Real Weddings Wednesday: Presenting Alena Woody and Ed Falkenstein

The Couple: Alena Woody and Ed Falkenstein
Wedding Date: October 1, 2011
Photography by Andrea’s Images Photography
Tell us a little about you and your beloved: We knew instantly that we should be married. We booked our wedding site before we were even engaged and we haven’t looked back since!
I met Ed’s friends on our second date, and his family on the third. We actually never even discussed if we should get married. One day we just began debating the merits of a summer wedding versus a fall wedding and the rest is history (although he did give me a beautiful proposal at our favorite creek in Hope Valley).
Ed is the happiest, kindest person in the world, and I am blessed he sees me the same way. We knew we wanted to be married overlooking the foothills at a winery because it’s our favorite part of El Dorado County. In fact, every weekend we spend a morning drinking coffee, eating butterhorns and driving through wine country. We love the life we’ve built together, and we were so happy to spend a day sharing it with our family and friends.
What was the most amazing part of your day? It sounds cheesy, but our ceremony was very sweet and so special for both of us. Our Chaplain asked us both to write letters describing why we loved each other, and he made them part of our vows. We laughed and held hands and truly enjoyed those minutes together.
Additionally, my youngest nephew entertained our family and friends down the aisle as he turned and began using his ribbon baton as a pretend gun. All of the quirky moments of our ceremony made our day beautiful and unforgettable.
What else would you like to share about your big day? We spent a lot of time making special, homemade touches for our day. From our invitations to the flower girls’ tutus, mostly everything about our wedding was unique for us, simple, and sweet.
We wanted a really relaxing, casual day, so we only worried about good food, good wine and great music. It was amazing to see all of our oldest childhood friends out on the dance floor together enjoying the night with us! We would do it again every year if we could.

Ceremony Site & Reception Venue: Saluti Cellars
Caterer:  Fresh and Quick Catering
Cake: D’Agostini Delights
Photographer: Andrea’s Images Photography
Flowers: The Petal Planner
Wedding Dress:  De La Rosa’s Bridal and Tuxedo
Bridesmaid Dresses:  David’s Bridal
Hair: Image Provocateur
Makeup: Bridesmaids by Image Provocateur
Invitations: DIY
DJ/Entertainment/Band: Stewart’s DJ
Photo Booth:  The Traveling Photo Booth Company
Honeymoon location:  St. Lucia
First Dance Song: My stepfather serenaded us with “Stand by me”
Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now? Really enjoy the process and trust the vendors that you work with. We began our planning by worrying about details, but we soon realized that the fabulous people we asked to help us knew what they were doing. It is so much easier to sit back and let the professionals work. We really didn’t know much about how to organize a cocktail hour with appetizers, but our caterer sure did! Hire great people and breathe easy.
Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance? I really thought it would be beautiful to line the chairs along the aisle with mason jars full of babies breath but my little decorating scheme backfired. All of our guests thought that those chairs must be reserved so they ended up standing! Although our wedding guests spilled over the capacity of the venue at a little over 150, almost all of the chairs at our ceremony remained empty and our guests stood shoulder to shoulder. Whoops!

Photos courtesy of Andrea’s Images Photography.