The Swan Wedding — BLOG

Paul and Mariel Swan's Full wedding video Videography By: Jonathon Ford

‘But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." (2 Peter 3:8) The love that was in the room on our wedding day, January 5, 2019 felt as it was going to last a thousand years. Love is timeless and pure love will last forever. Love is the glue that binds our reality and gives us strength to face the world as long as we have one another. I truly believe that the unconditional love that Paul and I have for each other is sealed and anointed from God. The Bible teaches, “1 John 4:7-8 (ESV) God Is Love.January 5th 2019 Paul and I got married at Childress Vineyards. It was the best day of my life. I truly felt God’s presence and an overwhelming amount of unconditional love that day. On that day I married my soulmate, in front of my closest friends and family, and I must say there was no better feeling.

THAT MORNING

The morning of my wedding was insane and a time I will never forget. I was so nervous and excited all the same time. I was so happy to have my family and best friends by my side that morning.

My bridesmaids: Whitney Dillon Matron of honor, Jordan Dodson, Evony Thompson, Ashley Parker,Jocelyn Watts, Kristen Stiles, Laura Little, Courtney Little, Jessi Boseman, Morgan Abel, Tiffany Harwell, Amanda Mertz

DETAILS

My new last name is Swan and I wanted to tie that into the theme of my wedding. The song I walked down the aisle to was 1000 years, played by Deans Duets, (cello, harp,violin trio). I wanted everything to have an enchanted feel, because after all I was morphing into a swan (haha) . I used tons of greenery and faux trees to replicate the look of a forest and stuck with rich colored jewel tones to create a warm and enchanting feel. When people walked in, I wanted them to feel as though they were in an enchanted forest.

My event planner was Coordinating Dreams and my floral designer was Dahlia’s (Trinity photography) — My event planner was Coordinating Dreams and my floral designer was Dahlia’s (Trinity
photography)

I also used cream draping in the front, but that is the only draping I used. I wanted to keep the earthy feel of the stones and wood at the vineyard. I used wooden chairs, and tons of trees and greenery. We had cascading greenery from the sky. And used tree/branch cut outs to create more of a forest scenery.

We used greenery, tree stumps, candles, and floral bouquets down the aisle.

Jack, Maribeth, and Paul (My Mother and Father in Law)

Mother and father (Michael and Victoria lane)

Ashley and Pete (Brother and Sister in Law)

The Jumping of the broom (Whit Whit got me a custom blinged out broom as a gift)

At the end of the ceremony Paul and I jumped the broom, which is an African American tradition which symbolizes sweeping your old life away and jumping into a new life together!

My mother and Mother in Law Victoria Lane and Maribeth Debraal

My mother wrote a poem, "Mothers' Blessings, A Thousand Years"” and she read it with Maribeth (my mother in law) by her side. Their blessings were to remind the world that both mothers and families were excited that we found each other, and both families believed in the power of love. My mom ended the poem with, “They know that true love will forever stand more than a single day and more than a thousand years."

VENUE

We had our wedding at Childress Vineyards. Our ceremony and reception was held in the Pavilion and our cocktail hour was held in the Bistro.

Flower Girls (Tru Harwell; Blair Boehlke ; Zaria Saleem)

Tony Haye’s the saxophone player during cocktail hour

Reception

During the reception I loved the look of massive candelabras with creeping greenery to give a fairy tell feel. For the reception and ceremony I had to have two massive golden swans so I took some swan sculptures I found online and Jack, my father in law spray painted them in an antique gold. Florals played a huge role in the design element of my wedding. I used a huge greenery backdrop for the fireplace during my reception, and our florist, Dhalias made the most beautiful hanging greenery piece to go above the couch near our bar. For the tables I wanted the flowers to have massive floral centerpieces mixed in with the candelabras. Faye Conlin from Coordinating Dreams took my vision and made it into a reality!