The Love Story of Ashley & Zac Crowe – January 18, 2013

Ahhh…. the charm of a Winter Wedding at Bella Sera with snowflakes, snow, bling and sparkles; something a spring or summer wedding cannot achieve. A special sky blue mystique on a crisp winter night was created with color splashed walls and ice blue water, much to the delight of all of the guests.

Ashley and Zac met at Legacy High School here in Colorado, and the rest is history. Zac is in the military, and it is really hard for him to find a day off, but he came home early one day to tell Ashley that he wanted to spend the day together and have a picnic lunch. Ashley was really excited.

They went to the park near their house, and Ashley said she remembers them moving to several different places because the bees were all over the grass. They finally sat down and had their picnic lunch, and as they were finishing up Zac asked if she wanted dessert. She said, “Yes, what did you make? “Then he reached in the picnic basket pulling out a ring!!!!!!!!!! He was on his knee…and asked “Will you spend the rest of your life with me?”

Ashley was so shocked; the first words that came out of her mouth were “is that real?”   Zac looked at her like, uhhh duh! And of course she said “YES!” while tackling him to the ground.

For our Bride…

Ashley said some of her most magical moments were getting ready with her mother Tina and putting her dress on. Ashley felt so blessed to have her mother and mother in law there and helping her get ready. While getting ready, she couldn’t have been more thankful for everyone taking care of her, from her family, to the Bella Sera. Then when she entered into the ceremony and saw her proud father standing there waiting for her. There were no words that could have described her feelings in that moment with her father and mother.

Then to have the most incredible young women in her bridal party: her maid of honor Samantha, and her sisters Bre and Emily standing by her side. When her little sis was bawling her eyes out; she felt like she really was so proud of her big sister. Another magical moment was during her last steps with her father, before she locked eyes with Zac, when she saw the unity candle with “Mom” written on it.

Her single most magical moment though, was when she and Zac met eye to eye, and all she could see was him. She said it was like time just stopped and she saw the most handsome husband standing before her eyes. Her heart was racing so fast and her breath was taken away like when she laid her eye on him for the first time.

They live in San Diego where Zac is stationed, and they love and miss the snow and winters in Colorado, so it was easy for both of them to decide on a winter wonderland theme for their wedding. They were unsure of the colors to choose, so her stepmother Tina stepped in and suggested a combination of dark brown and pool blue. She bought them fabric squares and they fell in love with them.

Ashley and Zac had the image of people walking into a room as if it was walking into a winter wonderland with crystals of blue.  They wanted the room to be lit in a pool color so it gave their guests a crisp, cooling sensation when they stepped into the ceremony.  We scheduled one Design Session for them when they were in town from California, and we worked to combine snowflakes and white aspen tree branches with crystals to create a magical winter wonderland feeling they were looking for.

Like many of our very special couples at Bella Sera, Ashley has had to overcome a very difficult tragedy. When she was 16, Ashley lost her mother, and her mother’s memorial reception was held at The Bella Sera. Ashley’s maid of honor Samantha reminded her of the Bella Sera and how exceptional it was; she knew it was where she wanted to have their wedding. We were honored, and just fell in love with this couple and their families.

The funniest part of their whole wedding was during the toasts. They were all very warming and special to hear.  Ashley said it almost ended up being a “pass the microphone” line with everybody who wanted to speak after the best man/ maid of honor got their chance: from aunts and uncles to friends of both parties.

So many guests commented how beautiful Ashley looked in her dress, and how handsome and grownup Zac looked.  They complimented them on how elegant the wedding was, and how they loved the decorations and overall pleasant experience of the reception and The Bella Sera staff. When Ashley walked into the reception room for the first time, she was speechless. She said It was just breathtaking and outstanding, and she could not have asked for anything more.

Ashley writes…

“Thank you to Bella Sera: our day went off without a hitch. Absolutely EVERYTHING was spectacular, and especially since we planned everything from California with you on email and the telephone. WE LOVE BELLA SERA SO MUCH AND ZAC AND I COULDN’T HAVE ASKED FOR A MORE INCREDIBLE SPECIAL DAY OF OUR LIVES!!”

For our Groom…

The most magical moments for Zac were when his father got to help him put on his tux and get him ready for the big day.  His parents both told him how proud of him they were and how he has become such a caring and loving young man.  Also to have his brother Jordan and his two close friends Jake and Ben by his side for the wedding.  The mother son dance was also an unforgettable moment for him. However, the single most magical moment for Zac was when he get to see Ashley walk down the stairs in her beautiful dress.  Not having a clue what she was going to look like and the nerves and anxiety running through him, made it even more memorable.  It happened just as he planned, and the moment he saw her he got butterflies all over again as if it was the first time he ever laid eyes on her. Very magical!

THE WEDDING EXPERTS
Wedding Dress: David’s Bridal
Wedding Cake: Cakes by Karen
Wedding Flowers: Vickie’s Flowers
Wedding Photography: Mark Alison Photography
DJ: DJ Guy
Wedding Venue: The Bella Sera Event Center
Wedding Designer: Elisabeth Montoya -  Bella Sera
Catering: Bella Sera Catering

 

How They Met

Jason and Danielle met through a mutual friend in high school, she was best friends with him and he was best friends with his brother. She confessed that she hated Jason at first, because she had heard he was a bad boy, however after spending some time with him and his brother she grew quite fond of him.

They have always had a common interest of cars and trucks, and that was the first thing that brought them together. They have also never expected the other one to go out of their way to do something for the other, therefore they easily just do things because it isn’t expected. They have always had similar interests, and if they don’t, they don’t fight about it, they allow each other to do whatever makes us happy as individuals, so they can be happy together.

The Wedding Theme & Style (by Danielle)

“We have always had a vintage style, so the wedding location and colors and such were all inspired by light/bright pastels. I was looking through tons of wedding magazines and when I came upon the two pages that we used as a reference for the entire theme of the wedding, it was again so perfect there was nothing that would have stopped me from reaching the look for the pastel vintage wedding style. I saw the Bella Sera online, and the moment we walked in the door I knew our search was over for our venue location. It was exactly what I wanted no questions asked.”

“While I definitely enjoyed the entire wedding, the most dramatic part of the entire wedding was when I got to see my little sister Gracie, for the first time since she had moved away to recover from some troubling life stages. I was so proud of myself, I hadn’t cried all day, I was looking forward to everything and having a great time getting ready, and the moment she walked up the stairs into the bridal suite I just lost it. I was so happy to see her.”

The Wedding Proposal (written by the Bride!)

Favorite Part: “We had been dating for 5 years when Jason finally got the courage to do it. Many, many years ago I insisted that Jason ask my father for permission to marry me, which he did. However, we went to California for our 5 year anniversary, and I knew that something was going on, just didn’t know what. He was persistent that we find an old time photographer, and I thought it was really cool. However, we couldn’t find a place that did it. So we decided to go to Disneyland. The entire way in he was so quiet, it was bizarre, but I knew he didn’t like crowds so I chucked it up to that. However, as we got closer to the castle, he went up to the photographer and whispered something in his ear. I didn’t think much of it as the time went by really quickly from here on out.”

“As Jason approached me for the pictures I knew something was up. When I put my hand on his chest for the picture, it was pounding so hard I could hear it. The photographer started taking pictures and Jason started backing away, I asked him what he was doing and he proceeded to get on one knee and ask me if I would be the love of his life for the rest of our lives. The crying started, and of course so did the yeses. As we stepped back, the crowd had gathered and the applause started. It was super sweet!”

Danielle – The Bride’s Story

“Honestly, there wasn’t a single moment that stood out, because all of the big events of the evening were so fantastic. However, I believe the MOST memorable of the entire event was playing the shoe game, seeing all our friends and family laughing and finally realizing that the work part was over and now we really got to relax and have fun at our wedding. Of course, I loved getting to spend time with my favorite staff of all time at The Bella Sera.”

“My top 3 moments of the day were sitting out front of our hair/makeup ladies boutique and drinking mimosas and eating bagels, having my mom and Aunt Jeanne help me get ready, and KNOWING my Dad would be the first to cry, but he did so very well…turns out it was me who lost it in the end! What I remember most about marrying Jason is he and his brother laughing at me because I couldn’t turn off the water works. I wouldn’t have changed anything at our wedding, everyone was on his or her very best behavior!”

“My entire family were getting compliment after compliment on how incredible the venue was, how polite the staff was and how “perfect” the wedding went. Jason’s Grandfather did mention to my mother that it was the most beautiful ceremony he had ever been to.”

“There was one “behind the scenes” thing that happened, but it is pretty bad lol. Our bridesmaids and groomsmen made a card, and on this card they wrote every single inappropriate joke or stupid comment that we have ever said over the many past years. It was one of Jason and I’s favorite things from our wedding.”

“I already knew the design and décor of the ceremony and reception would be mind blowing, and I was completely right! Everything had come together so perfectly and Elisabeth and Sari went up and way past the expectations to make sure that my entire room was absolutely breath taking!”

“Bella Sera was perfect for me, I don’t know why exactly it worked out so perfectly, but it really just fit. I would tell any future bride to imagine her dream wedding, grab a pen and paper and to write it down, and the Bella Sera would make it come true. BREATHE. And spend a little extra time to yourself before you walk down the way.”

“l love and miss everyone at the Bella already!!”

Jason – The Groom’s Story

“Earlier in the day, while getting ready for the wedding me and one of my lifelong friends had made a joke in passing about how I would eventually shed a tear when Danielle walked down the staircase. Almost as if it had been planned, the moment I saw my soon to be wife, I felt the warmth of a tear run down my cheek, and as I smiled and turned quickly to look back at the same lifelong friend, I saw him starting to tear up as well. The feeling of knowing that the men standing next to me not only cared but also understood how much she meant to me was overpowering. It turns out after all that I was not the only man that would cry that day, and many more tears of joy would be shared that day.”

“It was really important to me that nothing went wrong, and fortunately nobody caused drama, at least not that we knew about. That was huge and I am sure the Bella Sera staff had a bunch to do with everything going so smoothly!”

“The moment that stands out in my mind the most is when Dennis, Danielle’s father, walked her down the isle. I remember that when they both stood in front of me, and Dennis looked at Danielle and Danielle looked at Dennis and spoke 3 words that really touched my heart. Those words were “are you ready?” I realized at that moment that so to speak, Danielle was now more than ever mine to protect, love, and cherish forever.”

“Several other amazing moments were seeing Danielle walk down the staircase in her dress, our first dance together, and shaking my fathers hand, giving him a hug, and him telling me how proud he was of the both of us. I remember everything from the wedding. I can honestly say that every memory that was made was one that will forever be with me. I wouldn’t have changed anything at all, not a single moment.”

The Wedding Professionals

Bridal Gown: The Bridal Collection / Designer: Maggie Sottero / Birdcage Veil: Danielle’s Aunt Jeanne / The Red Car: Jason’s Baby / Tuxedos: Al’s Formal Wear / Wedding Cake: Danielle’s Bridesmaid Kailey / Flowers: Vickie’s Flowers / Photography: Mark Alison Photography / DJ: DJ Guy / Wedding Designer: Elisabeth Montoya, The Bella Sera / Venue: The Bella Sera Event Center / Catering: Bella Sera