I might have gone a little image crazy with this wedding – but as soon as you lay eyes on the photos from Jess + Nate Studios, you’ll understand. The wedding, planned & designed by the bride, her mother, and Kirkbrides, is absolute perfection. One for the books. Top of our favorite weddings list. Click here to see exactly what I mean!
Click here for the video from Z Media!
Patrick and I both attended Loyola University where we meet at the college gym. I was a freshman and he was a sophomore, I was attempting to use the fly machine (improperly according to Patrick) so he was determined to teach me proper fly machine form. I was pretty embarrassed, so needless to say that was a brief encounter. Throughout college Patrick would talk to his roommates and refer to me as the “the fly machine girl”. I still blush whenever he brings up the story.
After a year of dating I moved from Baltimore to Washington, D.C. for graduate school. The following year Patrick made the trek to D.C. as well. Three years to the week we started dating Patrick proposed!
Patrick proposed by giving me a cubed notebook with a handwritten timeline of “us” as a gift for our third anniversary of dating. I flipped through the pages, each containing notes of little events and important dates. As I turned to the last page there was an adorably gouged out square containing a beautiful engagement ring. He dropped to one knee and asked me to marry him.
My family belongs to The Chagrin Valley Hunt Club and my horses have called it home for many years. I have ridden and shown horses in the hunter ring for 20 years, and it only seemed natural to have an equestrian inspired garden wedding at The Hunt Club. I knew that the Hunt Club’s charm and beautiful setting would provide the perfect backdrop for a garden wedding.
My mother and I love design so we had a very specific idea of what we wanted- an elegant shabby chic garden wedding with a splash of equestrian. We engaged the services of Valarie Kirkbride, as our wedding planner and my mother’s good friend, the very talented florist Michael Day to help us create the perfect wedding. I have always loved blue hydrangeas, especially the colors they turn in late summer early fall. They are such a whimsical and happy flower, perfect for a wedding. We decided to use the beautiful range of blues that the hydrangeas offer as our color pallet with accents of silver and white.
Patrick and I wanted our wedding to be personal and for the officiate to have a close relationship with each of us. We asked a very close family friend who has been like an uncle to me and is someone Patrick has grown close to over the years to preform our ceremony. Patrick and I recited an 850-year-old love poem by Frau Ava as our vows.
One of my favorite memories came not from the wedding, but after it was all said and done. After the last of the guests had left, Patrick and I made our way to the cottage where we were staying. We passed through the tent and looked up at the stars. We looked at the flowers, the lights, the tables and the chairs and saw how beautiful everything had turned out. After all the hustle and bustle of the day was over, this was the first time that we were alone as husband and wife. It gave us a moment to reflect on all the people who had made this day so special.
Photography: Jess + Nate Studios / Cinematography: Z Media / Flowers: Flowerville / Event Design: Flowerville & Kirkbrides / Event Planning: Kirkbrides / Ceremony Location: Chagrin Valley Hunt Club / Reception Location: Chagrin Valley Hunt Club / Invitations: Chocolate Butterbean / Desserts and Cake: Flour Girl/Luna Bakery Cafe / Tent and Floor Rental: Everything Tented / Lighting and Sound Amplification: Rock the House / Reception Stationery: Sobella Paper Boutique / Hair: Ken Novak