Wedding Inspiration: A Country Ceremony With a Keg-Stand Bash

Jun 22, 2018

You know it's a rager when there's fried chicken and keg stands.

There's perhaps nothing more badass than a female couple in commanding roles. Both in law enforcement, Tracy Sequeira and Amanda Realyvasquez met at work, where the former is a public safety dispatcher; the latter, a police officer. After a five-year courtship, they began talking about the future and starting a family together.

"Then the next thing I know, while we are on vacation in Portugal (my homeland) on a private beach under a full moon enjoying the perfect weather, Amanda turns around with ring," says Sequeira. "Very unexpected, and nothing could have been so perfect!"

When looking for venues, they knew they wanted to have the ceremony and reception in a single location and all outdoors. They stumbled onto Chateau La Joye on theknot.com and were immediately smitten with the views—lush green hills and cascading golden fields. It was perfect for their rustic theme, and was the only place they toured.

Subtle decor was highlighted with deeply hued florals in a plum and burgundy palette. Bridesmaids were adorned in the same shade, though each was able to select their own dress from multiple designers. The brides rocked ivory tones—a dress and a suit—with cowboy boots. Though they wanted to maintain simple decor, they included thoughtful personal touches including photos of the couple over time, and wine from Portugal in a nod to Sequeira's cultural background.

Keeping with their casual vibe, the two placed wheelbarrows outside the ceremony filled with beers and wine coolers to get the party started; and it was truly only a teaser to what was to come. Guests took over the dance floor, dipping low, and even did keg stands. It was undoubtedly a party to remember.

"The best advice we received from a family member was to stop throughout the wedding and take mental snaps of things to have forever memories of everything. We thought this was a bit of a stretch but we both did it throughout the night and it was the best—we got to tell each other of things we saw, and to this day I really still think of those moments and I think I will always be able to remember those special moments.