Behind the Scenes on Wedding Day - Part I. "Almost Showtime!"

Well, the events of the previous weeks and day left me a bit drained, but I got a few hours of sleep and finally THE BIG DAY had dawned!  In this blog I have already written a glossy-magazine style perfectionistic overview of the wedding, as well as my own personal gratitude to God on granting a wonderful wedding day for my daughter.  Well, I thought as a final dose of realism, I would offer a behind-the scenes, glitches-included, record of the wedding day!  (Often taking stock of what didn't work is what is most helpful in wedding planning for the future!)

The wedding ceremony was to begin at 12:00 noon, and the bridal party ladies were scheduled for hair and makeup and due at the church by 7:30 or so.  Thus to allow for pre-wedding photos, the day had to start out pretty early.  (TOO early...note to self, try to talk my younger daugher into a later start time for her wedding festivities!)

The bride, bridesmaids, and I had all spent the night at the Waco Hilton, so the plan was to meet in the lobby at around 7:00 AM and carpool to the church.  Besides waking up and showering, I had to figure out what I needed to bring.  Besides my MOB outfit, I still had the Bride's gown and veil and undergarments with me.  One very important item I had forgotten at home was my dressy silver clutch handbag, so I just loaded smaller items in my big everyday purse and plastic grocery bags, and had my hubby get out of bed to help me carry all the clothing down to the lobby.  The wedding dress literally must have weighed at least 20 pounds by itself!  (I figured I would just do without a purse for the ceremony - couldn't tote that big thing with me down the aisle!) 

My husband stayed behind at the hotel -- his white dress shirt still needed to be ironed.  He also needed to get the digital projector that he had brought with him set up and loaded with the slideshow down in the reception room.  (Of course, at this point, the bride and groom still had the digital file of the slideshow --somehow we were going to have to get it from them before everyone had to be at the church for the ceremony!)

The ladies and I loaded up a couple of cars with our wedding attire and accessories and headed to the church.  Our wedding coordinator had graciously offered to have juice and sweet rolls waiting for us at the church, and when we arrived at the bridal dressing room, about 10 minutes late, they were indeed ready and waiting, as were the young ladies from Trendz Salon in Waco.  And what delightful, helpful young ladies they turned out to be!  Their informal banter helped to calm all of us down a bit, and they also shared some helpful advice and forgotten supplies.   (I think they must have a few weddings under their belt!)

"Backstage" - in the Brides' Room

This is where the pre-wedding hours reminded me of getting dressed for a performance or a play!  Hence, getting ready for "Showtime!"  Our star, the bride, had one hairstylist attending solely to her and that stylist got started on her first, knowing that she would require the most time.  The secondary hairstylist started working on the bridesmaids, while the makeup artist started on other bridesmaids. 



We opted to have all the bridesmaids (and me) getting their makeup done professionally, and that became a line item on our wedding budget.  This was to ensure that the makeup style and colors were all complimentary and done at the same level.  The hairsyling was up to each individual attendant -- they were to pay for it themselves if they wanted their hair styled by the professionals.  I paid for both my daughters' hairstyling, (the bride and the maid of honor) knowing that the bride and my younger daughter, with the important role of MOH and singing two solos in the wedding, would want to look her best.  I'd say about half the bridesmaids opted to do their own hair, and half opted to pay for the professional touch.  (I must say that they all looked gorgeous in the end!)



That's me on the left after
getting dressed and "made up".
The Bride is getting her makeup
done on the right.

I just opted for a blowout and style of my short hairstyle, rather than a fancy "do" and took my turn in the makeup chair.  (We offered the services to the Mother of the Groom too - but she opted to do her own.  Note: -The MOG is such a pretty lady naturally-- she looked amazing without the professional services!)

We had one last minute challenge to deal with.  My daughter the bride had purchased lovely matching pearl pendant necklaces and earrings for the bridesmaids to wear.  In her haste to pack things up and leave our home a few weeks before, she had forgotten to bring the boxes of jewelry that she had not already given out to the maids, and she forgot to ask me to bring them with me.  So, some of the maids had the sets, and some didn't. 

My younger daughter, the MOH, was dispensed to Kohl's to try and find something similiar.  Not being familiar with the town, she had to rely on her phone's GPS navigator to get her there and back.  Unfortunately, she was not able to find jewelry identical to the others the bride had purchased, so she just had to buy similar pearl jewelry.  As a result, she was the last one to get her hair and makeup done, adding to the case of nerves she already had about being MOH and singing in the wedding!  (She and her singing patrner for one song, the groom's brother, had not had much time to rehearse together.)   So as the noon hour drew closer, she, the bride, and I were all starting to feel the pressure!



It was now about an hour before the wedding ceremony was to begin.  The hair and makeup session was drawing to a close, the bridesmaids and I had already dressed, and the bride was finally to the point of getting her dress on.  The photographer arrived just before this and started snapping pictures. The bridesmaids and I started to help her get into her undergarments.  In the back of my mind...something was bugging me.  I had seen lovely portratis of brides dressing in romanticly decorated rooms.  We were in the church bathroom, surrounded by institutional sinks, towel dispensers, and stall doors.  Really?  But I had no time to rethink (or ask to redo) anything...



Just as I was starting to lace the corset of the bridal gown up, I got called to the foyer.  My hubby had finally just arrived, and had tales to tell of the unfortunate turn of events at the reception venue.  The groom had to swing by there (out of his way) before going to the church to give the FOB the digital file of the slideshow, then they discovered the big screen had still not been set up by the hotel personnel. My husband and the wedding coordinator's two assistants (her very lovely and capable grown daughters) had to set up the screen themselves!  Another issue with the Hilton that should not have happened!

But on the positive side, one of the groom's grandmothers had an extra purse that she had brought with her - a sequined black bag.  We had mentioned that I had forgotten my dressy silver clutch at the Rehearsal Dinner, so she had made sure to deliver the extra bag to my hubby when he came over to the church, in case I wanted to borrow it!  So sweet of her -- and I took her up on the offer!

Counting Down the Hours: Frantic Friday

Friday morning of the Wedding Weekend dawned. We knew that Saturday (wedding day) would be extremely busy and stressful, but we figured Friday would be more of a laid-back type of day.  Little did we know...

My younger daughter packed up and headed out ahead of us in her own car because the bride and bridesmaids were having a Pamper Day at a spa in Waco with a catered lunch, instead of a Bachelorette and Bridesmaids lunch.

My husband and I loaded up our car to almost overflowing, and made the drive in fairly heavy thunderstorms. We arrived around lunch time, and we had a nice lunch at a restaurant near our hotel with my sister and her husband. We went back to the hotel to check in, but were told our room was not quite ready -- neither were the other rooms we had reserved for the bride and bridesmaids.

No matter, we thought. Our daughter the bride had texted us on the drive down to Waco and asked if we could run a quick errand for her, since she would be tied up with the Pamper Day activities with her maids until almost time for the Rehearsal at the church that evening.  We had planned to display one of her formal bridal portraits prominently at the reception, in the true Southern wedding tradition. So, she had ordered an enlarged gallery-sized print at a local camera shop, and asked us to pick it up for her. She had purchased a large frame for it on sale at Kirklands, and we were to pick that up at her apartment and take it with us to have the camera shop people put the portrait into the frame. We figured we would run that errand and be back in an hour, and our rooms would be ready-- the official checkin time was 2:00 anyway. That would give us plenty of time to relax a little and change clothes for the wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.

Well...we hit our first big Wedding Weekend snag. When we got to the camera store, they had the print ready all right, but they said they did not have a big enough cutting board to trim it off. So, they could not frame it for us. They suggested we take the photo and the frame to a Hobby Lobby or Michaels. Bear in mind, we are not familiar with this town at all. They tried to give us directions to Hobby Lobby but it went in one ear and out the other, and we do not have any GPS unit or apps on our phones. We called my daughter and she basically talked us to the street that Hobby Lobby was on. I spied a Michaels on the way, so we decided to just pull in there.

The framing assistant at Michael's was helpful but very slow-moving. He just did not pick up on the time constraints we were under. He suggested that we actually would need a thicker mat to make the portrait look nicer in the frame than the flimsy one that the Kirkland's frame had come with. We agreed that he had a point, so he selected several types and colors of mats and leisurely tried them all out against the portrait and the frame to find the best "look". Finally we all decided on one. Well, he said, he did not have a big enough mat of that particular material and color in stock, but he could order it and it could be here in 3 to 5 days! My husband and I just looked at him, probably wild-eyed, and said, "We need it done today! The wedding is at noon tomorrow!"  

So, the framing guy disappeared in the back and eventually re-emerged with several large mats that he had in stock. Once again my hubby and I tried to remain patient while he tried them all out. We finally decided on one and placed the order, with the understanding that we would be back before closing time that evening to pick it up. By the time we left the store, it was pushing 3 pm. The rehearsal was scheduled at 5 pm, and we had to get back to the hotel, change, and make the 20 minute drive to the church.

Then we hit Snag Number 2. We pulled up to the hotel entrance and my husband suggested to save time, he would go get us checked in if I would start unloading the car. I figured he would be gone 5 or 10 minutes max. I located a wheeled cart, and started the unloading. Well after 20 minutes, I basically had the car completely unloaded and still no sign of my husband. I waited another 5 minutes, and could wait no more. I just left all our stuff at the curb and ran inside to see what was going on. He was standing at the desk, with a frown on his face. Our room was still not ready, although most of the other rooms were. He handed me the keys to the bridesmaid's rooms and I went back outside to wait with our things.

The bridesmaids pulled up about then, all fresh and relaxed from their spa day. I handed them their keys, then waited, waited, and waited some more in the hotel's driveway on that muggy, warm Texas afternoon. We did not get into our room until after 4 pm! I was so angry I could have screamed. We had to rush around getting changed, and we were definitely feeling sweaty and disheveled. I also quickly had to figure out what things I would need to re-pack in the car to take to the church with us, in order to hand them over to the wedding coordinator. We arrived 10 minutes late to the rehearsal. (Would you believe we still beat those bridesmaids there, even after they got into their rooms a good half hour before we did?)

The rehearsal went off without too many glitches (other than a slight disagreement between the pastor and the wedding coordinator about some ceremony details and positions of the bridal party.) I honestly do not remember much about it. While we were there, a typical Texas late afternoon spring storm blew up and we could hear the thunder booming outside and rain pouring down torrentially. It had stopped raining by the time we left the church and made our way to the restaurant for the Rehearsal Dinner, but the streets were still wet and halfway flooded, some traffic lights were flashing off and on, and the Friday evening traffic was horrendous.

The ceremony rehearsal

The groom's family had booked a family-style Italian restaurant close to the church for the dinner. The food was good and plentiful, but the evening wore on a bit because the groom's grandparents (from out of town) were late arriving due to the storms, traffic, and the conditions of the streets, and then we only had one waiter working the entire party of 25 people or so. The evening was very informal -- there were no slide shows or speeches or toasts, just visiting amongst the guests and eating the dinner. In the back of our minds my husband and I knew we still had to go back to Michael's to pick up the bridal portrait before it closed, and as the time drew nearer to closing time for the store, we ended up having to leave the party rather abruptly.

We got a bit lost and barely made it to Michaels 10 minutes before it closed. Our framing guy had even begun counting his cash and closing out his register when we got there, so we all had to traipse across the store to the main registers to check out. The portrait did look very nice, although we were pretty stressed and perturbed after literally having to run around town all afternoon and evening long, for an errand that should have taken no more than an hour if the camera store had just had the right equipment!

We made it back to the hotel, changed to casual clothes again, and relaxed just a little, but I knew we still had some work to do downstairs in the ballroom. Denise, our wedding coordinator still had to finish up the bouquets and floral arrangements for tomorrow, and I knew she would not be down there, but I wanted to see what, if any progress had been made on the reception space setup. The cake-ball stand had been damaged a bit in the car trip, and we had to repair it and put the tiers back together and deliver it to the ballroom too. We had run into the groom's parents in the lobby downstairs, and they had brought the cupcake stand with them, and had already dropped it off in the ballroom.


We had to track down a hotel security guard with a key, but we finally got into the ballroom around 10:30 pm. I felt some pleasant relief then...the room was looking very nice already. The tables were all set with the linens on them, and the dance floor was in place. My husband and I re-organized the dessert table and got the stands put together and in place. For the first time, I could see it all starting to come together! This wedding was really going to happen, and even though I was exhausted and stressed out to the max, I was also getting pretty excited to see if it all turned out the way we had envisioned it during the last year of wedding planning!  At this point, I thought, "It is what it is..." and just had to let it go and trust that all the planning would pay off.



Here is the infamous framed bridal portrait, displayed at the reception!



The Final Countdown, Part 2 - (Focusing on the Audio/Visual)

The last weeks surrounding the wedding and her college graduation were quite hectic for my daughter. The Groom's brother's high school graduation was also sandwiched into that same week -- and of course they wanted to attend that and take the opportunity to spend some time with the Groom's family for a few days (including putting together the Cupcake Display for the reception with the Groom's mother and grandmothers!) So, it is understandable that my daughter decided to turn over some of the last-minute details to me and the wedding coordinator.

The Bride was not sitting around painting her nails, however. Besides wrapping up their final college semester and preparing for her graduation, she and her fiance were also busy working on some wedding projects that were nearer and dearer to their hearts -- music and visual displays for the wedding. (I suppose this reflects the interests of any typical 20-Something!)

Musical Maid of Honor and Best Man

First, they were having to nail down the details and music to be used during the ceremony and for the wedding processionals and recessionals of the wedding party and the families. She knew she wanted her fiance's brother to play guitar, and her sister to sing. However, joining their two differing performing styles proved to be a big challenge. (Think John Mayer vs. Barbara Streisand.) In the end, the simple, meaningful song "Dancing in the Minefields" won out as an opening duet, with the groom's brother leading by playing beautiful acoustic guitar, and my daughter joining in on choruses. Then my daughter, who is a voice major, was able to have her vocals better showcased in the Unity Candle song, which was "One Hand, One Heart" from West Side Story.

The bride and groom had to pick out music for the DJ to play at the reception as well, and as a surprise for everyone, they actually choreographed and rehearsed their first dance together, to "Why Don't We Just Dance." I loved what she chose as the Intro to the bouquet toss, "All the Single Ladies", by Beyonce! Actually, to finish up completing the wedding soundtrack, the couple ended up having to abandon their bridal party for a few hours after the Rehearsal Dinner the evening before the wedding!

The couple also had worked in the weeks prior to the wedding on a slide show of photos of themselves growing up through the years, to be shown at the reception. I had previously spent many, many hours going through our numerous photo bins narrowing down the choices for her. I suspect the groom's family did the same. Then the Groom had the job of spending many hours scanning all our photos, as well as his own family's, into digital images.

The Bride and Groom also got busy on another visual project - they decided that instead of plain table numbers, their table identifiers would be photos of themselves at places and landmarks in Waco that had particular meaning to them during their courtship. There was some discussion as to the type of frame or holder these would go into for display on the tables -- and in the end they chose simple, clear acrylic frames (which were also cost-effective!) We had 18 tables, so going around to 18 different places to take photos took a bit of time, and then they had to photo-shop the images and get them printed. But the finished product turned out great -- we had a lot of comments from guests on what an unusual, yet personalized idea it was.  Here's a sample:

We also wanted to incorporate the beautiful bridal portraits into the visual display of the reception somehow. My daughter chose one of the formal shots taken by Wendell Samford of Chapel Hill Photography, http://www.chapelhillphoto.com/ and she took the image to Padgitt's Photo in Waco to enlarge into portrait-size which would be prominently displayed on an easel at the entrance to the reception area. She even found a suitable size frame on sale at Kirkland's! (More on this portrait project in a later post...it turned into a last-minute ordeal which the Father of the Bride and I got involved in.)

Not to mention the final few bridal showers and parties were happening...my daughter had two showers thrown for her by her Waco friends (which I did not attend); and then back in Flower Mound, her sister the Maid of Honor, and her other local homegirls threw her a Lingerie Shower... (to which I was not invited...oh well...it would have been awkward anyway!)

So many little details go into the making of a memorable wedding...but they are so worth it in the end!

She's Famous (But Not Rich)

We just found out today that my daughter is appearing in an ad that is in the Central Texas Engagements publication. This is one of those little magazines that you see in major cities that have ads for all the local bridal/wedding vendors. She is in an ad for Trendz Salon in Waco, which is on the inside front cover.

The ladies from Trendz did an excellent job with Amanda's hair and makeup for her bridal portraits as well as on the wedding day, and they also worked on the bridal party and Moi!

Here is the link to the page -- that is her at the top left of the layout:

July%2011%20Engagements

While this is exciting, it would have been nice for her to have been compensated in some way for being the salon's "model."  They did have her permission to use the photo, however - and I noticed they did credit the photographer.

The Real Wedding of Amanda and Ian

I love the "Real Wedding" stories that are featured in the glossy Wedding magazines. Even though the couples are complete strangers to me, I will read them word for word and drink in all the details. I didn't want to spend the $700 plus it costs to "feature" my daughter's wedding in one of these, nor do I have connections with a well-known photographer or celebrity wedding planner who will foot the bill. So, I decided to post my daughter's Real Wedding Story right here on Blogger! It was also a way to sum up everything that has transpired in the last year into a more fluid story. But, it turned out long...sorry!

Amanda and Ian
Waco, TX
May 21, 2011

Amanda and Ian were both incoming Freshmen at Baylor University in 2007, and happened to be assigned to the same group together in the Baylor Welcome Week activities. In no time they were dating exclusively and became inseparable during the next 3 years.

During Spring Break of their Junior year, while Amanda was out of the country on a mission trip to Morrocco with their church, Ian called her Father, Wes, and asked if he could make the 2 hour drive up to the Dallas/Fort Worth area for a visit, because he had something to discuss. With a marriage blessing secured from Amanda’s parents (and with all parties sworn to secrecy) Ian planned an outing at the start of the summer break from school. The plans were for the two of them and another couple to go on a “double date” camping trip to the rugged wilderness area of central Texas which holds a large rock formation known as Enchanted Rock. As far as Amanda knew, the whole thing was being planned by the other couple.

It was there while Ian and Amanda had a few quiet moments together admiring the sunset vista of the Texas Hill country, that he got down on one knee and presented an engagement ring to her. She was totally surprised, and accepted the ring tearfully while their friends (who were in on the surprise) snapped photos of the two, and other park visitors clapped at what they had just witnessed.

Wedding planning started soon after and continued through the next 13 months. The couple decided to have the wedding in Waco, where they had lived throughout their college career and had made many good friends. It also happened to be a convenient central meeting point for the bride and groom’s Texas families. They envisioned a fairly formal, traditional church wedding, with a reception featuring a good meal and plenty of desserts. And the bride definitely wanted there to be dancing!

Having the wedding in Waco posed a bit of a logistics problem, since Amanda was based there for the majority of the school year and her parents did not live there. Amanda was also very busy with her Senior year of college. Although she and her mother Janet exchanged many phone calls and emails planning, choosing the vendors, and pulling together most of the major components of the wedding, the Mitchells decided to also seek the help of a “Weekend-Of Cooordinator” in Waco. It would be helpful to have a local wedding expert dealing with the local vendors, pull all the details together, and oversee all the wedding weekend events so that Amanda, Ian, and their families could better enjoy the day. They enlisted Denise Harlan of “Thee Designs” to fulfill these functions.

The church choice was obvious, since Amanda and Ian are active in the college ministry at First Baptist Woodway (a suburb of Waco). Because of restrictions on dancing, the party would have to move away from the church following the ceremony. After researching the venue options in Waco and finding that not many would hold the number of guests that were anticipated, the decision was made to have the reception at the Waco Hilton Hotel. The space included three large meeting rooms, which is known as the “Three Rivers Ballroom” when combined together. The recently renovated hotel had a classic feel and featured in-house food and catering services with a good reputation.

Attendants for the wedding included Maid of Honor, Krista Mitchell (sister of the bride), and bridesmaids Sarah Childs, Rachel Scala, Hannah Crabtree, Paige Baker, and Abigail Pitzer. Ian chose his brother Ryan Hughes to be his Best Man, and groomsmen included Jon Middaugh, Jeremy Goss, Jordan Richardson, Jordan Edwards, and Kyle Martin. Amanda also selected her room-mate Kristin Johnson to attend the Guest Book, and ushers were K.C. Mangen, Moses Sandoval, and Nolan Bixler.

Exactly one week following Amanda’s graduation from Baylor, Magna Cum Laude, with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, the wedding weekend arrived. The day before the wedding, Amanda and her six attendants enjoyed a spa/pamper day including lunch at Ultimate Escape Spa in Hewitt, TX as their Bachelorette outing. That evening Ian’s parents, Chuck and Cathy, hosted a casual family-friendly rehearsal dinner near the church at Mama Bari’s Italian restaurant for the bridal party and immediate family.

On the morning of May 21st, Amanda, her attendants and the Mother of the Bride arose early and were at the church by 7:30 a.m to begin hair and makeup preparations. At 12:00 noon the wedding party made their way down the aisle, with Amanda escorted by her Father, Wes. Amanda and Ian were united in marriage before a gathering of 170 friends and family members, in a meaningful service led by First Baptist Woodway’s College Pastor, Michael Criner.

The bride wore an ivory satin ballgown by Maggie Sottero, featuring pickups, a beaded bodice and embroidered hem and train, with a cathedral length crystal-beaded veil. She chose a simple pearl choker and drop earrings for her jewelry. In keeping with the light blue and ivory color scheme, the bridesmaids all wore floor-length light blue chiffon gowns with a satin waistband and floral detail on one shoulder strap.

The bride’s bouquet was made of light blue hydrangeas, roses, and calla lilies. The bouquet was wrapped in lace from her mother’s wedding dress, and featured an heirloom blue cameo from the Mitchell family. The bridesmaids bouquets were simple stems of light blue hydrangea blooms.

Ryan Hughes played the guitar and sang “Dancing in the Minefields,” joined by Krista Mitchell. Ian and Amanda lit the Unity Candle together during the solo “One Hand, One Heart”, also sung by Krista Mitchell.

After the ceremony, the bridal party and families adjourned for a photography session. A white stretch limousine and driver was standing by to take the bride, groom, and entire bridal party to the Hilton for the reception.

By this time the wedding guests had already arrived at the reception venue and were enjoying delicious appetizers and a punch fountain in the foyer adjacent to the ballroom, which overlooked a patio and garden area of the hotel.

When the ballroom doors opened for the reception, hosted by the brides’ parents, the room was set with tables covered with linens in the blue and ivory color theme. The tables featured several different styles of elegant centerpieces including hydrangeas, white roses, and spider mums, as well as candles and pretty collected vases on mirrors. The guests enjoyed a plated luncheon, while DJ Johnny Bradshaw of Central Texas Talent acted as M.C. and provided music for dining and later dancing. The newlyweds surprised the guests with their choreographed first dance together, to the song "Why Don't We Just Dance?"

Guest tables were given names as well as numbers, with the names corresponding to locations in Waco of particular significance to the Bride and Groom. Photos of the couple at the locations were featured in clear frames with the table numbers attached. Menu cards in the wedding colors were place on the guest tables, along with bubble favors to be used later in the reception.

Instead of a traditional wedding cake, the couple opted for lovely sky-blue iced cupcakes. The tiers of the cupcake stand were decorated with beads and trim by Amanda with the help of Ian’s mother Cathy and Ian’s two grandmothers, in the light blue and ivory color theme. There was also a cake ball display taking the place of the groom’s cake. The cake balls were graciously made and gifted to the couple by a personal friend. The cake ball display stand was crafted by Amanda and her mother, and was in the colors and theme of the Florida Gators, a team favorite of the groom and his family. The reception also featured an ice cream sundae bar which proved to be very popular and refreshing on the hot Texas afternoon.




The guests enjoyed the food, toasts, and traditional bouquet and garter toss, and after a short time of dancing it was time to say goodbye to the newlyweds. The couple would be embarking on a Caribbean Honeymoon cruise the next day, and they needed to drive to Galveston, Texas that evening. The reception guests showered the couple with wedding favor bubbles as they danced their last dance, and then followed the
ouple with more bubble-blowing out to the circle drive of the hotel as the couple departed in the stretch limo. The guests did not leave the ballroom empty handed; they were invited to take leftover cupcakes with them in small Chinese takeout containers provided by the bride and her family.

The couple is still currently residing in Waco, as Ian finishes his last semester of graduate Accounting work at Baylor, and Amanda works for Hewlett-Packard on their Management Information Systems team.


Amanda and Ian’s Wedding Ingredients:
Ceremony Venue First Baptist Church, Woodway, TX
Reception Venue and Catering Three Rivers Ballroom, Hilton Hotel, Waco, TX
Photography Engagement --Abigail Criner Photography, Waco, TX; Bridal Portraits and Wedding – Chapel Hill Photography, Waco, TX
Officiant Pastor Michael Criner
Consultant Denise Harlan, “Thee Designs” Waco, TX
Gown Maggie Sottero, Bridal Co., Denton, TX
Veil Bridal Co., Denton, TX
Hair & Makeup Trendz Salon, Waco, TX
Bridesmaid’s Dresses David’s Bridal
Formalwear Squires Formal Wear, Waco, TX
Flowers Denise Harlan, “Thee Designs” Waco, TX
Cupcakes Patsy’s Bakery, West, TX
Cake Balls Phuong Luu, Waco TX
Stationery Save the Date Cards—designed by bride, Overnight Prints.com; Invitations--Jordan Browning, “Ever After” Waco, TX ; Programs and Menu Cards—designed by Denise Harlan, “Thee Designs” Waco, TX; printing by Print Mart, Waco, TX
Music Ceremony--Krista Mitchell, Flower Mound, TX and Ryan Hughes, New Braunfels, TX; Reception DJ--Johnny Bradshaw, Central Texas Talent, Waco, TX
Transportation Luxury Limousine, Waco, TX
Rentals Action Rental, Waco, TX (furniture, dancefloor, linens)
Cake Displays Cupcaketree.com; designed and decorated by the families
Favors Bubbles-- TheKnot.com Wedding Shop; Printed Napkins--Party City; Chinese Takeout Boxes-- Papermart.com; Personalized Labels—Oriental Trading Co. and 123 Print.com
Honeymoon Carnival Cruise Lines (Caribbean)