greg & jacqui | fort wayne indiana wedding

 jacqui & greg | may 15, 2010
ceremony: lakeside park & rose garden
reception: allen county war memorial coliseum – lounge
florist: cottage flowers
rentals: all occasions party rentals
photographer: lasting memories photography
dj: e3-productions
transportation: camelot carriage rides
bakery: moments in time

the hiring:
i have known greg my entire life. as in, we were born three months apart and our families have been friends for years so we’ve been friends my ENTIRE life. i always joke that greg is the kid i have pictures in the bathtub as toddlers. anyways, when he got engaged, he asked if i could “do that day of stuff?” for them. i agreed without hesitation. it’s not often you get to help such a long time friend make his wedding day perfect.

the planning:
after “the hiring” i don’t think i talked with greg about the wedding again! :) bride jacqui and i had numerous conference calls to figure out all of her little details. the trick was i’m in cleveland, she was in columbus and the wedding was in fort wayne. we got it all worked out, including enlisting the help of my husband to be the ceremony dj.

the results:
when you have two amazingly fun people who both come from great families with hilariously fun friends, a wedding is bound to be successful! not to mention their ceremony site is now my all-time favorite. it was beautiful!!! the ceremony took place under overcast skies but it didn’t rain a drop until RIGHT after they recessional. they did their formal photos in the rain with huge smiles. the photographers did a great job of getting them done as quickly as possible since everyone was getting a bit soggy.

rehearsal:

the ring bearer wanted to be sure he knew what was going on. officiant sandy helped him right out.

greg practiced how he would pour his sand while jacqui just laughed at him.

and from the start once more…

ceremony

post-reception in the hotel shuttle bus – jacqui and greg wouldn’t let a no-show limo get them down!

reception

jacqui had the best bathroom baskets i’ve ever seen. she went to town and bought nearly everything on my list!

the night of jacqui and greg’s wedding also happened to be the night the fort wayne komets (ihl hockey team) won their third consecutive turner cup! and we were in the hockey arena’s lounge while it happened, while 10,480 fan cheered on the team in the arena. when jacqui and her maids arrived, icy the mascot greeted her immediately.

jacqui, her dad and other local guests watched the live feed of the game after dinner:

and later, they headed to the dance floor after the win for the rest of the awesome evening.

the notables:
favorite planning moment: j&g’s officiant came from greg’s home town and had married his sister three years ago. half the guests also traveled over four hours to attend the wedding in jacqui’s home town. most guests were in the night before the wedding and all met up at a local irish restaurant after the rehearsal dinner to tell stories and start the celebration weekend off early.
unexpected guests:  j&g’s ceremony site is also a popular place for local visitors in general. it also happened to be prom weekend, so about 45 high school prom couples who were roaming the area to take pre-dance photos. i had to act as “bouncer” while the ceremony went on to make sure the couples and their overzealous photographing parents didn’t wander INTO our ceremony area – which many of them were trying to do.
unique detail: greg surprised jacqui by hiring a horse-drawn carriage for the bridesmaids and her to arrive to the ceremony site. it was a white horse with a white carriage. you could hear all the guests collectively say “awwwwwwwww!” when it pulled up.
biggest challenge: the limo… it um… it didn’t show up. <<<vendor no show nightmare>>> i was at the reception site when i got the confirmation they hadn’t come. my husband and i ran down the hotel shuttle (the hotel was right across the street from the reception site) and the driver agreed to drive the four miles out of her way to go pick up the bridal party! between the shuttle van and one car, we got everyone back… and stayed on schedule – actually early!
sources: jacqui pushed her own tulips at a greenhouse to provide to her florist for the centerpieces!
fun fact: jacqui taught me how to “charlie brown” at greg’s sister’s wedding in 2007. since, i teach people who don’t know whenever the “casper slide” is played at weddings. greg, on the other hand, taught me how to roller skate backwards. i haven’t got to use that at weddings just yet…