1. Real Weddings

Jennifer & Mathew: An Intercultural Wedding in Colorado Springs, CO

After appearing unexpectedly during Jennifer's business trip to San Diego, Mathew surprised his girlfriend even further when he returned from a restau

After appearing unexpectedly during Jennifer's business trip to San Diego, Mathew surprised his girlfriend even further when he returned from a restaurant bathroom with a ring in his hand. He passed it off with a simple “look what I found,” inducing all sorts of confusion. The Bride Jennifer Gorny, 34, medical research associate The Groom Mathew Alexander, 35, neurosurgeon The Date April 21 “After seven-and-a-half years of dating, I wanted him down on one knee professing how he couldn’t live without me,” reports Jennifer. The ring was nothing like she’d pictured -- something didn’t seem quite right -- and, sure enough, Mathew blurted out “April fool!” This quasi-proposal was a fake-out. Following a romantic dinner the next evening, funny man Mathew turned serious, proclaiming his love -- on bended knee -- on a rooftop with the city skyline in the distance.

Jennifer’s pink and burgundy peonies held special meanings around their stems. A clear rhinestone A (for Mathew’s last name, Alexander) was pinned on the pink ribbon, and her cousin’s red rosary -- a gift from the girls’ grandmother -- was wrapped around as “something borrowed.”
The three-tiered square cake was coated in pearlized white, buttercream icing and accessorized in pink hydrangea florets, pink pearlized fondant ribbon with a crystal brooch (matching the bride’s attire), and the couple’s monogram in pink icing. There was also a smaller brooch on the cake’s top tier.
The couple had a traditional Catholic ceremony that also included elements of Mathew’s Indian heritage -- the blessing and tying of the minnu (a gold, leaf and cross–shaped pendant symbolizing God’s presence) and the blessing and draping of the manthrakodi (a sari presented to the bride by the groom’s family).
Reception tables were covered in raspberry satin linens and light pink, organza overlays. A personalized menu card, raspberry satin napkin, and love quote greeted guests at each place setting, and the arrangements were topped with a green dendrobium orchid.
In the spirit of spring, the tented escort cards were laid atop a bed of wheat grass.
The elegant Broadmoor ballroom set the stage for Jennifer and Matthew’s super classy, raspberry-hued reception. Enormous pink and green blooms balanced atop clear, glass, tower vases on small, lighted platforms in the center of each table.