We’ve sent out most of the individual thank you’s (although some are awaiting hand delivery by Cynthia), but we also wanted to give everyone another BIG THANK YOU for helping to make our wedding day such a joy, including all the wonderful vendors we worked with and all our fabulous guests!
Please take a look at the Recent Posts box on the sidebar to see what we’ve posted after the ceremony, including links to our music selections, the ceremony transcript, and, of course, lots of photos!
Many thanks to our fabulous photographer, Beth Sanders), for the 697 awesome photos!After sorting through them, we’ve selected our favorites to share via these Google Photos albums:
See a photo you’d like to have in a printer-friendly resolution? contact Amy!
Here are a few of our favorites from the brides’ photo shoot (click to enlarge):
Original photographs © 2016 Beth Sanders Photography
(All edits and effects by Amy)
Below you’ll find the complete program for our wedding ceremony, including the titles of the songs that were played at specific occasions, the readings, and our vows. For links to the songs, see this post: Music from the Ceremony and Reception
We prepared the program in conjunction with our wonderful celebrants, Tim and Jen Bailey of Celebrating Times of Change.
Amy_Cynthia_Ceremony_FINAL-VERSIONAmy and I had months to ponder over which songs to select for the ceremony and reception, but we didn’t make the final selections until the last minute, after we’d had time to let our options play on our mental jukeboxes.
I knew early on what I wanted as a bridal procession song, but after cycling through a variety of options, Amy finally hit on what seemed like an ideal choice for her. We knew when we saw the Disney animated movie, “Zootopia,” that we wanted to use its theme song a recessional. But it wasn’t until we settled on incorporating a “tea and sweets” ritual into our wedding ceremony that we came up with a song that also combines British and Japanese cultures, just as the tea ritual was designed to do. (The song is from a Japanese animated film that’s based on a fantasy novel by British author Diana Wynne Jones.)
After I showed Amy Sara Barielles’ adorable video for the song, “I Choose You,” we both agreed that it would be a perfect “first dance” song. And of course I had to have a few songs from Glee, including the song I chose to honor our bridal party and everyone else who helped to pull the day together.
Follow the links below to view the songs on YouTube or to purchase them on iTunes.
Parents and bridal party entrance: “Totoro” (String quartet) from the Miyazaki animated film My Neighbor Totoro (1998), performed by the Accordi String Quartet (purchase on iTunes)
Amy’s entrance: “Prologue” from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001), score by John Williams (purchase on iTunes)
Cynthia’s entrance: “Always With Me” (Itsumo Nando Demo) from Spirited Away (2001), performed by Yumi Kimora. Japanese to English translation. (purchase on iTunes)
Tea ceremony: “Merry-Go-Round of Life” from the Miyazaki animated film Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), performed by the Mononoke Ensemble (purchase on iTunes)
Recessional: “Try Everything” from the Disney animated film, Zootopia (2016), performed by Shakira (purchase on iTunes)
Bridal party and brides dinner entrance: “My Life Would Suck Without You” (Glee Cast) – Original by Kelly Clarkson (purchase on iTunes)
Cake Cutting: “Least Complicated” from Swamp Ophelia, by the Indigo Girls (purchase on iTunes)
Brides’ First Dance: “I Choose You” by Sara Barielles (purchase on iTunes)
The video is a must-see!
Dedication to Shawn: “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” by Jim Croce (purchase on iTunes)
Brides’ Last Dance: “Fields of Gold” – Original by Sting as sung by Eva Cassidy (purchase on iTunes)
Send-Off: “Somebody Loves You” by Betty Who (purchase on iTunes)
For our honeymoon, we spent an entire week at Disney World in Florida, which gave us the chance to visit all our favorite parks and to relax a bit in the pool. We went to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom as well as to both sides of Universal Studios, and we stayed at the lovely Disney resort of Port Orleans.
When we arrived, we were given newlywed pins reading “Happily Ever After,” which we wore each day, and we were floored by how many Disney cast members and Universal park attendants went out of their way to say “congratulations” to us!
Our “newlyweds” pins, along with the lobby of the Port Orleans resort.
We put a few of our favorite photos from the honeymoon trip on this Google Photos album: A&C HONEYMOON).
A new feature at Disney this year: ride videos!
Here’s one from the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride (and yes, it’s Dwarfs, not Dwarves):
In addition to giving them another hearty THANK YOU, we also wanted to provide links to our fantastic vendors in case anyone is looking for referrals!
If you took photos at our wedding and would like to share them with us, we’ve set up a few ways that should make it easy to do so.
We invited all the guests we’re connected to on Facebook to contribute photos to the “A&C WEDDING” album on the Facebook Moments app. You can only upload photos using the mobile app, but you can view them on this web album: A&C WEDDING
We also set up a Google Photo Album entitled Amy & Cynthia’s Wedding – May 2016, which should be set to allow uploads from anyone who has the link to the album.
If the options above don’t work for you and you have only a few photos to share, you’re welcome to send them to us by email. If you have more than a few (and/or some video clips), please contact us for options, as we have limited bandwidth at home.
Thank you!!
This is what my hair stylist came up with in a “trial” of a bridal “up-do.” I like it, but I don’t love it. So I’m hoping to get a bit more of an “up” do on the big day, as well as more curls. And yes, my hair is in the process of going from red to purple!
We chose a design that symbolizes the Tardis from Dr. Who, because of the role the Tardis played in bringing us back together. When Amy saw a photo of Cynthia standing in front of a Tardis at Denver ComicCon, she decided to comment on it, even though she hadn’t spoken to Cynthia for six years. Cynthia responded, and the rest is history!
3:00-5:00 – Amy, Cynthia, and bridal party get ready
5:00-5:30 – Guests start arriving
5:30-6:00 – Wedding Ceremony
6:00-7:00 – Cocktail Hour
7:00-8:00 – Dinner
8:00-9:00 – Dancing & Socializing
Food provided by Greens Point Catering.
Passed Hors D’Oeuvres
Dinner Buffet
NB: Vegetarian and gluten-free options will be available
Cake provided by Colorado Rose Cake Company.
* Cynthia wants you to know that this layer is ALL OURS!
Here’s the digital “card” that served as our wedding invitation via PaperlessPost.com:
Who are the brown and blue creatures?
They’re from one of Cynthia’s favorite animated films, “My Neighbor Totoro,” by the legendary Japanese animator, Hayao Miyazaki. The brown one is a woodland spirit called Totoro, and the blue one is his smaller companion.
Who are the dogs behind the blue creature?
Those are cartoon versions of our three Chihuahua mixes, which Amy created in Pixton. The tan dog is Amber, the yellow dog is Dulcie, and the reddish brown dog is Holly.
Who drew the chibis?
Cynthia created her chibi’s head on xiibi.com, and Amy modified it by replacing the eyes and adjusting the hair and skin tone.
Amy used a chibi she created on xiibi.com as inspiration but drew the new chibi head from scratch using a drawing app for Mac.
Who drew the wedding dresses?
Amy traced some clip art images and modified them extensively to suit the design.
What’s the setting in the background?
The background is a composite of several photos of the ceremony area at Lionscrest Manor.
What apps did you use to design the card?
Amy used Pixelmator for image editing and Comic Life 3 for layout.
This is what happens when you mix these ingredients:
We look forward to seeing how the cake turns out in person!
Here’s the card we used to send out “Save the Date” notices via Paperless Post:
