Southern Weddings

A date we went on that we’ll always remember: Dinner in the New York Grill atop skyscraper in Tokyo – stunning views!
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: the white paper parasols, imported from china, for each of the guests – with special designs for the two mums and a super sized one for Cheryl and her Dad.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Time – with busy careers, and a young baby – there never seemed enough time to get it all done.
Where there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? All the bridesmaids and the Mother of the bride wore my maternal Grandma’s jewelry. My Grandma had a HUGE jewelry collection. Some of my fondest memories of her, whom I was very close to, where trying on her jewelry while she told me stories of where each piece came from. I knew that if Peggy were around today she would have loved the idea.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Seeing Cheryl approaching me at the "alter"; I had to really hold back a wave of emotion and a tear. When Phil and I went for a walk on the Beach at sunset.
Scariest moment? Trying to get Kevin , the boys’ photographer, ashore from the yacht without soaking his cameras Not knowing how our 41/2 month old son was going to hold up in the heat surrounded by a crowd of people and loud music.
Funniest moment? Uncle Kevin dancing and lip-synching
What were your something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue items? Something old was an old English penny, something new was a lace embroidered handkerchief , something blue was my son’s birth stone Blue Topaz (he was born December31^st), something borrowed was my bridesmaid Vanessa’s Angle pin.
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: Uncle Perry singing a big production show tune before we sat down for dinner…we thought he was just going to say grace.
How was your wedding different than the way you’d always imagined it would be? It was more personal, more involving and more spontaneous than I had expected. It wasn’t held up by any protocols or "doing the right thing".
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Authentic, natural, intimate
Did you write your own vows? Yes – to include baby James and to put ourselves in the context of where we were and who was with us.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Live your dream – and not other people’s expectations. Have fun planning for the day, Volunteer someone to take care of last minute emergencies the week leading up to the wedding. Remember the things that matter and forget the things that don’t.
What’s next for you? Everything…traveling the world with work and for play; maybe moving job/state/home; finally having Cheryl’s dog Rauch come live with us (not allowed in our current rental home so he’s living with her parents!), and giving James’ a brother or sister to play with.