Swan House Manor Wedding | The Bridal Collection Real Bride

Wearing a Justin Alexander wedding dress fit for a queen, Raven exchanged vows with Tory at their Swan House Manor wedding.

How He Asked:

Raven met Tory at the Santa Fe Renaissance Festival where she was working and he was visiting friends. The two ran into one another while both were “in character”.  Raven assumed they would never meet again, but fate stepped in. Once Tory’s friends re-introduced them, nothing was ever the same. The next year, after Raven was promoted to Princess of the Fae, she convinced Tory to work with her as the General of the Leafmen. The following year, the director asked Raven and Tory to play the King and Queen of the fairies. Raven wrote a play, a crowning ceremony, and a wedding for their characters. When the time came for the show, the crowd was surprisingly full of their friends and family. Raven’s mother and Tory’s parents even came to watch, along with a lot of their friends from Colorado. As the show ended, Tory had an announcement to make before the crowd dispersed. Raven excitedly thought to herself, “He is doing improv? He never does that!” Tory turned to Raven and took her hand, saying “Raven Lynn Pelfrey…”. She immediately thought, “He broke character?” He continued, “I love you. You are my moon, and I your sun. I ask you…will you marry me?” Then, he knelt bringing out a wooden box with the most beautiful pearl ring! Raven was completely surprised!  In hindsight, she realizes why so many of their closest friends and family came to the festival. To this day, Raven and Tory still work that weekend festival as King and Queen of the fairy village.

The Wedding Dress

To search for the perfect wedding dress, Raven planned a day of shopping in Denver. Her first stop was The Bridal Collection. After sharing her bridal vision with her stylist, she took a stroll through the showroom. Once she laid eyes on the Justin Alexander ball gown with tiers of tulle and lace appliqués, she immediately fell in love. It was the first dress she tried on! Despite the dozens of other gowns she later tried, none compared to the first dress at The Bridal Collection. She loved the elegance of the Alençon lace bodice, the romance of the sweetheart neckline, and the drama of the full skirt. During alterations, she added tulle cap sleeves for her own personal touch. Raven said, “I love my dress, I felt so beautiful and received so many compliments on the dress. I loved all the people I interacted with at the shop and have suggested it to everyone I know getting married!”

Favorite Wedding Day Memory

While there were many amazing moments on their wedding day, Raven’s favorite was their first dance. However, this wasn’t just any other first dance. As the newlyweds began dancing to “I Don’t Dance” by Lee Brice, the crowd was impressed at their finesse (they had taken lessons and choreographed the dance). It was perfect, until Tory “spun Raven out of control” and out of his grasp. She feigned anger, while drawing a sword off of a groomsman. When Tory threw his hands up in surrender, his best man placed a sword in his hand. As Tory pointed to Raven, the two began dueling to music from Pirates of the Caribbean. Their guests were taken back and began shouting and cheering! The two planned for Tory to disarm his bride, toss both swords to the best man, then Raven would admit defeat, and the couple would return to the original dance. When the Lee Brice song finished the crowd went wild!  Raven said, “I was more nervous about that whole bit than the ceremony! We both were!”

Vendors

Photography: Visual Masterworks Venue: Swan House Manor Dress: Justin Alexander from The Bridal Collection Florals: Swan House Manor Cake: Boonzaaijer’s Dutch Bakery Food: You and I Caterers Coordinator and Entertainment: Randy Rodriguez Entertainment Hair and Makeup: MUAH by J