A Weekend In Erie: A White Wedding

It's a little belated, yes, but I wanted to share some snapshots of my friend Liz's beautiful wedding from last weekend!

It was definitely a nice day for a White Wedding (Mr. & Mrs. White, that is)-- the bride got an unseasonably warm and sunny spring day for her wedding. April is a little dicey on that side of the Great Lakes, but it could not have been nicer.

The wedding ceremony was held at the cathedral downtown. It's been a few years since I have been to a big Catholic church wedding and I think I forgot how familiar and beautiful they are.

And the bride, of course, looked classic and stunning-- very Princess Grace on her wedding day. I'm so impressed by any bride that can pull off a gorgeous full skirt like she did.

The other thing that I loved about this wedding-- and it's one of my favorite things to note at any wedding that I attend-- is the attention to detail and the way that those details really tell you something about the bride and groom and their style and what's important to them.  The favors, for instance, were tiny boxes of truffles that included notes letting each guest know that a donation had been made in their names to charities close to the bride and groom's hearts: Habitat for Humanity and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.



And I will always think of Liz and her mother as being fabulous hostesses and this weekend was no exception.  They left personalized gift bags (below left) for us at the hotel that included wine and chocolates from local Erie establishments, snacks, and Erie visitor information.  It's such a sweet touch and looking back, it's something else I wish we would have done for our wedding guests.

I also loved their "guestbook."  I've been to several weddings where guests were asked to sign the matte around a framed engagement photo, but this one was a little different.  The "matte" was a metal surface and guests were asked to etch in a message.  It was very cool and modern.  And the table numbers read "When we were..." and their ages with corresponding photos of both of them at those ages.  Another sweet touch.

Speaking of sweet touches, they also had a sweets table with a fabulous spread of mini desserts, pastries, and candies.  One of the other guests remarked that it looked like the bought out an entire Polish bakery, which could have been accurate!  The bride's family is Polish and it reminded me of when her grandmother used to send her back to college with a car full of fabulous homemade treats.  The table was covered with traditional Eastern European treats like angel wings, cheesecakes, and pizzelle.  To my cookie-loving husband's delight, there were doggie bags for him to pack up with his favorites.

Didn't they look great?

Speaking of looking great, here's my handsome wedding date and me.

And my other date. The other Liz. We also happened to dress alike and also in coordination with the wedding's coral and gray color scheme. Don't you just love when that happens?

And here's half of our wedding table looking great. I have expressed many times on this blog how much I love a photo booth (especially with props). Some things just never change.

It was a beautiful wedding and a fabulous party-- and I'd expect nothing less from my dear old friend.

Congratulations, Liz & Austin!