Real {Pennsylvania} Wedding: Cynthia + Alan

“To rehabilitate” means “to improve”, “to renew” or “to make better”. When Cynthia walked into a rehabilitation center to visit her dad who was recently transferred there, I am certain that she had no idea that her heart was about to be renewed…about to be made better. She would meet Alan, the man whose life, love and presence would make the rest of her life better-and this is only the beginning :)

That unexpected beginning led to this gorgeous wedding. When I look at these wedding photos, the first word that comes to mind is “freshness.” Every element works together to create perfectly lush moments. From the fresh flowers and earthy colors to the gorgeous location, this wedding is alive. The images were so creatively captured by Onada Photography. Now, meet the couple….

The Meeting … “We met on November 7, 2006 at Alan’s previous place of employment Golden Living Center in Doylestown, PA. Doylestown is my hometown and my father was recently transferred to Golden Living Center for rehabilitation. On November 7th, we passed each other in the hallway and then again several times over the next few days. We exchanged numbers the second time we met and went out on our first date soon after. We fell in love quickly and over the years have enjoyed traveling, skiing, cooking, exercising, spending time with our families and renovating houses together.”

The Proposal … “Alan proposed to Cindy on Christmas morning 2010 at their home in Philadelphia, PA. It was a special proposal on a special day; Cindy was surprised and delighted!”

{Perfection is in the Details}

What mattered most … “What mattered most to us both was the venue and photos. We wanted a beautiful indoor/outdoor venue that would provide a beautiful backdrop for wedding photos. We were looking for a wedding package that would make planning easy and offer a high level of service on the day of the wedding. We visited numerous venues but when we first saw Center Square Golf Club, we were really impressed. Our wedding photos were also very important to us. We wanted to have the right photographer capture our special day so we could treasure these memories – through our photos – for a lifetime.”

The Theme and Inspiration …. “We did not have a theme, more of an ideal atmosphere. Natural yet elegant, classic and romantic, vibrant yet intimate. Timeless but unique. We tried to achieve this by selecting a venue that was secluded, private and offered a high level of service. We wanted a room that could accommodate our guest count (invited 150, expected 115, approximately 105 guests came) without being overwhelmingly big or too small. We loved the brick work both on the interior and exterior of Center Square Golf Club. We chose colors that are earthy and complimentary – hunter green dresses for the bridesmaids and hunter green vests and ties for the groomsmen. Burnt orange flowers for the bouquets. Groomsmen boutonnieres and centerpieces to add a pop of color. Gold and ivory invitations, menus, wedding programs. Gold accents. Ivory linens. I handmade the menus and the table numbers to add a personal touch. We wanted to match so I wore a white dress and Alan a black tux with a white vest and white boutonniere. [The] bouquet was white as was the décor for the arbor we were married under. We had a sweetheart table decorated with [the] cascading bouquet and drippy candles to add a touch of romance.”

What was most difficult to agree on …. “The menu. Alan is a nutritionist, skilled cook and ‘foodie’ so food is very important to him. I also loves food and cooking but they differed on what food items should be offered and what food upgrades/enhancements should be made. I was worried about our budget but the menu was important to Alan. Since the menu was important to Alan, he selected the food. Instead of the standard two entrees included in our package, he opted for three. Some of the entrees he selected were pricier but higher quality food items. Center Square Golf Club allowed us to select two additional appetizers to have butlered during our cocktail hour which was really helpful in adding variety to our menu. Alan also selected the wedding cake filling and flavor while I chose the look and style. Because Alan selected all of the items included in our 4-course meal, we decided against an additional food enhancements. In the end, we were able to compromise to meet both of our needs. I was good at making sure we stuck to our budget by saving in other areas such as with the chair covers and invitations so that it balanced out some of the extra costs (which fortunately was only a few hundred) associated with our food selection….”

Finding the right vendors …. “We found most of our [vendors] online through extensive research.  While we wanted to coordinate a fabulous and memorable wedding celebration, we also were conscious of our budget.  We did not want to sacrifice quality so we viewed a lot of venues, called a lot of photographers, emailed/met with various florists, etc until we found just the right vendors to meet our needs and help us create the perfect wedding. Thankfully, we are very pleased with all of our [vendors’] work!  We loved the photographer, videographer, florist and the banquet manager at Center Square Golf Club.  I am not sure how we got so lucky and all were a pleasure to work with.  What attracted us to our photographer, Onada Photography, was her creative, youthful and unique style.  We saw samples of her work on her blog and website and the vibrant colors and creative yet timeless angles sold us!  She was flexible and accommodated our needs for a customized wedding package.  Our videographer has over twenty years of experience and you can tell.  What attracted us to him was his high quality work product at a reasonable price.  He was completely flexible in how he would work with us and accommodate our needs. He delivered our video in less than three weeks after the wedding and we love it.  Our florist – Bruce at Wegman’s floral department in Warrington, PA was top notch.  He suggested all of the varieties of flowers that we ultimately selected.  He was flexible and designed lovely customized arrangement for our bouquets, boutonnieres, centerpieces, receiving table and arbor.  Neither one of us knew much about flowers so we were a bit overwhelmed but Bruce took care of us and put us at complete ease.  Once we met Lee Lenzi at Center Square Golf Club, we were sold base on the beautiful of the venue, high level of service that he promised (and delivered on).  Also, we liked that we would be the only wedding at the facility on that date – a few other venues we viewed had multiple rooms and you would not have someone fully dedicated to you the entire night to help coordinate everything from start to finish – Center Square Golf Club offered that.”

{You Make Loving You So Easy}

Cynthia loves that Alan …. “is adventurous, spiritual, open-minded, hardworking and compassionate.  And it doesn’t hurt that he is so handsome. I admire and love him so much.. he is such a strong, loving, supportive man… he is the most beautiful person – inside and out – that I know.”

Alan loves that Cynthia …. “is compassionate, spiritual, silly, family-oriented, and loves trying new things.  We both love having fun and experiencing new things together.  Since we met, we have grown so much by listening and learning from one another.  We are best friends and constantly strive to be better as individuals and as a couple by supporting each other.  We are still so much in love and make sure to express our love and appreciation for one another every day. I feel the same way about her that I did when we first met.. that she is the perfect woman for me… kind, generous, beautiful and strong.”

{Advice for Engaged Couples and Brides-to-be}

“Enjoy every day together!  To love and to be loved is such a blessing in so many ways.  On your wedding day, relax and savor every moment, remembering what is truly most important… committing yourselves to one another and the promise of a happy and blessed future together!”

VENDORS

Congratulations you two beautiful people on your wedding. May your marriage always be as fresh and lush as your wedding was, and may joy, laughter and friendship always be a part of your home. May your home be only one place: where you two are together!

Click on any thumbnail below to view the entire gallery.

[nggallery id=265]