FEATURED WEDDING – October 2010

Heather Grooms and Carl Cole

9.25.10

Heather Grooms and Carl Cole have always been lake people. The bride grew up in Greenbrier and the groom was raised in Little Rock, but the two agreed that their wedding and reception should overlook the water.

They were married at Mountain Harbor Resort near the calm waters of Lake Ouachita on September 25.

Though it wasn’t held in a church, the wedding ceremony had many traditional aspects with the bride escorted down the aisle by her father and a unity candle. The music strayed from the customary wedding march with Brad Paisley’s “Then” playing as the wedding party entered the room.

She chose a simple dress to match the low-key wedding ceremony. The silk ivory halter-top style dress from David’s Bridal had ruching down through the waist and a silvery beaded belt. The train was very short and sweet with a little bit of beading right at the top.

“It was not poofy or over the top at all. It went very well with everything and was easy to dance in,” Heather said with a laugh.

“It was the perfect dress.”

She didn’t want a veil that covered her face so she wore her hair off to the side, and the veil hung down the side of her arm.

Though they were not reflected in her dress or bouquet, Heather chose chocolate brown and fire orange as the primary wedding colors. The groom wore a deep brown tuxedo and a bright orange vest and tie.

The bridesmaids carried bright orange bouquets of lilies and orchids.

When it came to choosing a bouquet for herself, Heather faced a bit of a dilemma. She wanted her bouquet to be different from what the bridesmaid carried but was afraid traditional ivory flowers would not stand out against her dress.

I wanted a pop of color and I thought the orange wouldn’t look as good next to the white,” she said.

She and wedding designer Tanarah Haynie of Distinctive Designs by Tanarah decided a pop of green would be the perfect color accent. They put together a bouquet of live lotus pods and green orchids for her.

“It was absolutely gorgeous,” she said.

The reception, also held at Mountain Harbor Resort, was catered by Heather’s aunt, Deanna Fleming. Catering Creations is a family-owned business out of Little Rock that had, at one time or another, employed nearly everyone in the wedding party.

The bride and groom actually met during a reception catered by the business just over three years ago.

“I was working for my aunt, and I was managing his sister’s wedding reception and he was a groomsman,” Heather said.

The reception featured three separate buffet stations: a Southern station with roast beef, au jus and a mashed potato bar with all the trimmings; a fruit and vegetable station and a “picky bridesmaids station” with chicken strips, mac and cheese and corn dogs.

Also a family affair, the wedding cake was created by the groom’s aunt. She’s not a professional baker, Heather said, but she’s just always done the cakes for the family.

The bride’s cake was created completely out of chocolate.

The groom’s cake was a tribute to one of his favorite activities: fishing. The cake, a replica of a fishing trophy, was “a team effort” and stood more than two feet tall. A fish hand-carved out of fondant by the bride stood a the top of the cake.

The reception, also decorated by Tanarah Haynie, featured three huge gold antique candelabras weighing 100 lbs. each with flowers coming out of the tops. The guest table centerpieces were clear glass vases with curly willow sunk in the water and floating candles. Flowers lined the bases of each while petals floated in the water along with the candles. DJ Ugly Ed from Alice 107.7 provided entertainment at the reception.

Heather said she was very pleased with the look and feel of the wedding ceremony and reception. The night before her big day, after the rehearsal dinner, as everyone took care of a few last minute details in the reception hall, she realized the event would be everything she wanted.