Snowy Winter Wedding In Pennsylvania at the Cork Factory Hotel

Abby Capalbo
October 15, 2014
Categories: Real Weddings, The Blog, Traditional Elegance

This little snowy soiree at the Cork Factory Hotel is so darn lovely, I almost couldn’t believe it was real. It’s as though the perfect amount of snow fell just in time for this couple to say I do, and then stopped just in time for the sun to shine over this couples’ gorgeous day. Caroline Frost was behind the lens to make sure every magical moment was captured beautifully, and you can see them all here.

Colors

Seasons

Winter Weddings

Settings

Hotels + Resorts Weddings Religious Institution

Styles

Rustic

From Caroline Frost Photography…These two Naval officers and their gorgeous snow-covered wedding will make you gush. Plus it was set in Lancaster, such a romantic town with so much lovely red brick everywhere, it was made for a winter wedding! And I just adored their pinecone cake on a wooden “snow-dusted” cake stand.

From The Bride…Alex and I were not originally planning for a small winter wedding. In fact, we thought we were going to have a large garden-party gala in late spring. Since we are both naval officers, some of our closest friends are in the military and in talking with a few of them, we realized three of the groomsmen would not be able to make our originally-scheduled May wedding date because of deployments/training/other military obligations. One of the most important aspects of our wedding day was who we would share it with, so without hesitation, we moved our date up to January. The new date was a little over two months away so we really had to hustle with the planning. (We also changed the location from Long Island, NY (the middle-ground between our hometowns) to Lancaster, PA (where I grew up) for feasibility.

Though we were having some issues deciding on details about the May wedding, events flowed flawlessley once we moved the date up to January, as if it were meant to be. We realized having a cozy, intimate affair was so fitting, so… us. We wanted a rustically elegant celebration and the Cork Factory Hotel, a historic site turned boutique hotel, with it’s antiqued wood floors, cork-lined walls, and picturesque chandeliers was the perfect spot for it.

Though some grooms may not get excited about the details of the day, Alex did. Being quite the literary intellectual, he added his own personal touch to the decorations with naming the tables after book titles by a few of his favorite authors. He went even further by printing first edition covers for the table cards and bringing part of his library along for added adornment.

The last thing we hoped for was something we could not plan for… snow. Our wishes were answered with a few inches falling the day before the ceremony. (Luckily, the accumulation was not significant enough to keep our friends and family away!) The snowfall, in its peaceful beauty made for a magical landscape at the Rock Ford Plantation, the site we chose for our “first look”.

It’s exciting, planning a wedding, and Alex and I had such a fun time doing it. What we didn’t plan for, however, was how much the day would mean to us after it was all over. I find myself reflecting on our wedding more than I would like to admit, and each time, I hold the day’s events closer to my heart. For all the brides and grooms to be- may the outpouring of love on your special day carry with you both for the rest of your lives together… because that’s truly the best part of it all.