The Crowne Plaza is a beautiful hotel in downtown Dayton. We were exhausted after our reception, and so hungry! We spent our wedding night here. We took some of the money we got at the wedding and ordered room service. It was a very comfortable room equipped with a care package of linen spray, ear plugs and other comfort items.

The most important thing to me was being able to capture this day in beautiful photographs. Ambiant Light met with us several times before and after the wedding to decide what package to purchase and which photos to choose. The photos came out better than I could have imaged. They really captured the experience. The only reason I gave them a 4 rather than a 5 is because I didn’t receive my photos for many many months. They claimed when I sent in my photo cd (where I chose which photos I wanted included in my album) it was unreadable and we didn’t find out about it for several months. Making the process that much longer.

My husband went in and designed my engagement ring himself. He simply stated what he wanted in a ring (white gold, circle cut diamond center with circle cut sapphires on either side). He was also able to set up a personal payment plan through them.

I had something in mind I wanted to do but after they showed me what they could do I went a totally different way. Their designs were innovative and fun! I chose papers in my colors and saved money in the process by choosing a design that didn’t require spending money on an inner envelope.

We did a land/sea Disney Cruise. We stayed in the park for 3 days at the French Quarter hotel and then spent 4 days on the ship. It was a dream vacation. The ship stopped in Nassau and Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. Nassau was a disappointment – dirty and loud. The island was perfect with an adults only beach and a barbeque.

For our centerpieces we made our own bouquets at The Flower Man. We chose our flowers and came the day before and put them together ourselves. It saved us money and put my personal touch on them.

We had Jeff Martin do all the bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres. He did a marvelous job. He was very patient while we were making our decisions and just a fun man to work with. He delivered them to our wedding site himself.

I remember visiting Benham’s Grove as a little girl with school and Girl Scout field trips and always remembered it as so beautiful. We didn’t have any ceremony decorations because there were so many flowers and trees that anything else would have been overkill. The site helper wasn’t very helpful but our caterer more than made up for it. There is a room upstairs where I got ready. We had the cake in the living room of the house so it wouldn’t be in the sun. The buffet was in the house as well. It was so nicely set up for us.

As we sat down for our tasting we knew they were going to be amazing. We eventually decided on the fried chicken and roast beef but it was a really difficult decision as all the food was amazing.

Our groom’s cake was done by ele (location in Moraine). They gave us a cake tasting even though it wasn’t the main cake (which was done by a friend). It was delicious and so exquisitely done.