Real Wedding: Adinna & Adam
Adinna Auger and Adam Smith met their second day of college at Cornell University. Bonding over a similar taste in music, Adam immediately wooed Adinna by offering to copy twenty CDs for her. "While there was no specific falling in love moment," Adina says, "we both knew from the start that we had something special, and every day together since has just reinforced that feeling." Eight years later, the two are still deeply in love.
Together they supported each other through college and Adinna's pursuit of a law degree. Once she graduated, Adinna got a job at a law firm in Boston and looked forward to Adam visiting on the weekends. One such weekend, as she waited for Adam to arrive, Adinna got a call from a friend who asked her to come over to talk about "boy issues." When she got there, her friend suggested they talk on the building's roof, which offers a gorgeous view of the golden-domed state house.
Adinna led the way, and once getting to the roof, noticed dozens of flowers and lit candles surrounding a person. Looking closer she realized it was Adam! Adinna hugged him to welcome him to Boston, and he greeted her with a big surprise. He told her how much he loves her, explained that he cannot be without her, got down on one knee, and asked her to marry him. She was extremely surprised, but also thrilled.
There was no question where they would have their wedding. "Ithaca was where we fell in love, and was the place that inspired us," Adinna explains. She and Adam wanted their guests to share the beauty of the place where they had created some of their favorite memories as a couple. "There is nothing more wonderful than the gorges and crisp cool air of Ithaca in the autumn," she says.
Since it was a destination wedding, their guests also got a sort of "weekend vacation," and Adinna and Adam wanted the whole weekend to be a celebration. The day before the wedding they hosted a casual welcome party at the Gothic Eves Inn. They had wood-fired hot tubs, private massages, food, wine, and fun for their guests.
Adinna makes a point to say, "Adam and I never do anything the way other people do," and their wedding truly reflected a personal atmosphere. They spent time planning every detail to make sure the whole event was meaningful and memorable for everyone. They hand-designed the wedding artwork, included original limericks to add a personal effect, and had the invitations and programs printed on specialty paper from California. They chose an elegant, rich color palette of aubergine and cranberry, influenced by the style of Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "The Corpse Bride," which were played on TVs during the cocktail hour.
Their eclectic musical preferences influenced various aspects of the ceremony and the reception. Adinna and Adam spent days creating the perfect playlist for their reception. Adinna walked down the aisle to a song by Sigur Rós, an Icelandic band. Adinna and Adam say it was special "to have influenced people's musical preferences" and introduce them to music they may not have otherwise heard.
To thank their bridal party for continuous support, Adina and Adam designed one-of-a-kind handbags for their bridesmaids. They also bought vintage Asic sneakers for their groomsmen to wear during the ceremony. Everyone at the ceremony loved the shoes-"Even the pastor commented on them during the ceremony!" Adinna remembers.
Adinna's bouquet complemented the wedding's elegant theme and rich color palette, and also added sentimental value. Her mother searched worldwide for high quality silk flowers and designed the bouquet herself. Adina now keeps the bouquet as a reminder of the wedding, and as representative of her mother's support of and devotion to their growing family.
Adinna & Adam's Advice:
- Expect the unexpected! Just enjoy the planning process and enjoy each other, the rest will come together, even if not perfectly.
- Don't be afraid to ask for what you want. We found that asking the vendor what we could do with certain limitations almost always resulted in a solution that we were happy with.