When a Wedding Planner Gets Married, This is the Beautiful Result.

Melissa Baran
January 23, 2017
Categories: Real Weddings, Romantic

We’ve long admired Leigh Pearce for her ability to infuse pretty into many a wedding. But today? We get to relish in the beauty of her very own Big Day. And boy are those details lovely—but she sure does steal the show. Don’t miss her story below and when you’re done, head to The Vault for the full gallery by Anna Paschal!

From the Bride, Leigh Pearce Events… After tossing around some ideas about destination weddings, my high school sweetheart, Bryan, and I decided on a local wedding with a small guest list of only 65 of our closest family and friends. We chose the Weir-Jordan House in downtown Greensboro for our venue and set the date for October 22, two days after our 14 year dating anniversary. We loved everything about the Weir-Jordan from it’s Southern antebellum feel to it’s rich history (it is one of the oldest houses in Greensboro). It checked every box for us — an outdoor ceremony space, a spot for a tent, and an amazing in-house caterer.

Next step – select our bridal party! We ultimately decided not to have a large party — all of my girlfriends are married with children or pregnant so I wanted to make the day as relaxed and enjoyable for them as possible. We all got ready together and it was SO much fun. Surprisingly, my best friend from high school went into labor in the middle of the night before the wedding and obviously had to miss the wedding. I took my wedding dress and crashed her newborn session a few weeks later so we could have pictures together! My sister was my maid of honor and looked beautiful in her Jenny Yoo gown .. the fabric and layers of her dress tied in with mine perfectly. Bryan’s best man, in true Southern fashion, was his father. They looked so dapper in their black tuxedos! Some of my other favorite fashionable details were my pearl necklace and my shoes. My two favorite movies are Steel Magnolias and Father of the Bride. My mom, sister, sister-in-law, and best friend hosted a Steel Magnolias themed bridal shower for me, complete with red velvet armadillo cupcakes! As an homage to Father of the Bride, I was on a mission to find some cool sneakers and fell in love with these lace high tops from Anthropologie.

Funny enough, Bryan is the one that brought up the idea of a first look! I am wedding planner so in all my sharing about work, he must have picked up a thing or two. Their is an upstairs, private, Charleston-esque porch at our venue that was an ideal location for a first look. Although we decided not to give each other wedding gifts, I surprised Bryan during our first look with my dad’s gold cuff links. He passed away a few years ago and I thought it would be the perfect way to have him there in spirit. After our first look, we hopped in the car for photos at a favorite local spot, The Proximity Hotel. We really enjoyed having some alone time together before the craziness set it. We highly recommend it!

For our design, we kept everything elegant, timeless, and classic. Our florist, the Farmer’s Wife, has always been our family florist so it was a no brainer to work with Stacy on our wedding. She is truly like family and created floral magic for us! Maxie B’s made my wedding cake dreams come true with our stunning cake (and Bryan’s dream come true with a layer of Devil’s food cake!). One of my only major must haves was a clear top tent with big chandeliers and a black and white dance floor that I could twirl on. Mission accomplished!!

Our ceremony was absolutely perfect and by far, my favorite part of the day. I loved our music selections: an instrumental version of Rivers and Roads by The Head and The Heart for our parents and wedding party and an instrumental version of Amarillo by Morning by George Strait, my dad’s favorite song. We had two special readings. A scripture reading by one of our very best friends as well as poem read by Bryan’s sister. We walked back down the aisle to a mash up of Ants Marching and Ode to Joy.

After the ceremony, we sent our guests inside to warm up and for cocktail hour and dinner. Stacy with Savory Street Catering created an amazing custom menu for us! Some of the highlights were pulled pork and collard egg rolls with mango chutney, crab hush puppies with Cajun aioli, butternut squash ravioli, beef tenderloin with white cheddar grit cakes, and mini tomato pies.

After dinner, we danced the night away! Our first dance was “You & Me” by Dave Matthews Band. We have been to countless DMB concerts so it was only fitting that we danced to Dave. The chorus is also perfect for a few twirls! Later in the evening while cake was served, we offered a few more desserts. Bryan has a serious sweet tooth and is, hands down, the biggest Pepsi addict you will ever meet. We offered ice cream float shooters along with cake.. three kinds: Pepsi, Sundrop, and Cheerwine. So good!!

We ended the night with a glowing sparkler exit and hopped in a London taxi cab headed for O. Henry Hotel. It was the perfect day and we couldn’t be more grateful for the experience!