While every detail was absolute perfection, the stunning florals took centerstage in this sweet Spring wedding. Bright pink and coral flowers along with lush green garlands made for a ceremony to remember as captured by Amalie Orrange Photography. Peek in The Vault to see the picture perfect reception by Sperry Tents that will make you feel like you just stepped into your favorite flower shop.
From The Bride…In the late summer of 2010, Ferrell had just moved to NYC for law school at NYU and Allen had lived in NYC for a couple of years, since undergrad. A mutual friend brought Allen to a friend’s apartment party in the West Village and they hit it off. A month or so later, and after many attempts by their mutual friend of trying to make Ferrell and Allen run into each other in the City, Ferrell got a call out of the blue from Allen, asking her to meet up for a drink.
Allen had the ring burning a hole in his pocket, and despite Ferrell’s best attempts to keep busy socializing and party hopping one fall Saturday in the city, he said enough was enough and declared that they were going to take a last minute trip upstate for a night away. After taking a train up along the Hudson, they checked into a B&B and later that night he proposed.
Q. What inspired your vision for your wedding?
I wanted a traditional ceremony in the church that raised me since birth, wearing my mother’s own wedding dress that we redesigned in NYC.
For the reception, it was located at the Withers Maguire House, which was the home of my great-great grandparents upon first moving to central Florida. On April 2, 1987 (29 years to the date from our wedding!), it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and has since served as a museum. I wanted guests to feel like they were welcomed into the garden of our family home, even if not technically ours any more!
The goal was to have a warmth to the party, both in the sense of hospitality and weather. We, and a lot of our guests, were on the tail end of a brutal NY winter! We wanted a black-tie feel with a candle lit dinner, complimented by down-to-earth touches like an oyster shucking station served with saltine crackers and rocking chairs on the porch where people could sip on whatever they fancied, whether that be a whiskey old fashioned or rose to welcome the spring.
Most importantly though, we wanted the reception to be a joyous celebration that exuded the happiness and gratitude that Allen and I felt in marrying each other in front of our friends and family. And a celebration it was! We had an amazing 10-piece band with brass horns come in from Atlanta and they had everyone on their feet all night. Adding in lots of dance floor props (sunglasses at night! light-up Minnie-mouse ears as an ode to the happiest place on earth!) never hurts either.
Q. If you did a first look what was your favorite part and why did you decide to see each other before the ceremony?
A. We decided to do a first look to calm the nerves, and also to ensure that we could focus on all of our guests who had travelled from near and far.
Q. What was your favorite design element of your wedding?
A. The flowers ended up being the show stopping piece, in my opinion! I wanted bright pinks and corals in a loose, lush style to compliment the muted dusty blue hints of color elsewhere. I loved the way our dusty blue and gray linens, and especially our hemstitched dinner napkins, ended up being a neutral backdrop to let the flowers to shine. And speaking of a neutral backdrop, we even had flowers in the old oak tree, placed to look as if there were garden roses, peonies and tulips growing straight out of the branches.
Lastly, I loved all of the calligraphy – a close friend designed everything from our invitation suite, to the menu, place cards and signage. It turned something that was already standalone gorgeous into a meaningful piece of the design.
Q. Did you have any DIY details? And if so what were they?
A. Does folding 250+ dinner napkins count!?
In all honesty, planning it from start to finish was the DIY aspect – we scouted the venue, coordinated all the vendors and customized every detail from cocktail stirrers, match books, coozies and even the guest book, where we used calligraphy from our invitations to tie all of the elements together.
Q. What was the most memorable moment from your wedding day?
A. Running through the sea of sparklers at the conclusion of a day where I have never felt more supported or loved – that is what I’ll remember! That, and dancing up a storm.
Photography: Amalie Orrange Photography | Floral Design: Velvet And Twine | Cake: Anna Cakes | Ceremony Venue: First United Methodist Orlando | Reception Venue: Ocoee Lakeshore Center | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Jenny Yoo | Catering: Arthur's | Hair + Makeup: Makeover Station | Calligraphy + Invitations: Script Merchant Calligraphy | Lighting: Get Lit | Band: The Adrian Duke Project | Bar Rental: AFR Furniture Rental | Cocktail Hour Band: Jazzin’ Spector’s Trio | Event Planning + Coordination: The Dtales | Linen Rentals: BBJ La Tavola | Oyster Bar: Brian Eaves | Rentals: Wish Vintage Rentals | Stage, Dance Floor + Table Rentals: Orlando Wedding And Party Rentals | Tent Rentals: Sperry Tents | Trees: The Foliage Connection