Aubrey and Cody’s Vintage Modern themed wedding was perfectly set in a historic castle. Here’s more about their charming wedding held “once upon a time, in a castle far, far away.”

Aubrey & Cody September 6, 2009, Oklahoma City

What we did on our first date:
Cody is such a charmer.  He lived in a small town about 2 hours from where I lived.  He attended the same church as I did on occasion because he had some good friends that went there.  He ended up going on the same church singles retreat as I did, and we met for the first time.  I was invited to a bible study by his best friend, who I had no idea was Cody’s best friend at the time.  When I showed up to the bible study, I saw Cody there.  I was so thrilled to see him.  Our Tuesday night bible studies became more of our date nights.  He asked me one Tuesday night to not make plans that following weekend.  He made plans to come and pick me up and travel to Tulsa on Saturday.  He had arranged to eat at a great Italian restaurant, my favorite, and to see a play.  I think he was trying to impress me, and it worked!  We had one great road trip together, talking and laughing for hours.  He had my full attention from that day forward!

How I knew he was the one:
Cody wasn’t like any other man I had met.  He had every quality that I was looking for.  I was almost amazed at how wonderful and sweet he was, it seemed to good to be true.  I knew he was the one because everyone that knew him loved him, he had a great family and he treated them all so well, he treated me the same no matter where we were, and he always was able to put a smile on my face.  I never had any doubts about him, there was no question on whether or not he loved me.  I had moved to Austin, TX a few months after meeting him.  We were both scared about being away from one another.  But there wasn’t a day that went by that we didn’t talk, and there wasn’t a weekend that went by that we didn’t travel to see each other.  Our love grew quickly and just 3 months after my move, we were engaged!  We knew right away that we were meant to be together.  When you know…you know!

The Ceremony
Our ceremony was a beautiful outdoor garden wedding.  The wedding took place at Castle Falls.  The venue is an authentic historic castle nestled on five lush and spacious acres near the heart of Oklahoma City.  The garden was amidst a cascading waterfall, towering cedars and oaks.  It was an elegant and nostalgic castle setting.  The Castle is modeled after a Normandy castle which gives it an old world charm and created an unparalleled environment.

As guests entered the ceremony, they were welcomed with scrolls and were given fresh cold water bottles, fans to make up for the warm weather, and postcards that boasted a picture of the castle on the front that guests would write their addresses on for us to send them our thank you.

While the guests waited, we had instrumental music playing, as well as the sound of the waterfall in the background.  The wedding party entered from the back through two tall wooden doors that opened to the garden.

Cody is a huge OU fan, and as a surprise for him, I played the OU song as we kissed.  The preacher was given a flag that he kept in the back of his jacket, he pulled it out and waved it.  Cody was so thrilled, along with all of the other OU fans there.  We had a beautiful ceremony that ended with the perfect kiss.

The Moment from wedding Aubrey never forget
I absolutely loved the look on my husband’s face as I walked down the aisle.  He’s not the crying type, but he had tears in his eyes.  I was nervous all the way up until I saw him.  And as we held each others hands, I felt calm and at ease.

The Reception
Our reception was held at the same venue (which was great for all of the out of town guests).  Just steps away from the royal garden, guests entered the reception hall.  It boasted high dark ceilings, a large fire place both inside and out, tall windows to see out to the garden and surrounding areas and a sleek and modern set up.  The colors of the room are naturally warm, and went perfectly with my décor.

My florist made tall centerpieces made out of large dark red sticks and tied single flowers to each one.  This allowed guests to sit at the table and see everyone around it, as well as added the perfect touch to the room.  A family tradition is to make wedding mints.  So I had purchased jars, handmade the labels, and filled them with mints that were set up on our favor table.

Our cake was placed at the front of the room by the large fire place.  It had all hand rolled pearls on each layer with an anemone sugar flower on the side.  The grooms cake fit in perfectly with his profession as a physician’s assistant, it was a pill bottle with pills spilling out of it.

We cut costs by putting together our own playlist on an iPod and hired a technician to run our music and slideshow.  Guests were free to flow inside and out.  We had appetizers set up in the back of the room with fruits, nuts, meats, cheeses, and a wonderful punch made by the castle.

The Wedding Theme
Our wedding theme was Vintage Modern.  The castle was the perfect setting for this elegant styled wedding.  My bridesmaids wore long charcoal dresses that matched the groomsmen’s tie and vest.  The matron of honor wore a deep gold dress that matched the best man’s tie and vest.  And I wore a champagne ivory dress embellished with crystals around my waist.

The groom wore a deep gold striped tie and vest to match.  My jewelry was all vintage and handmade.  My earrings and bracelet matched each other and the design on the dress and were both handmade pieces.  I wore a 40 year old family pearl ring and wore a classy cascading flower arrangement by Toni Federici in my hair.  My veil flowed past the train on my dress and was made extra thick around the crown to really put the perfect touch on the whole look.

Guests received handmade scrolls that I dripped wax on and stamped with a ‘P’.  At the very top, it read “Once upon a time, in a castle far far away….”  We kept the ceremony looking very natural and modern by not overdoing it with flowers.  The garden had tall Cedar and Oak tree’s that towered over the seating area.  Inside the building for the reception, I kept a clean look by using black table clothes and used a soft lace fabric to lay over some of the tables as accents.  The centerpieces gave height to the room along with the tall ceilings in the building.  The pearls on the cake matched the pearl ring that I was wearing and gave a soft vintage look as well.  The soft glow of gold around the room accented the black and charcoal colors used to create a warm modern vintage style.

Advice for other brides
Keep a notebook with numbers, names, information, and schedules of what you need to do.  Keeping organized will really help when it comes to making final payments and needing to know what needs to still be done.  When you first get engaged, sit down with your fiancé and figure out a budget.  Knowing what you are expecting to pay will help you narrow down venues, florists, photographers, etc.  And have fun, don’t get upset with your family or friends.  This is something you only get to do once!  The most important thing is that, regardless of how you do it, you will be happily married soon enough!

Aubrey’s Wedding Dress: Prisicilla of Boston 4021

Happy November! Week by week, June 5th creeps closer. Let me see, I haven’t even looked at my tasks for November-December. What do we have?

• Begin addressing invitations (I need the envelopes first!)
• Start planning the honeymoon (Yippee! Santorini or bust!)
• Pick out the bridesmaid dress fabric and patterns (I’m going to have my girls pick a sewing pattern for a dress they love, and then make the dresses using the same pattern)
• Start mapping the ceremony out with Bob (Probably can be pushed back to January, as we haven’t begun our premarital counseling yet)
• Send save-the-dates (Will do this at the very beginning of January)
• Reserve the tent and tables
• Contact Nate about possibly being the iTunes DJ
• Make sure the florist is booked (Yes, but I need to send her ideas still!)
• Start composing day-of timeline
• Have first dress fitting (I’m not sure if this is quite as important, since my dress is a pretty simple design. I mean, yes–I need to get it shortened. But I’ll hold off on any size adjustments until March or so)

So yes! These are my tasks for the next two months. Now, the guestbook.

It’s always seemed strange to me, having a guestbook for your wedding attendees to sign. I mean, what’s the purpose? To see exactly who came to your wedding when you’re older? We had a guestbook at my high school graduation party, and I’ve never really opened it up since that day.

I don’t want to dispense with the guestbook. I just want it to be more functional…and beautiful!

Several years ago, when I was a cashier at Kroger and there was no one checking out, my friend and I would take the wedding magazines and plan our dream weddings. In one issue I saw a really cute typewriter idea, with a scroll of paper that you have people type on, but again–what’s the point? Plus, where would I ever find a typewriter like that. I’m sure I could, but nah.

My second idea was this, from Uncommongoods.com, the wishing wall. Isn’t it cute? Guests write little wishes on the slips of paper, roll them up, and stick them in the little compartments. Then you can have it as a little piece of wall art afterward! It even comes with a little chest to store extra wishes in. Alas, Jarrod was not too keen on this idea. I don’t know why, silly fiance!

And then I came upon this idea, something that our photographers, Grant and Leandra Longenbaugh, offer. The perfect solution! It’s a book of engagement pictures that guests can write in as they please, and then when the wedding is over, it serves as a nice coffee table book as well as a compilation of engagement photos. And so that’s what our guestbook will be! Now my task is to pick out the pictures that we want to be in the book. Which, I think I might just do now, since I’m thinking about it anyway!

This Texas wedding is both casual and elegant at the same time.  The warm and welcoming feel,  coupled with an intimate guest list of 100,  made Shanna and J.D.’s wedding exactly what they wanted.

Shanna and J.D., Amarillo, Texas, October 3, 2009

What you did on your first date
Hitting golf balls at a driving range and pizza dinner

How you knew he was the one
I knew he was the one when he brought me a pink collar for my chocolate labrador on our third date. I had complained that everyone thought she was a boy so it was a perfect gift! It showed me how thoughtful and romantic he was.

The ceremony
With the leaves changing colors in the background, we said our vows under a floral archway on the Kritser Ranch in Amarillo, Texas with a family friend officiating. With only 100 guests, the ceremony was simple, romantic, and unforgettable.

The reception
Guests headed across the ranch after the ceremony to enjoy dinner and dancing under the fall sky. The reception was intimate and everyone had an amazing time.

The moment Shanna will never forget
When my new husband picked up the microphone and sang “Amarillo by Morning” to our guests

The wedding theme
We wanted a western theme without being “overly Western.” We used mason jars for our flower vases, recycled wine bottles as water bottles on the tables, and hay bails as cocktail tables. We also had some of the cowboys from the ranch escort cars as they came in the entrance to the ranch.

Advice for other brides
Enjoy every moment – it goes by way too fast!

Photography: Wagner’s Photo

Shanna’s Wedding Dress: Paloma Blanca 4006

Congratulations to Erin S., our $2500 Adorn Jewelry Rental Winner!  With her free rental, she can wear carats and carats of diamonds at her wedding. (And bejewel her bridemaids and mother too!)

Here’s a bit about Erin and her upcoming wedding!

Adam (my fiance) and I met through a mutual friend (I went to High School with this friend, Adam met him through college). Although I work full time, I am in school finishing my masters in Environmental Management (done this December!). Adam is also in school working on finishing his law degree (May is his month to graduate). We bonded over graduate school, our mutual love of kitties and chocolate, our strange senses of humor, and our fondness for quirky TV shows (we both love Arrested Development, Firefly, and Monty Python’s Flying Circus).

On our second anniversary, during a romantic picnic at sundown on a mountain that overlooks San Francisco, Marin, and Oakland counties, Adam got down on one knee and gave me the most beautiful diamond ring. I said yes.

Our wedding date is 10/10/10 in Healdsburg, CA. We chose the venue Barndiva as our location because we both wanted to stay near the Bay Area (where we are both from), but also wanted to go someplace that offered our guests a variety of activities to do while they attended our wedding. Healdsburg is located in Sonoma County, and there are tons of things to do from wine tasting to hiking to biking to fishing. It really just depends on what you are interested in.

Our theme is eco-conscience details mixed with Northern California rustic charm. My ring is from Brilliant Earth, and the diamonds are conflict free and the ring is recycled white gold. Our wedding bands will also come from there. Barndiva serves local, organic foods (they have an herb garden in the backyard that they use for their own use), and we plan on using recycled paper for our invitations and save the dates as well as local, in season flowers.

Congratulations again to Erin and thanks to everyone who entered.  If you are interested in renting wedding day jewelry from Adorn Brides, you can use promo code POWD to save 20% on your rental fee.