Ryan and Amanda
Ryan and Amanda took “Don’t see the bride until she walks down the aisle,” seriously. However, Amanda, a hairdresser, wanted to make sure Ryan’s long tresses met her standards.
“Before the ceremony I had Ryan face away from me in a chair and I came in behind him and did his hair for our ceremony.”
Amanda also pulled out her crafting game and made her own hairpiece, candles, table runners, wildflower teacups, hanging eucalyptus chandeliers, and glass mushrooms as part of the wildflower and mushroom theme for the day. The mother of bride also stepped up to the plate and made all of the bouquets and decorated the primary wedding cake.
Ryan proposed to Amanda on a mountaintop in Utah, and as a remembrance, his ring is a wooden band made from a branch of a tree on that mountain. Amanda upcycled her grandfather’s ring and incorporated stones from both of their mothers’ rings.
Natural beauty shone through the day as wildflowers and mushrooms became the couple’s theme for their celebration at The Grange Audubon Center. Rather than a traditional guest book, friends and family signed ribbons on a dreamcatcher, a traditional protective charm.
- Food: Bosc + Brie
- Officiant: Michael DeMaria, best friend
- Standout Vendor: Nothing Bundt Cakes
- Budget: $20,000
The big day in six words
A party full of loved ones.
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
Who was someone who made your big day run smoothly?
My bridesmaids and mother were so helpful the day of my wedding. I got out of control crafting every little thing for the wedding and they helped bring my imagination to life. I couldn’t have gotten everything set up the day of without them.
Any standout stories from that day, or something that you’d do over every time if given the chance?
My and my dad’s song is “Free Fallin’” by Tom Petty. My Dad and I decided last minute to do our father-daughter dance to “Wildflowers” by Tom Petty instead. A little later on when everyone was dancing the DJ played “Free Fallin’.” I was looking everywhere for my dad and then I heard his voice singing along on the microphone to “Free Fallin’.” When I looked up at the DJ booth, there he was singing it to me. During cocktail hour he had passed out lyrics to everyone at the wedding so he could surprise me with singing it to me later on in the evening. This was a huge deal because my dad is extremely, extremely shy.
Did anything go comically wrong, or was there anything you wish you had skipped?
EVERYTHING went wrong!! The caterers were understaffed so my bridesmaids, myself and my mom had to help set up most of our wedding set-up. The DJ lost our music and cut our first dance song (we had a dance routine) short. My veil ripped out of my hair coming back down the aisle. The bar ran out of ice and our cake was never served. There was more and I was very caught up in everything that went wrong that day for a while, but now looking back we were so lucky to have the people we love with us in one room. I might have noticed every detail that went wrong, but my guests certainly didn’t. Everyone had a great time. Looking back I laugh about those things that I was so caught up on.
Was there anything you did or had that made the big day easier?
Yes! Hire a wedding planner! Just spend the money on it. It’s worth it! We had a wedding coordinator and that was nice, but a wedding planner is there to make sure you think and feel like your day is perfect.
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
