Lace, Love & Globetrotting | Alex & Lisa’s Bellevue Country Club Wedding

It was December of the year two thousand and ten.

Lisa had been living and working in Leesburg, Virginia and had become friends with her coworker’s wife, Jackie. About a week before Christmas, Jackie had invited Lisa to a party. Though unbeknownst to her, Jackie had ulterior motives.

Jackie had been thinking about how her husband’s best friend, Alex, would hit it off wonderfully with Lisa, and thought that it would be the perfect chance for them to meet since Alex was in town visiting.

Love at first sight?

Nope.

Not this story. Lisa was not impressed or interested.

 

 

About a year later, Mark and Jackie invited Lisa over for Thanksgiving dinner. Guess who was also invited?

Alex.

They were able to chat and get to know each other a little more and Lisa soon realized she may have had the wrong first impression of him. They became friendly acquaintances over the following year and things became more serious when Alex deployed to Afghanistan. They started chatting more and more and found that they actually had a lot in common. Alex asked Lisa if he could take her on a proper date when he returned. 

 

Alex returned just before Thanksgiving of 2012 and took her out for their first date, almost two years after they first met. He broke the news to her that he was going to be stationed in Japan for three years. They couldn’t imagine leaving what they had, so they decided to give the very long distance relationship a try.

In October, Lisa went to Japan to visit him. On her second day in the country, Alex took her to a Buddhist Shrine, Takahatafudo, and proposed when she was least expecting it.

Not wanting to live apart, Alex and Lisa were legally married in a quiet little chapel this past January so that she could move to Japan with him.

They returned to Syracuse for their September wedding to celebrate with family and friends and chose the Bellevue Country Club to host their celebration. 

 

So many places are held near and dear to these two globetrotters’ hearts, that it was only natural that they used the theme of vintage maps, globes, suit cases and travel for their wedding. 

 

Lisa had a surprise for her parents. She found her favorite photo from their wedding and had it printed and framed and then gifted it to them the morning of her wedding. 

 

Lisa, your mother is just stunning, as were you in your gorgeous lace dress and Spanish veil.

Lisa had more surprises in store…she managed to get ahold of Alex’s favorite beer from a brewery in Bend, Oregon and custom engraved cufflinks waiting for him in the room where he and the groomsmen got ready.

 

They decided to have a private first look with each other before the ceremony. 

 

Lisa wasn’t the only one with surprises in store for her favorite people. Her Dad surprised her with a special engraving on his jacket collar, specifically for her wedding day. 

 

The rosary beads Lisa carried were from the Vatican and blessed by the Pope. Her parents got them during a trip to Rome. 

 

I love all cake, but this one is (was) just simply stunning. 

The Bellevue has an awesome fire pit on their terrace, which provided great ambiance with celebratory cigars.

 

“Ones destination is not a place but rather a new way of looking at things.” Henry Miller

And doesn’t the road to marriage do exactly that? Love that taps deeper into another’s soul, far beyond the reach of any other you’ve ever come across in life. It’s the kind of love that changes the way you look at things. The kind that makes you feel like you were never really seeing before they came into your life. The inability to fathom taking another step without that person by your side and unable to imagine traveling the roads of life without them. 

Alex and Lisa, may you forever be one another’s compass throughout the places life takes you.

–K

 

 

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Venue: The Bellevue Country Club

Attire: Dress – Allure, Suits – Macys

Florist: Wegmans

Officiant: Kevin McAllister

Baker: Skaneateles Patisserie

DJ: Just Push Play Productions

Photographer: Kelley Elizabeth Photography

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[Kelley Elizabeth Photography is based in Central NY. Wedding photography coverage can be commissioned for the Syracuse, Finger Lakes, North Country and Adirondack regions of New York State as well as Cape Cod, MA. Freelance or on-assignment photography commissioning is without bounds. Contact me for more information. ]