Erich McVey has this way. This way of capturing moments that make my heart flutter and my day stop. So when he gets behind the camera to capture a wedding that is this special, this stylish, this all around fabulous – magic happens. The kind of magic where every image deserves a virtual round of applause, making it a no brainer for our latest SMP Fashion and Beauty E-Mag. We are thanking our lucky stars we get to sit with this sparkly, woodland beauty for just a tad bit longer, and you can join us right here.
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From the Bride… When I started working at YMCA Camp Silver Creek in 2008 I never thought I’d fall in love or get married in that very place. Jeff and I have a long history with Camp Silver Creek. We were both campers growing up, and Jeff started working there when he was 16 and later on became Camp Director! I worked there for 6 summers, and we fell in love after working alongside each other for two summers. When we started to talk about marriage and a wedding, it was so clear to both of us that we wanted to get married in the very place we fell in love. We had our first kiss there and we would have our first kiss as a married couple there. Camp is a magical place for us. We were very excited to share our favorite place with our favorite people.
Once we picked our venue, everything else fell into place. First off, we knew we had to have Erich there to capture our day. Not only are him and his wife Amy so talented, but they also amazing at helping us feel comfortable in front of the camera. We chose our favorite restaurant to cater and we chose Jeff’s boss and mentor (and my boss when I was at camp) to be our officiant. After that it was great recommendations from friends for the rest of our vendors. Our main goal was to celebrate and throw a great party for our incredible family and friends.
When I first started to think about décor, dresses, & Jeff’s look, I was so excited but so overwhelmed. I knew I wanted everything to be really light and bright. People would ask what my color scheme was and I would say, no color. I wanted nudes, ivory, and some sparkle. Eventually I branched out into wood, birch, and some green accents. We wanted cake and wine to be easy and accessible for everyone so we had a mini cake and wine on each table with a note encouraging guests to dig in! I am a little embarrassed to admit I already had a lot of the decorations. Some of them are decorations in our house and some had been purchased for other parties or styled shoots. Almost every item was thrifted from local shops or garage sales. I became obsessed with peach garden roses and used those to accent the decorations since the tables were already pretty full with cake and wine. We did a few DIY projects: Hand stamped macaron favor bags, printed a thank you note for each place setting, and used glitter tape to make glitter flag drink stirrers. Since the field is completely dark at night we used the bistro lights and candles to give light, which gave us a dreamy and intimate feel.
I knew I wanted my bridesmaids in long dresses with sparkle and texture and I love that each one was so different and 0 beautiful. I had a lot of expectations for my own dress, which made choosing one pretty difficult. I tried on a handful but couldn’t envision it without accessories. A lot of women choose their dress first but I needed my accessories before I was able to envision the whole look. I loved the slightly fitted beaded skirt underneath the dress which showed my shape a bit, and the more fluffy top layers which gave me the best of both worlds. While it took me a while to choose a dress, it was an easy choice for Jeff. He’s not nearly as fashion obsessed as I am, so a classic black suit was perfect. Classic without being trendy.
I knew I would be nervous the day of the wedding and I knew once we had our first look I would be instantly at ease for the rest of the day. Jeff always seems to put me at ease and that day was no different. Most of the day was a blur but I remember the first look so clearly. We carefully planned our ceremony, our officiant shared sweet and funny stories of us at camp and we shared our stories of when we knew the other was the one. The whole day was absolutely perfect. It was truly a labor of love. My parents did so much, my dad put up the lights, my gorgeous bridesmaids kept me calm and fed, the groomsmen kept us laughing, and we felt so loved by all the people that were able to share the day with us.
Photography: Erich McVey Photography | Photography: Abby Jiu Photography | Photography: Allie Rae Photography | Photography: Devon Rachel | Videography: Grant Lemons | Event Design & Styling: Samantha Rosen | Event Planning: Merren Events | Event Planning: Amazon | Floral Design: Belle Fleur Floral Design | Dress: Marisa Bridals | Shoes: Zara | Necklace: J.Crew | Bridesmaid's Dresses: Adrianna Papell | Bridesmaid's Dresses: JS Collections | Catering: Wild Pear Catering | Makeup: Hale Koa phineas Estate | Hair: Violet Barnts of Bella Vita | Groom's Suit: J.Crew | Belt: Ruche | Cake Stands: Vintage | Ceremony & Reception: Camp Silver Creek at Silver Falls State Park | Groomsmen's Suits: Hale Koa phineas Estate | Hair Accessory: Anna's Bridal