What I realized after reading about Anna & Colin’s wedding was what great confidence Anna has. First, and obviously, in her love for Colin. And for then for their wedding, in her choices for her amazing dress, flowers and reception details. It is clear that they enjoyed their wedding and it was everything they wanted. How perfect.
Anna & Colin, June 6, 2009, Landenberg, Pennsylvania.
How they met
We met for the first time about 5 years ago – I was meeting a (male) friend for drinks at a restaurant and he introduced me to Colin, who was an acquaintance of his. We didn’t see each other for a few years. I was meeting the same friend at the same restaurant 3 years later and there was Colin again! I couldn’t believe it. I had gone back to the restaurant so many times hoping to run into him again. He admitted doing the same thing.
Our first date was at a neighborhood restaurant – we ended up living near each other. We had a nice dinner and endless conversation. We discovered that we had the same taste in food, restaurants and things we like to do. We met again the next morning and pretty much consistently after that.
How you knew he was the one
I knew he was the one when he was in tears after our first real fight.
The ceremony
Our ceremony was performed by someone from the Ethical Humanist Society. I’m Catholic and Colin’s Protestant, but neither one of us is religious. This is my second marriage so I had both of my sons, ages 18 and 19 walk me down the aisle. We were ouside on the grass on a beautiful sunny day. My son played the bagpipes at the beginning and then we had a classical Spanish guitarist play for the procession. My niece and his niece were the flower girls. The vows were meaningful without being corny. The ceremony lasted about 25 minutes.
The reception
The reception started with a cocktail hour on the lawn. The theme was pink because my dress was pink. All of the wines were from Spain, so before the ceremony as the guests were arriving they were served beautiful pink Cava (a sparkling wine like champagne). During the cocktail hour we served rose’.
The caterer we used cooked with all locally grown ingredients so the food was seasonal and fantastic. The cocktail hour lasted about an hour and a half because we thought we would have more opportunity to speak with the guests standing rather than sitting at dinner.
We had a 4 piece Cuban band playing. Dinner was under a tent, with 2 long rectangular tables. We had 70 guests with no seating arrangement. The flowers were all pink, peonies, country roses, the table cloths were pink, the napkins were pink and the lighting was pink.
We had a 4 course dinner, no choices, everyone had the same meal and it was delicious. We chose a wine to go with each course. The cake was dark chocolate (square) with port soaked berries and we served it with Spanish sherry.
There was background music but no dancing until dinner was over and then the party started. We had a 6 piece Cuban band that was amazing, absolutely everyone danced until 2 am.
The moment Anna will never forget
When I threw my bouquet, which was a lot heavier than it looked. Two of my friends were so determined to catch it that they were not looking where they were going. They collided into each other and both ended up flat on their backs on the ground. It was not very dignified, but it was funny.
Her favorite detail
My favorite detail about the reception is so hard to choose – it was so much fun having a pink dress – it was such a conversation piece. People are still talking about it. Everything was pink. If I had to pick, I think it would be the bouquet. It was so unusual and so much fun to carry around.
Advice for other brides
If someone asked me for advice (remember I’ve done this twice) – it takes months of planning and a lot of effort and money for something that goes by so quickly. I would say some time during the event to take a minute and just appreciate everything. How beautiful everything looks, how many people have traveled to your event, just how lucky you are (even if something does go wrong or someone doesn’t show up).
