Geneva Wedding: A Note from the Groom

by John Fern

Hello Geneva Wedding World!

My name is John and I’m the groom in this giant event. Since this is my first post, I want to give a personal thanks to everyone that voted for us. I wish I could invite everyone to the wedding, but I don’t know many venues that hold 3,600 people. We were blown away by the response we received and can’t thank you enough!

But let’s move on to the topic of this post, the invitations. Normally you would think that the bride would be writing all of these posts, but invitations are in my ballpark since my career is in graphic and web design. Therefore, when it came to the invitation look, layout and style I had no problem taking the lead.

After meeting with Tina from Riverside Receptions we strolled over to Invitations by Design and met with Tara. She has a small shop right next to Riverside that puts out unbelievable and truly original work. When walking in, shelves of invitation samples surround you, which help to gather inspiration and showcase their work. I won’t go into tons of detail, but just know that whatever the invitation you’re looking for, they can do it with perfect execution. Tara is the owner and she is very knowledgeable and easy to work with. Once we sat down, the three of us chatted for a couple hours going over different layouts, colors, designs and even fonts. Tara helped us narrow down a style we liked, showed us examples of previous work and then customized it to our liking. We really think that these invitations are going to “wow” people when they see it.  Think sophisticated, yet fun and inviting. They are the perfect entrance into our wedding day and I can’t wait to see the final layout. I am going to save the unveiling of the colors and design for Sarah, but I think everyone will look at these invitations and be excited for the wedding that is about to come.

Within a week or two, Tara should have a mock-up of our invitation completed. I don’t really have to mention that I’m a little excited… but I will anyway. I’m a little excited. Invitations by Design is extremely talented, so when they take the vision we had, and materialize it; I know it will be great! Please check back soon for the final design and color reveal.

Geneva Wedding: Sarah says "YES!" to the dress

by Sarah Hamparian

As cliché as it may sound, I officially have said “Yes to the Dress” at The Crystal Bride and couldn’t be more excited about my decision! Normally, I would go into great detail describing every bead, ribbon and layer on the dress, however I want to keep it a surprise until the big day. So, simply put, it is picture perfect and exactly what I envisioned for our wedding on 12.12.12!

Here are details about my day that I can divulge:

• Rebecca was so sweet, patient and definitely knew her stock of dresses! All the credit is given to her for picking out the perfect dress for me. 

• The Crystal Bride’s selection of dresses is unbelievable. I was worried that they wouldn’t have something that flattered me and I would have to "settle" for a dress since my wedding is just a few months away. This was not the case at all! I went through racks and racks of dresses, pulling styles that I liked the best. Overall, I probably tried on 10 dresses and Rebecca pulled my perfect dress after she saw what my preferences from each previous dress. She was attentive, paid attention to details and made my dress selection day remarkable. I just can’t thank her enough!

• When I put on the dress, I knew it was the one. The icing on the cake is when you get “jacked up” with the veil, jewelry and your smile that lights up the room. It is one of the best feelings in the world, especially since I got to share such a special moment with my Mom and Aunt.  

119 days and counting until I marry my soul mate while wearing the most gorgeous dress imaginable :) from the Crystal Bride in Geneva, Illinois!

Geneva Wedding Winners: Sarah & John!

 by Sarah Hamparian

“And the winner is, drumroll please, John and Sarah!” This phrase has been echoing over and over in my head since Thursday, August 2. Sometimes, it still doesn’t seem real, perhaps I am dreaming. How am I lucky enough to not only be engaged to my perfect match, but also have won our Perfect Geneva Wedding on 12.12.12? But then, as my cheeks start aching from grinning ear to ear, I realize that this is not  a fantasy, it is my reality. Together, John and I won!

Let’s rewind a little bit to the beginning of Thursday night. John and I arrived at Wildwood early hoping to calm nerves and visit with friends and family before the festivities began. It was evident that other people had the same idea because the room was already filling up with the 3 couples “cheering squads” and vendors. Clearly, excitement was building in the room for what was to be an unforgettable evening.

Promptly, at 6:15pm the Newlywed game began. Each couple sat back to back in chairs and had dry erase boards for their answers. The questions ranged from “What is your favorite food?” to “Where will you be spending Thanksgiving this year?” and each person had to write down what they thought their fiancé would say. This was an extremely close round. Amber/Patrick won and pulled out in the lead with an extra 15 points, while Trisha/Patrick and us were tied for second.

Next was the interview round. Amber and Patrick chose to interview first since they won the newlywed game and a coin toss determined that Trisha/Patrick would interview second and we would interview last. Time passed slowly as we watched the other couples enter and exit the interview with the judges. Finally, our names were called and behind us cheers erupted. Our family and friends clapped and whistled for encouragement and that is exactly what we needed. It reminded us that, no matter what the outcome, our family and friends always supported us and our love for one another.

Now, I know everyone is interested in what we were asked in the interview, but, honestly, I do not remember specific questions. There were 6 judges sitting on the other side of the table and I know we talked about how we met, our proposal story, and difficult times in our relationship, but the exact questions escape me. I just remember sitting there, holding John’s hand and being excited for this opportunity. Quickly, the 20-minute interview was over and last was the announcement of the winning couple.

Scores were tallied by the judges, gorgeous bouquets of flowers appeared, gift bags stuffed to the brim sat on the table and the room went dead silent. Now was moment that everyone had waited for, the announcement of the winning couple. The MC stood up front, recapped the exciting evening and detailed the wonderful prizes in the bags (Champagne, toasting flutes, flowers, and amazing coupons from all of the vendors) for the runners up. For the winning couple, they would receive a romantic dinner for 2 at Wildwood that night along with an amazing sketch portrait by Rosemary Fanti to capture the big night. Finally, the MC announced, “And the winner is, drumroll please, John and Sarah!” and tears quickly began to flow down my cheeks as I bounded into John’s arms for a hug. Our families’ cheers exploded as they rushed to our side to embrace us with hugs. I was shaking with excitement, eye makeup smeared and smiling from ear to ear realizing that in less than 5 months I would be marrying the love of my life in a picture perfect wedding in Geneva on 12.12.12!!!

And now, the wedding planning begins! Colors need to be chosen, dresses selected, invitations created, guests lists made, cakes tasted, rings fitted, flowers picked, etc. but, thankfully, our wedding coordinator, Leanne, at You Name It Events will be guiding us through the process.