Meet the Newmans: Amy & Marshall

From the moment I met Amy, I knew I was going to love her!  Immediately, I felt her excitement as she discussed her wedding plans.     Happiness spread across the room as she spoke about the man she would soon be calling her husband.   She knew that she wanted LeLe, and we knew that we wanted her!    She was the perfect LeLe bride!!!   She knew about me through my blog posts, and it instantly felt like we were bff's.  This was a wedding I had been looking forward to for quite some time.  I grow so close to my brides through the meetings, the planning, the engagement session, and then the big day comes.   I literally feel the happiness as I stand on the sidelines.   I smile with them, I cry with them.    I am an insider on their most intimate day, and happily stay until the end.  When it is all said and done, I get a little bummed out.  A little bummed that it could not have lasted longer.   But, when the cake has been eaten, the songs have been played, and the thank you notes have been sent.....there is one thing that Amy & Marshall will always have from the day they started the story of them......photos.   They will have these once in a lifetime moments captured in a way that each and every time they look back through them, they will feel how they felt at that moment when the two oversized door opened and she saw the man she was about to marry waiting at the end of that long aisle.

Amy & Marshall- From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you thank you.    Thank you for trusting in us from the beginning.   I hope you two had a couple margaritas and danced a couple salsas for me while in Mexico! :)  

This dress ........Love every little stich, sparkle, and fluff of tulle in it.   It was perfecto! 

As Amy was getting her makeup and hair finished up, I heard one of her bridesmaids say, "OMG Amy!   Did you see what your dad posted on Facebook!?"   As I read these words from the man Amy calls her 'everything', my eyes began to well with tears for so many reasons.  Tears of sorrow, tears of happiness, and tears of love & joy.    I could see in your father's eyes later that day when he saw you for the first time how much he loves you, how very proud he is to call you his daughter, and the way you resemble the woman proudly looking down on you.

 And then the big moment......Amy slipped on that dress which was pure perfection....

 We had a very special treat at this wedding.   Becker was in town from Orange County, and came along to second shoot with us.   Here is a little behind the lens shot of him and two of my favorite bridal portraits captured by him.  

 LOVE this shot of Marshall!!    

Then we headed to the ceremony.   This moment, hands down was one of my top two favorite moments of the day.  Amy's Father seeing his little girl for the first time on her wedding day.   The tears started about 3 seconds later. 

 Oh yeah....did I mention it was one of the hottest days of the year.   107˚ + Humidity = no joke.   We braved it for a few minutes, and then decided to head back to the lovely and well air-conditioned Four Seasons.

We had to make a quick stop where Amy & Marshall had their first date, Busch Stadium.    It was a game day, but the guy working the gate let us sneak in for a couple of minutes...

We got to the reception in plenty of time to cover the details that were EVERYWHERE!   Tiffany & Amanda did an amazing job from start to finish bringing Amy's vision into a reality.     It was an absolute pleasure working with two ladies as fabulous and creative as them.

Another dream turned into a reality, this piece of art cake designed my none other than my favorite bakery out there......Whipt Cream.

 The cocktail lounge area....

Amy & Marshall also had a fun addition to their wedding.....UnScripted.  LeLe's very own take on a photobooth.   Less booth style, more red carpet style.   Amy was the first to use the Spangled backdrop you see here......Sparkles, Sparkles and more Sparkles.     

1st Dance Song: Jack Johnson “Better Together”

Father Daughter Song: Seal “Stand by Me”
And this picture below of Marshall and his mother gets me so choked up.   Standing along side these two and seeing his proud, proud mother look up at the young man she raised with a smile that never once faded from her face.  Seeing this one tear fall down his cheek gets me every single time.

 

Vendors:

Wedding Planners: Events Luxe  (Tiffany & Amanda)

Ceremony Location: 9^th Street Abbey
Reception Venue: Lumen
Photobooth: UnScripted (LeLe Photography)
Florist: Scott Hepper with Walter Knoll Florist
DJ: Porta-Party DJs
Cake: Whipt Cream
Hair: Ashley Crawford with Hair Theatre
Makeup by Christina Passanise
Wedding Dress From: Simply Elegant Bridal/ Brand: La Sposa
Videographer: Charles Phillips with Daybreak Cinema
Dance-floor Structure and Ceremony Structure: Exclusive Events
Wedding Officiate: Rev. Terry Barber

And then I always like to recap some of the day with the brides.   I know what my favorite moments of the day were, but I like to see what was most memorable to them and also let them share some advice with future brides.   Here is what Amy & I talked about......


Me:What were your top 3 favorite moments/memories from your wedding day? 

A:

1. Seeing my dad for the first time all dressed up before the ceremony. I am the epitome of a “daddys girl”, and I knew it was going to be an emotional moment for the both of us.
2. Seeing Marshall for the first time. All of my “fears” of being in front of people at the ceremony literally melted away the second the doors opened and I could see Marshall’s face. I was so happy and I could not wait to get up to the alter to marry my best friend.
3. Walking into Lumen and being announced as Mr. and Mrs. Newman in front of all our closest friends, and family. Everyone was standing, cheering and smiling, it was truly an experience!

Me: Favorite detail(s) that you incorporated into your wedding to make it different and unique to you and Marshall?

A: Family is really important to both of us. At Lumen, there is a small nook area where you can put items that are personal or important to you. We filled some of that space with pictures from Marshall’s parents wedding as well as my parents wedding. We also used our 6/30/12 banner that had been made and used for our engagement session. To designate table numbers, we used pictures of Marshall and myself from childhood through adulthood with family members and close friends.  Marshall’s favorite detail was being able to Vans shoes. He loves Vans, he wears them all the time and was ecstatic when he was “allowed” to wear them for the ceremony/reception. All of the groomsmen also wore Vans that matched the bridesmaid dresses while Marshall’s Vans were custom dyed to match one of our wedding colors.

Me: If you could go back to your wedding day, knowing now how the day went, is there anything you would change or suggest to other brides?

A:There isn’t really anything that I would change per se. I knew the day was going to fly by and we took some time to ourselves, just the two of us, during cocktail hour to talk and enjoy the moment. We knew that once we got into the reception it was going to be a whirlwind of events, so we wanted to step back, take a breath and enjoy our day as it had finally all come together. I loved every minute of our time together, me in my wedding dress and him in his suit. It was a special and sweet moment. If I can give advice to future brides it would be to try and take a moment (even 5 minutes) to enjoy that moment, soak it all in, and be with just your husband. 

I also suggest using wedding planners. Tiffany and Amanda with EventsLuxe were absolutely amazing. They helped me from square one (engagement) to finale. My day went so smoothly, there was no drama (that I knew of), and they truly helped make our wedding memorable, gorgeous, amazing and everything that I had imagined or wanted it to be!

Me: Favorite part about working with us? :) 

A: My favorite part about working with LeLe was how fun and natural it was to have you there from the moment we started getting ready up until Marshall and I walked out of Lumen at the end of the night.  I felt like you guys were my best friends and biggest cheerleaders for Marshall and me that day.  You both had a lot of energy which we needed on a very long and HOT day! You kept everyone having fun, smiling and enjoying the day.  LeLe made me feel absolutely beautiful, all day long!  There is no one else I would’ve trusted with the capturing the importance of that day other than LeLe!  XOXO LeLe, you guys are hands-down, the BEST!!!!!

Amy & Marshall's Engagement Session

Amy & Marshall's Sneak Peek

Becker captured a behind the Lens shot of Alicea and I (unbeknownst to us) as we set up a group shot......ummm...... can you tell we are sisters???    

 ^ Tiffany and Amanda with Luxe Events also had to step in UnScripted for a little bit of Photobooth fun!  

Contact LeLe Photography HERE.