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As friends and customers of Doyle & Doyle know, family and sisterhood are a vital part of our family-owned, sister-run business. And while we love all of our brides & grooms-to-be equally, the most recent couple to be featured in “Doyle & Doyle Brides” holds a special place in this blogger’s heart, as she just so happens to be MY sister! The fact that Kathryn & Ben’s wedding was also particularly unique, painstakingly wrought (though appeared effortless to the casual observer’s eye), and a family affair in and of itself, made it a no-brainer as a feature choice.
Kathryn our Doyle & Doyle bride
Get the scoop on Kathryn’s gorgeous engagement ring, her fiancé Ben’s adorably hapless proposal, advice on dealing with seemingly insurmountable day-of challenges (hint – denial!), and tips for future brides on what to, and not to, sweat when planning your big day.
Can you describe your ring from Doyle & Doyle?
Beautiful! It is a pearl (with a very pinky sheen) surrounded by diamonds in a sort of floral cluster. The gold has a rose tone to it and the diamonds are set in platinum, which makes them look even more sparkly. I have never really been a diamond girl, so this was the perfect engagement ring for me. Everyone who has seen it describes it as “so me” but doesn’t everyone say that about everyone’s ring? The very geeky part of me loves that it’s pearl since Anne of Green Gable’s engagement ring was a pearl (Spoiler: she marries Gilbert).
Can you tell us a little about the proposal?
He totally screwed it up! It was very sweet and he was so nervous, but he forgot to ask once the ring was out. In all fairness, it was Very. Clear. that this was a proposal (flowers, candles, wine, he cooked AND the kitchen was clean). But by the time the ring was out he was just like “…well?”
Since your wedding has already taken place, will you tell us about the planning & ceremony?
I truly don’t know how anyone lives without sisters (ed. note – tear). Planning my wedding was a completely DIY from halfway across the country. We were determined to have a small, (relatively) inexpensive, very designed wedding. My youngest sister, who is an event and decor guru, as well as a photographer (ed. note – the OTHER sister, the talented one), was conscripted into slave labor and created a beautiful event. From the hand cut confetti in our invitations, to the paper flower arch that we drove across country (overnight, in a van, with both sisters and their men, everyone’s wedding attire plus all our bags for the honeymoon), to the absolutely beautiful wedding album, it was a labor of love. I provided cheerful if unskilled physical labor as Amanda created my vision.
Did anything unexpected, funny or surprising happen leading up to or during your wedding?
On our wedding day, it rained. And rained. And rained. Did I mention it was an outdoor wedding, in the back garden of a restaurant with no tent planned? I spent all day telling people not to talk to me about it. The official party line was no one is allowed to worry about the rain until after 2pm, since we had a 6pm wedding scheduled. But it POURED all morning. My mom got thrown out of the room a few times because she couldn’t stop worrying about it. Then at 2pm the skies miraculously cleared and the humidity dropped and by the time we left the hotel, the ground was dry and the skies were blue.
Also hilarious is something I don’t remember happening, nor does my husband. During the ceremony there was a car alarm going off, apparently for a while. Afterwards, my sisters both said they were trying not to laugh during the ceremony because the car alarm kept going off and Ben and I both said “What are you talking about?” Neither of us had heard it at all (ed. note – it literally went off through the ENTIRE ceremony, even during my most excellent reading of Frank O’hara’s “Having a coke with you”. I was sure Kathryn would feel it ruined the event!).
Do you have any favorite memories of the day?
The whole day was so great. We sort of envisioned a party where we happened to get married, and that’s what we got. Good food, good music, and a small crowd so we had time to talk and enjoy all our guests. Our venue was fabulous so the food was always fresh, my champagne hand was never empty, and all my guests gushed over how great the food and bartender were. I don’t think anyone really realized that it was a totally vegetarian, mostly vegan, wedding. Even a year later people are still telling me how good the food was. We had cameras out for everyone to use and take pictures so it was really fun to develop the film later and see all the parts we missed. I really wouldn’t change anything about our wedding. Maybe I would have eaten more…
What advice would you give future Doyle & Doyle brides?
Enjoy it and don’t sweat the small stuff because NO ONE EVEN NOTICES. All my loving personal hand crafted details transported in the dark of night across the country to my fabulous venue (Hand painted pillows! Tasseled garland! Stunning bouquet!)? No one commented at all. They only noticed the food and music. To be fair, everyone who sees the pictures comments on the lovely decor, but at the wedding all i heard about was coconut cakes and the (truly amazing) green pea flatbread.
Are you a Doyle & Doyle Bride who would like to share memories from your engagement or wedding on our blog? We’d love to hear from you! Email us at: info@doyledoyle.com
All photos courtesy of Amanda Leigh of blog Dangerous Enough.
