of our wedding and was freezing cold (ok, it was in the 40s, but that’s freezing for us Arizonans!)

We made the decision to move everything indoors the morning of the wedding and I was a little concerned that our Plan B back-up space would end up looking like a generic ballroom. However, through sheer determination and incredibly hard work, our design team, Avant-Garde Studio, and our event planner, Rhonda Rush, were able to “recreate” my garden party theme indoors. Avant-Garde even built the entire tent structure inside the ballroom and draped all of the walls. They made the ballroom incredibly unique looking and beautiful.

We moved the ceremony into the architecturally stunning Aztec Ballroom and it turned out better than we could have ever imagined.

Samantha and Christopher, thank you so much for sharing your day with us and CONGRATULATIONS!!

Samantha and Christopher’s Real Arizona Wedding Team:

Wedding Coordinator: Impact Events

Ceremony and Reception Site: Arizona Biltmore

Photographer: Elyse Hall

Bridal Gown Store: Monique Lhullier, Mon Amie

Florist: Avant Garde Studio

Invitations: Bella Figura

Cake: Arizona Biltmore

DJ: Power Now Entertainment

Band: The Hamptons Band

Ceremony Musicians: String Serenade

Make-up Artist: Barney’s, Maureen Cosovich

Hair Stylist: Spark Studio Salon, Mandy Samford

Officiant: Rev. Jody Krantz

Happy Planning from your Arizona Wedding Blog!

Kelly

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tags: Arizona Biltmore, Arizona Real Wedding, arizona weddings, Pink Wedding
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Dec

Real Wedding: Rachel and Scott

categories: bridal fashions, cakes and sweets, fabulous reception sites, floral inspiration, photography, real weddings, Scottsdale Weddings

Rachel and Scott’s wedding day was gloriously elegant. The stars aligned perfectly on this Fall day and as you will see, the decor was crazy beautiful. But first, it all starts with the preparations…

I could have shared about 15 photos of the dogs with you. They are just luscious! Scott tells us about these adorable babies: Dillon aka Dilly is the all white bulldog and Rachel’s pride and joy. The two of them are inseparable and have an incredible bond. Payton is my brindle bulldog and is more special to me than I know how to convey over email. These girls are basically our children and we couldn’t imagine not having them as a part of our big day.

Consider your stationer a person to make friends with. Since both Rachel and Scott’s families traveled from out of state for their Arizona wedding, Stephanie at Celebrations in Paper created a custom invitation suite that included boarding passes, luggage tags as place cards, hand-drawn postcards from the towns they had visited when they were dating and corresponding table names. What a fun way to incorporate travel into your wedding!

The reception decor is simply exquisite. Somehow, Rachel and Scott (and of course their florist, Table Tops Etc.) were able to design an understated yet dramatic aesthetic. The colors are not super bright but by using tones of pink, purple and white, they managed to make the elegant arrangements anything but boring. In a large room like the Valencia Ballroom, you need to have statement centerpieces and I think these tall, airy and lush designs do the trick. Also, notice how the linens work to create a seamless palette for all those gorgeous flowers to shine. Can you tell I’m just a little bit in love with these tables?

This bridal party was super fun…their entertaining entrances crack me up

In response to my question, “What’s with the gloves?”, Scott graciously answered: “My side of the family is very musically talented and put together a slide show and choreographed a remix of Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson. Each family member had one sequined glove and sung a part of the song to both Rachel and I. It was more of a “welcome to our family” moment. We were both so overwhelmed and surprised. The gloves made their way around to the dance floor and made for great photos.”

Love these sweet custom forks

I had a little post-wedding chat with this lovely couple…

KG: What was your favorite part of the day?

R/S: There really wasn’t one favorite part for either of us- every second was very humbling and special. If I had to pick my favorite moment-it was the part of our ceremony in which our Officiant, Mark Culbertson, read “I love you because” phrases that Rachel and I wrote weeks before. Some were funny. others sentimental. Neither of us knew what each other wrote until they were read aloud.

KG: What are your plans for a honeymoon?

R/S: Rachel and I are taking our honeymoon in May of 2012. We will be taking a Mediterranean cruise for 10 days!

KG: What advice would you give couples planning their weddings?

R/S: It is completely normal to not have every detail worked out, and plans will change! Surround yourself with vendors that you feel comfortable with and that see your day as you do. We were so incredibly fortunate to have found the vendors that we did. From the venue, to our stationery, to the band, to the florist to our photographers- we truly walked away with a group of new friends that will always be a part of our lives. Each one of them made our day that much more amazing.

KG: What are your favorite things about each other?

S: My favorite thing about Rachel is how sweet, honest and funny she is each day.

R: My favorite thing about Scott is his desire to achieve, grow and be something every day, he makes life so important and memorable.

Rachel and Scott, CONGRATULATIONS and thank you for sharing your day with us!