Real Wedding: Carolyn & Michael
Rochester, New York
Cake: Bruce Kunsman, Coordination: Celebrated Events, Entertainment: Nik and the Nice Guys, Lighting Balloon Effects International, Reception Site: Oak Hill Country Club, Videography: SE Video
Carolyn and Michael Linehan are two people who have not only experienced love at first sight, but also a second and third time. The pair first met at a meeting for an annual fundraiser, then again at a cotillion several weeks later, and once more at a fundraiser after that. Finally, months after their first meeting, they went on their first date. “From that moment on, we continued dating and were practically inseparable,” says Carolyn.
One Sunday afternoon after they had been dating for several years, the couple made plans to take Carolyn’s grandmother out to lunch. Carolyn drove over to Michael’s house to pick him up and she found a mysterious note on the door reading “Please follow the rose petals.” “I saw a trail of rose petals and lit candles winding through the house and up the stairs. I followed the trail up the staircase, and I gasped when I saw Michael down on one knee,” says Carolyn. With U2’s “Beautiful Day” playing in the background, Michael proposed, to which Carolyn tearfully accepted. The couple toasted their engagement with champagne, but kept their plans with Carolyn’s grandmother. “We still took her to lunch that day, and she loves that she was the first person to celebrate with us,” Carolyn says.
Although Carolyn and Michael toyed with the idea of having a destination wedding in Naples, Florida, where Michael’s parents live during the winter, they ultimately decided against it. “The more we thought about it, the more we leaned towards a winter wedding in our hometown of Rochester,” says Carolyn, who didn’t want their friends and family to have to worry about traveling a long distance.
The ceremony took place at the Linehan Chapel at Nazareth College, named after Michael’s parents many years ago. Michael's two sisters also had their weddings there, and Carolyn and Michael were excited to follow the family tradition. Each guest was given a small handheld candle as they arrived at the chapel, and when the bride and groom’s mothers lit the unity candle, they also lit their own small candles and used them to pass the flame to everyone in attendance. “This symbolized how all of our friends and family have been a
light in our lives, starting with our mothers, since they gave us life,” says Carolyn.
The bride and groom settled on the Oak Hill Country Club for their reception, a location that had special meaning to them, since Michael’s parents had also held their reception there 30 years before. Guests were delighted with the charming chocolate-brown color palette, a choice inspired by their beloved chocolate lab, Charlie. “We also incorporated different elements of nature throughout the palette, including feathers, in a nod to the family bird farm where they raise pheasants, chuckers and quail,” says Carolyn. A magnificent ice sculpture included chiseled quails, and quail was even included on the dinner menu.
For Carolyn, the night was everything she could have dreamed of for her wedding — with the exception of the couple’s first dance. “We took dance lessons for months leading up to the wedding. We were ready and excited to do our first dance to our song, ‘Everything’ by Michael Bublé,” she says. Unfortunately, the dance floor was a lot smaller than the one they had practiced on, and Carolyn had some trouble dancing in her gown. “The dance just went all wrong. Michael couldn’t get close to me for fear of stepping on my dress.” Finally, the couple executed a dip as the finale, glad for the awkward — but definitely memorable — dance to be over. It may have been less than perfect, but in the midst of an evening filled with such joy, the newlyweds hardly noticed.