There are about a million things I love about this North Carolina wedding. The fabulous centerpieces, with the perfect mix of white flowers, the amazing chandeliers hanging in the equally outstanding tent, the beyond beautiful photographs from Cunningham Photo Artists. But there is thing I love more than anything else. The gorgeous Ulla-Maija Couture dress, which is like no other dress I have ever seen. That dress is heaven. I can’t get over it – my jaw dropped the second I laid eyes on it, and I have not stopped staring. Seriously, I’m going to stop talking so you get to see that awesome dress (and the rest of this fantastic wedding, designed by Ivy Robinson Weddings and Events). And when you’re ready, there is even more in the full gallery.
Love that stunning cake? We do too. Which is why we adore The WOW Factor Cakes.
Even though we live in California, we really wanted to have the wedding in Charlotte, my hometown. It was very important to me to say our marriage vows in the church I had attended growing up. And since Morgan and I have family and friends all over the country, we wanted to pick a relatively central location with a big airport to make travelling as easy as possible for our guests. We chose to have the reception in a tent at Carmel Country Club because we wanted to be sure to have enough room for all our guests to be comfortable and we liked the idea of creating a space all our own. We wanted the wedding to have an elegant, warm, and classic feel. Our wedding planner, Ivy Robinson, did an amazing job creating the perfect ambiance in a unique and unforgettable way.
It was important to us to create a fun and memorable evening for our guests that included touches representing our relationship and family histories. We served specialty cocktails called “Red Eye Romance” (a nod to all the overnight flights we made flying back and forth to see each other) and “Captain’s Catch”, which was our obligatory Captain Morgan rum drink (Morgan is a boat Captain). For our favors we gave guests Ghirardelli chocolates since we wanted to incorporate the Bay Area into the night.
I wore my late maternal grandmother’s wedding band on my bouquet and my paternal grandmother was kind enough to let me borrow a bracelet for my “something borrowed”. We decorated the escort card table with pictures of our parents and grandparents on their wedding days.
My favorite touch was the song we selected for the Father Daughter dance – my Dad and I danced to Moon River which was my late paternal grandfather’s favorite song. It was a very special point in the evening for my Dad’s family. The band was fabulous and everyone had a great time dancing the night away – we served sliders and fries late night to give the dancers energy! We were incredibly grateful to have such a beautiful reception to share with our guests to thank them for all the support they showed us over the course of our relationship and all the miles they travelled to help us celebrate!
The reception was beautiful. It everything we dreamed it could be. My parents and all the vendors were amazing. Our favorite memories of the day, though, were of the ceremony. Morgan is not an overly emotional guy, and I’ll never forget seeing him cry as I walked down the aisle. And the best part of all was saying our vows – it felt like we were alone in the church at that moment. And at the end of the long, very beautiful day, those moments in the church were what it was all about!
Event design: Ivy Robinson Weddings and Events / Flowers: Beth Hohensee of Studio Flora Diva / Cake: Amy Craparo of The WOW Factor Cakes / Band: Atlanta Showstoppers / Venue: Carmel Country Club / Linens: Party Tables / Rentals: Party Reflections / Photography: Cunningham Photo Artists / Lighting: Wink Lighting / Cinematography: Gretchen and Erik Smith, Something Blue Video / Invitation Designer: Mindy Sorboro, Paperwhites Press / Wedding Gown: Ulla-Maija Couture / Bridesmaid’s Dress Designer: Jim Hjelm