I’m jumping ahead in our wedding day story though…first, look at how pretty Dana is!

She’s a natural beauty, and her girls are too!

And look at how handsome Mike and his crew are:

Dana explains her choice of delightful colors,“we wanted our wedding to be unique and to represent Arizona’s beautiful scenery and brilliant sunsets. Thus, we chose colors that we had not seen in any other weddings- bright teal blue and vibrant orange. Guests later said that they matched the Arizona sunset that night perfectly…the bridesmaids wore bright teal dresses from Bella Bridesmaids, and their dresses were complimented by bouquets with bright calla lillies and orange fire roses that truly popped against the teal. Given the laid back environment, the men wore Michael Kors suits with an orange tie for the groom and teal ties for the groomsmen.”

Here’s what Dana had to say about choosing Blackstone Country Club for their wedding day, “…Blackstone Country Club is a beautiful venue situated between majestic mountains and rolling desert landscape. As soon as we saw the venue, we knew it was the perfect place for us to host our wedding (the day after seeing the venue, the groom hit his first hole in one ever on the 17th hole of the Blackstone course- so it was meant to be that our wedding was there!).”

One thing that really caught my eye from this wedding was how beautiful the reception was. I love the colors Dana and Mike chose and the vendors they chose to work with brought their vision together with such style. It’s possible that teal and orange is now one of my favorite color combos!

Dana did lots of work for me today- I’ll let her tell you about the reception! “After the ceremony and toasts…guests dug in [to dinner] and soon the party was underway. There was a lot of dancing, picture taking and laughing. The DJ mixed it up perfectly and guests danced their hearts out to Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga and Jay z among many others. It was a perfect night.”

Here are a few other special details from Dana and Mike’s wedding, as told by Dana:

My mom surprised me with a special garter made from the wedding dress she married my dad in 35 years ago, my childhood “blankie” and a heart taken from my favorite stuffed animal growing up. I will give that garter to my daughter one day…”

We each wrote personal vows- I mentioned my husband’s favorite baseball player… and he mentioned my favorite tv show. We got lots of laughs which calmed our nerves. Our reverend was funny, calm and charming. Our flower girl, wearing a ring of flowers in her hair, came down the aisle throwing orange rose petals. But she accidentally threw the doily that was in the bottom of her flower girl basket and was so upset she ran to her daddy. It was adorable and priceless.”

Guests enjoyed amazing food: Chicken breast stuffed with roasted peppers, artichokes and jack cheese or Cavatelli pasta with grilled vegetables, kalamata olives, oven cured tomato, white wine sauce and cilantro cream sauce.” Yummm!

Dana and Mike, thank you so much for sharing your wedding day with us and Congratulations!

Kelly

Dana and Mike’s Real Wedding Team:

Ceremony and Reception Site: Blackstone Country Club

Wedding Coordinator: Some Like it Classic

Bridal Gown Store: Mary Linn’s Bridal

Bridesmaids Dresses: Bella Bridesmaid

Suits: Michael Kors

Florist: Your Event Florist

Photographer: Serafine Photography

Invitations: Paper Olive

Cake and Catering: Blackstone Country Club

Entertainment: Mancini Entertainment

Ceremony Musicians: String Serenade

Linens: Southwick Linens

Make-up Artist: Sarah Sanmarco

Hair Stylist: Jessica Lawson

Officiant: Rev. Rick Bell

Liz Margin, make-up artist, always does such a beautiful job. Read more about her here. And Patricia Vega  styled the hair- I really like the male model’s cool ‘do.

Notice the eclectic mix of styles and design elements throughout. There’s rustic, vintage, DIY, modern and elegant features all playing very nicely together. Wedding Coordinator Margaret VanDamme has created some amazing wedding inspiration for those of you who want a creative and custom feel at your wedding.

This is one of my all time favorite wedding bouquets- it’s vibrant colors are so happy!

All the food sounds and looks scrumptious but the baskets of peaches and plums have my heart- an edible wedding favor is always best!

Dancing Apache Lodge is unique to Arizona in that it has a rustic charm and lush vineyards…it’s not easy to find landscapes that rival California’s but these do the trick!

What did I tell you? It’s wedding inspiration galore!

More info on the shoot can be found in our latest print issue and here on the web.

Photo Shoot Designed and Styled by: The Sedona Wedding Studio and Margaret Van Damme of Van Damme Weddings

Location: Dancing Apache Lodge

Photographer: Sedona Bride

Floral Design: Events by Show Stoppers

Cake: Sedona Cake Couture

Paper Products: The Event Essentials

Rentals: Classic Party Rental

Make-Up Artist: Liz Margin

Hair Styling: Patricia Vega

Catering: Dan Martin Perfection Catering

Gown: Destiny’s Bridal

Grooms Attire: Saverio

Models: Katie and William of M Model Management

Special Thanks to: Nancy Palme for the use of her Vintage Corvette

LOOK at these stunning flowers! 

Tamara of Petal Pusher explains how these lovely arrangements came to be:

I have worked with Ashley Gain, owner of Ashley Gain Weddings & Events, on previous weddings and photo shoots and was thrilled to receive the opportunity to create floral pieces for her celebration showcase held at the Arcadia House in Scottsdale. To complement the orange tones of the Arcadia House, Ashley wanted to pull in shades of pink from soft to hot with touches of mango and antique gold .

 The details were thoughtfully designed by Ashley and included fuchsia satin linen with gold beaded chargers, pink lace adorned votives, gifts for the guests at each place setting…And of course the flowers to complete the look with hot pink hydrangea, geraldine roses, gypsy roses and fuschia stock. Arrangements were set on antique gold candlesticks.

I am totally inspired to bring some of these colors into my next party, how about you?

Chatting Soon~Kelly

Thank you Tamara of Petal Pusher for sharing with us!

Photos courtesy of Courtney Sargent

Event Design: Ashley Gain Events

Location: Arcadia Room

Cake Designer: Designer Cakes by April

You should have seen my jaw drop when I took a closer look at these splashy centerpieces at the Phoenix Bride & Groom 10th Anniversary celebration at the Arizona Grand Resort.

Fashioned with carrots and celery as an addition to a simple glass vase, these arrangements give new meaning to “going green.” Kudos to the folks at Events by Show Stoppers for their creativity! Photography by Sedona Bride.