Century Center Wedding : Jackie & Jeff

South Bend, Indiana, Wedding Photography | May 28, 2011

Photographer: Katie Whitcomb | Photographers, Ceremony/Reception Venue: Century Center, Catering: Centerplate Catering, DJ: Pro Show, Florist: Always N Bloom, Cake: West End Bakery, Hair: Cheveux Hair Salon, Make-up: Sephora, Coordinator: Christan Shelton

I was out with my friend Ledi at Corby’s (on 7-7-2007) when I saw her talking to a guy – I must have been feeling gutsy because I told her “Who’s your hot friend? Introduce us!” He then came up to me and we ended up talking for an hour, with our friends all wondering where we were. Later, Jeff told me that his friend Tony said “You’re going to marry that girl.” I was always told not to call a guy the night we met, keep them wondering, but I text Jeff saying “It was nice to meet you tonight.” He kept that text and still has it saved on his old phone! The next day, we all made plans to go to the beach, but after the late night before, that didn’t happen. I was working at Wing’s Etc at the time, so Jeff came up there the day after we met with a friend of his, and we had our first date that week. He was coaching Bremen swimming at the time, and would stop by my apartment almost every morning that summer before practice to leave me notes, flowers, and gifts at my doorstep. The rest is history!

I knew I wanted colorful bouquets to evoke a summery feel. My favorite flower is sunflower, I even have it tattooed on my foot. There is something so fresh and free about a sunflower. My grandmother’s favorite flower is a white daisy – her girls carried white daisies at her wedding to my grandfather over 50 years ago. He passed away 2 years ago, so as a tribute to him we wanted them in the bouquets. Our wonderful florist added bright green poms and yellow and white roses to complete the bouquets, and the boutonnieres and corsages were yellow roses. The flower girls carried silk white daisy pomanders, which they loved the fact they could hang them in their room and they wouldn’t ever wilt!

Jeff suggested we go to Las Vegas for our last Spring Break in college in 2009, and I had a feeling something was up (he took me ring shopping the summer before to nonchalantly see what my “taste” was). The second night we were there (3-16-09) we planned a nice dinner at Gallaghers’ steakhouse in New York, New York, and as I was finishing up getting ready in the hotel room, he comes up to me in front of the window (we had an amazing view), takes my hands, and tells me how much he loves me and gets down on one knee! It was so perfect and intimate, of course I said yes and we celebrated with dinner and by going out on the town all night!

I was so nervous all morning, especially when my parents drove me to Leeper Park for our “first look” before the ceremony. As soon as I saw Jeff all of the anxiety melted away. I wanted to run up to him but my dress wouldn’t allow, so as soon as he turned around he gave me the biggest hug and kiss and kept saying how beautiful and perfect I was. Having that intimate moment, the only alone time we had the entire day, was crucial to getting us through the busiest, most wonderful day of our lives.

I had been researching photographers via friends’ wedding pictures on Facebook. When I came across Katie Whitcomb Photographers – at the time Guiding Light Photography – I knew I wanted them to capture our day. Their work is so artistic and has an organic, natural feel to it that fits our style. We made the right decision, after seeing our engagement photos and the first few photos of our wedding day, the pictures capture our love and who we are as a couple perfectly.

Originally, we planned our wedding in St. Joe, MI, but decided to have it closer to home so our grandparents and families would not have to travel so far. We really wanted an outdoor wedding, but knew an outdoor ceremony and reception in South Bend in May was going to be very risky, so we chose Century Center because we could book the Island and tent outside, but move inside for inclement weather (which worked out perfectly, because the day of our wedding the weather was horrible with rain and thunderstorms!).

My favorite color is yellow, but most of the girls in my wedding party do not have the coloring or skin tone to pull it off, so I found a blog with a yellow and gray wedding that was so chic and even vintage looking. Jeff liked the colors as well, because they weren’t too “girly.” To tie in the vintage look, we added a bird and branch theme subtly throughout the decor, with our lovebird monogram in our invitations and placecards and Manzanita branch centerpieces, both of which I designed and created. (Very time consuming – but worth it!)

We did not want to have to worry about noting which guest had beef, and which had chicken, so we chose a sit down dinner with chicken, potatoes, and green beans for all. Jeff is also a rather picky eater, so the food had to be something he would enjoy. CenterPlate did a great job of accommodating his tastes by giving him a fruit plate instead of a salad, and no green beans but double potatoes!

My sister and her boyfriend made hundreds of kieflis for favors to tie in my Hungarian heritage, they were awesome! We decided to have soft pretzels for a late night snack, because every day in college during our afternoon break Jeff and I would meet in the campus cafe to share a soft pretzel with cheese. Everyone loved it, even one of Jeff’s old swimmers told him “Are you serious right now?! Are these pretzels for us?!” It was perfect!

Jeff loves cake – and me, not so much! But when we tried the marble cake at West End Bakery I even fell in love with it! Topped with a butter cream frosting, it was truly amazing. They added a beautiful lattice pattern and yellow roses to tie in our flowers and theme.

Don’t stress about the little details – they always work themselves out. I spent hours designing the invites, programs, and centerpieces, when really people raved about the food, DJ, and what a great time they had. In the end, that is all your guests really remember! I also had a problem with my wedding dress’ alterations 2 weeks before the wedding, and I thought there was no way it could be fixed, but it was and turned out perfectly. Don’t be afraid to let others help you and take advice from your friends and family, it will make your life so much easier!