Mandarin Club Wedding
Sarah and Jo’s day started out beautiful, and ended amazing! They’re was a little watch over the weather just before the ceremony started. I did something I normally don’t do, was suggestive on what to do based on my opinion of the weather. The plan when the first rain shower was coming in was to move inside. I looked at my phone, it had about 1 bar of signal, and a radar map wouldn’t load.
Finally it did and it showed a stronger storm coming which was about 40 minutes away, however the radar is always about 15 minutes behind what is actual. I noticed a white cloud top over the trees towards the trees and thought it might have been the storm coming. I told Jo, it would look a lot better outside, so if you wait about 5 minutes this should just be gone and there will be a window of about 15 minutes. Sure enough… Here’s the story…
I love when I get to see my work! <3 <3 Thank you both!
Game time!
Theme: Southern comfort and vintage charm.
Colors: Meadow green and gray
Sarah’s Bridal Gown: Sarah- Galina at David’s Bridal
Jo’s Bridal Ensemble: Black by Vera Wang, three piece charcoal suit
Bridal Jewelry: both bride’s wore family heirlooms. Jo wore her father’s cross. Sarah wore her great-grandmother’s cameo and her Nana’s broach.
Bridesmaids Gowns: David’s Bridal- short Y-neck cotton gowns in “meadow” green
Hair stylists: Sarah- Hope Schiller at the William Tabor Salon; Jo- For You Eyes Only Salon
Makeup Artist: Sarah Hope Schiller at the William Tabor Salon; Jo- For You Eyes Only Salon
Officiant: Their dear friend, Aurora
Bridal Bouquet: Deerwood Florist: hydrangeas, lilies and mums.
Centerpieces: hydrangeas
Favors: some of our favorite things- Sarah love candy so Cracker Barrel candy sticks, gumballs and sixlets in wedding colors were available to all guest. To quench Jo’s love of office supplies, guest received love-bird note books and personalized pencils.
Caterer: Sonja Moore Catering
Menu: Fried Chicken, pulled pork and all the fixin’s! Plus, banana pudding to die for!
DJ: Jack Richardson
First Dance: A Thousand Years by Christina Perry
Parent Dance Songs: Butterfly Kisses by Bob Carlisle & So Many Stars by Segio Mendes and Brasil 66
Your Location: We chose our location because we fell in love with the beautiful trees and the historic buildings. The property has gorgeous grandfather oaks and magnolias. More importantly we fell in love with our venue’s history. The club used to be the “Freedom School” built and founded by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The school was built as a place that children of all races could attend and learn together. As a same sex couple, getting married in a state in which marriage equality is constitutionally banned, we loved the idea that our wedding would stand for freedom to love whomever you choose on a property that was founded on equality long before it was accepted in Northeast Florida, generations ago.
Favorite moment: Jo sang, “To Make You Feel My Love” by Adele for the last dance of the night. It was a complete surprise and it was very, very romantic.
Most comical moment: Our nephews (nine and two) doing the splits over and over again, or Sarah’s dad signing “Goodnight Sweetheart” for karaoke.
Most Challenging: It began to rain right before the ceremony. The guests were moved inside twice before we could finally begin the ceremony outside. Jo stuck to her vision and the clouds finally gave us a break enough to have our dream ceremony outside.
DIY: all of our decorations were DIY. We made our own wedding programs, pennant banners, and table decorations.
Other: At the last minute we hired a guitar violin duo: Wehner Weddings LLC. It was a great decision and really made our ceremony complete. They played “Moon River” for the bridal party processional, and “A Thousand Years” as the brides walked down the aisle.