(Business name or key word)

Our Newest and Best Edition... over 350 pages!
Order your copy of San Antonio Weddings Magazine today!

Real Weddings

By Paige Bitter
Photography by Cynthia Parrish Photography

Before Paige Mitchael met Brent Worthington, she was positive that marriage was not for her.
“I didn’t ever want to get married,” Paige says with a laugh. “I was sure of that.”
Then, on one seemingly ordinary night, she went with her roommate to a friend’s house, and there she met Brent Worthington.
“I remember he had on this t-shirt with what I thought was a picture of himself,” she says. “And I thought to myself, why is he wearing a picture of himself?”
Brent’s plans for that night consisted of leisure time in front of the television – until he met Paige. Then, he suddenly decided to meet the group out for a night on the town (after he changed out of the t-shirt with his brother’s picture on it).
A few days later, Paige and Brent went out on a real date, and shortly after that his company transferred him from Pensacola, Florida, to Savannah, Georgia.
“It didn’t matter, though,” says Paige. “I knew after that one date that he was the one for me. I even called my mom and told her.”
Brent apparently had no reservations either, since he called his mother and voiced the same opinion about Paige.
As they say, some things are just meant to be.

The Long Distance and the Engagement
With only one date between them, Paige and Brent decided to tackle the geographical distance between them head on. “I went to visit him initially, and then we began visiting one another as often as we could,” Paige explains with a smile. “Whenever I was with him, I just didn’t want the day to end.”
On one such visit, Brent asked Paige to be ready at 7 p.m. for dinner. When he arrived, he presented her with a daisy. As she reached for the daisy, a beautiful diamond ring slid into her hand. Shocked, Paige looked down to see Brent kneeling on one knee before her.
“Will you marry me?” he asked.
“Of course!” she said, sealing the engagement with a kiss.

A San Antonio Wedding
Because she had lived in San Antonio for 15 years, Paige wanted to marry in the Alamo City. “I grew up in San Antonio, and it was important to me to give Brent’s family and friends a taste of Texas – to show them the city that I dearly loved,” Paige explains.
Paige’s mom Pam Murphrey, who lives in Corpus Christi, agreed to serve as wedding coordinator. “I have worked in the hotel business for many years and have a lot of contacts in San Antonio,” Pam says. “Paige knew that she wanted to have her wedding and reception at the Riverwalk, so we focused our plans around making that happen.”
Because neither Paige nor Pam were currently living in San Antonio, they took advantage of the San Antonio Weddings magazine and web site for much of their initial research. “It was very helpful to use both resources before we actually met in San Antonio,” Pam admits. “We had established a game plan and narrowed down many of our choices before we even set foot on the Riverwalk.”
Wanting to emphasize the historic culture of San Antonio, Paige chose to marry in the Little Church at La Villita. Built in 1879 as a small German Methodist Episcopal Church, the “Little Church” today thrives as a non-denominational house of worship in La Villita (“little village”), an original 18th century settlement on the banks of the San Antonio River that is now a thriving center for arts and crafts. “Walking the cobblestone streets of La Villita is almost like stepping back in time, and I thought it would be such a beautiful place to marry,” Paige says.
With the October 26 wedding date and ceremony site chosen, Paige and Pam turned their attention to the reception. “Again, we knew we wanted a site on the Riverwalk, and when we saw The International Center, we knew it was the place,” Pam explains.
Perched three stories above the San Antonio River, the International Center offers floor to ceiling windows that provide a picturesque view of the famed San Antonio River. Surrounded by an open-air terrace, it offers a taste of the lights and sounds of the Riverwalk, whether indoors or outdoors, and afforded the ideal backdrop for Paige and Brent’s reception.
Just across the street from the International Center is the Homewood Suites Riverwalk Hotel, where Paige choose to have guests stay. This all-suite hotel in the historic San Antonio Drug Company Building is centrally located in the heart of the Riverwalk, close to La Villita, the Alamo, and the many other Riverwalk delights.
“We met with Brent and his parents in June at the Homewood Suites to introduce them to the Riverwalk and also to bring them into our planning,” Paige says. “After that, I came in two more times to help Mom with the planning, and before we knew it, the big weekend was upon us.”

The Wedding Weekend
Guests began arriving on the Wednesday before the wedding, and as each guest checked in at the Homewood Suites, they were presented with a gift bag full of Texas-style goodies: chips and salsa, Alamo Crackers, Lonestar beer (for those over 21, of course), and other tasty assortments. Unfortunately, rain preempted the start of the “Worthington Golf Classic” on Friday morning, but, undeterred, Brent and his best men tackled the games at Dave and Busters with athletic gusto, eventually compiling their winning tickets to buy a large stuffed animal for Paige. Meanwhile, Paige and her bridesmaids enjoyed a brunch given by her grandmother at Club Giraud before indulging in an afternoon of pampering in the bridal suite of their hotel.
That night, the rehearsal dinner kicked off in the Texas Room at Casa Rio on the Riverwalk, where guests were greeted by the beautiful music of guitarist George Gaytan. Once dinner began, it was not long before the toasting of the bridal couple commenced, and guests laughed (and sometimes wiped away tears) with the bride and groom as friends and families revealed stories and well wishes. To end the nostalgic evening, a video of Brent and Paige “through the years” was shown, highlighting their pictorial evolution from infants to teenagers to bride and groom.
Finally, Saturday evening arrived. A quaint trolley leisurely bussed guests from the Homewood Suites to La Villita. Stepping off the trolley into the old world romance of La Villita, guests were met and serenaded by mariachis as they walked the cobblestone path to the Little Church. Grinning, ushers seated guests in the tiny stone church, whose ornate wooden pews were accented with satin bows and refreshing greenery.
At the front of the church, a solemn unity candle rested in front of a striking stained glass window, accentuated with a soft arrangement of roses. Candlelight complemented the romantic ambiance as did the classical guitar of George Gaytan. When the first notes of Pachebel’s Canon in D began, guests turned their heads expectantly to the church doors.
Smiling as if they knew an important secret, Paige’s bridesmaids glided down the aisle wearing navy blue gowns and carrying brilliant hand tied bouquets of salmon-colored sahara roses, rust-colored miniature calla lilies, and blue veronica. The groom, best man and his groomsmen waited patiently at the front of the church as each bridesmaid entered. The regal ring bearer followed – looking dapper in his tuxedo - and then the graceful flower girl shyly entered, carrying an adorable pomander of roses
With the bridal party in place, the church doors opened once again, and Paige, escorted by Pam, began her walk down the aisle. Her face lightly covered by a lace-edged veil and wearing pearls delivered to her hours earlier from Brent, Paige radiated happiness in her elegant strapless gown, its cathedral length edged in a blush satin. Brent mouthed a “wow” as Paige, beaming, reached his side.
After the lifting of her veil and a kiss from her mother, the initiation of the marriage covenant began. As Paige and Brent voiced their own vows, they promised to always “approach one another with compassion and respect and devotion.” Their wedding rings were blessed not only by the minister but also by their families while a passage from Corinthians was read. Together, they lit the unity candle, signifying the beginning of their new family, and when they were pronounced man and wife, they happily kissed one another as guests grinned with unadulterated pleasure.
With the ceremony complete, guests again rode the trolley to the International Center, where they enjoyed cocktails and hors d’oeurves on the stately terrace while the bridal party and families posed for pictures under the expert direction of Cynthia Parish. Once pictures were complete, the bridal party joined the guests and the reception began.

The Finer Details
If perfection can be found in the details, then Paige and Brent’s reception was most certainly perfect. As guests strolled off the elevator, they were asked to find their dinner place card and to sign a matted engagement picture of the couple. Flanking the place card table and the gift table were two stunning portraits of Paige by Cynthia Parish: one a sepia-toned close-up and the other a full-length color photograph of the glowing bride. Mingling on the terrace, guests could also look into the glass-enclosed reception room, where elegant tables boasted beautiful arrangements of roses, miniature calla lilies, hydrangea, and blue veronica from Divini’s Florist. At one end of the room, deejay Rod Hullinger waited to set the night to music, and on the other, the cake tables awaited the bride and groom.
Fresh flowers highlighted the three-tiered wedding cake by Cathy Young, topped with buttercream icing in a lace pattern and accentuated with a “W” on the side. The groom’s cake featured a Florida “gator,” perfect for the Florida Gator groom as well as his friends and family hailing from the Sunshine State.
Guests truly savored the Texas-style dinner of beef tenderloin with Portobello mushroom sauce, garlic herb roasted new potatoes, and grilled vegetables provided by Fresh Horizons Catering. After dinner, the reception festivities really got underway. Brent and Paige danced to Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon,” and Brent and his mom enjoyed a memorable dance to “You Had Me at Hello.” The dance floor then opened up to all family and friends, and Brent’s father later entertained everyone with an unforgettable rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.”
Throughout the rest of the evening, the cakes were cut, the bouquet and garter tossed (with Brent’s brother of the infamous t-shirt snagging the garter), and the magic of the evening continued until well after midnight. Then, through a tunnel of sparklers, Paige and Brent left to begin their honeymoon and new life together.
“It was everything we hoped for and more,” says Paige of their wedding.
Indeed, it was the perfect blend of fun, romance, intimacy, and memories. After all, who could ask for more?