Summer Garden Wedding at River Farm

Laura Lynch
September 25, 2014
Categories: Real Weddings, The Blog

An al fresco affair at River Farm guarantees one thing for sure: an oh-so lovely landscape. As the headquarters for the American Horticultural Society, the gorgeous gardens are a built-in bonus. Throw in a dash of Dogwood Events, like this Bride right here, and your wedding day florals get a double dose of pretty. Take some time to take that all in, and pop in the gallery by Sweet Tea Photography.

From the Bride… Adam and I met while we were students at Auburn University. We actually met while we were out with friends on Toomer’s Corner (which if you know SEC football, you know the spot)! We began spending almost every day together. On October 26, 2009, Adam asked me to be his girlfriend after I decided to make a lovely home cooked meal for us to enjoy…burnt chicken (luckily, he saw past that culinary calamity). He had brought a bottle of wine to my apartment that night which he later gave me the cork that had 10-26-09 written on it (we still have it).

We were married on May 25th at River Farm, in Alexandria, Virginia. I can’t say enough good things about our wedding venue. River Farm was once the home to George Washington but now serves as the headquarters for the American Horticultural Society. I loved the history behind the property and the landscape is stunning. I’ve always envisioned myself getting married somewhere beautiful outdoors in Virginia, so the gardens at River Farm were perfect. I wanted the event to be inviting, romantic and intimate, which I think we certainly accomplished.

I worked hard putting all the little crafty details together because I just had so much fun doing it! We went antiquing on multiple occasions to find unique items for centerpieces and decorations. One day, I got the idea to have old sewing machine drawers holding assorted glass jars with flowers for our centerpieces. We found a bunch of these drawers at antique stores but also used some from the old sewing machine that my grandmother made her wedding dress with, so that was special. Second to the centerpieces, my favorite element was our cupcake bar. I found mismatched cake stands, crates for height, rustic decorations and created cute names for each of the delicious cupcakes then wrote out descriptions on a chalkboard sign. I displayed our seating chart on window panes; we had customized koozies as favors, a Memorial Day display, and an assortment of unique elements that pulled it all together. I told you I didn’t think I could choose!

My most favorite moment of the day was during our ceremony. The actual exchanging of vows seems to be a part that guests forget about, but to us, that moment was so meaningful. We had written our vows and given them to each other to read the morning of the wedding. During the ceremony, we put those written vows in a box. What is even more special is that we decided that for each anniversary we have, we will write a letter to each other to put in that box. The love notes and stories we will have written to each other throughout our life will be a great treasure for us to look back on.

I was in love with my veil. Originally I didn’t even want one but the second I saw myself in that veil, I truly felt like a bride. As it turns out, I wore it the whole night (even to the hotel bar after the reception)!

I would tell future brides to be yourself in the planning process and stick with your vision. Don’t DIY your entire wedding…pick and choose several projects you want to take on and make them unique to your style. Truly live in the moment, savor every second with your family and friends, dance the night away, and take the opportunity to thank your parents. Also, hire a great group of vendors!http://robertsandcompanyblog.com