Stacy and I thought we would share our wedding stories, to give you some inspiration. If you have questions, just ask.
My Wedding
I got married May 29, 1999 at Valhalla Grand Hall, Lake Tahoe, CA. It was blend of old and new of witchy and traditional, to suit my husband and I and our families. I had grown up in Northern Nevada's wedding industry. My parents were photographers. I had sold custom stationary for a short time and was working as a Bridal Consultant at a bridal store when I got married, along with going to school. My mom and I had tons of contacts, ideas and advisors. My wedding would have been terribly expensive, except for the fact that we bartered for several services (flowers, decorations, photography, wine), got professional discounts from several vendors (caterer, rentals, gown, dresses, tuxedos) and were gifted with other things (like the DJ service). If you have sought after skill or trade, you might try this.
Ceremony
Our wedding, in a gorgeous historic building on the shores of Lake Tahoe, was presided over my a nondenominational minister who was great about incorporating everything we wanted into our ceremony. Valhalla was decorated with concrete columns, long, slender candles, slate and birch branches. My colors were sage green, dusty lavender, and ivory.
I wore a veil, because I like the symbolism of them, along with a off the shoulder gown with an English net shirt and detachable train. My step dad walked me down the aisle and gave me away (I was 19 and had only recently left home), to the song"Place of Spirit" by Kate Price. Colin, my husband, and I had our hands bound together during the ceremony to symbolise tying our lives to each other. We created our own vows and lit unity candles for our families, as well as exchanging rings. At the end of the ceremony, we step over a crossed broom and sword (to represent a balance of energies and purposes) and headed back down the aisle, as a married couple.
Our Vows:
I take you to be my partner in life,
to cherish and love today, tomorrow and forever.
I will trust you when I misunderstand.
I will honor you, with all of your strengths and weaknesses.
I will be true to you in all things,
through the difficult and the easy.
I will keep with you in heartache,
and I promise to celebrate with you in joy.
I will receive you as my equal, for
I choose you, this day and everyday.
The Reception
The reception started off with waiter passed appetizers (while tables were set up in the same space the ceremony took place). This gave up time for pictures, as well as a few minutes together to celebrate. We sat down to a dinner of roasted game hens, broiled potatoes, and spring veggies. A few important friends and family members gave speeches and wished us well. We also took time to greet each of our guests and thank them for joining us.
After dinner, we had our first dance (Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers), our parent dances and a money dance (which ended up being one of the most hilarious parts of the wedding). We cut our beautiful cake (lemon with raspberry filling on the bottom layer, chocolate and raspberry for the top) and fed each other those symbolic and sweet first bites. After that, we danced (including an entertaining version of the Time Warp by my shy husband and his buddies, who used to go to the Berkeley showing every Saturday night). We did the bouquet and garter tosses and left for the night in our pick up.
Our guests were gifted with little painted flowerpots and seed packets with our names and wedding dates (we chose seeds with good wedding meanings like violets and sweet peas). It was a great wedding, that is still very well remembered by the guests, and memories we cherish.
