3 events in 3 weeks: Event #1 The Wedding

 At the end of May, three big events took place in three very short weeks- one spectacular wedding, one nerve-wracking art show and one adorable 3 year old's birthday party.  It was a bit coincidental that a wedding I had been designing for a year, an art show I had been putting together for six months and a birthday party I had been planning for two months all came together in three jam-packed stressful weeks.  I couldn't breathe at some moments, I think I may have formed an ulcer, and I definitely reverted back to all of my nervous habits

Three weeks... and my beautiful cousin had married the love of her life... I had reclaimed the time to pursue my passion for art... and my baby girl felt adored for turning three.  It was wonderful!


Event #1  The wedding of Jessica and John

My cousin Jessica and her husband John are wonderful, free-spirited, unique people who know exactly what they like.  When Jess told me she wanted me to design a "romantic vintage" wedding, the ideas started to roll in.  My goal throughout the whole design process was to personalize every detail of the wedding-  I needed to keep the "romantic vintage" feeling, but I wanted everything we did to have a significance to them as a couple.  It was very important to me that they see something meaningful everywhere they turned.

 We first began with deciding where the wedding would take place and at what time of year- They would be getting married on the Magnolia Farm in Kilmarnock, VA.  The Magnolia Farm had been owned by John's grandparents- his mother and all of her sisters had gotten married there.

  The wedding was going to take place in May, which meant that the wheat fields would almost be ready to harvest.

The farm was located a good distance away from the hotels, so I made signs to show the way.


All of the pathways and the circle driveway were lined with glass jar/bottle luminaries- over 400 in total.  That took a lot of collecting by a lot of people- thank you if you are reading this : )

There were hand-made chalkboard signs along the paths to show where the guests should go for different events. 

I used a vintage suitcase to collect cards and small gifts.  I tried to use as many vintage items as I could throughout the wedding to maintain an authenticity to the theme- most of the antiques were collected from the two families and therefore had a history with the bride and groom.

There was a antique mantle that served as a drink station entering the ceremony site.  The tricycle at the base of the mantle is over 125 years old.

Wedding pictures of the bride and groom's ancestors were hung on the trees bordering the ceremony site.

The chalkboard program was hung on a tree for the guests to see as they drank their drinks and waited to be seated.

Jars and bottles were not only used on the pathways- I used them to hold Baby's Breath lining the aisle, I hung them in the trees to form an arch for the couple to be married under and I used them to mark the seats where the family members were going to sit.

The ceremony took place in the middle of a pecan grove, facing the wheat field.  The sun was about to set and the light caught the archway perfectly. As the sun set , the archway could still be seen because of the floating candles.  

Jessica and John's dog, George, served as a groomsman- cutest by far : )

All of the flowers at the wedding were meant to evoke romance, but also look as if they would have been found in bouquets a long time ago.  We used peonies, garden roses, baby's breath (by itself only, never with another flower) ranunculus and herbs.  Jessica's aunt Marsha made all of the bouquets and boutonnieres at the wedding.

 After the ceremony, the guests went to the cocktail hour and had an opportunity to use the photo booth.  I made a pinwheel backdrop for the photo booth with matching his and hers antique chairs.

There were several cocktail tables on the patio facing the Chesapeake Bay.  We made sashes for the cocktail tables and decorated the tables very simply with garden roses in vintage blue Atlas jars, a small apothecary bottle with herbs and a candle.  I made these paper birds that had "Favorite Memories and "Best Advice" written on the inside, for the guests to fill out and put on the tree. 

Here are a few of the centerpieces at the reception.  Every table looked different- each table had a vintage tablecloth or doily on it and depending on the pattern or the feeling I got from the tablecloth, I would create the centerpiece around it.

Here are my grandparents holding one of the photos I used on the table where they were sitting.  They were married in the courthouse and then he shipped off to WWII for four years.  This picture is of them at the train station saying goodbye.  (They will have been married 70 years in December!) If you look closely at the picture of the "war table" (second row, on the left) you can see the camera sitting on the vmail Grandma wrote to Grandpa while he was away.  She wrote him every day that he was gone. 

We had extra seating on the perimeter of the tent using hay bails and handmade quilts my grandmother made with her sisters when she was young.

Jess and John opted for an ice cream bar which was a great change of pace from wedding cake.  They also had a drink station with two specialty drinks- Sangria and Goom Bay Punch yum yum  : )

As the guests were eating their ice cream, John's parents surprised them both  with fireworks.

The guests threw dried jasmine buds as they were leaving.

My daughter Ava with the bride

The whole day was amazing!  I am so honored that Jess and John trusted me with their special day.  Love you both!!!!!



(The photography at the wedding was done by Seth Snider Photography.)