Show Us Your Life--Wedding Flowers & Ceremony
Kelly over at Kelly's Korner is once again hosting "Show Us Your Life" and this week's theme is wedding flowers and ceremony! I am going to show our renewal ceremony because our original wedding was so small and we only have about 150 professional photos from the whole day, the best of which I already shared here.
Scott and I renewed our vows on July 1, 2006 at Windows on the River in Cleveland, OH. It was a special place for us because back when the Powerhouse, which houses Windows on the River and some other commericial businesses (restaurants, piano bar, etc.), was purchased by my father-in-law when he was not even 30 years old. My father-in-law gutted the entire place, did a major clean-up and turned it into a commercial building with an industrial feel. He then sold the place and it is now a Cleveland hot spot for weddings, parties, and just a night out.
For flowers I chose white hydrangeas and pink roses with palms to add more green to the arrangements. The bouquets my bridesmaids carried were smaller than what we ordered, so I was disappointed about that, but they still looked gorgeous!
Our wedding party consisted of our siblings, cousins and closest of friends. Our little ring bearer and flower girls were the kids I babysat throughout high school and college, and it was so special to me to have them join us!
One of my bridesmaids was my cousin Tomi who has always been like another sister to me. She left me the most precious note on my countertop and when I came home the day after the wedding and reception I just about cried over it! My photographer apparently saw the sweet note too because he snapped a photo of it before we left for pictures!
Meet Lolly the Trolley, our wedding transportation! We all drove in groups downtown, parked our cars at the hotel we'd be staying at that night, and then rode Lolly over to Windows on the River! It was such a fun ride being all together!
All of our wedding stationary (programs, table stuff, invitations, thank you notes, etc.) was designed by my good friend / college roommate / bridesmaid Carolyn. She did a phoenomenal job, designing it just as I wanted it. Here is what our program looked like--elegant and simple!
Our wedding (vow renewal) and reception were held in the same room. The room was set up with rows of chairs for the ceremony and then during a cocktail hour the room was re-situated for the sit down dinner. The chairs looked so pretty all covered in ivory and sage green!
My brother was not actually a groomsman. Instead, he had a much more important role for me that day--walking me down the aisle. Since my dad passed away when I was 16, I couldn't imagine a more special person to fill in for that role than my adorable Brother. Here he is, only 16 himself, and looking so studly!
Here we are walking down the aisle. It's hilarious now to look at my progression down the aisle--I go from crying to smiling and my brother stars off looking somewhat bored and embarassed to smiling too. This is the cutest picture of us from the whole day!
Here we are during our ceremony. The only thing that was disappointing to me about the ceremony was that the trellace (which is the same one we were originally married under!) was supposed to be on the stage, not on the floor below. So many of our friends and family couldn't see our heads as we renewed our vows! Instead, at least they were looking at the beautiful floral arrangement we had on the trellace!
We had three incredibly special pianists play for our ceremony (as well as during cocktail hour and while our guests ate dinner!). The first is Matt, my friend since first grade, who now has 3 CDs out and has played all over the states and Europe. He is an amazing self-taught pianist and I know he will be so successful!
The second and third pianists were Chris and Sarah, two wonderful children who I babysat. I asked for them to play because not only are they musically talented, but for as long as I've known them, every time I go to their house they ask me to listen to them play their latest pieces on the piano! Chris, shown below, actually played while we walked down the aisle and while he may not have had much experience playing for a wedding, he did fantastic and it meant so much to me!
And finally, I couldn't resist adding this adorable photo of my little Jaden, only about 9 months old at the time, playing her own tune on the piano before the ceremony. I will always cherish this picture!
I don't remember many other details about our special day when we renewed our vows, but I do remember that...
Scott and I renewed our vows on July 1, 2006 at Windows on the River in Cleveland, OH. It was a special place for us because back when the Powerhouse, which houses Windows on the River and some other commericial businesses (restaurants, piano bar, etc.), was purchased by my father-in-law when he was not even 30 years old. My father-in-law gutted the entire place, did a major clean-up and turned it into a commercial building with an industrial feel. He then sold the place and it is now a Cleveland hot spot for weddings, parties, and just a night out.
For flowers I chose white hydrangeas and pink roses with palms to add more green to the arrangements. The bouquets my bridesmaids carried were smaller than what we ordered, so I was disappointed about that, but they still looked gorgeous!
Our wedding party consisted of our siblings, cousins and closest of friends. Our little ring bearer and flower girls were the kids I babysat throughout high school and college, and it was so special to me to have them join us!
One of my bridesmaids was my cousin Tomi who has always been like another sister to me. She left me the most precious note on my countertop and when I came home the day after the wedding and reception I just about cried over it! My photographer apparently saw the sweet note too because he snapped a photo of it before we left for pictures!
Meet Lolly the Trolley, our wedding transportation! We all drove in groups downtown, parked our cars at the hotel we'd be staying at that night, and then rode Lolly over to Windows on the River! It was such a fun ride being all together!
All of our wedding stationary (programs, table stuff, invitations, thank you notes, etc.) was designed by my good friend / college roommate / bridesmaid Carolyn. She did a phoenomenal job, designing it just as I wanted it. Here is what our program looked like--elegant and simple!
Our wedding (vow renewal) and reception were held in the same room. The room was set up with rows of chairs for the ceremony and then during a cocktail hour the room was re-situated for the sit down dinner. The chairs looked so pretty all covered in ivory and sage green!
My brother was not actually a groomsman. Instead, he had a much more important role for me that day--walking me down the aisle. Since my dad passed away when I was 16, I couldn't imagine a more special person to fill in for that role than my adorable Brother. Here he is, only 16 himself, and looking so studly!
Here we are walking down the aisle. It's hilarious now to look at my progression down the aisle--I go from crying to smiling and my brother stars off looking somewhat bored and embarassed to smiling too. This is the cutest picture of us from the whole day!
Here we are during our ceremony. The only thing that was disappointing to me about the ceremony was that the trellace (which is the same one we were originally married under!) was supposed to be on the stage, not on the floor below. So many of our friends and family couldn't see our heads as we renewed our vows! Instead, at least they were looking at the beautiful floral arrangement we had on the trellace!
Here is the best view of what the whole room looked like during the ceremony. This photo was actually taken after the ceremony was over as Scott and I dismissed our guests to the cocktail hour. But it shows a fish-bowl style view of what the room looked like with the beautiful chairs lined up facing windows that looked out onto the Cuyahoga river. Notice the industrial look to the brick walls and ceilings!
We had three incredibly special pianists play for our ceremony (as well as during cocktail hour and while our guests ate dinner!). The first is Matt, my friend since first grade, who now has 3 CDs out and has played all over the states and Europe. He is an amazing self-taught pianist and I know he will be so successful!
The second and third pianists were Chris and Sarah, two wonderful children who I babysat. I asked for them to play because not only are they musically talented, but for as long as I've known them, every time I go to their house they ask me to listen to them play their latest pieces on the piano! Chris, shown below, actually played while we walked down the aisle and while he may not have had much experience playing for a wedding, he did fantastic and it meant so much to me!
And finally, I couldn't resist adding this adorable photo of my little Jaden, only about 9 months old at the time, playing her own tune on the piano before the ceremony. I will always cherish this picture!
I don't remember many other details about our special day when we renewed our vows, but I do remember that...
My sister ended up carrying Jaden down the aisle in lieu of her bouquet...so cute!
We not only renewed our love for one another, but pledged our love for little Jaden and gave her a bracelet during the ceremony.
In the floral arrangement on our trellace were 3 sparkling butterlies, symbolic of my three friends Erin, Christine and Andrea who passed away in a fire in 2003. I just know they were there in spirit!
We had a beautiful, short ceremony where we read and said many of the same things that were from our original ceremony. My sister Kimberly read for us during the ceremony.
That's about it! I hope you've enjoyed learning about one of the best days of my life!
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