Our next Real Bride, Rachel, is from the gorgeous southwest known as the Land of Enchantment. She and Marty were married in the east mountains just outside of Albuquerque in Tijeras, New Mexico. Nestled up against the beautiful Monzano mountains, Nature Pointe gated community hosted their wedding and reception. We’re thrilled to have Rachel share her city girl meets country boy story with you …
“I was born and raised a city girl who fell in love with an incredibly handsome, big hearted and hard working country boy from Roswell, New Mexico. It’s funny because I SWORE to my mom I would NEVER marry a cowboy! To honor both our upbringings, instead of the traditional unity candle during the unity ceremony, we chose to mix items that uniquely and personally represented each of us: dried pasta shells for my Italian heritage and corn, not only to represent his last name, but for the life that shaped him. He is a farmer/rancher where corn is a common source of feed for his livestock.
In light of our city girl, country boy story, we chose a country chic themed wedding and reception with purple and sage green as our colors. It was a perfect mixture of burlap and lace with some cowboy boots thrown in as “vases” for the baby’s breath and purple statice we incorporated into our design. I am very thankful to my amazingly talented Aunt Debbie, Aunt Johanna and of course, Lauren, from Lo Boheme. They created all the bouquets, table decorations, well, the entire decor. My flower girl and ring bearer, Noelle and Jonah, are my little cousins and were proud to walk down the aisle paving the way for me. I am so thankful because my wedding was truly a labor of love and many family members pitched in. My grandfather even helped place purple statice on all the napkins.
Lo married into our family six years ago and ever since, I have adored her work … and her! I naturally had to have her make a hair piece to coordinate with my wedding dress. I fell in love with her Sierra Hair Piece. It’s a semi custom flower made from silk fabric petals with a vintage center stone of my choosing. She also created custom wrist corsages the mothers and grandmothers wore and custom made my flower girl’s headband. The headband was stunning in all that curly blonde hair. I couldn’t have been happier with the way they turned out!
JR’s Bar-B-Q catered our dinner. The owners are family friends who I have known for a long time. However, I am Italian and grew up with very strong Italian family traditions, so I originally wanted a big pasta bar and cannolis for dessert. After careful thought, and strained input from my husband-to-be, we happily agreed on BBQ … we were hosting a bunch of cowboys from Roswell, NM after all!
The toasts were one of the high lights from the day. Not only were they heartfelt, but very entertaining and crowd pleasing. My brother-in-law gave a “jaw-dropper” of a speech. I had no idea he was such a good public speaker! On the other hand, I knew my sister was a good public speaker and her words have been permanently imprinted on my heart. My dad’s toast was also unforgettable – in that moment I prayed for nothing more for my marriage than to have what my parent’s had. I felt truly blessed to have had such an amazing example of what a marriage should be and could be.
Another highlight from the day was our reception “sing-along”. We printed the words to “Its Amore” for all the guests and intended to belt it out with our wine glasses raised (something I did at a little Italian restaurant while in college – it was a Friday night tradition). Due to technical issues, the DJ couldn’t get the song to play, so my oh so astounding, vibrant and incredibly loved cousin (and Lo’s husband), Josh, grabbed the mic and started us off … acapella! It was great!”
When asked what advice Rachel would give future brides, she said, “The wedding is just the beginning and it’s gone in the blink of an eye. Place your focus and energy in planning what really matters most. At the end of the day, all that you will care about is the man by your side and the loved ones you were blessed to share the day with.”
Thank you Rachel. You were such a beautiful bride and Marty a handsome groom. You are just as beautiful inside as you are outside.
Vendors:
Dress designer: David’s Bridal, Brides Pearls: Her mother’s, Hair pieces & corsages: Lo Boheme, Bridesmaid’s dresses: J Crew, Bridesmaid’s necklaces: White House Black Market, Tuxes: Calvin Klein, Photography: Blue Rose Photography (Albuquerque NM) www.bluerosestudios.com, Cake: Unique Cakes by Karyn (Now known as A Cake Odyssey) www.acakeodyssey.com, Caters: JR’s Bar-B-Q www.jrs-barbeque.com
(more…)
