Atlanta weddings have got IT. And by IT, I mean that downright prettiness that leaves you feeling all gooey/happy/lovey-dovey. They are always, always chock-full of gorgeous – and this fab Canoe soiree is certainly no exception. From the uber-stunning details to the whimsical garden vibe to a gallery simply brimming with to-die-for images by Alecia Lauren Photography, this, my friends, is a serious lesson in Peach State lovely. See so much more right here.
From the Bride… David and I met through our jobs as physicians, and when we first started dating, he had already accepted a one-year fellowship in Sacramento, California. I was really nervous about him leaving only five months into our relationship, but we decided to give the long-distance thing a try. My dear friend Sandra was having a 40th birthday party celebration in Napa, so we planned to meet up then. That week ended up being really important for us. We had talked every single day since he left, but I think we didn’t realize how much we missed each others’ company until we were back together. We also did a good bit of traveling together that week and had a good bit of fun, both with our friends and with each other. I think you really learn a lot about someone from traveling together, and for me, after that, I just knew. One of the reasons why we asked my friend Sandra to officiate our wedding was because it was her 40th birthday weekend that really helped us to understand that our relationship was really something to hold on to. After his year of fellowship was finished, David moved back to Atlanta so we could be together again. It wasn’t too long after that that he proposed. Unbeknownst to me, he had been secretly looking at rings and discussing with my mother and sister what I might like. When he found the right one, on a typical, quiet Friday night, we went out to dinner, then came home to make a fire in the backyard fire pit. David proposed right there, at home, with our beloved dachshund, Monday, as a witness. I remember us being so happy and warm together in front of the fire. We called our friends and family the next day to share the happy news.
My 3-year-old twin nieces were the flower girls. They were so excited to throw petals for me and had practiced for days to get it right. Then when it came time for their big moment, they were so enthusiastic about their job, they ran out of petals after five steps. Then they didn’t know what to do so they just stood there, frozen — probably noticing for the first time that all eyes and cameras were on them. David walked over to them from his spot in the ceremony, took their hands and walked them over to their dad. Every mother’s heart melted when they saw David do that, and I’m still hearing about it. So sweet.
I have always been crafty, and I was so excited to do a few DIY things to personalize our day, as well as save a little money. For our invites, I purchased bulk, ivory paper from Paper Source, had a calligrapher from Etsy create digitized files of our invite text and designed an invitation suite with Sam Flax with gold lettering. I edged all the paper elements in blush pink with an inkpad, and the return envelopes were in pink as well. I used a gold baker’s twine from Etsy to tie the invitation suites together with a sweet bow, and David lent me his steady hand to hand-cut envelope liners out of a vintage, gold, floral paper. I really owe him for that one – he didn’t complain once. Our welcome bags were reuseable, canvas bags that I printed with a customized message, typeset like an eye chart — a play on David’s job as an ophthalmologist. We try to be pretty healthy eaters, so we stuffed the bags with some homemade maple pecan praline granola, fruit, gummi bears and a few other things. Wedding menus, programs, etc. were all typeset by Sam Flax and stamped by me with a gold floral rubber stamp to maintain the gold/ivory theme. I ended up purchasing a calligraphy font that I liked, which maintained uniformity between the program and menu text, as well as all the wedding day signage, which I made and printed at home. Escort cards were these huge, cool lollipops I had found on Etsy that came in customizable flavors and colors. So each guest received a lollipop with their table number, and I used the same calligraphy font to make name flags to attach to each of the lollipops. It was a nice, whimsical surprise for our guests. I also wanted to make sure that our younger guests were happy and entertained for the evening, so we set up some coloring books and fairy wands for our little guests, as well as some mad libs books for our older guests. They helped to keep everyone’s faces happy.
Wedding Photography: Alecia Lauren Photography / Wedding Venue: Canoe in Atlanta, Georgia / Floral Design: Your Flowers by Isabel / Officiant: Sandra Zaky, A Friend of the Bride & Groom / Catering + Wedding Cake: Canoe / Wedding Invitations: Sam Flax, Etsy + The Bride / Entertainment: Drivetrain / Wedding Dress: Modern Trousseau / Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Hair: Murray Briggs of Salon Briggs / Makeup: DIY / Groom’s Suit: Hugo Boss / Men’s Ties: Burberry