Alli & Dave

Red ran through the whole day. The bridesmaids wore long strapless gowns in true scarlet, the bouquets were packed tight with red roses and dahlias, and even the flower girls had red sashes. Alli got ready in a white room with a cushioned window seat and soft, gauzy light, in a lace gown with cap sleeves and a long veil. At the foot of a carved staircase, a man in a tuxedo and a woman in gold silk each took one of her hands.

The ceremony was at a brick church with pointed stone arches over the doors. When Alli and Dave came down the front steps, the families on either side threw white petals by the handful, and the frame from that minute is all grins and flying petals. Back at the house, a big white Victorian with a columned porch and a round turret, guests spread across the lawn while a young server in a white jacket carried trays of drinks.

The tent is what people will remember. Dozens of iron lanterns hung from the ceiling over tables loaded with red roses, dahlias, and bowls of pears and plums, and colored light washed the canvas in orange and red like a sky at sunset. Chairs marked Bride and Groom sat side by side. Toasts had the couple laughing hard, and they sipped from etched coupes under a purple glow. For the first dance, the bridesmaids raised their glasses in a ring around the floor, and by the end the whole tent was purple and moving.