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PrintSarah & Zach
All images courtesy of Heather George Photography (heathergeorgephotography.com)
BEFORE THE WEDDING
Occupations: Sarah works at a local boutique and Zach is a car salesman.
How the couple met: Zach’s best friend’s sister was Sarah’s roommate and she introduced the couple.
How he proposed: “Zach proposed in a very casual way,” says Sarah. “He pulled a ring out of his pocket on the way to a movie. Zach’s romantic gestures are usually a surprise and always casual, like roses randomly being delivered to the house for me.”
Bridal shower/Bachelorette party: “My girlfriends threw me a lingerie shower in a suite at Hotel Park City,” says Sarah. “We went to dinner at 350 Main, then went back to the hotel for desserts and to open gifts. The next morning we all went to the hotel spa for manicures and pedicures.”
Bachelor party: Zach and a few of his friends flew to Lake Tahoe for a day.
WEDDING
Place: La Caille in Sandy
Date: September 4, 2008
The bride wore: A Model Novias Antonio Vasquez gown.
The groom wore: A black tailored suit by Canali.
The rings: Sarah’s ring was custom=made by Ari Diamonds; it features an emerald-cut diamond with pavé diamonds all the way around the set in white gold. Zach’s ring is Scott Kay from O.C. Tanner. “Zach’s ring matches his Cartier “Love” bracelet given to him by his late grandmother Ida,” says Sarah. “It meant a lot to him to find something that reminded him of her.”
Wedding song: “Clair de Lune,” by Claude Debussy, and “Cannon in D,” by Pachelbel.
RECEPTION
Place: La Caille
Wedding music: Abe Kaehlin and his jazz band.
Menu: Passed coconut shrimp, romaine hearts salad with Roquefort dressing, caprese salad, tournedos of beef with béarnaise, miso salmon, and steamed vegetables and potatoes. Assorted éclairs, napoleons, tarts, petit crème brulee and chocolate dipped strawberries.
Cake: A four-tiered pink and gold cake designed by Laurlee Morrison of Cakes de Fleur. “I found a clipping of a cake that we wanted to imitate and Laurlee did a wonderful job using the photo and my descriptions,” says Sarah. “She made the most beautiful cake!”
Flowers: Centerpieces consisted of a variety of tall clear glass vases filled with moss and stuffed with roses and orchids with dangling greens flowing over the sides.
Colors: All of the colors were bright, warm shades, including orange, fuchsia, plum and gold.
Décor elements: “My sister meticulously hand-made beautiful hair accessories, pins and wands out of different satin ribbons for all eight of my flower girls,” says Sarah. “They really brought all of the colors together and looked adorable on these cute girls. I especially loved the fairy wands she made for them to carry; the girls had so much fun twirling them around! My sister is such a talented artist and it meant a lot to us that she took the time to help us pull the flower girls’ outfits together in such a unique and beautiful way.”
Special touches: “My dad sang ‘Summertime’ by Rodgers and Hammerstein during the reception, “ says Sarah. “This was a song he sang to my siblings and me a lot when we were younger, so I thought this was a nice touch. I know it was hard for him to see his youngest off, and this has always been ‘our song.’”
“We also tried to involve my step-daughters Zarya and Savanna as much as possible in the wedding. We recognized how much our marriage would impact their lives: it brought us together as a new family and we hoped that by making them a huge part of the day they would feel more comfortable about this change. It was so much fun sharing this with them; they loved dancing with us and were part of cutting the cake—they even wrestled all my girlfriends for the bouquet!”
MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT
Sarah’s answer: “Dancing with all my friends and flower girls. We loved the band and it was so much fun to let loose after such a stressful and long day!”
Groom’s answer: “Singing the ‘Sweetheart’ song to my new wife with my Sigma Chi fraternity brothers.”
HONEYMOON
Place: A private beach villa at the Grand Wailea on Maui.
A memorable moment of the honeymoon: “We are both so glad that while on our honeymoon we spent time doing things that we wouldn’t normally do on vacation, like taking surfing lessons and scuba diving,” says Sarah. “The concept of scuba diving was so far out of my comfort zone, but it was very exciting to do something new. We can always spend a vacation at the pool, so this was a good excuse to step out of our usual pattern.”
WEDDING ADVICE
“We both feel like part of why our wedding was so easy and fun to plan is because we had dated for so long beforehand: over three years. We were pretty much past ‘getting to know you.’ It was just a comfortable time for both of us to make this commitment—all the planning about what colors to use and what kind of party favors to hand out was secondary. We were careful to try to avoid pressure from family and friends about how they thought our wedding should be and just tried to have fun with it. In the end, it’s most important that the couple does just what they want.”
SOURCES
Rings: Ari Diamonds, Midvale, 801-255-8997, aridiamonds.com; O.C. Tanner, SLC, 801-532-3222, octannerstore.com
Invitations: Gotschall Engraving, SLC, 801-487-9876, gottschallengraving.com
Guest book: Children’s Hour Bookstore, SLC, 801-359-4150, childrenshourbookstore.com
Photography: Heather George Photography, SLC, 801-487-2865 or 801-865-4026, heathergeorgephotography.com
Bridal gown: Alta MODA Bridal, SLC, 801-531-1215, altamodabridal.com
Bridesmaid dresses: J.Crew, jcrew.com
Flowers: Hilary Howell, Artisan Floral, SLC, 801-647-5111
Catering: La Caille, Sandy, 801-942-1751, lacaille.com
Cake: Laurlee Morrison, Cakes de Fleur, 801-474-CAKE, cakesdefleur.com
Entertainment: Abe Kaelin, SLC, 801-652-0948, abekaelin.com
Reception site: La Caille, Sandy, 801-942-1751, lacaille.com
