Drew and Brian’s southwestern wedding is one of my favorites.  I love the idea of a wedding theme incorporating the venue, decor and the food. And who wouldn’t love to be greeted at a friend’s wedding with a margarita!  Here’s more about their fun wedding….

Drew & Brian | September 5, 2009 | Tucson, Arizona

How he proposed
Brian proposed on Thanksgiving weekend at my parent’s house in Northern California.  It was during dinner with my parents and I was definitely not expecting it.  It was so meaningful to share that experience with my parents.

The ceremony
The ceremony was held in the historic courtyard of the Hacienda del Sol.  The setting is stunning so we left the decor very simple with just rose petals down the aisle.  My brother was our officiant and we wrote the ceremony – so it had a very intimate feel.  The hit of the ceremony was when guests arrived and they were served Prickly Pear Margaritas before the ceremony began.

The reception
The reception was held in the Casa Feliz at the Hacienda del Sol.  We opted to have handmade tortilla chips, salsa, and guacamole instead of bread and butter.  For our salad course we served shrimp ceviche.

Our main course was a pairing of Sea Bass and Filet Mignon.  After dinner the dancing began!  We also created an outdoor lounge by the bar where the men enjoyed cigars and their drinks.

The moment Drew will never forget
My dad is a very talented writer and he wrote a beautiful grace before we ate about our love.  It was so meaningful and heartfelt.

The wedding theme
I really wanted to play on the historic Spanish/Mexican architucture of the venue so my wedding theme was driven by the southwest and Spain.  My dress was very romantic so that set the tone for the theme. When the guests arrived at the hotel they were given a gift bag with some Arizona tokens – Chips and Salsa from our favorite Mexican restaurant, coronas, bottled water, and advil.  For the table centerpieces I purchased Wax Vessels to mimic candelabras and paired them with pale yellow roses.  The vessels made the whole room have a romantic glow.  For table numbers we drove across the border to Mexico and purchased hand painted address tiles.  We made a homemade southwestern seasoning for our favors and tied it with a festive yellow raffeta bow.

What was it about your wedding dress that made the “the one”
I was dead set on an all lace dress but when I arrived at Destiny’s Bride and explained my theme of the wedding the sales lady immediately pulled my dress out.  It was beautiful but I still had doubts.  That is until I tried it on.  The fabric was amazing and it fit like a glove.  It was so romantic and feminine and it felt like it was made for me.

Advice for other brides
As an event planner and also a recent bride I would say my best advice would be to keep it personal and try to incorporate your groom as much as possible.  Brides can get so caught up in their dream wedding that they forget what their future husbands like or want.  Brian loves Mexican food so that is what dictated our menu.  Brian hates dancing so we made sure there was a cool place for the men to hang out and enjoy their cigars.

Wedding Photography: Kelly Rashka

Drew’s Wedding Dress: Augusta Jones Tatum

What an exciting week it has been! Jarrod and I decided to take a break from the wedding planning to start putting together our honeymoon. We’re both really looking forward to the time after the stress of the wedding to chill out and do nothing.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you have to get a start on this early, apparently. Like, as soon as you get engaged. I can’t really say much, because Jarrod has made me swear to secrecy on our arrangements for the first night. He’s afraid that his friends/enemies will have pizzas delivered to us all night if they find out where we’re going to be staying.

What I will say is that one place we were interested in staying in is booked solid for the night of June 5th! How is that even possible? Anyway, we ended up finding an even sweeter place, so no worries on that. Moving on.

Because Jarrod gets 90 days of vacation between graduation and when his job begins, we’re going to travel around as much of the world as we can. For the first week, though, we’re going to stay on Santorini, one of the Greek Isles. You know, the beautiful one with all the white buildings with blue doors.

True story: Jarrod’s mom sent me a little birthday package (happy birthday to me, by the way! I’m 23 today) but I couldn’t hold off on opening it until today. Saturday I just ripped it all open, and there in it was the newest edition of Brides. Later that evening Jarrod and I were idly flipping through the pages. You know I’ve snagged a good one when he is willing to browse the magazines with me! (What we really like to do, actually, is make fun of some of the awful dresses. But anyway.) Toward the end was a small article on Santorini! It was basically just a comparison of a splurge hotel vs. a budget hotel. The budget hotel caught our eye and sounded really neat, so we went to the website to check it out a little more.

It’s called “Chelidonia”, (www.chelidonia.com) and happens to be in Oia, the town we were planning on staying in anyway! The rooms are actually restored houses that were dug out after an earthquake hit Oia a while back. So they’re very traditional Santorini, and each room comes with its own kitchenette, as well as a patio, bedroom, bathroom, and sitting area. Sweet, right?

After our little wedding night hotel scare (”We’re going to have to stay in a Super 8!”), we didn’t waste any time in checking availability for the nights we were hoping to be in Santorini. And the room we want is free! So this is wonderful. Kind of silly that we found our hotel in Brides, but whatever works, right? It seems surreal, but I think this whole wedding thing might actually be happening!

I’ve always known that destination weddings were the most fun of all.  Sylvia and Albert took it up a notch from there with their private beach location, fun decor and HOURLY tequila shots for their guests. Here’s more about their fabulous wedding.

Sylvia & Albert | May 14, 2009 | Cancun, Mexico

What you did on your first date:

A nice dinner

How you knew he was the one

I was out with my friends having lunch when I saw a man selling puppies.  I walked over to pet them and I got attached to one of them  without knowing the price. I didn’t have that type of money with me to buy it so I left miserable.  Albert called me to ask me to dinner that night and I told him I was sad because of that puppy I had seen and was unable to get.  He rang my doorbell to pick me up that night for dinner and in walks “cookie” I was in tears of joy and knew he was the one.  For someone to go out of their way to find “the man” selling the puppies to me was a keeper.

The ceremony

We had our sand-ceremony in the hotel’s gazebo over looking the ocean. During our ceremony my husband provided rings for the my children to incorporate them to our wedding as well and exchanged kid vows with them.

The moment Sylvia will never forget

Walking down the aisle with my dad and seeing the look on my husband’s face when he first saw me.

The reception

After our ceremony, our guests were greeted by ushers who provided them with champagne and escorted them to cocktail hour.  That setup was on the garden overlooking the ocean with a lounge like setting.

It took place at Dream’s private beach .  We had a 4-course sit down dinner, a DJ (DJ. Mannia), and an illuminated dance floor for everyone to dance.  We had an open bar throughout our reception and we ordered tequila shots for all our guests every hour until the wedding was over.

The wedding theme

I decided to go with a theme.  I went with hot pink, white, black and a touch of zebra print.  My zebra pink was just to make the rest of my colors pop.  (ex: zebra runners over white linens and black napkins). Since my wedding was on the beach I gave all my guests starfish necklaces and the men money clips.

Advice for other brides:

Enjoy your day as much as possible.  Do not get into debt over your wedding, make a budget and stick to it.  Your photographer should be the most important investment since you will see your photos forever, don’t forget to ask him to include in his package a trash your dress shoot, those pictures come out amazing.

Engagement Photography: O Photography
Wedding Photography: Dumas Photography
Sylvia’s Ceremony/Reception Wedding Dress: Pronovias Donaire

Carnations – making a come back!

I know what you have to say – Carnations – really?!!?!?? Yes – Carnations! They are a beautiful choice when appropriately used – plus they are a super affordable option and come in such a wide verity of colors they are the perfect flower for many wedding applications.

We searched the web for some great images of carnation uses at weddings and found these for you to check out. They are great for structured looks – like balls, and tight arrangements. I agree, they are not a great filler flower – they tend to stick out, but check out these great applications and uses of carnations and I dare you to tell me that they are not beautiful!

Photo courtesy of Wedding Jeannie.

Photo courtesy of Cornerstone Events.

Here is a wedding that I did this past August. Alicia’s colors were Navy and Hot Pink – and to her florist and my delight – she loved carnations and wanted her girls to carry hot pink carnation bouquets. The girls flowers really pop off their dresses, and were exactly what Alicia was looking for. It was perfect, and since she saved on their bouquets, she was able to splurge on her own bouquet of Calla Lilly’s!

The Look for Less is posted monthly.

About: Tricia Huddas & Co. specializes in destination weddings in historic Savannah Georgia and the Southeast.  Whether you are planning an intimate evening or a bold affair, Tricia Huddas & Co will bring your event together with style, elegance and grace.