Wedding
Many months of planning culminated in our wedding day, March 25, 2023. Elise and I (but mostly Elise) took ~9 months to plan and execute our special day. From guest counts to venues, from caterers to photographers we had to choose them all. Our general goal was to keep things local as well as make things as easy as feasible. Lucky for us we were able to use a venue only minutes from our house: La Casita Del Arroyo
Keeping the wedding manageable (both in cost and complexity) was another goal of ours. We debated many times just having a “party”, but inevitably, when discussing the details, we found that we were just planning a fairly stereotypical wedding… The venue had a few challenges coordinating with their event person but everything came together perfectly on wedding day. The weather couldn’t have been better, there wasn’t any rain, and the lighting hit just right for all the photos.
We were honored to have our friend Jenny be the officiant for the wedding. Working with her was a breeze and the script couldn’t have been a better balance of light-hearted and heartfelt. Elise and I wrote our own vows, which we read to each other and our group of distinguished guests. The ceremony took place on the grounds under a “who knows how many years old” oak tree. This was the inspiration for the commissioned artwork on our invitation from Elise’s dear friend Allie. The tree also served as a symbol of long standing love that we hope to embrace in our relationship.
The ceremony proceeded into the cocktail hour with a margarita and Bee’s Knees available as the groom and bride’s cocktails, respectively. A two piece jazz band, piano and bass, played in the corner of the venue providing the essential jazz club feel. Elise and I went off to take many, many photos while our family and friends mingled before dinner. Once we made our grand entrance, Elise and I got our cocktails, chatted, then settled down for a wonderful meal.
Food was a point of emphasis for Elise and I, so our dinner had several courses to ensure everyone was fully satisfied. Salmon was the most popular dish on the day (which of course was delicious). Interspersed during the meal were many glass clinks as if a toast were about to begin. However, the glass clinking came from a Polish tradition which meant the bride and groom had to kiss for all to see! So our friends and family sprinkled these throughout the meal with much joy! Eventually, there were some toasts/speeches from the Dads, Elise’s Mom, the siblings as well as Elise’s friend Allie. All of them were quite beautiful and had the same mixture of comedic and sentimental as our ceremony. We were touched and asked for the scripts to remember the wonderful moment.
Elise and I performed the cake cutting and first bites after dinner was complete. Just moments before the cutting we discussed the plan. “Do we shove it in each others’ face?” “No” we decided, “let’s keep it clean and civil.” In addition to the two tiers (2 flavors) of cake there were also 3 flavors of macrons to bring extra color and flavor to the evening’s conclusion. Elise and I were successfully able to talk with all our guests, either that night or the night before at the rehearsal dinner. It was a joy to have everyone together and get to celebrate the love and relationship that Elise and I have built together.
