A Classic Park Winters Wedding Filled With Unique Elements

Weddings

A Classic Park Winters Wedding Filled With Unique Elements

Usually I write a little blurb about the couple and the wedding day but today is a little different. Clara, the bride for this wonderful wedding, has graciously written her experience about her and Nik’s wedding day which I think tells it better than anyone else could.

“Nik proposed to me with a personally designed engagement ring. Working with a local Philadelphia jeweler, he created a piece with a conflict-free diamond, mixed metals to represent my mixed heritage, four prongs for the four mountain ranges of our families (Alps, Andes, Rockies, Sierra Nevada), and intertwined bands for our shared love of skiing and dancing. The
thought that Nik put into the ring set the tone for the love and attention with which we planned and created each aspect of our wedding.

Our insignia—two stethoscopes intertwined in the form of hearts in an infinity symbol—represents our commitment to each other and our future careers (we are both in medical school at UPenn). A love of the natural world and chemistry—Nik was my chemistry tutor at Stanford—were unofficial themes for the wedding.

We chose a venue with beautiful gardens, views of the Blue Ridge (California) mountains, and an ancient pecan tree. We found subtle ways to incorporate chemical equipment (test tubes filled with lavender tea for favors) and structures (a sucrose molecule on a “Love is Sweet” sign) into the decor. With the help of Ela, my maid of honor, I stained and painted wooden signs for the entry, seating chart, bride and groom chairs, speciality cocktails, favors, and cake. Ela also sewed my cathedral veil.

At its heart, our wedding was a joining of two families and cultures. Nik wore his great-great-great-great-great grandmother’s golden pocket watch, a gift from her husband upon his return to Switzerland after 7 years prospecting for gold in California. My “something blue” was a small piece of the Argentinean flag, tied around a pink Amethyst from the Argentinean Andes.

The ceremony included each member of our nuclear families, who told stories of our lives before and with each other. After sharing our own vows, we sprinkled soil from Switzerland, Argentina, Colorado and California over an aloe plant, known for its healing properties. My mother
officiated. Being Argentinean, she also made sure we threw a party that would make her family proud—I changed into her wedding dress for dancing.

We laughed so hard with our guests over wedding cake pulls (Argentinean tradition states that each trinket has a special meaning, but we made up stories on the spot) and pulled out all of the stops for the “Carnaval Carioca”, the Argentina version of La Hora Loca. Everyone donned masquerade masks, hats, and crazy glasses to dance away the night.”