This was our first Christmas together as husband and wife, so we decided to get a tree, make Christmas cookies, listen to festive music, and dress up to go to my work Christmas party (where we actually won a Cappuccino maker and a coffee grinder).

When we started planning our wedding, we knew we wanted a simple, quiet venue that would be as relaxed as possible, yet still classy.  With that in mind we found the Creekside Inn situated near Oak Creek in Sedona , AZ.   The Creekside proved to be a perfect setting as it had amazing grounds of green grass and huge oak trees all nestled next to a serene babbling creek.  As an added benefit, the Inn was large enough to accommodate the small amount of family that would be attending the wedding, providing time for everyone to become acquainted and enjoy the cozy bed and breakfast.

We held the ceremony in the afternoon of the 25^th on one of the lawns in front of the creek.  We had 16 people there in total including a Justice of the Peace, my dad Tom (my best man), Maria’s sister Holly (her maid of honor), her brother Joe (who gave her away), her mother Joanne, my dad’s fiance Tess, Maria’s aunt Shirley and uncle Peter, my aunt Nancy, Holly’s husband Scott, my friends Brian, Pat, Nick, Nick’s girlfriend Hannah, and of course the bride and groom.  It was a beautiful autumn day and the ceremony was wonderful, better than either of us could have hoped.

 

We were also lucky in finding a spot for our reception dinner.  We came across an amazing Mediterranean restaurant that featured a handful of rooms each baring their own theme while still maintaining an overall Italian feel.  Having a small party allowed us to be seated amongst the rest of the clientele in the restaurant’s ‘moon room’ which was decorated in a classic Sicilian fashion while the ceiling featured dozens of tiny, white fiber optic lights mimicking a night sky.  The only thing better than the décor was the food!