Scenes from five extraordinary weddings, to be exact, that captured our imagination with spontaneous energy, romantic detail and joyful exuberance.
The Couple: Tricia Solberg and Lee Zieben
Wedding Date: April 4, 2009
Venue: The Arrabelle at Vail Square
Flowers: Petals of Provence, Vail
Music: Reception: Soul X, Denver
Divine Details:
• Married at the Vail Chapel with an alphorn playing traditionalAustrian wedding music as guests arrived.
• The wedding-day lunch was ski-in, ski-out.
• Before exchanging their vows, the couple passed their rings in a pouch around the small chapel for all to bless.
• In lieu of a guest book, Lee and Tricia asked guests to sign a coffee-table book: Vail: Triumph of a Dream.
• The next day, the bride put her dress back on and shushed down the slopes with the groom in his wedding tuxedo, while a new friend took a few fantastic impromptu pics.
• The groom’s Oreo ice cream cake (his favorite) was topped with a Lego house (his favorite childhood toy) built by the bride’s nephew.
• The bride’s mother glued a wedding veil to Tricia’s ski helmet to wear during their wedding week.
Notes from a wedding: When the reception was over, the couple left through a tunnel of sparklers and boarded a snowcat, which the hotel had stocked with slices of wedding cake and champagne. The driver took them to the top of the gondola where Lee had proposed to Tricia. A cold but romantic jaunt.
The Couple: Amy Spalding and Robert Urquhart
Wedding Date: June 20, 2009
Venue: Ceremony: St. Luke’s United Methodist Church. Reception: Houston Country Club
Event Production: Kristin McShane, Keely Thorne Events
Flowers: Events in Bloom
Music: Blind Date, Austin
Divine Details:
• Lavish candy bar of apothecary jars chock-full of Hot Tamales, M&Ms, Twizzlers.
• Tissue balls fashioned into blooming flowers of sunny citrus hues dangling above the porte cochère at the reception entrance.
• Late-night mini burgers passed on silver trays.
• The couple’s initials spelled out in tight masses of flowers.
• Bubbly goodbyes.
Notes from a wedding: Amy and Robert Urquhart tied the knot in the same Houston church where Amy’s parents had strolled down the aisle 29 years earlier.
The Couple: Bevin Bering and Dan Dubrowski
Wedding Date: October 17, 2009
Venue: Ceremony: The Chapel of St. Basil at The University of St. Thomas. Reception at a museum, dinner at a gallery.
Wedding Coordinator: Alia Rdissi, Belle of the Ball
Flowers: Bergner & JohnsonCatering: A Fare Extraordinaire
Cake: Susie’s Cakes
Music: Ceremony: Alejandro Manega from Houston Grand Opera. Procession: Los Mariachis Juventil. Reception: 27-piece Richard Brown Orchestra
Divine Details:
• Wedding cake was designed to look like a Dan Flavin installation from the Monument series.
• Orchids on long stems in clear cylindrical vases filled with tinted water to mirror the colors of Flavin’s light pieces that surrounded the tables, with glass rocks between the vases — a nod to artist Robert Smithson’s work.
• Round tin canisters with crosses filled with five Jordan almonds — a traditional gift at Italian, Greek and Middle Eastern weddings.
• Shots of iced cappuccinos after 10 pm and tequila after 10:30 pm. “Coffee + tequila = lots of dancing.” — Bevin Bering Dubrowski
Notes from a wedding: You could say it was art that brought Bevin Bering and Dan Dubrowski together. At the time, Bering was the director of Bering & James gallery; Dubrowski was an art patron in the market for new work when he walked into Bering & James. The pair bonded over contemporary collections and artful inspiration. Naturally, their wedding reflected their shared passion.
The Couple: Nicole Spevak and Evan Katz
Wedding Date: November 14, 2009
Venue: The Corinthian
Event Production: Todd Events, Dallas
Catering: Jackson and Company
Music: Reception: Earth, Wind & Fire; Dallas-based Frank Sinatra–like crooner Goga; international Persian Elvis, Andy; 27-piece Richard Brown Orchestra
Divine Details:
• The soaring space transformed from cream and candlelight to rich jewel-toned colors outside the columns.
• Replicated an enchanted fairy-tale forest between the soaring columns of The Corinthian
• More flowers than you can imagine, starting with a chuppah topped with thousands upon thousands of white phaleonopsis and dendrobium orchid blossoms.
• Handmade chandeliers dripping with lemon-leaf garlands and rose pavé orbs, illuminated with pillar candles and fairy lights.
• Custom-embroidered dinner napkins.
• A cocktail-hour feast of caviar and seafood, artisan cheeses and lamb station with Persian jewel rice (studded with dried barberries and saffron).
• An elegant dinner surrounded by the lush trappings of an enchanted forest, with a trio of stunning desserts (candied pear with gold gilt leaf, spiced maple leaf cookies sandwiched with pumpkin mousse and a chocolate truffle).
• The wedding cake by Benny Daniels was cut under the chuppah as tea and miniature desserts were served in a Persian tea lounge.
• Would it surprise you to know the party went on till 4 am?
The Couple: Mary Hoang and Andy Do
Wedding Date: November 28, 2009
Venue: Ceremony: St. Michael Catholic Church. Reception: The Houstonian Hotel
Event Production: Darryl Murchison
Flower: Lexis Florist
Music: Midstream band
Divine Details:
• A traditional Vietnamese tea ceremony that morning, with the groom’s family offering equally traditional gifts steeped in centuries-old symbolism.
• Count ‘em, five wedding dresses, including a gold tea dress and the big white one (admittedly, though, the bride actually only wore three).
• Fourteen-hour marathon ceremony and reception held in three locations: the bride’s parents’ house, the church and, after a mid-afternoon break, The Houstonian Hotel.
• Sugar-cookie favors iced and shaped like three-tier wedding cakes by Michael’s Cookie Jar.
• Centerpieces of blooming red roses suspended in tall cylindrical vases and topped with rose-studded balls, three dozen per table.
• Mary arranged lit candles down the aisle of the church — vowing on her life not to set the place ablaze.
Notes from a wedding: The wedding day began at 10 am with an ancient Vietnamese tea ceremony. The groom and his family brought wine, money, fruit, tea and a whole roasted pig to the bride’s home as a dowry of sorts. Each offering is imbued with symbolism: The pig, for example, represents the bride’s purity, assuring the groom’s family that she has never been married nor borne children, while the money, in a variety of denominations, indicates the wealth that the couple will create together.
For more amazing photos of wedding details, click 'launch slideshow' above.