1. Real Weddings

Amy & Craig: A Formal Wedding in San Antonio, TX

Just before Valentine's Day one year, Craig Wacker told his girlfriend Amy Sprague to take a few days off from work. I knew that we would be going som

Just before Valentine's Day one year, Craig Wacker told his girlfriend Amy Sprague to take a few days off from work. I knew that we would be going somewhere, but I had expected a road trip to a few bed-and-breakfasts in the Virginia countryside, remembers Amy, who had moved with Craig to Washington, DC, after meeting him in graduate school at the University of Texas-Austin. But instead of a local itinerary Craig surprised Amy with plane tickets to Paris, and the couple spent five days eating exquisite meals, going to museums, visiting chateaux, and staying in quaint hotels. THE BRIDE Amy Sprague THE GROOM Craig Wacker THE DATE November 15 One cool, crisp morning, they found themselves along the Seine River without many other people around. It was the perfect moment for Craig to propose. Just after I said yes, a balloon broke free from a stand about a quarter-mile away and bounced along the walkway on the river all the way to us without blowing into the water, Amy remembers. When the couple returned from overseas, they began thinking of the perfect place where they could celebrate their wedding.

On a beautiful November day, 65 guests joined Amy and Craig at Mission San José, one of several southern missions built in the early 1700s. Reverend Robert Vogan, a friend of Amy's family for 40 years, delivered a heartfelt sermon and made the Catholic ceremony very personal. Because the ceremony began at 11 a.m., Amy and Craig chose Morning Has Broken as the processional hymn for the bridal party and bride.
Amy wore a simple shantung silk gown embellished with roses at the shoulders and waistline, and an art deco gold pendant that her maternal grandfather gave to her grandmother on their engagement in 1921.
The Couple
The Wedding Party Looks
For dessert, there was a double-tiered chocolate wedding cake.
Eschewing the traditional wedding party, Amy and Craig chose their four nieces and three nephews as their attendants, ranging in age from three to eleven. Each of the girls wore a different handmade silk dupioni dress and carried cheerful pink gerbera daisies.
The Bridal Bouquet
To find their seat assignments, guests picked up escort cards attached to colorful Mexican tin ornaments of the Alamo. Since the holidays were close, our guests could put the ornaments to use quickly.
After the ceremony, Amy and Craig took pictures with their families around the mission while guests toured the grounds. Then it was off to La Fonda on Main for a reception filled with music and food. While there was no official theme for the day, Amy and Craig were adamant that things should be simple and fun. Both our wedding and reception locations were very colonial Spanish and Mexican, says Amy. We did not want to detract from the simple beauty of these places with too many wedding decorations. We wanted to enhance the natural decoration.
Guests enjoyed the food, along with the jazz and Texas swing music, while Amy and Craig's family members gave endearing toasts that combined personal stories and Apache wedding prayers. My sister made us cry and Craig's sister made us laugh, Amy remembers, which couldn't have been a more perfect way to end the day.