The loveliness of this next wedding is what first caught my eye…the simple details, the pretty and elegant style, the gorgeous bride and the stunning photography by Twin Lens. And yet, it was the bride’s endearing description of her day that actually brought me to tears. This is not only pure eye candy…it’s also a little lesson in planning your wedding with a bit of grace and a bit of beauty.
I think a lot of women probably go into their wedding planning with the idea that it’ll take at least a year. So, let me be the one to assure you it can be done in three months, with a lap top and iphone, while running hockey summer camps with your fiance, in rinks with extremely sketchy internet and phone service. Ladies, it can be done! We picked two dates that we loved in September and began the journey of wedding planning. I remember researching places that we might want to get married. We spent hours upon hours on the internet researching cities and resorts that fit our vision of our wedding day.
There were many places that we loved, but there was just something about Santa Fe and specifically, the Encantado Resort. It looks so peaceful, romantic, organic, chic and serene. It was all the things that we wanted in our day. Once we decided on the Encantado Resort and luckily our quickly approaching day just happened to be available, we received a list of recommended vendors from the wedding coordinator at the Encantado Resort.
It is amazing how important a wedding vendors website is when you’re planning a wedding from 1,917 miles away from the wedding site, without being able to meet anyone in person. I think we had a very similar experience when picking vendors as we did while choosing a resort. We wanted to see who could see our vision, understand it and most importantly make our “vision” a reality. We were looking for a wedding that reflected who we are as a couple. Simple yet elegant. Never overstated, yet delicate and beautiful.
Our wedding was elegant, natural and romantic just as we imagined. An arch of willow-tree filled with fresh herbs and blooms in tones of lavender, white, ecru and silver with accents of green framed the alter to perfection. Our spanish guitarist set the mood and provided entertainment at our ceremony and cocktail hour. We always wanted a small, intimate wedding which we received in our nineteen guests of close family and friends. Since we chose a small wedding we had the benefit of using the courtyard for both our cocktail hour and reception, it was more like a dinner party, which we loved.
Of course not everything on your wedding day will be perfect, there is always something or in my case someone missing. A few years ago my older sister, Bridgitte, passed away very suddenly. I always thought she would be standing by my side as my maid of honor on my wedding day and now I was faced with the reality that I had one vision that couldn’t come true no matter how hard I tried. I have many wonderful friends that would have stood up with me on that day, but to me no one could fill her shoes. It fit us best to not have a wedding party and I think that’s a good thing for couples to remember, you don’t have to follow every tradition. Let your wedding represent you and your fiance. We did find some great ways to include Bridgitte into our ceremony and reception, which was extremely important to us. Our officiant, Martha, suggested mentioning Bridgitte in our ceremony to acknowledge what we were all thinking about that day, and that was her absence there. She was definitely right, on that day she was respectfully acknowledged in the ceremony and although there were tears, it was so nice to think of her during that moment. I also had Andrea place a small charm with the letter “B” on my bouquet, so I could feel her presence with me as I walked down the aisle.
People always say to enjoy every moment in your wedding day because it is over before you know it. I never believed this could be true, until my day arrived and was over in what felt like an hour! It’s amazing how fast time flies when you’re enjoying the company of friends and family, over great food, wonderful music and, of course, cocktails. I remember the day we received our photos and slideshow from Kitty and Craig, we relived our wedding all over, and over and over! The photos were just stunning. Their style is documentary- which isn’t for everyone- but it was exactly what we were looking for. Their photos are not just pictures, they are artwork. In the end our memories were all captured to perfection. We can not thank them enough.
We want to thank all of our vendors for making our vision a reality and helping us to achieve our dream.
Dress by: Monique Lhuillier / Bride’s Shoes: Pedro Garcia / Groom’s Suit: Burberry / Photography: Twin Lens / venue: Encantado Resort / flowers: Andrea Soorikian Design / Invitations: Bella Figura / officiant: Martha Spring / d.j.: Absolute Entertainment