chmpgnrose
05-04-2005, 01:19 PM
Nicholas & Tina planned an elegant mid-summer’s afternoon wedding ceremony in New York City for 18 months (1½ year). They introduced their formal affair with ivory/gold invitations featuring an insertion card with gold scripted lettering. The couple’s wedding attire reflected a classic and very elegant New York flair. The bride found her inspiration from her one of bridesmaids, Cassia, who picked-up a beautiful champagne gown from the rack at a local bridal salon on a bridesmaid gown fitting afternoon day. Her three bridesmaids were dressed elegantly in long champagne spaghetti-strapped gowns with a touch of sparking gold and coated with a sheer overlay. Her junior bridesmaid was dressed elegantly in a long ivory gown with the same concept of a sheer overlay. Tina wore her hair in perfect curls and a classic rounded rose beading headpiece with ribbons hanging to match the ribbons on the back of her bridal gown. The bride chose stephanotis, ariana, vendella, white casablanca lily heads, and white wax flowers for her bouquet finished with a white bow with long streamers and Nick’s boutonniere is a matching stephanotis. For the bridesmaids’ bouquets each had different arrangements displaying a variety of mid-summer’s colors. For the maid of honor, an abundance of champagne, ariana, vendella, message versillias, blue bird roses, pale blue delphinium, and white wax flower with ivory bow and long streamers in a slightly bigger size than the rest. The two bridesmaids had bouquets that were equal in size but the colors were taken from the maid of honor’s bouquet. Tina’s first bridesmaid, Samantha had a bouquet filled with pale blue delphinium, white wax flower, arena, champagne and vendella roses while her second bridesmaid, Cassia had a bouquet filled with bluebird versillias, message roses with white wax flower both with ivory bows and long streamers. The junior bridesmaid, Monika’s bouquet consists of a much smaller size yet filled with variety of colors from the maid of honor and for the groomsmen’s boutonnieres champagne was an obvious choice. Their ceremony programs were personalized and hand made by Tina to include their photo, a poem, a sentence about šakotis, a traditional Lithuanian wedding cake, their wedding websites, and of course the basics of a wedding program: proceedings, bride and groom’s parents’ names, wedding party members, officiant, and organist names.
It started to drizzle in the morning which Tina was hoping the weather would clear during the day but never did, but accepted rain as good luck in her marriage. Carrying a huge smile and suited in a sharp classy After Six tuxedo, Nicholas walked between the rails of the alter sparkling the chapel as he awaited the grand entrance of his soon-to-be-wife. “I could not wait to see my soon-to-be-wife in her bridal gown,” says Nicholas. “She was hiding it from me for 18 months and she looks absolutely gorgeous and beautiful, like a princess.” The unity candle’s two ****rs were lit by both mothers before the ceremony began and again by Nick and Tina after their vows were completed. The middle candle was lit together by gathering the ****rs as the source, so their marriage will always have light.
After a civil ceremony, guests headed into Queens to their reception, Caffé on the Green for a plentiful cocktail hour. The historic venue hosts a history of legendary actor Rudolph Valentino’s former home which was then transformed into New York City’s former Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia’s summer home after Valentino’s death. As soon as Nicholas & Tina re-entered the room for their introduction as Mr. & Mrs. Kurihara through the grand arch formed by their wedding party, they then stepped out into the spotlight for their first dance to Eagles’s “Love Will Keep Us Alive,” which was performed by their band. The couple glowed on the dance floor and mesmerized their guests with their steps as Tina twirled herself lifting her gown brightening the whole room. This was our favorite memory.
The cake boasts four book-filled tiers of chocolate mousse filling in yellow food coloring to fit the champagne theme while representing Tina’s personality, two adorable mini teddy bears dressed in a bride and groom stood as their cake top. “We’d also had Raguolis or Šakotis, a traditional Lithuanian wedding cake,” explains Tina. “It’s a two-foot high, spiky cylindrical Christmas-tree shaped Lithuanian wedding cake made by adding dough in layers to a rotating wooden pole in front of a hot fire with dollops of battered eggs and lemon. It’s delicious and important as it incorporates Nick’s cultural background. Although I’m Chinese American and Nick’s half Lithuanian and half Japanese we’re both Americans and incorporating four (4) cultures would overwhelm our guests and be very confusing. However, we’ve only incorporated minimal traditions which I wore several Chinese jewelry thus my cultural background would not be lost completely.”
Although magnificent in size, the Bridgeview and Bayview Rooms were kept intimate with dim lighting and votive candles on their 13 tables. The couple chose the Valentino menu consisting of six (6) choices of entrées for guests to choose from. On each plate a miniature menu was given to each guest describing each entrée: Scaloppine of Veal; Sea Bass Mediterranean; Chicken Boscaiola; Eggplant Parmigiana; Filet Mignon; and Muscovy Duck Chambord. Centerpieces of ariana, vendella, champagne, versillias, message, bluebird roses, pale blue delphinium casablanca lily heads, lavender roses, hydrangea, and white wax flower sits on a tall glass tube pedestal filled with white stock flowers floating in water rested each table that caught the sparkle of the chandlers lilting the room. Added sparkle ***e from the gold-tinted chairs and the four-tiered white and yellow chocolate mousse wedding cake with the šakotis, Lithuanian wedding cake.
Following Lithuanian tradition, the couple’s parents offered the newlyweds the traditional blessing with the Elements of Life using bread, wine, and salt as the ingredients. Bread represents a wish that there always be food on the table, wine symbolizes the sweetness or joy of life, and salt signifies the bitterness of life.
Afterward, guests listened to the Best Man’s speech given with honors by Roosevelt who did an outstanding job projecting his voice clearly and acknowledged himself as Nick’s college friend while bringing humor about Nick’s personalities of a Mets fan, being a computer wizard, favorite actor Robert DeNiro to finish with a toast to the happy bride and groom. Guests then gathered on the dance floor to participate in the conga line and the classic “YMCA” by The Village People. Cassia displayed her musical talent with a beautiful rendition of Shania Twain’s “From This Moment On” with their band. Tina was overwhelmed with joy on her big day expressing it by twirling Samantha, her bridesmaid and then Marianna, the Maid of Honor, in a loving gesture to her dearest friends. To show Tina’s appreciation to the entire bridal party she designed the sitting arrangements for all of them to be seated together along with their guests at Table #3. To keep all bridal party members informed and updated during the wedding plans, Tina took the time to design 12 monthly newsletters of The Wedding Party Corner in the 18 month (1½ year) engagement period which first debuted on October 13, 2001. Monika’s parents said “the newsletters were very good and very informative, you’re very organized.” To further display her meticulous organizational skills, Tina printed each guests’ names on clear labels for the seating cards as she refuse to hand write them. The printed clear labels with a script font make it elegant and neat.” A foam-poster board also handmade by Tina sits on an easel bearing their names, wedding date, websites personalized with formal college portraits and the same photo from on their websites placed next to the escort-card table and later moved next to our band. Each table had a disposable ***era for guests to snap candid photos during the night. Disappointingly, several of these ***eras were not returned to Nicholas and Tina by the end of the night. A funny tradition that originated at Nick’s material family member’s wedding several years ago is the passing of Uncle Tomas’s naval hat, in which each individual puts it on and has their photo taken. Thus, Table #2 and the sweetheart table were passing around the famous naval hat from one head to another and saluting with their hand on their forehead to the ***era.
Nicholas and Tina gave each of their guests a shot glass decorated with their names, wedding date and a “Just Married” car, hoping that many guests will be reminded of their special day for years to come. Trying not to make a mistake while tossing her throw-away bouquet, Tina bent backwards and tossed it into the crowd of eager single young ladies to “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper without realizing whom caught it. Surprisingly, Monika, her Junior Bridesmaid of 12 years old, caught the bouquet. Next was the garter removal which was a tough job for Nicholas who dug under Tina’s elaborate long bridal gown to “Pretty Woman” by Roy Orbison under her ball-shaped bridal slip to pull it out with his teeth. Nick tossed the garter to the crowd of single men, and our Junior Groomsman's younger brother, Matthew caught the garter. The fun was not over, as per Tina’s request the band played on having Matthew put on the garter on Monika which gave guests quite a laugh.
As the night ***e to a closure, guests concluded their dinners with plentiful Italian pastries accompanied with their two wedding cakes. “It was the perfect end to a perfect day,” remembers Tina. “It was the happiest and most beautiful day of our lives. We orchestrated a success!”
http://images.snapfish.com/33796%3C7923232%7Ffp7%3Enu%3D3233%3E488%3E%3A75%3E wsnrcg%3D323249%3B696%3C%3B9nu0mrj
It started to drizzle in the morning which Tina was hoping the weather would clear during the day but never did, but accepted rain as good luck in her marriage. Carrying a huge smile and suited in a sharp classy After Six tuxedo, Nicholas walked between the rails of the alter sparkling the chapel as he awaited the grand entrance of his soon-to-be-wife. “I could not wait to see my soon-to-be-wife in her bridal gown,” says Nicholas. “She was hiding it from me for 18 months and she looks absolutely gorgeous and beautiful, like a princess.” The unity candle’s two ****rs were lit by both mothers before the ceremony began and again by Nick and Tina after their vows were completed. The middle candle was lit together by gathering the ****rs as the source, so their marriage will always have light.
After a civil ceremony, guests headed into Queens to their reception, Caffé on the Green for a plentiful cocktail hour. The historic venue hosts a history of legendary actor Rudolph Valentino’s former home which was then transformed into New York City’s former Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia’s summer home after Valentino’s death. As soon as Nicholas & Tina re-entered the room for their introduction as Mr. & Mrs. Kurihara through the grand arch formed by their wedding party, they then stepped out into the spotlight for their first dance to Eagles’s “Love Will Keep Us Alive,” which was performed by their band. The couple glowed on the dance floor and mesmerized their guests with their steps as Tina twirled herself lifting her gown brightening the whole room. This was our favorite memory.
The cake boasts four book-filled tiers of chocolate mousse filling in yellow food coloring to fit the champagne theme while representing Tina’s personality, two adorable mini teddy bears dressed in a bride and groom stood as their cake top. “We’d also had Raguolis or Šakotis, a traditional Lithuanian wedding cake,” explains Tina. “It’s a two-foot high, spiky cylindrical Christmas-tree shaped Lithuanian wedding cake made by adding dough in layers to a rotating wooden pole in front of a hot fire with dollops of battered eggs and lemon. It’s delicious and important as it incorporates Nick’s cultural background. Although I’m Chinese American and Nick’s half Lithuanian and half Japanese we’re both Americans and incorporating four (4) cultures would overwhelm our guests and be very confusing. However, we’ve only incorporated minimal traditions which I wore several Chinese jewelry thus my cultural background would not be lost completely.”
Although magnificent in size, the Bridgeview and Bayview Rooms were kept intimate with dim lighting and votive candles on their 13 tables. The couple chose the Valentino menu consisting of six (6) choices of entrées for guests to choose from. On each plate a miniature menu was given to each guest describing each entrée: Scaloppine of Veal; Sea Bass Mediterranean; Chicken Boscaiola; Eggplant Parmigiana; Filet Mignon; and Muscovy Duck Chambord. Centerpieces of ariana, vendella, champagne, versillias, message, bluebird roses, pale blue delphinium casablanca lily heads, lavender roses, hydrangea, and white wax flower sits on a tall glass tube pedestal filled with white stock flowers floating in water rested each table that caught the sparkle of the chandlers lilting the room. Added sparkle ***e from the gold-tinted chairs and the four-tiered white and yellow chocolate mousse wedding cake with the šakotis, Lithuanian wedding cake.
Following Lithuanian tradition, the couple’s parents offered the newlyweds the traditional blessing with the Elements of Life using bread, wine, and salt as the ingredients. Bread represents a wish that there always be food on the table, wine symbolizes the sweetness or joy of life, and salt signifies the bitterness of life.
Afterward, guests listened to the Best Man’s speech given with honors by Roosevelt who did an outstanding job projecting his voice clearly and acknowledged himself as Nick’s college friend while bringing humor about Nick’s personalities of a Mets fan, being a computer wizard, favorite actor Robert DeNiro to finish with a toast to the happy bride and groom. Guests then gathered on the dance floor to participate in the conga line and the classic “YMCA” by The Village People. Cassia displayed her musical talent with a beautiful rendition of Shania Twain’s “From This Moment On” with their band. Tina was overwhelmed with joy on her big day expressing it by twirling Samantha, her bridesmaid and then Marianna, the Maid of Honor, in a loving gesture to her dearest friends. To show Tina’s appreciation to the entire bridal party she designed the sitting arrangements for all of them to be seated together along with their guests at Table #3. To keep all bridal party members informed and updated during the wedding plans, Tina took the time to design 12 monthly newsletters of The Wedding Party Corner in the 18 month (1½ year) engagement period which first debuted on October 13, 2001. Monika’s parents said “the newsletters were very good and very informative, you’re very organized.” To further display her meticulous organizational skills, Tina printed each guests’ names on clear labels for the seating cards as she refuse to hand write them. The printed clear labels with a script font make it elegant and neat.” A foam-poster board also handmade by Tina sits on an easel bearing their names, wedding date, websites personalized with formal college portraits and the same photo from on their websites placed next to the escort-card table and later moved next to our band. Each table had a disposable ***era for guests to snap candid photos during the night. Disappointingly, several of these ***eras were not returned to Nicholas and Tina by the end of the night. A funny tradition that originated at Nick’s material family member’s wedding several years ago is the passing of Uncle Tomas’s naval hat, in which each individual puts it on and has their photo taken. Thus, Table #2 and the sweetheart table were passing around the famous naval hat from one head to another and saluting with their hand on their forehead to the ***era.
Nicholas and Tina gave each of their guests a shot glass decorated with their names, wedding date and a “Just Married” car, hoping that many guests will be reminded of their special day for years to come. Trying not to make a mistake while tossing her throw-away bouquet, Tina bent backwards and tossed it into the crowd of eager single young ladies to “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper without realizing whom caught it. Surprisingly, Monika, her Junior Bridesmaid of 12 years old, caught the bouquet. Next was the garter removal which was a tough job for Nicholas who dug under Tina’s elaborate long bridal gown to “Pretty Woman” by Roy Orbison under her ball-shaped bridal slip to pull it out with his teeth. Nick tossed the garter to the crowd of single men, and our Junior Groomsman's younger brother, Matthew caught the garter. The fun was not over, as per Tina’s request the band played on having Matthew put on the garter on Monika which gave guests quite a laugh.
As the night ***e to a closure, guests concluded their dinners with plentiful Italian pastries accompanied with their two wedding cakes. “It was the perfect end to a perfect day,” remembers Tina. “It was the happiest and most beautiful day of our lives. We orchestrated a success!”
http://images.snapfish.com/33796%3C7923232%7Ffp7%3Enu%3D3233%3E488%3E%3A75%3E wsnrcg%3D323249%3B696%3C%3B9nu0mrj