Louisville Bride magazine is Louisville, Kentucky's premier bridal publication, featuring photos of wedding gowns and listings for Louisville reception halls, caterers, wedding planners, photographers, and other wedding service providers.
Issue link: http://louisvillebride.epubxp.com/i/233757
LOCAL WEDDINGS Calabrese-Varanese Jeanna Calabrese and John Varanese September 21, 2013 Afer two years of mutual friends trying to set them up, Jeanna fnally agreed to go on a blind date with John. Though the two hit it of, it took John longer than Jeanna had hoped to pop the question. "I got her a fur coat for our two-year anniversary to buy some time," he says. He made up for it in the spring of 2012 with an elaborate proposal. He took her to Napa Valley, Calif., but told her they were going for one of his cooking gigs. She was beyond surprised to get engaged in the Grgich Hills private garden, but was very excited and began planning right away. They wanted an October wedding, but soon learned that booking their favorite vendors meant negotiating the date. One of the most important factors for the couple was fnding a chef who could execute a meal to John's liking for their 160 guests. "Chef Graham (Weber, of the Louisville Marriot Downtown) sat down with John and was very open to incorporating his ideas and favors," Jeanna says. "This is a chef's wedding; the food had to be great. He was wonderful at carrying out exactly what John had envisioned." "I arrived (at Couture Closet) frustrated, having found beautiful dresses but not 'the one.' I picked out the dress I wanted to try on frst, and as I'm puting it on, Tera, one of the owners, said, 'I just want you to know, 90 percent of my brides buy the very frst dress they put on.' I said, 'Well, I'm probably going to be the exception to that rule because I defnitely don't ft any categories.' My mom started crying, my grandma started crying, and I said yes to that dress! The dress ft with our whole vision." The cake was a white cake made with a pastry-cream flling, with strawberries and butercream frosting. "Our design inspiration came from my dress, because the back looked like roses and trailed." "We had saved 180 wine corks and cut slices in the top and made the botom fat so they held place cards for all of our guests. Each table represented a California vineyard John and I have visited." "We got bourbon balls (preceding page) from Art Eatables on Fourth Street. The four favors were made from four diferent types of bourbon. We tried to throw in fairs of Kentucky. A lot of guests hadn't been here before and really enjoyed the city." Spring | Summer BRIDE 27