This love story features a wedding day filled with elegance and tradition as Stephen + Amanda celebrate their union at Prestonwood Country Club.
Prestonwood Country Club Wedding
Complete with insights from the bride!
Stephen + Amanda
June 11, 2016
Prestonwood Country Club
Share with us how you two met:
Stephen and I met our senior year at NC State in an Anatomy Lab.
Tell us about your proposal:
Stephen surprised me at the Life Science Museum in Raleigh. He proposed in the Butterfly House exhibit, where he coordinated with the museum staff to stop traffic in that area. There were red rose petals arranged in the shape of a heart in the center of the exhibit as Stephen knelt on one knee.
Was there any particular theme or style for your wedding:
We were going for an elegant, traditional wedding look.
Describe your wedding dress. What was wedding shopping like for you?
My wedding dress was a modified satin A-line dress, with silver beading and threading. It is absolutely gorgeous :) I visited several stores, but ended up buying my dress from Savvi Bridal. The prices of the gowns were less than $2k, and the ladies who worked there were very sweet. I had a great experience with them.
What’s your favorite image from your wedding day, and why:
Our favorite image was at the beginning of our wedding photo shoot at Duke Gardens. When we arrived we were dreading the heat, it was 97 degrees. Little did we know, the heat made for some fantastic shots as the park was empty! We were able to get a picture on the iconic red bridge. My husband also bought me an adorable white parasol to protect me from the heat that looked adorable in the picture.
Tell us about your wedding planner:
Michole from Ivy League Affairs and her team did an amazing job our wedding weekend. She kept us on schedule the entire day, which is an impressive feat with a bridal party full of people that are consistently 2 hours late for any function! Michole managed the linen pick up and returns, organized decorations and card box at the reception, and oversaw all the other vendors. Without Michole our wedding day would not have gone so smoothly, and I would have been much more anxious and uptight. On our wedding day I got to relax and enjoy the day because I knew if something popped up, Michole’s got it covered :) I would highly recommend her and her team (she is also very affordable).
Any wedding favors:
Our wedding favors were wine bottles my uncle prepared for us. He created 3 wine flavors: Peach Apricot Chardonnay, Blueberry Pinot Noir, and Green Apple Riesling (each bottle had 15% alcohol :) ). My uncle custom made labels with our names and wedding date on them. The wine bottles turned out beautiful and delicious!
Tell us about your wedding photography:
Dajuan from In His Image Photography in one word was AMAZING!! He was by far THE BEST vendor or even wedding decision we made!! He was very professional in his e-mails and responded very quickly. Dajuan was always available to discuss wedding details. We communicated on the phone regularly about timeline scheduling and poses we wanted on our wedding day. I made 2 separate Pinterest boards of wedding poses I liked, and he actually made most of those shots happen on our big day. Not only were the photos fantastic, but his calm demeanor helped me stay relaxed and carefree on our wedding day, despite the chaos around me. Dajuan and his team exceeded my expectations in every way! He travels ANYWHERE so I HIGHLY recommend him! My husband tells everyone – If you don’t have a wedding photographer then you should definitely hire him, and if you already have a wedding photographer then you should drop them and hire Dajuan. He is seriously that amazing!
Favorite item on the reception menu:
We hired Oscar Williams Cotton Candy in Apex to do a cotton candy bar. Stephen and I picked 5 unique flavors: Strawberry Daiquiri, Almond Toffee, Sangria, Wynter’s Rose, and Pina Colada.
Any advice for future brides:
Enjoy the day, it goes by so fast! Don’t worry about every single detail :) something is bound to happen, and if something does it will make for a great story years to come!
See more Prestonwood Country Club weddings here.
Did you incorporate any culture into your wedding?
Yes, we definitely incorporated culture! My family is Egyptian, so we love to belly dance to Arabic music. However, my husband is American so to please both sides of the family, we played a ton of Spanish music, to which we belly danced.
What is your best memory from your wedding?
My favorite memory was when Dajuan, our wedding photographer, helped us escape from the reception hall to take photos alone on the golf course behind the country club, at 10:30pm.
Any final thoughts:
If you read nothing else from this review – Hire Dajuan, he’s fantastic!
