Piece together the perfect moments of this Ritz Carlton wedding, and you’ll find a day that will stand the test of time — a classic romance and thoughtfully designed celebration. Planned in the hands of Weddings and the City, it’s the kind of affair that glamorizes the black-and-white basics and oozes with elegance from head to toe. Kristin Vining captured every last bit, and there’s much more to love right here.
From the Bride…It is so hard to choose just one “best thing” about our wedding day, so I won’t! A few specific events or aspects of our wedding stands out to Drew and me. Our favorite moment of the wedding was oddly enough the 15 minutes we had to ourselves in between the ceremony and cocktail hour. Our fabulous coordinator at The Ritz-Carlton, Rebecca Cochran, stole us from the madness of transporting our guests from the church to the cocktail hour and brought us to a private room in the hotel where she had hors d’oeuvres waiting for us. We were able to breathe, have a little bite to eat, and really take a step back to absorb what had just happened. We both cherish this moment because it allowed us the private time together to relish in the fact that we were married before embarking on the rest of the evening.
One of my favorite parts about our wedding day was having all of our loved ones and friends from over the years in one place. It was so cool to be able to look around and be surrounded by people from all different stages of your life at one time. It was an overwhelming feeling of love and support that just made the day so amazing and fun!
Finally, I cannot conclude without talking about our band. My father, who grew up with and has an education in music, researched for months before finding our perfect band. While he is very open-minded, he has extremely high standards when it comes to music, so I felt totally comfortable leaving this job to him. And thank goodness I did, because he sure did deliver! Simply Irresistible came from Atlanta, GA and literally brought the house down. They were flawless and never let the energy lag. From the moment they started playing until their set was complete (they took no breaks!), our whole wedding was up dancing and having a great time. To this day, our friends still talk about how awesome Simply Irresistible was, so it makes us feel good to know that everyone had a great time.
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Photography: Kristin Vining Photography | Ceremony Location: First Presbyterian Church Charlotte, NC | Reception Location + Catering: The Ritz-Carlton | Event Planning: Weddings and the City | Floral Design: The Place for Flowers | Rentals: Party Reflections | Transportation: Sunway Charters & Tours | Hair + Makeup: Jami Svay | Invitations + Stationery: Salutations Fine Stationery & Gifts | Music: Simply Irresistible, East Coast Entertainment | Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier | Veil: Family Heirloom | Shoes: Badgley Mischka | Bridesmaid Dresses: Amsale | Tuxedos: New York Bride and Groom