With a love for all things Italian, this couple – with the help of Kelley Event + Design, Bloom Room and an amazing MOB – decided to bring that energy to Asheville, North Carolina for their summer celebration. It was a rustic elegant dream come true and even a little bit of rain couldn’t damper the spirit. Graham Terhune captured all the the joy – see every magical moment in our Vault right this way!
From the Bride… Zeb and I wanted an outdoor wedding with an Italian/Tuscan feel. We have spent a lot of time in Italy, and we got engaged in Tuscany last summer on a family trip. The night we got engaged, we celebrated with both of our families and the most wonderful meal made for us by the owners of the villa where we were staying. Jens is a chef, and his wife Barbara, a florist. There were 18 of us at one long table, outside in the courtyard of the villa – with views of the rolling hills of Tuscany, and the most beautiful flowers and grape vines on the table and cafe lights above us. Fantastic food, wine, and company that evening. This is the feel we wanted for our wedding – and wow, I had no idea how perfectly it would all come together!
The planning started with the venue. We wanted the wedding to be outside and during the summer, so we headed to Asheville, NC. When we arrived at Claxton Farm, we knew that was where our wedding had to be. The large outdoor space (perfect for our ceremony and dinner) surrounded by mountains was simply picturesque. And then our Tuscan wedding vision was really brought to life by Kelley Event + Design, The Bloom Room, and my mom, Kim – with the long banquet tables, ivory linens, wooden x-back chairs, ivory garden roses, ranunculus, hydrangeas, olives and olive leaves, eucalyptus, lavender, rosemary, sage, wheat. The colors were all soft – ivory, grey, olive/sage, and lavender accents. We had an Italian spritz for our signature cocktail (thank you, Mom, for such a great idea!!) and Altamura Sangiovese during our long sit-down dinner with cafe lights above us – oh so Italian.
The one thing we were so worried about, with our outdoor ceremony and our tented dinner, was the weather. It had been pouring earlier in the day, but with a sliver of blue sky appearing an hour before ceremony time, we made the call to keep the ceremony outside. And the weather for the ceremony was perfect – 75 degrees and cloudy! It then rained on and off during the cocktail hour – and eventually POURED while Graham was taking pictures of Zeb and me – and I must say – that was the most fun photo shoot ever! (Brides, if you have your hair up and some spare makeup, say YES to taking some photos in the rain!) The clouds rolling through the mountains made for the most beautiful scenery. And then towards the end of the dinner, the sun came back out and we had a rainbow before heading to the barn for cake and lots of dancing!
We could not have been happier with our wedding. Not only was it the most fun and happy day of our lives, but everything was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. So – to my mom, Kelley Event + Design, The Bloom Room, and Claxton Farm – you absolutely nailed it. I was simply in awe the entire evening – as I continued to notice additional perfect little details. I am so thankful to have had the dream team create and flawlessly execute our dream wedding!
Photography: Anagram Photo | Event Planning: Lauren Evans | Floral Design: the bloom room | Wedding Dress: Watters | Cake: City Bakery | Stationery: Pink Toast Ink | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Joanna August | Catering: Claxton Farm | Hair + Makeup: Blush By Wendy | DJ: Audio To Go | Groom's Attire: J. Hilburn | Venue: Claxton Farm