{Real Bride Series} Meet Heather!

Meet this month’s Bride, Heather! She and her new husband Richard were married this past January in a breathtaking ceremony out at Villa Siena. Read about their magical day and check out all of the gorgeous pictures after the jump!

How did you and your groom meet?
We met online at Match.com

We’re dying to know, how did he propose?!

We were in Washington state visiting his family around Christmas 2013. My mom and her husband had also come for Christmas and to meet his family. On the last day before we went home, we heading out to meet his brother for lunch. On the way, we stopped at Deception Pass (I still laugh at the name!), which is a large bridge that connected Whidbey Island to ‘mainland’ Washington state. It was very cold and windy on the bridge, so he suggested walking down the trail to the water to look around and take pictures. Once down there, he asked me if I saw any sea glass. I was looking around and spotted a neat rock and said ‘ooh, this is a pretty rock.’ He had apparently stepped behind me and I heard ‘What do you think about this rock?’ I turned around to see that he was on his knee with the ring held out! I said yes and we went back to share good news both of our families!

What were your wedding colors?

Our colors were bush pink and gray

How large was your wedding party?
6 groomsmen and 6 bridesmaids.

Where did you find your dress? Would you say that finding your dress was a relatively easy or a difficult process?

I am tall and not petite so I was terrified about shopping for a dress. Luckily there is a store made for us ‘untiny’ ladies. I found my dress at Strut Bridal on my second visit there. It is champagne. I fell in love with the color but the overall dress just won me over. I love it! Thankfully I got it just in time as they discontinued it two weeks later! Being tall, I added extra length and a longer train.

Where did your ceremony and reception take place? Was there any special meaning behind the choice of venue(s)?
Villa Siena in Gilbert. I just wanted something that wasn’t typical Arizona venue (desert landscaping or golf course). The venue is stunning and was the perfect environment. I loved that I didn’t have to add to it or do any decorating.

What kind of flowers did you have in your bouquet and the ceremony/ reception?
I wanted succulents in my flowers and a soft flower like peonies. I think the peonies were limited but my vendor matched my vision with several other types of flowers in white and blush pink. I loved how they turned out!

What was the flavor of your wedding cake? Did you have a groom’s cake?
We had a two layer cake and cupcakes. The cake was chocolate and spice cake. The cupcakes were also chocolate, spice cake and pink champagne.

Did you provide favors to your guests? If so, what were they?
We did a candy table.

What details from your wedding that made it unique to you?
The flowers & music were important to me, so I put a lot of thought into what was played for the ceremony. We learned a ‘formal’ dance to ‘Songbird’ by Eva Cassidy and then we did a choreographed version of Napoleon Dynamite. We wanted nice but to have a lot of fun too!

Other than marrying your husband, what was your favorite moment from your wedding day?
The first look and our last dance. I wanted the first look because I wanted a moment with just him and me. It was a lot more emotional than I anticipated and it was perfect. Then at the end of the night when they had everyone go outside for our exit, the DJ played our first dance song again and we got to finish the night dancing all by ourselves. Those photos of those moments are my favorite too.

Did you take a honeymoon? If so, where did you go?
Our honeymoon plans changed at last minute due to some news. We are long distance and two weeks before the wedding he got the job transfer we had been waiting for (for 6 years). We are moving to Washington State and we can live together now. So we had to change our honeymoon to go to Seattle so I could do a second interview for my job and we could get a home. So it was a ‘working’ honeymoon but for an overall goal that will let us have a life together.

What is one piece of wisdom you learned from your planning experience that you would like to share with future brides?
I actually had a lot of fun planning the wedding. Not too much drama. My vendors were awesome. I do recommend doing an engagement photo session with your photographer. It helped us get to know our photographer and work out a few kinks. It wasn’t about the ‘engagement’ photos as we did ours really late (only two months before the wedding), but it was more to work with the photographer and to get some nice photos of us. I’m really glad we did that. Also, get the outfits early especially if you have out of town attendants.

Who were some of the other vendors that were a part of your dream team?
Venue & Catering: Villa Siena
Photographer: Pinkerton PhotographyVideographer: Life’s Story Studios
Cake Designer: Piece of Cake
DJ: Jeff (from Ray the DJ)
Officiant: R.D. Baker