1. Real Weddings

Amanda & Gregory: A Spring Wedding in Warren, MI

When Amanda Lamerato married Gregory Kelly at St. Vincent Ferrer Church, it was not the first time she had stood at the altar in a fancy white dress a

When Amanda Lamerato married Gregory Kelly at St. Vincent Ferrer Church, it was not the first time she had stood at the altar in a fancy white dress and a veil. Almost exactly 19 years earlier Amanda had made her first communion at the church, which her family has attended for her entire life. The Bride Amanda Lamerato The Groom Gregory Kelly The Date May 31 Amanda and Gregory planned their wedding from Chicago, where they live and where they met one night when both were at the bar of a popular restaurant near Wrigley Field, each waiting for friends who were late for dinner. They struck up a conversation, exchanged email addresses and just seven months later, Greg surprised Amanda with a homemade, candlelight dinner culminating in a marriage proposal.

The Escort Cards
Amanda wore a gown by Oleg Cassini.
Between feasting on the dinner and dessert buffet and dancing to tunes the DJ played (surprisingly, the good old Hokey Pokey was a huge hit), guests took photos with disposable cameras that Amanda and Gregory had placed on the tables. The cameras were loaded with both color and black-and-white film.
I have always known I wanted a spring wedding with bright, multicolored tulips as the main flowers, says Amanda. She chose a shade of sage green called fino celadon as an accent color (the tulips looked really beautiful next to it, she says), and used it for the bridesmaid dresses.
The wedding was a full Catholic mass. Amanda honored her love of music by inviting two friends from her college a capella group to sing all of the music for the ceremony. Another pal played the piano. Most special was an Ave Maria that had been composed by Amanda’s great-great-great grandmother for her own granddaughter’s wedding.