Yesterday I shared the story of our 10 year wedding renewal ceremony recently featured in Destination I DO magazine…Read on for more on the very colorful dinner celebration!
Our original wedding as I like to call it now was lightyears away from this renewal celebration. We did the big-party-invite-everyone-you-ever-knew thing. It was a wonderful day and I don’t regret a bit of it. When it came time to celebrate 10 years together, I knew it would be different. Bold color, regional textures and flavors were the beginning. The end was a joyous and very small celebration that made us all feel like the only people on earth for one glorious evening.
When we first met with Angie from By Bloomers I use words like southwest sophisticated, saturated color and texture. The rest I left to her as I strongly believe you need to choose vendors you feel a connection with and then trust them to make magic for you. Angie worked with a vibrant palette of artichokes, raspberry peonies, chocolate dahlias and cosmos, dried pods, various grasses, scabiosa pods and orange ranunculus. The finished looks were alive with texture and possessed a certain alluring asymmetry.
A rich table was set beginning with luxe LaTavola velvet linens and runners in shades of burnt orange and taupe. We collected vintage pieces from a local shop aptly named, Frontier Plunder. An oversized carved silver urn, Mexican pottery in various shapes and a traditional Mexican Tree of Life sculpture all made their way to our table. Fresh chili peppers were scattered amongst regional rock and glass chunks found the day before to craft an organic table runner of natural elements.
The menus were possibly my favorite paper detail. Each was watercolored subtly in an ombre style ranging from soft gold to pale copper. After drying each was painted with expressive stripes in red, gold and copper. Paint was allowed to drip and puddle differently and when dry, the shimmer and texture of each artfully mimicked red rock.
Each guest received a custom Paloma’s Nest bowl made from Terracotta. We were honored to have Caroline work in this material just for our celebration and revere her creations as a treasured keepsake from the day. My Zion sketch first seen on the save the dates was stamped into each with the text “Under Starry Sky”. An excerpt from a favorite Indigo Girls tune described perfectly the enchanting Zion sky at night that captivates all who see it.
Fresh Margaritas and Sangria were flowing and each guests penned their wishes for us around a dramatic photo of Zion at Night captured by Greg Gibson.
Our favorite moment of the day is a shared one between Adam and I. During dinner, we read portions from Edward Abbey’s writings and laughed until our sides hurt. Our guitarist Rustin began taking requests and playing his best acoustic versions of 80’s pop hits, heavy metal and anything else we could throw at him. As we continued to eat, drink and tell stories the music filled the space and before we knew it, we were all singing along. In that moment, all we wanted for our renewal celebration had come true.
Ceremony Location- – Zion National Park, Springdale, Utah :: Event Date: May 15, 2010 :: Photographer – Lindsey Stewart, Green Apple Photography :: Celebration Dinner Site: Bit and Spur Saloon, Springdale, Utah :: Floral Design – Angie Jessup, By Bloomers St. George, Utah :: Calligraphy – Betsy Dunlap :: Bride’s Cameo Necklace – Custom from Frontier Plunder, Springdale, Utah :: Re-Designed Wedding Bands – Custom from MarcCo Jewelers, Luzerne, PA :: Teracotta Favor Bowls and Charms – Custom by Paloma’s Nest :: Linens – LaTavola Linen :: Officiant – Sharon Vollett, Salt Lake City, Utah :: Guitarist – Rustin Reber, Enterprise, Utah
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