Janet Butler
On a beautiful October day in San Juan Capistrano, CA, this couple ties the knot in a ceremony and celebration that spills from indoors to outdoors and back again, as pictured by Brett Hickman Photographers. The overwhelming feeling here is joy: the bride, in a strapless gown of exquisite lace, is radiant with smiles, as are her parents and her maids. The maids make a pretty row in smoky gray gowns of differing styles, while the groom and his men are in simple gray suiting that fits the easygoing spirit of the day. The bride presents her mother with a beautiful handkerchief gift and does a touching “reveal” not with her groom, but with her father. A fetching flower girl, a sweet procession amid flowers and vines, and a sacred service beneath the trees follow.
Then, to applause from the guests, the couple comes back down the aisle as newlyweds; messages written on tiny cards and clipped to twine on a rustic “bulletin board” are loving words of advice and well-wishes from the guests. An antique birdcage awaits for cards, while a sumptuous sweet table offers guests a tempting array of confections from chocolate chip cookies to lemon bars, fruit tarts, and tiny cupcakes of carrot cake, red velvet, and strawberry, topped with decadent whipped frostings. As the bride and groom cut a center cake, the bride’s unable to resist daubing frosting on her new husband’s nose! After toasts, dinner, and dancing, the couple are sent off on their new life together under a shower of sparklers…a fitting end to a sparkling day of happy memories.
