Oh, Ginny and Ralph, how do I even begin to describe you two and the day you became one?? Ginny has this bubbly, magnetic personality that makes you feel like you’ve known her forever. Ralph is slightly more cool and understated. Being New Yorkers, it was difficult to get us all in the same room together (we tried for months for that elusive engagement session!). Finally meeting Ginny for the first time over coffee was like seeing an old friend and I knew her wedding day was going to be something for the books. 
It didn’t disappoint. Their October wedding day was simply perfection… the weather was amazing and complemented their plans beautifully. After their traditional Catholic ceremony at St. Gerard’s, we played for a while with their bridal party downtown. They were a riot!! Ginny’s sisters and friends were oh-so-fabulous as bridesmaids and Ralph’s groomsmen defined the word stylish. I seriously think that group belongs in magazines!! The cherry on top was their rockin’ reception… probably the hottest dancefloor of the season! Ginny even had a wardrobe change into a gorgeous traditional Chinese dress as a nod to Ralph’s heritage. It was such a memorable night and I feel so blessed to have captured in pictures. Here’s your sneak, guys… congrats again!! Wishing you much happiness… xoxo
Yaaaayyyy!!!
Seriously. One. Hot. Tamale. 
He doesn’t even have to try… he just owns it.
*Love*
*favorite*
This dancefloor was seriously out of control…
October 8, 2011
Ceremony :: St. Gerard’s Church
Reception :: Country Club of Lansing
Dress Designer (Bride) :: Robert Bullock
Dress Designer (Bridesmaids) :: Alfred Sung (Dessy Group)
Tux Designer (Groom) :: Ralph Lauren Black Label
Tux Rental (Groomsmen) :: Calvin Klein from Men’s Wearhouse
Hair/Makeup :: Douglas J…and a lil’ bit from the Bride herself
Florist :: Petal & Forrest
Cake :: Cakes A Bloomin’ – chocolate chip with buttercream frosting. Groom’s Cake :: Udder Creamery – vanilla/Oreo ice cream cake.
DJ/Band :: Adam from Jammin’ DJs. Robert Jones played classical guitar during cocktail hour / dinner.
Transportation :: Country Club Limo for Bridal Party / the classy Shaggin’ Wagon for guests!
Honeymoon :: Maldives & Ireland (logistically it works, we can explain)
How did you meet :: Ralph saw Ginny singing in a cabaret show at Don’t Tell Mama piano bar in New York. After, he picked her up at the bar!
Date engaged :: October 8, 2010 (yes, we got married one year to the date!)
How did you get engaged (as told by the Bride, with help from the Groom):: Ralph recreated our first date in New York: the same dinner, the same restaurant, sat at the same table, after-dinner drinks at same bar. He told me that afterwards we were meeting his out-of-town friends at the Peninsula hotel’s rooftop bar. By the time the date part was over and we were on our way to meet his friends, I, having thought for the hundredth time that maybe this was going to be the big night, gave up and napped disappointedly in the back of the taxi. When we arrived the hotel, we went upstairs to the rooftop bar and looked for his friends, who were suspiciously absent. We then went to his friends’ room and knocked on the door…when nobody answered he reached into his pocket and pulled out a room key and said, “oh look! I have a key!”. When the door opened, I saw the room had been secretly decorated with thousands of rose petals creating a path from the door into the room, candles everywhere, chocolate-covered strawberries and champagne!!! Dot dot dot, the proposal followed. In the morning, when we walked down to the hotel lobby, we were congratulated by all the hotel staff. Apparently, Ralph had been secretly coordinating with them to pull off the big surprise. When we walked out the hotel, there was a black car waiting for us to take us to meet the “out-of-town friends” for breakfast (Ralph told me they were indeed in NYC, just staying at a different hotel). But instead of telling the driver to go to a restaurant, Ralph said, “JFK airport please”. What the?! Yes — he took us to the airport to depart on a surprise weekend getaway to Puerto Rico for 3 days celebrate! He even did a pretty good job secretly packing for me (and had it arranged to be put in the back of the car without me noticing). He even researched my outfits and beachwear from previous vacation pictures! Funny enough, the only thing he forgot was a toothbrush. p.s. The friends were never in New York, nor even in the United States! Sneaky Ralph.
Favorite part of the day :: ALL of it. The ceremony was amazing. We loved our Priest — he even made the sinners chuckle. I can’t believe how pretty St. Gerard’s looked — flowers can do wonders. It was 80 degrees, sunny, yet the leaves were changing. There was also some amazing ’90s rap music played in the party bus and at the reception. It was heart-stopping to have so much family and friends in one room, traveling from hundreds to thousands of miles away. It was just perfect!!!
Wedding Wisdom from Bride :: If you are planning an out-of-town wedding, take the entire week prior to go to destination and get everything ready. There just isn’t enough much time to do it in a few days, especially when you want to visit with family and friends! Also, if you really like how you do your own make up, you should probably do it yourself on the big day too.
Wedding Wisdom from Groom :: Leave for your honeymoon the day after! You’ll want to kick back and relax right away.
What or who was indispensable in your planning:: Mother + Father of the bride did lots of legwork in Lansing while I called frantically from New York!! There are many more who helped us so much along the way — you know who you are!
Funniest thing that happened :: There was an episode on the party bus which involved the newly-installed pole, “bait and switch” (i.e. after marriage you reveal your “true” self), an attempted kiss which turned into a lick, and some shrieking.
Favorite detail :: We love the Chinese Double Happiness Symbol, which is traditional for a Chinese wedding. We put it on the hotel goodie-bags and the Ice Cream Cake! We also loved having all my sisters sing at the ceremony as well as my talented friend Steve Edgerly.
Best investment :: Country Club of Lansing was gorgeous and the food was amazing. DJ Adam throws a GREAT dance party and runs a smooth show!!!! We loved ALL of our vendors — Kelly, the flowers, cakes, guitar, & traveling photobooth!
Favors :: Gold / silver Chinese take-out cartons that each held custom fortune cookies and a Chinese soup spoon that Ralph’s mom got in Hong Kong.
First Dance Song :: We Belong Together, Ritchie Valens (La Bamba Soundtrack).
Father/Daughter Song :: The Way You Look Tonight, Steve Tyrell
Bridal Party Song :: Thank You For Being a Friend, aka theme song from The Golden Girls. Except it was a version sang by some dude. Not on purpose though and entirely too long. Still funny though. At least to a few of us.
………………………………..
Please leave some love for the lovebirds in the comments area!
Well, he met Emily and…. many, many (many) years later…. they got hitched. And they tied the knot on the 66th floor of the Willis Tower (a.k.a. the Sears Tower, the tallest building in the US). How cool is that?! I didn’t even know you could get married there! The whole weekend was a blast, minus getting lost downtown and having the valet lose our keys (Seriously? How does that happen??). Incidentally, did you know that large buildings totally obliterate GPS signal and render it useless?? That’s really good information to have! 
by Kelly
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