Arizona Biltmore Rehearsal Dinner | Nell & Matt
Nell and Matt kicked off their wedding weekend with a simple and desert-inspired Arizona Biltmore Rehearsal Dinner. As we planned their destination wedding at the base of the Superstition Mountains, we knew that the Biltmore’s luxury property and first-class hospitality services would be the perfect home base for Nell, Matt, and their friends and family.
Working with the same group of outstanding professional vendors who already knew our couple’s wedding design plans and Nell’s request that it not be an “over-the-top” evening, we created a Rehearsal Dinner that hinted at the beauty of the wedding day to come but kept the night light and intimate. Everything about their wedding weekend was perfect and this intimate evening was the best way to kick off that celebration for Nell and Matt.
Click here to see their wedding day.
Mother of the Bride Review
My daughter Nell Johnstone wrote a (glowing, and totally acurrate) review about our most Amazing Wedding Planner, Jessica Gelder.
I’m not sure how I can top Nell’s review. My review is from the Mother of the Bride’s perspective. What I can do is rave about Jessica, her top notch team, and the incredible vendors that she brought together, to create the wedding of my daughter, and her now husband’s DREAM.
When I write that Jessica is a miracle worker, I’m not exaggerating!!! Being a MOB, and trying to pull off a destination wedding, not only in another state, but in the Desert, with no electricity, nor cell service, was a feat of EPIC and VAST proportions!
I always swore no outdoor wedding for my daughter. There are just too many variables that are out of our control. Too much stress!!! Yet, when my daughter came to me with her vision and dream of getting married in Scottsdale, I soon was caught up in her enthusiasm. She then threw a small curve ball…How about in the desert, at Superstition Mountains!!!! I tried to remain calm. How in the world would we able to achieve this “dream”???
I knew we would need to find a creative, quick thinking, and if need be could play therapist! So I went to The Knot website and looked up wedding planners in Scottsdale. After looking through the vast array of planners, I came across Jessica Gelder of Shine Events. Jess’s website looked very promising. After reaching out to Jess, and receiving a return email, My daughter and I knew we had hit the Wedding Planner “jackpot”!
Whether Nell and I were visiting Scottsdale, on wedding business, or meeting via Zoom, Nell and I always looked at each other and said, “thank goodness for Jess!”!!!
Fifteen months later, the wedding of Nell & Matt, in the desert, at Superstition Mountains, came to fruition, in EPIC fashion. No small feat! Jess only had to figure out how to throw a wedding “off the grid”, and that included, No electricity, No running water, and No cell service. Jess’s determination and her ability to think on the fly, when issues would come up, was nothing short of miraculous. Our huge undertaking in the desert could only have happened, because, Jess, her team members, and all the top notch vendors she brought together, pulled off a Desert Wedding, that far exceeded Nell, Matt, and maybe a few skeptical guest’s imaginations!!!
An example of Jess’s thinking out of the box, more than once, is when Nell said they didn’t want a photo booth, no worries. Jess found an Astronomer, who brought 3 telescopes. Guests were given a magical, and up close view of Saturn’s Rings, the night sky filled with stars galore.
The sneak peek at the wedding photos (Mashaida Co) told the whole story, bride and groom and their giant smiles, guests with stunned looks on their faces, that turned to looks of amazement and joy!!!! The Stunning Wedding in the Desert, was not a mirage…Jessica Gelder @shineeventsaz, and all vendors were and are, quite simply the Best!!!!
