Elegant Wedding Stories from AFFLUENT BRIDE

Mary and Toby- Palm Beach, FL
Our Wedding Day - May 19, 2007

Although we work for the same company, we actually lived worlds apart. I lived in West Palm Beach and my fiance lived across the pond in Norwich, England. I meet Toby finally met at a tradeshow in Vegas. We connected, and a new relationship emerged and we started to corresponded long distance.

Arranging our schedules to meet in cities all over the world, we simultaneously explored new frontiers and our flourishing relationship. Our "meetings" consisted of short jaunts in Dublin, a few days in London, then Amsterdam, Maine, Mexico, Key West, Paris... After 3 years of worldwide courtship, we decided to give our jet set romance a permanent location and we settled on Toby coming to the US on a fiance visa.

Toby's visa required that we get married within three months of his arrival in the United States - which didn't leave us much time for planning. The one thing I wanted was a ceremony held at the Royal Poinciana Chapel, a stunning blue chapel with a majestic old Banyon tree as an impressive backdrop with amazing beauty and ambiance. The acoustics in the old church are awesome! We ended up booking the the first date that was available and the planning stemmed from there.

The Governor's Club perched atop Phips Point was chosen to host our wedding reception. The stunning floor-to-ceiling windows afforded panoramic views of the downtown cityscape and ocean below. Inside, a profusion of tealights placed on every table emulated a romantic candlit setting.

As a gardening enthusiast I am particularly fond of orchids and wanted to fill the day's details to include an abundance of flowers and orchids, even accenting my hair with some of my favorite blooms.

For my wedding dress, I chose a simple gown with a full gathered skirt and accented the look with a chandelier necklace and earring set of auqa marine stones and diamond crusted hearts. The antique look also complemented my heirloom diamond engagement ring.

When it came to selecting my invitation and stationery suite, I was lucky not to have to look too look far. My younger sister, majoring in print and design, expertly crafted our one-of-a-kind invitations and programs for the wedding.

For the ceremony and reception, festive music, dancing and sumptuous cuisine highlighted the joyous occasion. The Royal Poinciana's impressive accoustics combined with an old organ piano and vocalist, created an beautiful resonating sound for our wedding ceremony.

After dancing to 'Don't Go Changing' I danced with my father, paying homage to our Irish background, dancing to 'My Wild Irish Rose'. My father's wedding toast afterwards included an Irish Blessing to us.

At the reception we treated our guests to a full open bar, and a profuse buffet featuring seafood, tenderloins, chicken, lobster bisque and finished with a buttercream vanilla cake with cannoli filling.

Now in thinking back, if I had to pinpoint the many highlights of the day, it would have to be our appreciation for long distance families and friends coming together to celebrate our wedding. And of course, the most significant moment of the day had to be the fateful walk down the aisle, which I would have to describe as the moment where I was so nervous for the ceremony to begin, but walking down the aisle and seeing Toby as he looked back at me and saying 'WOW' was funny, but also nerve settling."

At our reception, it was all about letting loose and having a good time. "It was such a relaxing and fun atmosphere. The speeches were great, and the best part of the evening was dancing with everyone!"

Sort of makes you wish you were there....doesn't it? Hope in reading our wedding story, it provides inspiration for your own wedding day.