Overall Ceremony & Reception Theme
Bride’s comments: “From the moment I found the Alder Manor House online, I knew our wedding had to be there. We have a great love for history and architecture, and Alder Manor had the perfect combination of both. From that moment, every decision I made, I made with Alder Manor in mind. I wanted to show case it’s beauty, and not to have anything obstructing that. We wanted to give our guests an experience, a trip into the past, something that would captivate them, as much as it did us. Our wedding day was simply perfect. We are so grateful to have such amazing family and friends that were able to be part of it, and create the best memories with!”
Describe the Bride’s attire
“I found my dress at RK Bridal, from the Maggie Sottero Fall 2012 line. I purchased it one year before our wedding as my mother was visiting from Ireland at the time, and it was something I wanted her to be a big part of. When choosing my shoes, I went with comfort in mind. I’m usually a high shoe kinda girl, but for this day, with consideration to getting married in a garden, I wanted something with a lower heel, and didn’t necessarily want my shoes to be a huge focal point for the day.”
Describe your bridal veil?
“I wasn’t sure if I was going to wear a veil until the week of the wedding, at my final hair trial. I was lucky enough to borrow my sisters, that was my something borrowed!”
Best advice for planning your wedding
“The best advice was not to sweat the small stuff, and that I had to just trust that all would fall into place. During our planning, we did encounter some hiccups. After securing our date with our Venue, we found out that it was being sold to a developer, we weren’t sure how this might affect our date, if they decided to commence construction, if it would interfere with our date, or our vision for our wedding day. But, we decided not to over think things, not to worry about something that didn’t actually happen “yet’, and in the end everything worked out!
My advice would be that, and, if you are planning to do some DIY work, be vigilant with deadlines, and try to have everything done, at least 4 weeks before the date. I wasn’t so vigilant, and I have my family and friends to thank for helping pull things together in the final hours. I wish I had been more organized. The final few weeks before the big day, days are filled with work, and evenings filled with last minute appointments, there is no time for DIY!”
Describe the bridesmaids’ attire
“I ultimately wanted my bridesmaid to be comfortable. They all live in Ireland, but I decided to source the dresses from David’s Bridal here in the states. I emailed them the link, and asked them to choose their favorite dress. They each came back with their top three choices. One dress made the top three on each list, and that’s what I went with! I let them wear shoes of their choice, again, wanting them to have complete comfort. I choose the color grey, as I wanted the succulents in my flowers to be a main focal point, and I thought that grey dresses would blend perfectly with my flowers and venue.”
Which pieces of music did you use during the ceremony?
“This was something that we choose again, to match the ambiance of our venue. We had a String group called City Wind Trio, who we felt would complement the style of wedding perfectly, and they did. Our wedding ceremony was held in the garden, and as guests arrived, they were greeted with fresh lemonade, and as they waited for the ceremony to begin, City Wind Trio played an array of classical music for their entertainment. As the wedding party entered Jesu, Joy Bach Bridal March , and I walked up they isle to Canon by Pachabel. The recessional song we choose was Wedding March by Mendelssohn. We opted to have City Wind Trio continue throughout our cocktail hour, as we felt they were an important part of creating the feeling of being brought back in time. We received many compliments for them.”
What types of flowers did you have?
“The flowers were the second thing we decided on after finding Alder Manor. I wanted something unique, but also something that would blend in with the Venue. I searched and searched online at hundreds of bouquets, and fell in love with a blend of peach roses, mixed with succulents. I had to have them! They were just perfect for my vision. However, on the day, my roses were a tad more orange than I had hoped, but when you’re wedding day arrives, you are less obsessed with your ideal vision, and more focused on enjoying the day itself. At least I was.”
What wedding favors did you give your guests?
“Again, keeping in theme, we choose to give our guests Succulents. We wanted to give our guests something low maintenance that they could enjoy for months and years after our Special Day!”
Where did you go on your honeymoon?
“When searching for honeymoon destinations, we wanted a combination of relaxation and activity, and found Rivera Maya to be the best option for us. We stayed at Secret Silversands, which was out of this world. They were beyond hospitable. We went for ten days, five of which we stayed by the beach or pool and the other five, we ventured to the ruins, visited some of their adventure parks, and went on some extreme snorkeling. It was awesome!”
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