1. Real Weddings

Brooke & Thor: An Outdoor Wedding in Wetumpka, AL

When Brooke found out that her oldest friend, a naval officer in San Diego, was being sent to Afghanistan, she planned a trip to see him before he lef

When Brooke found out that her oldest friend, a naval officer in San Diego, was being sent to Afghanistan, she planned a trip to see him before he left. To help keep their minds off the impending deployment, Brooke planned to take her friend and his wife to see a concert during her visit. As she was driving from Los Angeles (where she was living at the time), he called to say his wife had a work emergency and couldn’t make the concert. Determined not to let the ticket go to waste, she told him to bring her a date -- and he did! His friend Thor was charming and handsome, and the two hit it off. The Bride Brooke Lee, 31, television writer/producer The Groom Thor Burbach, 34, graduate student The Date October 4 A few years later, while on a holiday vacation in Colorado, Brooke and Thor decided to take a drive to the Colorado National Monument. Despite the chilling 13-degree temperature outside, they stopped at a lookout to get a better view of the area. As they were standing there, Thor got down on one knee and proposed.

Mason jars burst with branches dotted with large paper blooms in shades of green, orange, and pink. Each table was also set with bottles of red and white wine for guests to enjoy with their meals.
Postcard-sized ceremony programs detailing the wedding party and ceremony information mimicked the style of the custom-designed invitations.
The couple commissioned Hatch Show Print, known for creating custom posters for some of country music’s biggest stars, to design a sign for their event. They displayed the posters on the path leading to the ceremony site.
After the ceremony, guests cooled off with ginger margaritas and spiked pink lemonade appropriately called “groomaritas” and “the blushing bride.”
Brooke carried a lush bouquet of roses, hydrangeas, calla lilies, and hypericum berries. Looped bear grass gave the arrangement a touch of modern appeal.
This fun-loving couple got a real laugh out of their cake toppers -- Christmas ornaments the two had purchased from a local propane supplier. Brooke and Thor enjoy skiing together, and when they saw the ornaments, they just knew they’d be perfect for their cake.
An outdoorsy twist on the traditional table, these escort cards were flying high. Brooke strung twine between columns at the front of the clubhouse and secured “admit one” tickets to the line with clothespins. Inside, the cards were printed with the guests’ table numbers.
To play up the Western decor, traditional linen napkins were replaced with colorful bandanas tied with rope.
Even the beverages played up the wedding colors. Pewter buckets filled with pomegranate and clementine soft drinks were scattered throughout the reception space.
Personalized envelopes printed with qualities that Brooke and Thor love about each other held CDs of love songs. Designed to look like classic 45 vinyl albums, the favors really played up the honky-tonk theme of the day.