Grace Church

Wedding Ceremony & Dessert Reception

Ceremony

Reception

Toledo Botanical Gardens (Crosby Center)

Dinner Reception

Our Wedding

We met at a church small group at the beginning of the summer of 2022. To Nathan, Gabrielle was a short and pretty girl with a beautiful laugh. To Gabrielle, Nathan was just a random dude wearing a weird hat. Little did they know that that soon would change for the best! Through numerous church events, small exchanges over coffee and tea, as well as many walks through parks the two of us got to know each other. Little by little, over the course of three months our relationship grew into something more. On December 30th, 2022, we made it official with kiss in the rain. We know, just like a Hallmark movie, right? Through two years of birthdays, family events, fancy restaurant dates, and Survivor show marathons we quickly became the best of friends. From the beginning, our relationship was founded on the principal of dating for the purpose of one day being married. Within the first year, our conversations turned to something of greater and deeper importance. After many talks with our closest family and friends, we were counseled and encouraged about God's purpose of marriage. Through prayer and our community's support, we were confident the Lord had made it the time for us to become engaged. Nathan asked Gabrielle on October 5th, 2024, in the Toledo Botanical Gardens. These last few months of planning have been challenging yet exciting! We cannot express how joyful we are to be making this covenant to one another and to the Lord and getting to have you all there with us. Praise God for His provision and His faithfulness through our lives and the blessings of having such an amazing and supportive community of family and friends. See you soon! ~Nate and Gabrielle~

Our Story

Photos

William Conser    

Ritika Kirkbride

Joshua Thomas

Aiswarya Pazhoormatton Haridas

Keiran George

Ava Costa

Mason Hickman

Dezarie Arnold

Wedding Party

Q + A

Travel

Registry

Things to Do

If you will be attending our intimate reception, here are a few places we think you will enjoy while you explore Toledo!

One of our favorite spots to lounge at is walking distance from Grace Church and popular among University of Toledo students. A locally owned business that serves bubble tea, milk tea, and other delicious drinks! There are board games available and has a casual comfy atmosphere. Nathan's go-to order is anything citrus and Gabrielle's is taro milk tea with tapioca boba.

R&B Bubble Tea

Many of our wedding planning dates took place here. Toledo has many lovely coffee shops to indulge in, but this is definitely one of our favorites. It's got the best of both worlds, great coffee and ambiance. It's also apart of the Cricket West strip that includes a few boutiques you could window shop through.

SIP coffee

The Botanical Garden is a very sentimental place to us. It's where we spent the most time bonding, hanging out in our free time, and most recently, where we got engaged and will be celebrating our marriage! The grounds are beautiful to explore and there is a very nice playground for kids (and grown ups if you're brave enough).

Toledo Botanical Garden

We are honored to share this day with you! If you are interested to know more about American wedding customs and traditions, we hope this helps. Specific customs can vary around the United States, but these are some of the most common traditions or some special ones that we will have at our wedding.

Ceremony and Reception:

Ceremony:~ Seating is open early and we start right on time. If you come after 1:00pm it is considered rude and you will miss this part of the celebration ~ While the guests are seated, some of the family members will walk down the aisle way to show the two families being honored and united ~ Next, the bridal party will walk down the aisle to show the close community that is supporting the newly weds ~ Then, when the bride comes down the aisle everyone stands up ~ A pastor will talk to the couple about their responsibilities as they begin their holy union before the Lord and others. There will be scriptures from the Bible read to remind and instruct the husband and the wife how to show sacrificial love and care for one another only through the grace of Jesus. ~ After vows (or promises) are exchanged from the couple, the pastor will then congratulate their union and everyone goes to celebrate!

Reception:~ This is the time of the day where everyone congratulates the newly weds and enjoys food and drinks ~ It’s common to either host desserts or dinner for the guests to celebrate the new union ~ Then when the reception is over, everyone will say goodbye to the couple and send them off

Other Customs:

Bouquet Toss:~ This is a fun tradition at weddings where the bride throws her bouquet of flowers into a group of single women. The idea is that the woman who catches the bouquet will be the next to get married. It's a playful moment and adds excitement to the celebration!

Cutting the cake:~ This tradition involves the newly married couple taking a knife together and cutting into their wedding cake. This symbolizes the first task accomplished together in harmony

Prayer:~This is a personal custom to Gabrielle and Nathan as well many other Christians. During the wedding and ceremony, we will take moments to pray together, expressing our gratitude and hopes for our future. It is a special way for us to honor our beliefs and start our marriage together.

Gifts:~ This is a customary tradition at weddings. Often times guests will either bring a gift of money or an item off of the registry to help the newlyweds start their new lives together ~ If you feel that you want to give a gift of money in a card bringing it to the reception is appropriate ~ People can also purchase a specific item from their registry before the wedding. You can give it to the bride or groom at a party like a wedding shower or on the day of the wedding ~ It is not expected that you give cash and a gift. Just one is fine *We understand that in some of your cultures you have a custom of bringing money to the wedding and bringing another gift to their home at a later date. We are more than happy to welcome that if you so choose*

Nathan & Gabrielle

Nathan & Gabrielle

Wedding Party