Real Wedding: Ashley + Staley

April 1, 2019

THE COUPLE

Ashley and Staley Havili met on Bumble and it was love at first click. After 18 months of chatting and dating, they were engaged! The proposal was sweet and simple: After spending the day at Sundance, Staley popped the question on the Alpine Loop. Three months later – on September 15, 2018 – they were married in the Salt Lake Temple!

THE WEDDING

They celebrated at the Grand America Hotel, with over 400 guests. There was no wedding party, as the couple couldn’t pick only a handful people out of their large families.

“While a 400+ wedding seems giant, it was actually small for us,” Ashley says. The guest list included mostly family and very centered around their loved ones. In the ceremony, they dedicated the first chair to Ashley’s mom, who passed away 1o years ago.

“We gave her a bouquet and a sign,” says Ashley. “It was important that I have her there in spirit.”

THE MOOD

The rich elegance of The Grand America served as the perfect setting for Ashley’s vision. She plans corporate events for a living, so her vision was easy to complete. She wanted an elegant, classy and timeless celebration, highlighted by her simple (but stunning) Anne Barge gown, delicate tropical florals and glittering gold accents. With Ashley’s touch, the wedding became the perfect mix of bright Tongan culture and high-class wedding affair!

THE MENU

The only requirement for the food was that the Havilis wanted lots of it! Catered by the Grand America staff, the wedding had plenty of options from salad to short rib, salmon to grilled eggplant rollatini. Sticking with tradition, for dessert they served cake. But not just any cake: a 5 layer wedding cake by Posies for You, with the flavors vanilla pineapple, chocolate raspberry, allspice with cream cheese, vanilla with buttercream and chocolate with swiss buttercream. To keep guests dancing all night long, they also served a “late night snack” of sliders, chicken fingers, french fries and donuts.

THE MUSIC

Mr. and Mrs. Havili danced their first dance set to “Giving It All (to You)” by Haley and Michaels. Later in the evening, the party incorporated aspects of Staley’s Tongan culture through dance. Several cultural dances were performed by various family members, but Ashley was the star of the show, performing a traditional Tongan bride dance, a Tau’olunga. The Havilis ended the night escaping through a tunnel of sparklers to their romantic honeymoon. Scroll on for more of this magical celebration!