When traditional meets pretty in Las Vegas, it’s a magical thing. Especially when that pretty is created by a talented team of vendors that includes By Invitation Only, Chocolate & Spice and Layers Of Lovely. Add in a bride and groom who are seriously (seriously) stunning and one glorious image after another from J. Anne Photography and happy, happy Monday, lovelies. See it all here.
And a beautiful film from Caterpillar Weddings? Yes, please.
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From J. Anne Photography… Francesca and David were married on a beautiful, sun-filled January day in Las Vegas, NV. They opted for a muted color palette of grays and blush pinks accented by olive tree branch bouquets, black and white stripes, and gold accents. Francesca, being an assistant for a local wedding design/consult team, didn’t leave any of the details undone. They tied the knot in a beautiful Catholic church before heading off to their reception at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve. Being that Las Vegas is a desert, and our January nights get pretty chilly, they decided to bring the outside in. Bistro lights hung above their intimate indoor setting creating the feel of a summer wedding under the stars. Their guests were served dinner family-style, and they all danced the night away.
From the Bride… I woke up calm on the morning of our wedding, definitely excited, but still calm. I sat up in bed, just one day shy of our 9th anniversary and I couldn’t believe the day was finally here. Our hairstylist (yes, she’s David’s, too), and dear friend, Amy, walked into our suite bright and early with her team. The groomsmen had delivered our breakfast soon after and the bridesmaids and I hopped out of bed to greet them. I had to squeeze in towards our best man to ask how David was doing. He answered, “Sleeping, it’s 5am.” I couldn’t help but giggle and be thankful that he was here to share our big day.
When the boys left we started hair and makeup and we laughed and joked, for being 5am, we were all wide-awake and their excitement gave me butterflies. There were so many thankful moments throughout the day, this being one of them. I looked around the room and couldn’t believe these girls were all here for us, to help celebrate our love. We finished with hair and makeup sooner than we had planned and had time to play “dress up” with my cathedral length veil.
Jodi, our incredible photographer, walked in right on time, just like it said on our production schedule. I thought to myself, “Showtime!” The girls went into their rooms to slip on their dresses and my mom and maid of honor came into my suite to help me into my dress – my drop A-line, full tulle skirt dress, my dream dress. The room started to blur but I remembered to pause and look at everything. I noticed my mom tear up as she the slipped on my grandmother’s bracelet and I saw my sister flash a quick smile at me as she closed every button down my back. Before I knew it, it was time to meet my groom for our First Look. I had known this man for nine years but suddenly the butterflies got stronger and I just wanted to run to him, forget sneaking up and tapping his shoulder, I wanted to run and I wanted to squeeze him and jump for joy yelling, “We’re getting married today!” We were 16 when we met, so it only felt natural to jump up and down celebrating as young kids do. When I tapped his shoulder I prayed that he wouldn’t tear up, but he did. He was as handsome as ever and the moment our eyes met we knew just how extremely lucky we were to have each other and have everyone we love surrounding us. We soon joined our bridal party to take pictures and it was a riot, we weren’t just lucky to have each other, but also lucky to have friends we could call family.
The time came to get on the bus and head to the church. When we arrived I gave a quick kiss to our parents and grandparents so I could sneak off into a room and hide as guests arrived. Father Marc walked in and asked me, “Are you ready?”, and I replied, “Been ready, Father!” Each time that we met with him throughout the planning process he became more of a friend. He left my mom and I to have a moment before walking down the aisle and I had to pray, once again, for this person not to tear up. This time, she didn’t, and I was thankful. She lightened the mood by pulling out her phone saying she needed to post a picture on Facebook of my last single gal moment before giving me away to David, we laughed. I watched everyone head towards the altar ahead of me, then it was our turn. I looked up to see David’s face and watched him try not to cry. When she placed my hand into his, it already felt official. The ceremony was so beautiful with our bridal party taking a role in all the events that took place, it couldn’t have happened more perfectly. Even the sun shined its brightest on this January day. We were officially “Mr. & Mrs. Torrella”, time to party.
We headed to Springs Preserve for intimate pictures in the desert as a newlywed couple, in between we caught a glimpse of our guests enjoying themselves during cocktail hour on the patio. We heard screams of congratulations, happiness and love and were dying to be up there celebrating with them. Our planners lined us up for our grand entrance and as the music played an overwhelming feeling of thanks took over and I wanted to cry. I held back when my new husband squeezed my hand and everything felt right. We had made it to this day, together, hand in hand. We head out to the dance floor for our first dance to the song “Dancing in the Moonlight”. It was perfect under the string of bistro lights and the faces of the most special people in our lives looking on.
We sat down to have our dinner, the meal we had all joked about on the ride to the church that was so far from now. We were starving and we made sure we tasted everything! David and I are big on family so having round tables at our reception was out of the question. Instead we setup our long tables to seat 18 and served dinner family style. We wanted to bring the cherished Sunday dinners from our childhood to our wedding and the caterers were so great in making this happen. We watched dishes being passed across the table to one another and it felt just like home. One of the most special moments of our reception was seeing our guests dance to the songs they had requested on their RSVP’s. I asked the DJ to play the slower songs during dinner and one by one, the songs played and the couples that requested it took to the dance floor, like an open book they danced and we watched them celebrate their love. We strive to make our friends and family a part of our days and our wedding was no exception. David had even flown in our best friends to New York to witness his proposal. We knew our loved ones wanted to celebrate us but we wanted to make this a celebration for them as well, after all, we wouldn’t be where we are today without them, their love and support. Our day was so full of love, so casual, so beautiful and so fulfilling. From the advice given to me months leading up to our wedding, I got up from our sweetheart table and walked around the café to soak in the details of the party we had been planning for the past year – the cake table, the olive tree guestbook we plan to plant in the backyard of the home we had purchased just 4 months prior, the escort cards, the hot cocoa favors that my mom and aunts helped me assemble, the 21 foot table runners that my sister/maid of honor had worked tirelessly on to sew, the hand cut gold glitter table numbers, the Juniors Cheesecake we had flown in from Brooklyn where we celebrated our engagement… everything. It was gorgeous! We danced till we could dance no more and just like that, the night was over.
We got back on the bus with our family and bridal party to head back to the hotel room. As much as I loved my dress, I was so happy to slip out of it. We shared moments throughout the day with our bridal party who joined us in our suite to continue the party with a few pies from our favorite pizza place. When we all grew too tired to keep our eyes open, everyone head back into their own rooms. I took my new husband into our room and we shared our first good night’s sleep in a long time, as a married couple.
Photography: J Anne Photography | Videography: Caterpillar Weddings | Coordination: Scheme Events | Cake: Chocolate & Spice | Invitations: By Invitation Only | Church: St. Joseph Husband Of Mary | Reception: Springs Preserve | Bridesmaids Dresses: Bella Bridesmaid | Hair & Makeup: Square Salon | Lighting: Led Unplugged | Transportation: Bell Trans | Hotel: The Aspen Institute At Wye River | Bride's Dress: Enzoani | Floral: Layers of Lovely ~ An Inspired Floral Art Studio | Groom & Groomsmen Attire: Bowties Bridal And Tuxedos | Linens: BBJ La Tavola | Linens & Rentals: Rsvp Party Rentals
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