courtney & brent | december 11, 2010
ceremony: st. gabriel’s
reception: la vera
florist: fracci’s florist
rentals: l’nique
photographer: cirino’s photography
band: sumrada
transportation: all occasions limousine
bakery: white flower cake shoppe
the hiring:
courtney and brent are friends of my husband and mine. at my husband’s 30th birthday party in january 2010 we were discussing (again) the time table for c&b to get engaged. courtney talked about wanting a new years day wedding, when we discovered the date would be one-one… one-one! (1/1/11). we proceeded to bother brent about it. unknowingly, he had already bought the ring and proposed to courtney before dinner on valentine’s day.
the planning:
as soon as i heard they were engaged (over facebook, ugh! to court’s brother :)), courtney and i had lunch and talked about her vision, guest list and time frame. she decided because of the additional costs associated with new years day weddings that december would still fulfill her winter wedding wishes. they chose 12/11/10 which we loved being that it started “the countdown”. for the next 9 months, we met periodically for lunch for planning. in the fall, we worked more often on diy stationery, centerpieces and decor.
the coordination:
because i (heidi) was a guest at the wedding, and my husband a groomsman, hdz associate brittany rocked out the wedding day coordination. it was so fun to get to be a guest more than friendor. thanks to brittany for all of the great photos, and most of the rest of this recap!
the results:
rehearsal
a great couple and a great friends and family members make for an entertaining rehearsal! although we had some solid “lake effect snow” sneak across the region earlier in the week, we were lucky enough that the snow slowed down for the thursday evening rehearsal and saturday wedding!
the wedding party is all lined up for the processional while getting some instruction from the church coordinator
mob and courtney’s two brothers getting ready to walk down the aisle
practicing the processional
two of the three sweet, little flower girls (but one is too young to walk!)
courtney and her dad take the walk
during the vow exchange, the entire wedding party was invited up to stand alongside c&b.
and that’s it!
following the rehearsal ceremony, the bridal party and family gathered at bass lake tavern in chardon for dinner. courtney and brent’s mom surprised brent with a golf theme, complete with golf ball cookies!
ceremony
on the day of c&b’s wedding, the snow held off and the sun peeked out, making the perfect weather for a winter wedding. st. gabriel’s church was celebrating the season with some christmas décor on the altar that complemented the winter white spider mums and baby’s breath altar arrangements.
st. gabriel’s church, donning some christmas swag
altar arrangements, complete with silver accents to pick up the color theme
doc brittany prepping the gents’ bouts
after a morning of pampering at oscar giovanni’s salon, heidi approves the beautiful bride and her maids!
the guests filing in and finding their seats
all lined up and ready to go
the perfect lil’ flower girls
just love this so-excited-lip-biting-try-not-to-lose-it face. it’s obvious this guy…
… loves this girl!
opening prayer
and the vows
c&b take a moment to extend the sign of peace to all of the groomsmen and bridemaids
we now pronounce you husband and wife!
the processional was led by a traditional bag piper.
down the hdz-personalized aisle runner
after the ceremony, heidi escorted the bridal party to their photo locations and got the chance to take a few photos while waiting for the photographers to arrive.
probably one of the funniest moments ever at a wedding we’ve worked was when the bridal party busted out in song. they serenaded the kenny rogers doppelganger photographer with “the gambler.” he stood and took in the song while i took a shaky picture because i was laughing so hard i cried.
the patiently waiting bridal party during the bride and groom formals
and a chilly outdoor session with the ladies
reception
with a snowflake theme and a color scheme of black, white and silver, la vera was transformed into a winter wonderland. britt had some time while the bridal party was getting their professional pictures done to snap some detail photos of the décor.
pre-cake
“snow” covered escort cards
perfectly coordinating hdz pride and joy card box on the gift table
for favors and a pop of color on the tables, each guest was given an ornament with a photo of and note from c&b
D
the centerpieces were a combination of two different types; a clear class jar filled with coordinating ornaments and a tall vase with the baby’s breath, spider mums and silver swag.
menus by hdz:
the sweetheart table is traditionally set up in the center of the up-lit curtain, but the bridal party was so large, we split them into an l-shape on the dance floor.
what’s a winter wedding without an awesome ice sculpture?
did you see the cart full of flip flops on the hdz facebook page back in december? here they are for guests’ dancing comfort.
we could probably write an entire blog post about what a fun experience cake shopping was, but you’ll get to see it on national tv in april. that’s right! c&b were chosen to appear on the wetv series “amazing wedding cakes” thanks to white flower cake shoppe’s participation on the series. the cake was such a surprise that even brought tears to the mob’s eyes!
here’s a behind the scenes look at the show’s taping in progress.
after an introduction during p!nk’s “raise your glass” (which the groomsmen followed very well, ahem), c&b got a chance to check out, react… and of course CUT their amazing cake!
::sings::: pa-pa…paparazzi!
after a filet mignon dinner, c&b enjoyed their first dance which was sung to them by a dear friend.
meanwhile, with some help from heidzillas, the cake was removed from the dance floor and taken to the kitchen for serving
(nice muscles britt!)
a personalized decal was revealed after the cake and table were removed from the dance floor
and then it was time for dancing…
…thanks to the rockin’ sumrada providing entertainment for all of the guests
the notables:
favorite planning moment: all of them… although courtney being such an agreeable bride was probably our overall favorite. specifically when she agreed that the $5 silver garland was worth it!
something blue: courtney had “i do” painted in blue on the bottoms of her wedding shoes.
unique detail: white flower cake shoppe actually modeled the “wrapping paper” off of the card box paper and centerpiece ornament designs and c&b provided some favorite marriage-related words for one tier.
biggest challenge: throwing in a production crew on an already packed timeline made for a unique experience. luckily, the vendors and bridal party adapted to any changes perfectly and it went off without a hitch!
sources: the bride found most of the ornaments in the centerpieces in the tar-jay dollar aisle!
fun fact: when courtney first saw brent, she told one of her girlfriend’s that she was determined to make him love her! ten years later, they were married.
courtney and brent, I think it is a safe to assume that a great time was had by all at your wedding! thank you for allowing heidzillas to share in making your wedding one of the most memorable. it was a pleasure to coordinate your special day… and help you plan all along the way – even before the engagement!
future post:
we’ll let you know when c&B’s amazing wedding cakes episode airs! we can’t wait! rumor has it, it will be late march/early april.
by heidzilla
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