Crimson Dreams

Amber and Zach planned their wedding at The Gaines Estate in just over four months with a little flexibility and a whole lot of love.

Amber Rose Seamann & Zachary Allen Cook
Fayetteville | 10.27.22

PHOTOGRAPHED BY sarah irvin photography
WRITTEN BY taylor maple

Sometimes a single message is all it takes. Amber Seamann and Zachary Cook had mutual friends, and Amber had listened to Pink Casino, Zach’s band. But it wasn’t until Zach reached out via Facebook that a connection really started to grow. “I was not in a place where I was looking for relationships immediately,” Amber says. “But I was like, ‘You know what? I think we should be friends.’ He thought I was just trying to be nice, but I was like, ‘No! I’m serious.’”

Soon, they were hanging out multiple times a week, talking every day, bonding over mutual interests like music and cats and considering themselves best friends. Eventually, though, Amber realized her feelings had become something much more. “I knew this could ruin the friendship, but I ended up one night ripping the Band-Aid off,” Amber remembers. Zach had no idea this was coming. “I was kind of blindsided,” he says. But looking back, it was the perfect move. “Luckily for me, he was still interested,” Amber says. “And we have spent most days together since.”

a musical moment

Amber knew for a while that  a proposal was on the horizon. Any time they would go on a trip where it could possibly happen, she’d agonize over her wardrobe, get her nails done, and ensure she looked her best for the big moment. “And when it didn’t happen, I didn’t show it to him, but I was mega-disappointed,” she says. Zach was oblivious to this disappointment. “I just wasn’t thinking of those other trips coming off as potential engagement trips, because I’d already worked it out in my head how I was going to do it.”

When the two of them headed with a friend to Asheville, North Carolina, for a concert, Amber was sure it couldn’t happen then—they wouldn’t be alone, and it was such a short trip. She packed quickly. “I was upset about my outfit before I even knew I was getting engaged,” she says with a laugh. Little did she know, Zach had reached out to the concert venue ahead of time for permission to put his question up on screen between the opener and the main act. When the moment came and Amber saw it, she was shocked—and obviously said yes. “I’m glad it happened the way that it did, in the end,” she says. “I would have probably over-thought it too much if I knew it was coming.”

a vision comes to life

Wedding planning went quickly. They wanted a fall wedding and didn’t want to wait until the following year. They got engaged on March 30, Amber finished nursing school at the end of April, and by May 5 she was at Kleinfeld’s in New York City buying a wedding dress for their October 27 wedding—a whirlwind, to say the least. She and Zach worried vendors would be hard to nail down on such a short timeline, but once they decided they could be flexible and have their wedding on a Thursday, options opened up. In the end, they had the perfect team to help execute their day at The Gaines Estate in Fayetteville.

That’s not to say there weren’t a few hiccups. They had to replace their officiant at the last minute, with Zach’s brother saving the day by stepping in. Amber was still writing her vows at 3:30 a.m. the morning of the wedding and had trouble washing her vivid red hair hours later because she didn’t have the proper towel. Then, she realized her veil was still sitting in a post office box that she hadn’t remembered to check.

What wasn’t forgotten, however, were the small touches that would keep loved ones close during such a big moment. Amber gifted Zach with a custom pin for the coat of his suit that held images of his late grandparents and custom cufflinks engraved with pictures of their cats. Amber’s bouquet was a place of honor for pins of her granny and grandmother to keep them with her.

Before Amber came down the aisle, she had the chance to stand in the space and take it all in. A chandelier her dad had helped put together hung from the large oak tree under which Zach waited. Good Sun Florals crafted the blooms that framed the altar, showstopping arrangements of nagi, willow eucalyptus, burgundy dahlias, peach berries, burgundy amaranthus, peach garden roses, white limonium, fuchsia lisianthus, peach carnations, and one or two simple stems of pampas grass. Candles and flower petals lined the grassy aisle. The bridal party wore black, making the vibrant flowers surrounding them pop. “Strawberries” by Caamp played as Amber took it all in. Then, finally, she and her father began their journey down the aisle.

The ceremony was beautiful, both visually and emotionally. Zach had written a moving personal invocation that his brother read. “We were all fighting back tears,” Amber says. “It was so sweet.” Traditional vows were exchanged before the ceremony came to an end, and the couple decided to privately recite personal vows to one another at a later time.

Zach agrees that the ceremony was particularly special. “I’ve been a part of a hundred weddings, whether I’ve officiated myself or I’ve run audio,” he says. “And I might be a little biased, but I feel like ours was the best I’ve seen.”

Once they reached the reception, everything was a blur of happiness. “I loved every part of the wedding, but the reception area really came together,” Amber says. Much love and attention went into crafting the post-ceremony celebrations. “It was my whole vision, but it was better than I hoped for.” Jewel tones popped against black and gold accents, but nothing stood out more than the love between the bride and groom. As the newlyweds ended the night with a kiss under a shower of sparklers raised by loved ones, their affection for one another shined brightest. It was clear that every minute of planning and every minor setback was more than worth it.

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