1. Real Weddings

Tanya & Jim: An Outdoor Wedding in Cottageville, WV

From the fashions to the food, Tanya's and Jim's families helped fill their period-inspired outdoor wedding with creative, country charm. The Bride T

From the fashions to the food, Tanya's and Jim's families helped fill their period-inspired outdoor wedding with creative, country charm. The Bride Tanya Nicole Tackett, 27, student The Groom James (Jim) Edward Bowers, 34, chemical engineer The Date October 20 When Jim first met Tanya at a local West Virginia watering hole, she was celebrating her 21st birthday, and he was pretty sure the party girl didn't feel any sparks. A few weeks later though, the chemical engineer planned to meet up with some pals in Columbus, Ohio, and to his surprise, Tanya tagged along for the trip. Turns out she was interested after all. Three years later, courtship became commitment when Tanya said yes to Jim's proposal at a candlelit dinner in Detroit.

Seasonal flowers ornamented Tanya's carefully braided updo. The bridesmaids' 18th-century-esque velvet frocks and groomsman bowties picked up the autumn-inspired color of the day: burgundy.
After the ceremony, the festivities continued nearby under a large wooded picnic shelter that the bride and her friends decorated with heaps of wild grapevines (echoing the ceremony arch), paper lanterns, and tiny white lights. Burgundy linens and homemade candles adorned the tables, which, by the time guests arrived, were covered with various cheeses and breads. Tanya and Jim planned their menu with Renaissance flair too -- a slow-roasted deer and pig were highlights. As they dined, revelers sipped wine, cider, and beer, and kept warm during the cool October night by standing close to the fire.
The Flower Girl
The Couple
Tanya and Jim incorporated Renaissance touches into their romantic mountain affair mainly because Tanya thought the dress styles would go well with the fall surroundings. And what girl doesn't want to be a princess? Jim adds. Tanya really looked the part in a long, ivory handmade gown with embroidered antique gold trim. (Tanya's aunt, who made her gown, used the extra fabric to make Jim's stylish ivory ascot.)
Jim's mother had an especially important role in her son's wedding. In addition to her mother-of-the-groom responsibilities, she also took charge of the music, playing the bass with her country band during the reception. She and her fellow music makers (including Jim's uncle who strummed a couple of tunes on the guitar) entertained the cozy crowd with such songs as the Tennessee Waltz, the couple's first dance, and the rather appropriate Harvest Moon by Neil Young. As the evening wound down, and the band played what Jim describes as some drunken Irish jig, the couple set forth on their honeymoon -- a camping trip throughout the West Virginia countryside -- close to their home sweet home.
Culinary student Joel Shinn, the bride's cousin, made the four-tier white cake decorated with white chocolate grape leaves and sugar-coated grapes.
Tanya carried an autumnal bouquet of long-stemmed ivory gerbera daisies, fern fronds, baby's breath, and hypericum berries.
The season, the setting, and the lure of the Renaissance inspired Tanya and Jim's outdoor October harvest wedding. The traditional ceremony took place on hill behind an old church, overlooking the bride's grandparents' fields scattered with hay bales. Jim (on Tanya's insistence, he says) collected long, wild grapevines to construct the wedding arch. It was hazardous work, the groom says. I ended up with a six-inch scratch across the side of my face a few days before the wedding. The couple arranged 100 wooden chairs in front of the dramatic handcrafted altar and marked the grassy aisle with burgundy- and cream-color chrysanthemums.