by: "Not even the rain rattled my spirits," said bride Cristina about their wedding ceremony that was moved inside due to inclement weather. Aaron and Cristina had a gorgeous--almost ethereal--fall wedding. Cristina had this say about their "Fall in Love" theme, "I have been in love with the aura of autumn ever since I was a child. There is something so beautiful about the changing colors, the smell of pumpkin spice, and the crisp, cool breezes that surround the season. Thinking about fall instantly brings a smile to my face, and I knew I had to be married during this gorgeous season." Continue on to read more from our beautiful bride about their day, their colors, things learned, advice given. and shouts of praise to all that helped to bring their "big day" to fruition! Enjoy!
Wedding Style: Elegant with a "Fall in Love" theme
Wedding Colors: Copper| Olive Green| Ivory
Ceremony: The Morton Arboretum
Reception: Pescatore Palace
Photographer: Open Iris Photo
Thank You Cards: MagnetStreet Weddings
The dress ...
My dress was Maggie Sottero’s Ambrosia style. It was the only dress I put on and had the instant feeling of, “This dress is just beautiful.” My shoes were Benjamin Adams London, completely crystal-encrusted and FIVE INCHES tall. My veil was shoulder length and had beading to match the beading in my dress bodice, and my florist made me a hair piece with Mokara Orchids.
The color scheme
I fell in love with a Jordan Moments bridesmaid dress that came in the perfect copper color, so everything kind of evolved off of that. My junior bridemaid dresses were my accent olive green color, and then ivory was present throughout the day, too. My colors were in everything from the dresses, to the programs, to my party favors!
Exchanging Vows
Another highlight is definitely when my husband and I exchanged our vows. We both wrote our own, and hearing the kind words my husband expressed to me is something I will cherish for always. On top of that, I will never forget how he was on the verge of tears while I recited mine to him ... Seeing how emotional he became was so special to me because it just shows how deep the love between us is.
Our First Dance was of course memorable. Aaron was so nervous to dance, but it flowed effortlessly. We danced to “So Beautiful” by Darren Hayes.
Congrats Aaron and Cristina! We wish you every happiness... thanks so much for sharing your wedding with us!
xo
Highlights From The Day
The Speeches
I have to say, my husband’s toast was also an exceptional highlight. I was so proud of him standing there and thanking all of our guests and expressing how excited and happy he was that friends and family came from all over the country to share in our day. And, of course, he did a great job of complimenting me (and saying that all my hard wedding planning work paid off! Of course a girl LOVES hearing that, haha).
My Maid of Honor’s speech was also a great highlight. We have been friends for 10 years, and there is no one else on this planet that resembles me as much as she does. Her speech was just perfect. Reflecting on how far we have come in our friendship gives me chills sometimes—I remember being in biology and journalism with her, and there we were on my wedding day. It’s like I knew that we would be there for each other’s wedding days, but you can’t actually really imagine it until the day is there. I felt that way about the entire wedding, actually. You have such a dream and vision for everything, and then when it finally happens, you almost can’t believe it.
Talking with all of our guests – so many people said so many wonderful things. I will not forget my uncle telling me it was the best wedding he had ever been too.
The flowers! My goodness, I have never seen such beautiful flowers in my whole life. If there is one vendor that deserves high praise, it is definitely my florist. She is above and beyond an artist!
Our husband and wife entrance was pretty cute—Aaron is a soccer player, so we thought the FIFA 2010 World Cup song would be appropriate (it was also significant to us because we started dating the summer of the World Cup, so the song was memorable). The song is called “Waving Flag,” so, naturally, we came in waving flags (me, an Italian one, him, an American one).
Advice you're glad you took
Many married couples told me to make sure I eat on my wedding day because they never got to taste their dinner! I am glad Aaron and I got to enjoy most of our Italian feast, because we both love food so much, so we kind of made it a priority to get to take more than just one bite of each of our courses. Dessert was kind of another story, but we made the dinner count!
Advice you wished you'd taken
Often my MOH and co-workers would tell me to not worry about the several different opinions people would present about this or that, and many times, it was hard for me to ignore the opinions of others, despite the decisions I knew I wanted to make. In the end, I usually went with what I wanted to do, but if I had taken more stock in the “this is your wedding, you do it how you want” way of thinking, I would have eliminated a lot of back-and-forth conversations and stressful thinking.
Advice you’d like to give?
I want to preface this by saying that I am ecstatic with the way my wedding turned out and would not change a thing. All of the hard work in planning really paid off for me BUT do not be fooled by wedding-planning seeming fun. I think the best advice I can give is that most of the time, wedding planning is not fun. Most of the time, you are pulling your hair out over the tiniest details – you will start second guessing decisions, and yes, you will have a fight with your fiancé over something at some point. There were many times where I started asking myself, “Is this normal? Am I supposed to feel this stressed out about getting married? Isn’t it supposed to be fun to plan a wedding?” When you are working a full time job, wedding planning becomes another full-time job. I can promise though that everything will be work it in the end—and that is what a honeymoon is for afterward, right? ;)
Also, wear low-heeled shoes!
The best part of the whole wedding day ...
Is it cheating to say the whole thing? I think the best part was all of the love expressed by not only me and Aaron, but by all the people around us. There was just a general happy, loving feeling about the entire day that I will never forget.
WEDDING PRO SHOUT OUT
Open Iris Photo
My photographer was recommended by a co-worker of mine, and after seeing his beautiful portfolio, I could not find a photographer I liked better. It’s why I flew him out from California to Illinois. I think the best comment I received so far is that the photos “belong in magazines.” I think that comment stands on its own to show how impressed I am, and how impressed others are, with the photos.
The Morton Arboretum
The Morton Arboretum was exceptional! Our photos came out so well partially thanks to them and their absolutely gorgeous, gorgeous scenery.
Pescatore Palace
The Pescatore Palace took extra special care of me and Aaron. I was able to have a traditional Italian banquet wedding just like my cousins, 2nd cousins, aunts, uncles, and parents because of Pescatore, and that meant so much. Thank you Frank!
All Flowers by Marisa
My florist made my dreams come true. The number one comment that was made about anything that day was the flowers. People were literally in awe. I am eternally grateful to Marisa for bringing my vision to life.
Eclipse Entertainment – DJ Elmo Arcari
Elmo is one of the kindest individuals I have ever worked with. I had a couple people express how they “never dance,” but at my wedding, they did. Elmo knows how to feel out a crowd and get everyone to have a great time.
MagnetStreet Weddings
MagnetStreet was the only company I could find that allowed me to personalize the photo card EXACTLY how I wanted it. The font, the color of the font, the layout of the card was exactly what I had pictured in my head, and they were the only company who could deliver that vision.
On choosing Life of Luxury Thank You Card design
I loved that design because it was simple, yet elegant. I didn’t want the words to block out the photo too much, but I wanted them to be there. The font was absolutely perfect, too. Again, it had the elegance I was looking for to pair perfectly with the photo.
How did it fit with your personality or wedding style?
When I think of fall, I think of it as an elegant season—this card helped portray that. There is sort of an ethereal nature behind it, and I feel like that is what made it fit so well with my theme.
