The process of working with brides to create the perfect paper items for their wedding day is such a joy for the Dixie team. So when our brides share images of their wedding with us, we are thrilled and can hardly wait to share them with you! We are in love with all the details of bride Leslie Cooper Marquez’s classic Fall wedding, like our timeless Lavender Wedding Suite with gorgeous artwork created by Dixie artist Lydia Carraway.
Leslie was so generous to share fun details of the couple’s love story as well as some of her favorite aspects of their special day. Accompanying these details are beautiful images shot by the talented Mary Margaret Smith. We are happy to give you a behind-the-scenes look into this beautiful and thoughtful wedding! Do not miss the handsome succulent boutonnieres (the groom is from Arizona!) as well as the stunning chapel where the ceremony was held (located at Leslie’s Alma Mater!).
How did the two of you meet?
We have such a fun and unique story! I mean, what are the odds that a guy from Arizona and a girl from Alabama would ever meet let alone overcome 1400+ miles to fall in love and get married?! We thank God’s guidance and a bit of modern technology for our chance meeting. David was on his annual golf trip in December of 2016 and that particular year it was in Birmingham so he and his group could play the Robert Trent Jones courses in the city. At the urging of some friends, I had recently signed up for an app-based dating site many of your readers may be familiar with – Bumble. To be honest, I was not really interested in the app dating thing but I agreed to try it out for two weeks. I had heard all of the success (and horror!!) stories so I was a little interested to see what would happen. Well, as it turns out, one of my first “swipe rights” was on David that first weekend I was on the app! We truly clicked right away and contrary to my usual nature, the fact that he was from the other side of the country didn’t deter me at all! He was different from anyone I had gone out with before and things were just easy between us from the beginning. We decided to give it a go and spent the next year traveling back and forth between AL and AZ, meeting each other’s friends and family, having adventures and in the between times, talking, FaceTiming, writing letters, emailing, snapping and otherwise communicating with each other as often as possible.
How did David propose?
Fast forward to March 2018 and a surprise proposal in the desert. Marriage had of course been discussed as had my decision to make the move from AL to AZ. I had a trip planned to Phoenix in March with the goal of seeing more of the city, talking more about what the move would look like and hopefully talking more about our marriage goals and plans. David was so good at throwing me off! Little did I know, David had already been working with my sisters for a few months on ring design ideas (though he picked out the final one himself), had already called my parents for their blessing and already had the ring (which was kept hidden from me thanks to the help of one of David’s sneaky friends)! On the third day of my visit, we went for a hike in Cave Creek, AZ, where there are a lot of amazing saguaro cactuses, my favorite kind. About halfway through the hike, we found an awesome and huge saguaro where he lead to some pictures with it. I took a pic of him with the cactus and he took a pic of me, he offered to take a selfie (which should have tipped me off as he is not a fan of selfies!) with the cactus and through the series of selfies, you can see me cheesing it up for the camera and then in the next shot, he has the ring box and in the final shot, I finally see the ring box and the look on my face is priceless! He truly surprised me and I’m so grateful for that special moment!
What was the feel that you wanted to accomplish for your wedding and how did your Dixie paper coordinate with that?
More than anything, we wanted our wedding to have a personal feel and for it to reflect who we are as a couple. We love that Dogwood Hill provided us with an elegant yet simple design for our invitations and programs that mirrored the fall theme of our day. Fall in Alabama is my favorite season and the beautiful design of our suite helped mirror that.
What made you select your particular ceremony and reception venues?
We wanted to find venues that were beautiful on their own merit and both Reid Chapel and Avon Theater fit the bill. As a graduate of Samford University, the chapel and campus both are very dear to me so it was so special to be able to have our ceremony there. Plus, the chapel is gorgeous with its simple stained glass windows and elegant pipe organ. Avon Theater is a historic gem and the exposed beams and bricks give it a rugged grace that we loved. Also, it’s where my middle sister had her wedding reception so it was doubly special!
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day?
There are hundreds of memories from that day that I will treasure but my favorite moment was waiting behind the church door with just my dad and hearing the first chords of the cello play one of my favorite pieces of music, Bach Cello Suite No. 1. The moment they opened the doors and I saw David at the end of the aisle and the way I felt at that moment is one I will always remember.
How did you find your wedding dress?
As luck would have it, Ivory & White was having a sample sale the week after I got back into Birmingham after our engagement. The team there is so amazing, patient and calming. After trying on several gorgeous dresses, Molly was really listening to what I said I liked/didn’t like and brought in one more gown for me to try on. It was truly that moment you hear about – I put the dress on and my mom started crying, my sisters teared up and once they put the veil on me and I turned around to look, I just knew the simple, classic crepe gown was the one and the tears started flowing. It was a moment I had hoped and prayed I would get to have and just couldn’t believe it was me standing there in my wedding dress!
What was the best advice you received as a bride?
Enjoy every moment. It’s such simple advice but I really took it to heart and tried to enjoy every step of the planning process and enjoy being engaged. It’s such a unique and special time in life and I didn’t want to rush through it in a haze of stress and planning. I’m happy and thankful to say that it really was a wonderful time of joy, expectation, hope and fun.
Dixie Bride: Leslie Cooper Marquez
Wedding Date: 11/17/18
Wedding and Reception Venue: Reid Chapel at Samford University and Avon Theater
Wedding Style: Classic, Southern, Personal
Event Coordinator: Our day-of coordinator at Reid Chapel was Susan Smith, Go-Pro Event Solutions with Avon Theater, and my dear friend and corporate event planner extraordinaire Amber Sloan handled all of the day-of last-minute details
Floral Design: Flowerbuds
Wedding Dress: Martina Liana from Ivory & White
Bride/Groom Cake and custom candies: Sweet Magnolia
Photographer: Mary Margaret Smith Photography
Bridesmaids dresses: Bella Bridesmaid
Bouquet ribbons: Cocoon Silk Ribbon
Hair/Makeup: Boma Beautiful (Kerri Bunn)
Linens: Décor to Adore
Classic Car: “Jack” from Coats Classic Cars
Band: The Respectables Band
Wedding book table signage: Gracefully Made Art
Wedding favor koozies: Humphries Screen Printing
Rehearsal Dinner: John’s City Diner
Registry: Bromberg’s