1. Real Weddings

Dina & Jeff: An Outdoor Wedding in Jacksonville, FL

Dina had seen Jeffrey out on the town pretty often, since the two shared mutual friends. He had been eyeing me for quite some time, Dina says, and one

Dina had seen Jeffrey out on the town pretty often, since the two shared mutual friends. He had been eyeing me for quite some time, Dina says, and one night I saw one of my friends talking to him, so I joined in the conversation. Later, the group went back to Dina’s place, and from then on the two were inseparable. The Bride Dina Mancuso, 26, marketing consultant The Groom Jeffrey DeMarco, 33, director of marketing The Date March 11 One day, Dina and Jeff’s Chihuahua, Pete, came up to greet Dina at the door after work -- just like always -- but today something was different. He had an engagement ring attached to his collar. I walked into the bedroom, and Jeff asked me to marry him, Dina remembers. Of course I said yes.

Dina and Jeff shared their first dance to Sweet Avenue by Jets to Brazil. The father-daughter dance was to What a Wonderful World.
Dina wore a diamond white, Monique Lhuillier gown with a lace bodice and a full tulle skirt. She had originally planned on adding a chocolate brown sash to the gown, but in the end opted for black so she would match Jeff's tux.
The Reception Decor
Dina's bridesmaids carried pink, green, and brown bouquets that incorporated peonies, garden roses, hydrangeas, and stephanotis. The stems were wrapped in chocolate brown satin.
Dina and Jeff's guests sat at banquet tables covered with alternating light pink or sage green linens. The decor also varied from table to table -- some had birds' nests filled with flowers, while others had julep cups of blooms and other nonfloral elements like apples and candles. The only rule: Keep the decor low to allow guests to talk with one another.
Dina and Jeff wed in an outdoor ceremony with their guests seated around them in white wooden chairs. The couple stood with their wedding party on steps leading up to a brick building, which had brown and pink ribbon trailing up its rails to the altar area.
Many nonfloral elements like apples and candles were included in the reception decor.
The invitations definitely played a huge role in outlining our wedding theme, the bride says. Jeff designed the invitations and other paper goods, which were printed in pink ink on brown paper.
Dina and Jeff cut a four-tiered cake decorated with light pink stripes, brown polka dots, and bright pink bows. The white cake had cannoli filling in two tiers and raspberry in the other two.
Dina created a unique escort card display for the reception. She wrapped an old windowpane in pink and brown ribbons, where each ribbon represented a different table, with the escort cards attached. Dina and Jeff named their tables with the word for love in 16 different languages.
Dina's only request was that her bouquet contain feathers, so her florist added black feathers and black crystals to the pale and bright pink blooms. The stems were wrapped in black satin.
Dina and Jeff gave their guests potpourri sachets, which the bride had packaged in pink boxes with various brown ribbons. She’d also added a variety of different labels, some with the couple’s names and others with sayings like lucky in love.