June 12, 2012|By Sloane Brown | Special to The Baltimore Sun
"The theme is probably simplicity," says Christina. "We didn't want to have a huge extravaganza. So, we're just trying to keep it simple and as a reflection of us and our family and friends."
She says the couple wanted to use things they already have, when possible.
"We want to use things that are meaningful to us," she says. "So, we're using some vintage tablecloths — a mix of white, colors and patterns — that we have from my grandmother...Neither of my mother's parents is living so it's nice to have some tributes to them."
That applies to their wedding bands.
"The wedding ring uses some diamonds from my grandmother's wedding ring and one of those diamonds is also in Andrew's wedding band," Christina says.
The wedding favors also incorporate the couple's love of traveling.
"For place cards, instead of having people's names, we're going to have a little photo of them — with us whenever possible — in a little 2x3 frame," says Christina. " They'll pick up the picture of them and it will have the name of a city that has some importance to Andrew and me, which will tell them what table [they go to]. Like, there is a table called Madrid because Andrew spent a lot of time in Madrid." .
Friends of Christina's mother — Ann Hughes and Theresa Cannone — are doing the flowers.
"Ann's bringing in wildflowers from her garden," says Christina. "We love the colors my grandparents used in their wedding — coral and sea foam green. We're just having some wildflowers and coral roses in Mason jars on the tables."
That will probably be the same for her bouquet.
As far as her dress goes, Christina is keeping much about it secret.
"I will say it is from the 1930's and has been in my family," she says. "I'm having it altered by Jill Andrews Gowns...Jill is very conscious of keeping the integrity of the period of the gown, although she's removing the sleeves because it was initially used in November...It does have a train. Jill explained to me that at the time the dress was made, they didn't bustle the train. But there was this little loop you put around your wrist to lift the train when you wanted to dance."
Andrew is wearing a dark suit he already has.
Two caterers are involved in the buffet dinner. Pierpoint's Nancy Longo is doing hors d'ouevres, crab cakes and vegetarian entrees. Andy Nelson's Barbecue will offer pulled pork.
The wedding cake is not a priority. But dessert is covered.
" We're hoping to get it from Graul's," says Christina. " But, we're having sort of a Baltimore theme, with Berger cookies, Otterbein cookies and sno-balls."
Andrew said he had just two criteria for the reception.
"That we should have an open bar and live band," he says. "I think if you have an open bar and live band, [everyone] will have a good time. A live band brings a level of energy that a deejay can't bring."
So, the Motown band, The Mustangs, will be performing.
"But, it's more important to have her family and my family and her friends and my friends there — to have them all show their love and support for us as we start this stage in our lives," he says. "That's far more important than the floral arrangements and the venue. You get the right people together and that's the most important thing."
"We're so excited to have so many people we love in one place," adds Christina.
The honeymoon: Actually, there are three things about the wedding that are important to Andrew. In addition to that open bar and live band, having a great honeymoon tops his priorities.
"We should go someplace that was really going to be cool, unforgettable — once in a lifetime," he says.
Because Andrew got a job in Los Angeles, Christina — sadly — has to leave her job. Since his job doesn't begin until fall, they realized they had a nice chunk of time to travel. And that they are going to do.
First, the couple, and her parents, will head to Madrid for a week. Then, the couple leaves her mom and dad behind.
"We were originally thinking of going to Madagascar," says Christina. "We were both fascinated by it. We were in Barnes & Noble, looking at Madagascar travel books. We were in the M section and I saw the book on Mongolia. I remembered scenes from the movie, 'Babies,' of Mongolia; of these steppes and the big blue sky. And we started reading about it. It just sounds beautiful...We're going to Moscow and taking the trans-Siberian railroad to Mongolia. Then, we're going to do a trek from one yurt to another yurt, hosted by these different families. We love the idea about being out in these expansive steppes and it just sounds so romantic. We wanted to go somewhere that where we could spend a lot of time outside. [A place] that has a lot of natural beauty but is also culturally interesting." .
Andrew arranged the trip through the Mongolian-based eco-tourism company, Ger to Ger. Ger is a Mongolian yurt.
It's not like you go off and stay in some hermetically sealed compound," says Andrew. "You arrive, and you have two days of training where you learn Mongolian customs and some words and phrases of the Mongolian language...What we liked about this is that you actually interact with Mongolian people, you eat Mongolian food, and you learn Mongolian customs. Another thing that sealed the deal for us was the trans-Siberian railway to get here and we thought that sounded amazing."
The entire trip will take several weeks, after which the couple will live in Los Angeles. However, their hearts remain here.
"We're keeping the house in Baltimore," says Christina. "The plan is to return here."
