“I’m very family oriented,” Amie said. “The family really worked together.” The big day was dripping with personalized touches, from Aunt Nancy — Amie’s fairy godmother — and her creative details, to the centerpieces’ pearl accents to honor Amie’s late grandmother.
Set at the Grand Hotel in Cape May, the wedding’s theme was “Fall in Love,” complete with a fall-colored bridal party, a matching cake and a memorable wooden birdhouse to hold the couple’s cards. Amie’s dad, who owns a wood carving business with his brothers, agreed to build the hand carved creation.
“I wanted something different that could be a part of our house one day,” Amie said. “I’ll always have that.”
Behind-the-scenes, Amie’s mom played the biggest role of the day in place of a wedding planner. “My mom and I are very close,” Amie said. Through pages and pages of Etsy and Pinterest, numerous flower arrangements, and color choices, her mother was there. She even found the dress.
“I tried it on and knew it was the one,” Amie said, describing her modest, lacey fishtail dress that boasted buttons all down the back. “It was just my mom and I and that was special.”
One of the couple’s most meaningful moments, though, was being married by Father Paul, the priest at a Catholic church at Washington College. It was at that college that the couple first met, attended the church, and got engaged.
Last September, Bill brought Amie back to their alma mater—where they had begun dating at the end of senior year. Although Bill was planning to propose outside at the spot they had first met, it was raining and the occasion was moved inside. They ended up in their favorite building, where Bill popped the question. Immediately following their special moment, the two found Father Paul to share the big news.
While attending the college, they had all joked about Father Paul being at their wedding. So, when they showed him the ring and asked him to perform the ceremony, he did everything to be there. “We had a special relationship with him,” Amie said. “He was really important to our day.”
The intimate details continued at the reception, where each dance had a story behind it. Even Flo Rida’s “Apple Bottom Jeans” had a special place in Amie’s heart. “My college friends and I used to dance to that when we went out,” Amie said. “I had the DJ play it and that was a cool moment.”
The couple’s song, “Mean to Me” by Brett Eldredge, may have slowed the tempo, but it was just as powerful for Amie. She knew this was the right choice from the start of planning, mostly because of its lyrics: Standing here, watching you, turning every head in this crowded room, the lights down low, dancin’ slow.
“I knew that’s what I would feel, everyone who loves you being all around you,” Amie said. “I wanted something different, but something that had meaning for us.”
Amie and Bill were surrounded by that feeling – and people who loved them – for the entire day, and nothing could bother them. “Whatever didn’t go according to perfect plan was okay at that point,” Amie said. “Everyone was just there to celebrate two people. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so loved before.”
