The Wedding Story of Terrence and Heather Delaney

It was the surprise of all surprises. That's how Heather describes the story of how her now-husband, Terrence proposed. Terrence, who was known to always have a surprise or two up his sleeve, really outdid himself when he asked Heather to marry him in a hot air balloon. Terrence originally told Heather that they were headed to Franklin, Indiana for his nephew's birthday. Franklin happened to be the home of Franklin College where Heather and Terrence met. As they approached the exit for Franklin, Terrence let Heather in on the secret that they were not in fact attending a birthday party, but were instead having a surprise date. That surprise date was compliments of Terrence's company who he said gifted him with a free hot air balloon ride and the location options included Franklin.

"As we pulled up to the destination, I became skeptical, so of course asked Terrence if I could view the email," says Heather. "Terrence, wasting no time, pulled the email up and sure enough, there was an email from his boss written to Terrence and his co-workers a few days prior with a coupon code at the bottom." 

That was proof enough for Heather who excitedly boarded the hot air balloon ride and was taking photos when she noticed that they were floating over the Franklin College football field (where Terrence used to play football). "I was absentmindedly taking photos, silently thanking Terrence's boss when Terrence said my name. I turned around to see Terrence on one knee and a ring in his hand! And on the football field was a big sign reading 'Will You Marry Me?' with both our families waiting on the field," says Heather.

Terrence and Heather were inspired by the idea to create a wedding that was fun and entertaining for their guests. In fact, it was really the only requirement! 

Terrence + Heather Wedding Film from Dean Films on Vimeo.

the details

As mentioned, Terrence and Heather didn't really have any idea what they wanted in their wedding. Heather was in her first year of law school and the couple decided to enjoy being engaged for a few months before taking on the planning. It wasn't until Terrence went golfing at The Indiana Golf Club near Zionsville that it occured to him that it was an ideal venue for a wedding. The couple toured the venue and grounds the very next day and Heather says she was drawn to the beautiful outdoor ceremony space.

Because she was immersed in her studies, Heather relied on Terrence, their families and their vendors to make the wedding come together. She did find time to indulge in a little D.I.Y., but for the most part, she says she leaned heavily on the expertise of her hired vendors. "We owe our special wedding day to our vendors—they absolutely knocked it out of the park! Every single vendor was incredibly professional and gave 110 percent. We could not have had this remarkable event without them!" says Heather.

When Terrence and Heather toured The Indiana Golf Club, the inside of the reception room is what sparked their idea for a color scheme. They chose a regal navy with accents of gold and pops of vibrant summer colors. Their florist designed Heather's bouquet to use colorful bursts of peonies, hydrangeas, roses, solidago, hypericum and pittosporum while she incorporated the same color scheme into the centerpieces using the same flowers added with larkspur and seeded eucalyptus. The end result brightened the room considerably without being overwhelming. 

Heather purchased her dress from Bridal and Formal in Cincinnati, Ohio and couldn't have been more pleased with her find. Although she says she didn't have any preconceived ideas of what she was looking for, she ended up asking if the store had any off-the-shoulders options since she liked that style in casual wear. Heather ended up walking out with the Dakota Wedding Dress by Sottero and Midgley-Maggie Sottero—a dress with an illusion portrait neckline that covered a plunging V-neckline complete with a low back that was hidden with a lacy overlay.

what we love

It never fails—every time we think we've nailed down our favorite color pairings, we find a new wedding that does it a bit different and we find our new favorite! I was pretty sold on mint and gold until seeing how stunning using contrasting colors like a dark navy with bright accents looked. And since the dinner details aren't given justice in any of these photos, we felt it was only fair that we raved on behalf of Terrence and Heather! The couple chose an Italian-themed dinner catered by Maggiano's Little Italy. That theme was carried over into a more casual Italian fare for the late-night snack they offered guests. They hired Byrne's Pizza Truck to offer guests an array of fresh pizza choices. Food trucks are officially becoming trendy in the Midwest (FINALLY!) and we love that they incorporated this trend into their Italian dinner theme.

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