Jennifer Neden and Jesse Westphal

Jesse and I had been dating for three years before we were engaged. We are best friends who enjoy life and have a strong faith. We were engaged in May 2010 and decided that we wanted to have an outdoor ceremony so we picked October because of the gorgeous weather. I didn’t want to rush planning so we decided on 2011.

Family is really important to us so we tried to incorporate family members as much as possible. My mom was a BIG help in the whole planning process. She was there every step of the way and my dad proudly walked me down the aisle. Our bridal party was made up of our closest family and friends and my niece and nephew were the flower girl and ring bearer. We wanted our ceremony to be special so we had Jesse’s Aunt marry us. It was the most beautiful, heartfelt ceremony filled with faith and love! We both wrote our own vows and I’m pretty sure everyone cried. One of our favorite songs, Jason Mraz “I’m Yours” played as the recessional.

I also wanted to incorporate family into my ensemble so the girls at Thee Wedding Warehouse took pieces of my Mom’s wedding dress and wrapped the stems of my bouquet and also made me a garter to wear. It was so special to wear a piece of my mom’s dress! They also added my grandfather’s cufflinks to my bouquet. They were silver maple leaves which are also a symbol of Canada which is where I’m from. This was special because even though he is no longer with us, I still felt like he was present that day. My bouquet was very large and made up of deep purple and blue flowers. It had a lot of dimension and texture.

My dress was Maggie Sottero’s Fiorella. It was white satin with one shoulder strap. I had the neckline altered to a sweetheart and I added a brooch to add more sparkle. I wore a cathedral length veil. I wanted to be comfortable so I wore flat sparkly sandals fron Calvin Klein. My jewelry was from Dillards. I wore long crystal earrings and a pearl and crystal bracelet. I had a clutch that my grandmother bought for me.

I didn’t like the traditional guest book so we made a guest book calendar with our photos. The guests signed all along the borders and we are having so much fun reading their messages throughout the year! We chose simple favors; white boxes with navy writing that said “Sweet Bliss begins with a hug, a promise, and a kiss” and we filled them with hug, kiss, and promise chocolates and tied a bow to finish the look.

We wanted the reception to be elegant and beautiful but also FUN! After all, it is a celebration! We had about 90 guests so it still had an intimate feel. We chose navy blue and silver with purple accents because it fit the midnight elegance theme we were going for and we love those colors. The tables were draped with midnight satin tablecloths and the chivari chairs were accented with silver satin ties. We had two different styles of centerpieces; one was a silver mosaic vase filled with deep purple hydrangeas and surrounded with lilac rose petals and candles. The other centerpiece had a silver mosaic candle holder in the middle and was surrounded by more candles and lilac rose petals. We named the tables after our favorite love songs and as the DJ played the table “name”, the guests were encouraged to get up and dance.

I really wanted something unique for the cakes so we decided to do a cake buffet. We had a main two-tiered cake and then three additional cakes for the guests to enjoy. Each one was a different flavor and design. I borrowed antique cake stands from family members to display them and also used vintage brooches from different family members to decorate the cakes. They looked amazing and tasted even better.

The reception was a great party! DJ Curtis Whipple did a fantastic job. Jesse and I surprised everyone with our choreographed fist dance as Mr. and Mrs. which we performed to Koffey Anderson’s “Better Today.” My brother created a special slide show for us which we watched during dinner. The dancing and celebrating continued all night. We concluded the evening with a sparkling sendoff before hopping into a family member’s Bentley and heading to our Wedding night suite. That Monday we headed to Hawaii for our honeymoon.

It was a completely magical day filled with so much love and happiness. We are truly blessed to have found each other and to share our love with amazing family and friends.

Wedding Details

Photographer

Cyndi Hardy

Florist

Thee Wedding Warehouse

Wedding Consultant

Thee Wedding Warehouse

Ceremony Site

The Raven Golf Club at Verrado

Reception Site

The Raven Golf Club at Verrado

Reception Site Coordinator

Thee Wedding Warehouse

Caterer

The Raven Golf Club at Verrado

Wedding Cake

Frosted Art Inc

Bride’s Gown

Kaira's Bridal- Maggie Sottero Fiorella

Hair

Hair Styles to Remember

Makeup

Amazing Face

Tuxedos

Men's Warehouse

Entertainment/DJ

Curtis Whipple

Invitations

Thee Wedding Warehouse