My latest (and completely out of the norm) color obsession? Purple. I’m not talking the Barney kind of purple, I’m talking gorgeously rich hues of plum, burgundy and dusty lavender—the ‘grown up’ purples if you will. It’s the kind of palette that graced this stunner from Krista A. Jones, and I can’t seem to get enough. Along with every elegant touch, you can soak up this classic beauty right here!
From the beautiful Bride… Howard and I met at work; unfortunately he left his job about 3 weeks after I started to attend medical school. I wasn’t sure if I’d see him again but he made sure we didn’t lose contact. He invited me to a concert to see his favorite band, The Killers, and after that we were pretty much inseparable. When you date someone that is attending medical school you learn to make the most of your time together because you don’t get much of it. It wasn’t always easy but we made it work and he graduated in May 2013. I was so proud of him graduating and starting residency that I definitely didn’t expect him to propose any time soon. However, he surprised me the weekend of his birthday on October 19, 2013 by proposing in our little Baltimore row house living room – it was perfect!
I always knew that I wanted a fall wedding which gave me just under a year to plan our October 4, 2014 nuptials. I love the weather and the colors that autumn brings; however, I didn’t want to use the traditional orange and red color palette associated with fall so I decided to go a different route and use eggplant purple and gray as my two main colors with accents of ivory, gold, and silver throughout. Since Howard and I both love wine and took a recent trip to Napa Valley, I wanted to incorporate wine into the décor and also thought that it would go well with the eggplant purple hue I chose for the bridesmaids dresses and flowers. My florist, Brigid from Mobtown Florals, helped me create the “Napa Valley Vintage” theme for our big day by providing the flowers, mercury glass candle votives, silver urns, and a vintage wooden wine box to hold cards, not to mention adding grapes and pretty purple flower blossoms to the delicious cake from Sugarbakers. My sister and I made the escort card holders out of wine corks that Howard and I had been collecting over the years. I think Brigid described our wedding theme perfectly on her contract: “The overall feeling of the celebration will be rich and romantic, and the décor will embody a ‘Napa Valley’ vintage, vineyard style that celebrates the onset of autumn season with a unique twist from more traditional fall tones of oranges and reds, and will complement the intimate, one of a kind setting.”
We found the venue together and we instantly fell in love with it; it was unlike anything we had seen in our search of typical wedding locations. It was an old brownstone mansion in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore. It had beautifully ornate rooms with gilded walls and custom tapestry wallpaper as well as stained glass windows and a gorgeous dark wooden spiral staircase. It was so beautiful on its own that it really didn’t need that much decor; however, Brigid from Mobtown Florals really amplified the venue’s beauty with her fabulous execution of our “Napa Valley Vintage” theme. The ceremony took place just before sunset in the drawing room of the mansion with the aisle lined with glass pillar candles and two gorgeous flower arrangements on silver wooden columns to define the alter space. The party then moved into the rich mahogany library for cocktail hour and then the lavish ballroom for dinner. Finally the reception was held in the atrium which had a glass ceiling and twinkle lights everywhere – it gave a magical outdoor ambiance to our indoor reception where we literally danced the night away. Everything about our wedding day was beautiful and romantic and couldn’t have been done without the help of my vendors and all of our friends and family that made the day absolutely wonderful! I’m so grateful that my amazing photographer, Krista Jones, was able to capture all the special moments and details of the day for us to cherish forever!
Photography: Krista A. Jones Photography | Flowers: Mobtown Florals | Wedding Cake: Sugar Bakers Cakes | Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas | Reception Venue: The Engineers Club | Rings: Tiffany & Co. | Bridesmaids' Dresses: J.Crew | Catering: The Engineers Club | Hair & Makeup: Symmetry Hair Salon | DJ: C&J Entertainment | Bride's Dress: Marisa Bridals