A beach wedding to remember — Jamerican style

Author’s Note: This article was originally published in the January 2012 edition of Businesswoman’s Magazine‘s Bride2B supplement. For more information, visit http://mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?i=95209 . The article starts on page 10.

By Rosalba Ugliuzza

Destination weddings at exotic places have been the flavor of the season for a long time.

Who can forget the wedding of Hollywood starlets Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes in November 2006? They spared no expense when they tied the knot in a lavish, star-studded ceremony in the same city where they publicly declared their love a year before in Rome, Italy. Most girls could dream of having an elaborate wedding like the Cruises, but others like Lancaster County bride Christine Culp Keyser prefer a small, relaxing, yet intimate ceremony.

“Personally, I never thought I would be getting a destination wedding,” she said. “Jamaica allowed our families to travel together for the first time.”

The blue, clear sky served as a beautiful backdrop for Keyser and her husband, Brent, when they married June 9, 2011 on the private beach at the Couple Negril Resort in Negril, Jamaica.

Brent, an officer for the Columbia Borough Police Department, said he had hoped Mother Nature wouldn’t spoil their special day.

“Honestly, I [thought], I hope it doesn’t rain. The clouds were rolling in right at 11:00, and Chrissy was still in the room getting ready, and it had rained every day so far until that point,” he said.

With 38 close family and friends and some hotel guests in attendance, Keyser walked down the aisle in a mermaid gown and no veil to the Jamaican steel drum version of Pachelbel Canon D. The couple exchanged vows in a 15-minute ceremony.

“It was very simple. We didn’t want to make a big production out of it,” said Keyser.

After the ceremony, which ended around lunchtime, guests were treated to cake and champagne poolside and on the beach. According to Keyser, the resort staff did all the wedding decorations as well as take pictures of the ceremony.

When the couple returned home, a beach-themed reception was held for approximately 200 people at the Susquehanna Fire and Rescue Company in Columbia. Keyser wore her wedding dress and Silver Spring Restaurant catered the event.

“It was a fun party. We had a DJ,” she said.

It was exactly two years prior to their wedding date that the couple attended a mutual friend’s wedding at the same resort. Keyser said that Brent loved the resort so much that he suggested that they get married at the same place.

With the help of her two closest friends, Keyser’s goal was to have a simple wedding.

“I’m not the type of girl that likes a big production. The whole wedding (planning) made me feel narcissistic,” she said. “The theme throughout the process was about us celebrating our marriage. It was about spending time with family and enjoying each other’s company.”

The “down-to-earth” couple met right before Thanksgiving in 2005 at a local pub, where they were celebrating a mutual friend’s birthday.

“We started talking and he told me he was going hunting. He called me every day when he went hunting,” Keyser said. “Ever since then, we’ve been connected at the hip.”

Keyser received an early Christmas present in 2009, when Brent presented her with a diamond ring that he designed. Brent said he didn’t feel any jitters before proposing.

“My mom had a dream that we got engaged,” Keyser said. “We told people of the engagement through text message.”

Today, the couple lives in Elizabethtown. They enjoy spending time with their families, having bonfires with friends, going up to their cabin near Penn State University, and traveling. In fact, the couple is planning another group trip to Jamaica in 2013.

“Ideally, my husband and I would love to go every year,” she said. “We consider ourselves Jamerican.”

In addition to having a peaceful, healthy and happy lifestyle, Keyser said she hopes that she and Brent have a lot of stamps on their passports 50 years from now.

In the meantime, Keyser recommends future married couples to have their destination wedding in Jamaica.

“It’s a peaceful place. It’s a gorgeous place.”

 

True love trumps long-distance relationship

Author’s Note: This article was originally published in the January 2012 edition of Businesswoman’s Magazine‘s Bride2B supplement. For more information, visit http://mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?i=95209 . The article starts on page 6.

By Rosalba Ugliuzza

Every bride wants to feel like a princess on her wedding day.

Take England’s own Kate Middleton, for instance. The young commoner took our breath away in a stunning  Alexander McQueen gown when she married her Prince Charming in April 2011. Yet, she mastered her presence in front of millions of people from around the world with style, dignity, and grace.

But whether it’s a small affair or a grand spectacle, the new Duchess learned one important lesson on her wedding day: Love always reigns.

Jill Swenson has learned the same lesson. Indeed, Jill said she did feel like a “princess” on May 21, 2011, when she married her fiance of two years, Dustin Swenson, a former Marine. The couple had an outdoor wedding. The groom wore a tuxedo, while the bride walked down the aisle in a strapless, beaded, metallic-embroidered gown with a satin pickup skirt and sash from the Oleg Cassini Collection.

“As my wife was walking down the aisle, I was thinking, ‘Wow, she really looks beautiful, and I hope I don’t pass out,'” said Dustin. “I was nervous.”

With a bridal party consisting of 18 people, the couple invited 125 of their close family members and friends to share in their celebration. Even the couple’s two children, Laine Jaxon, 4, and Briana Marie, 2, took part in their parents’ wedding as ring bearer and flower girl, respectively.

“It was awesome to have them in the wedding, and they did fabulous walking together,” said Jill. “Both of their outfits matched ours.”

During the wedding ceremony, the couple honored their deceased grandparents. The song “Amazing Grace” was played instrumentally in bagpipes when the mother of the bride and groom lit their candles leading up to the processional. A vase of roses was displayed on the unity candle table, which represented each of their deceased grandparents.

“After the lighting of the unity candle, those seven roses were personally handed out by Dustin and I along with a hug and a kiss to the next oldest living relative seated at the ceremony,” Jill said.

The poignant ceremony ended with an upbeat note as the newlyweds went up the aisle to Unk’s dance song “Walk It Out.”

All the guests then headed for the reception held at the Revere Tavern in Paradise. The memories of their deceased grandparents were still felt as a picture of each one and a lit candle were placed at the reception entrance.

One of Dustin’s favorite parts about the wedding was driving his bride to the reception in a 1968 Ford Mustang CS/GT, which he borrowed from his brother-in-law.

The reception was filled with tons of music as Swenson’s stepmother, Sheri Sweeney, sang “This Love” by LeAnn Rimes. Jill said the big surprise of the night was when the Woodland, PA String Band arrived to perform for a half hour.

“The string band was to throw in a little bit of my roots and to allow Dustin’s family out west to experience some of what I come from. This was a total hit and both of our families enjoyed it together,” she said.

Their entire wedding festivities came around a full circle for Jill and her new husband as they met five years ago at a mutual friend’s wedding, where Dustin served as the best man.

“Dustin and I each had come with our own dates to this wedding, but when I caught the bouquet and Dustin caught the garter in which he had to then put on my leg, we started talking later that evening and then not again until a month later when we planned our first date in late March,” Jill said.

Since Dustin was a member of the United States Marine Corp, the couple maintained a long distance relationship until he was honorably discharged for completing his service in July 2005. At that point, he moved to Pennsylvania to be with Jill. The couple became engaged at their home in February 2009 after Dustin knelt down on one knee and presented Jill with a heart-shaped diamond ring.

Dustin said he bought the ring a month prior to popping the question. He kept the ring with him at all times because he said he was worried that Jill would find it.

“My family was ecstatic (when finding out about the proposal) because they love Jill,” said Dustin, a Colorado native. “I realized that Jill was the one because even during the good, bad, and ugly, she always came back with understanding and stood by me no matter what.”

The couple has yet to go on a honeymoon, however they have thought about going on a cruise. In the meantime, the Swensons have lots of opportunities to spend time together. In their spare time, they enjoy motorcycle riding, boating, snowboarding, camping, going to a shooting range, hosting barbecues with family & friends or spending with their kids.

In 50 years, they’d like to have family gatherings with their children and their future families and watch their grandchildren grow.

 

Picture perfect love on the dance floor

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails …”  1 Corinthians 13:4-7

I was humbled and grateful to witness a extraordinary amount of love this Memorial Day weekend, and it happened on the dance floor of all places.

My cousin married his soulmate in a beautiful, intimate ceremony surrounded by close family and friends. The bride looked absolutely stunning in her long-trained wedding dress, and the groom looked dashingly handsome in his suit topped with a pink rose on his lapel. The ceremony was immediately followed by cocktail hour and reception. However, the evening got underway when the guests got on the dance floor and shook their hips from old Italian tunes to the 80s greatest hits. Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson definitely rocked the house!

The dance floor wasn’t necessarily as big as the smiles on the faces of guests who danced on it, but it didn’t matter. To me, it was a picture perfect dance floor because everyone was having a wonderful time smiling, screaming, and sweating. The love that the newlyweds had for one another throughout the night clearly infected the entire room as generations of couples celebrated with them on the dance floor.

But love can continue to be expressive even when one’s soulmate has entered eternal life. My uncle/godfather honored his love for his late wife by giving his new daughter-in-law a symbolic wedding present: a bracelet that was once belonged to her. It was a deeply touching sentiment that brought everyone to tears. It was at that very moment that I had an epiphany.

We live in a world where certain people are still trying to tell us what to do and what love and marriage should represent. There are all these hypocrisies and arguments that can make your head spin. Or in my case, topple over!  No matter how diversified love can be, love is beautifully universal no matter who you are: gay or straight, short or tall, black or white, etc. We can’t be the judge and jury. Society is constantly changing, and just like the new technologies and gadgets that has people stirring for possession, we should all embrace love in all forms.

If you still don’t understand me, I’d suggest the next time you’re at a wedding or a restaurant or club, take a look at the people on the dance floor. Step inside. It is a limited space, but it can fill you up unlimited expectations, happiness, and peace! Enjoy the moment.

And if you can feel it, then I raise my glass to you and say “Salute!”