Who doesn’t love a party? Leah & Stephen love parties. And they should! Their friendship began when they met at a party. They shared an interest in exercise, cooking, playing video games, and travel. Leah reminisces, “I was so nice to just have a friend to enjoy music with and watch funny movies with and talk about anything with. I found myself talking to him every day and hanging out all the time. Before I even knew what was happening I fell in love with this man.” Fittingly, they shared their first kiss at a party, and even said “I love you” for the first time at a party.
Fast forward: It was Christmas morning and Leah and Stephen went downstairs to see what Santa had left for them. Christmas is the anniversary of their meeting, so they opened a bottle of champagne and settled down next to the tree. There were red rose petals spread around a little figurine of Wall-E, a character from the couple’s favorite movie. “I reached for it, thinking there must be jewelry inside, but I really didn’t expect what I would find,” said Leah. Stephen took the ring, dropped to one knee and proposed. He says now that he had hoped to say more, but he was so nervous, he forgot everything he was going to say and just asked “Will you marry me?” The answer, of course, was yes!
Naturally, soon after the engagement was announced, wedding planning began. “Oh my goodness, planning a wedding was an experience I will never forget,” says Leah. “I really experienced every emotion in the book. Poor Stephen just wanted to make me happy and he really made me feel like a princess.”
After setting the date, it was time to start nailing down all the details. “I obsessed over the wedding because I’m an absolute perfectionist, and I wanted everyone to see and feel the love we have for each other on our wedding day.” She wasn’t alone; Stephen stayed involved in the planning too. Leah says, “I was so glad that Stephen wanted to be a part of it. It’s important for a bride to see that the wedding is important to both parties. My groom went to all the venues with me, to all the food tastings with me and to all the vendor meetings with me. He was so supportive and involved, and as it turned out, we really had no problem agreeing on anything. We both loved the same venue, the same style food and even agreed on the theme.”
Leah’s favorite part of the planning was the search for the wedding venue. She recalls, “At that point, the engagement was still new and I was really enjoying exploring all of the different scenes we could have had for our wedding day.” The couple appreciated Kendra’s input greatly. “I always joke with Stephen that if she wasn’t there, there wouldn’t have been a wedding.” To make things even easier, two of her bridesmaids had just recently been married, and were a huge help during planning. Leah also did a lot of reading, finding out what to do, what not to do, and what can go wrong on your wedding day. She was definitely well prepared!
The couple decided to get married at a vineyard. The venue they decided on was the perfect place for their wedding – the lovely winery brought back fond memories of their visit to Italy. For their theme, the couple sought a vintage and chic look with lots of lace and pearls. “We wanted white everywhere. White table linens, white lanterns, white candlesticks, white flowers and even a white cake. I have a special place in my heart for lace and pearls so we made sure the tables had lace draped over them and the bouquets had peek-a-boo pearls in them” says Leah. Subtle hints of lavender, lilac, blush and ivory with floral accents in the bouquets and cake added a touch of color and class. “After hours of research, I noticed that I had gravitated towards a certain style. It felt clean, calm and timeless. I would keep describing my wedding vision as perfect imperfection. Nothing in any certain manner or way but everything with a purpose. I wanted it to seem like you were in a different time and place. White is the color of inspiration and I wanted our love and our family to be the focus instead of bright colors.”
The day was everything that Leah and Stephen had hoped for. “I really enjoyed the time spent getting ready, the calmest part of the day where you still have your head on straight and can absorb what’s happening. Drinking champagne with my bridal party, getting made up and seeing my beautiful dress hung up next to me made time stand still for just a moment.” Stephen’s favorite part of the day was when he first saw Leah coming down the aisle. He had so much anticipation and he was so anxious to finally see his beautiful bride on his wedding day. They both say that they were surprised at how fast the day went by. “We both knew it would go fast, but had no idea just how fast.”
Leah and Stephen offer this advice for other couples planning a wedding: “Get started early. Involve a planner or coordinator to help with all the details and to help keep you on schedule. Delegate tasks to reliable people. Your bridal party is there for a reason and they are more than willing to help. I would also suggest keeping all your wedding documents organized so you can keep track of vendor contact info, payments, and so on.”
Being organized and having help makes planning a wedding so much less stressful and more enjoyable! And it should be fun. After all, you’re planing a party! And who doesn’t love a party?
PHOTOS: Bucheli Photography
[PLANNER & INVITATIONS] Pfeiffer Event Planning [BRIDESMAID ATTIRE] The Bridal Box [CAKE] Kathy’s Little Cakery [VINTAGE FURNITURE] Dogwood Party Rentals
