On June 2, 2012, at half past six, Claire Elise Finlen became the bride of Mr. Matthew Todd Burden at the Town Hall in Rosemary Beach, Fla., officiated by The Rev. Kevin Tillman.
The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James M. Finlen, Jr., of Mobile. The groom is the son of Mrs. Kathy Rice, of Cullman, Ala.
Given in marriage by her father, the bride wore a strapless taffeta ball gown with a spin duchess satin cumberbund and bow by Amsale. She also wore a finger-tip veil made from lace from her mother’s veil with a pearl and diamond hair comb. She carried a hand-tied bouquet styled with cymbidium orchids and peonies in white tied with white silk dupioni ribbon.
Emily Noelle Finlen (sister of the bride), of Chicago, Ill., was maid of honor. She wore a navy strap one-strap short dress and she carried a smaller version of the bride’s bouquet in white. Joshua Shaw (uncle of the groom), of Cullman, Ala., was the best man. The usher was the bride’s brother, James M. Finlen III. The groom, groomsman, father of the bride and usher wore navy and white seersucker suits with white cymbidium orchid boutonnieres.
After the ceremony, an elegant dinner reception was served in the Gardens in Rosemary Beach by Townsend Caterer. Gorgeous centerpieces were designed by Myrtie Blue featuring beautiful white hydrangeas, peonies and orchids with white knob glass and mercury glass were incorporated. The perfect ambiance was created by a local performer, Kyle Lamonica. He provided beautiful acoustic guitar music / singing during dinner and dancing. Confections by the Sea provided a beautiful three-tiered wedding cake of covered roses for Claire’s wedding cake. It featured a French vanilla fondant with alternating layers of strawberry cream and white chocolate. Guests were given boxes of doughnuts with Starbucks Frappucinos as favors. The bride and groom left the reception in their own decorated golf cart to their honeymoon cottage bungalow. Pure 7 Photography in Destin, Fla., captured all of the special moments of the evening. The newlyweds continued their honeymoon in Rosemary Beach. The wedding planners were It’s a Shore Thing.
Claire and Matt currently reside in Birmingham, Ala. Claire is a mechanical engineer with Honda, USA in Lincoln, Ala., and Matt is attending med school at University of Alabama at Birmingham.
