A Phoenix Botanical Wedding

Mar 29, 2020

This may come as no surprise, but I absolutely love hearing how couples met and fell in love. After meeting Ariane and Ted several times leading up to their wedding, I thought I knew all about their story and even wrote a blog post about it after their engagement session. It is the cutest story, involving many of their passions, including Sedona and World of Warcraft. However, there is one major part of their story – some may even argue the most hilarious part – that I was left in the dark about until Ted’s best man got up to give a speech.

If you’ve ever been to the wedding venue Boojum Tree at night, you can imagine all the twinkling lights filling the greenhouse as Mark got up to give his speech. He gripped the microphone and looked around the room, filled with the sweet couple’s friends and family. He began by explaining that to prepare he did what I’m sure many others have done (yes, I even did it when I was maid of honor at my sister’s wedding) – he Googled what you are supposed to say. As the search results came up, he learned that you’re supposed to share some embarrassing stories of the groom, but he had a little problem. Turns out, Ted is perfect! He’s never done anything wrong so Mark settled on sharing what he thought to be Ted’s biggest fault: that he doesn’t like mushrooms. Actually, he hates mushrooms.

Mark is best friends with both the bride and groom as he introduced the couple. When Ariane had WOW questions he couldn’t answer, she was referred to the expert, Ted. So, when Ariane decided to visit Mark in the mushroom capital of the world, all were shocked when Ted volunteered to come along. Before this moment, their best man admitted he didn’t really know if you could fall in love over the internet, but when Ted joined them for the mushroom festival, he knew it was true love.

Each of the speeches given on this special Leap Day evening were some of the best I’ve heard and gave a great peek into this beautiful love story. We definitely documented all the laughter and even a few tears.

Ariane & Ted, I love the you-ness the two of you brought to your wedding. From the dinosaurs and Chinese traditions to the Imperial march up the aisle, I couldn’t have pictured a more perfect way to celebrate your marriage. Congratulations once again, I wish you alllllll the happiness!