This wedding may have occurred on April Fools’ Day but it’s no laughing matter; instead we have a pretty as can be spring wedding with plenty of pastels and lots of smiles. Eventi Floral & Events spearheaded the design and fabulous florals for this special celebration in Chesapeake Bay and Abby Jiu and Lee Russell Films captured it all from start to finish. All in all, it’s one inspirational island wedding we’re happy to be surprised with!
[iframe http://player.vimeo.com/video/211214346 600 338]
From Eventi Floral & Events… When the bride, Melissa, was just a little girl, her parents brought her to Gibson Island to see if she might like living on the island. During a tour of the club, she walked out the back door, looked out over the water and said that she wanted to get married there. Fast forward a few years to a stunning brand new Club and she still had the same wish.
From the Bride… Gibson Island is a small community, 1000 acres on the Chesapeake Bay with roughly 200 homes. Our friends and family on the island hosted guests for us so that everyone was able to stay on the island and have a wonderful relaxing weekend both celebrating and enjoying the space. People were able to rent golf carts to drive around and fully enjoy the island experience.
From Eventi Floral & Events… Once we navigated the housing situation, the only pickle was that the club had recently been rebuilt and was not able to accommodate her 200+ guest count. So, tent it was!
From the Bride… When looking at available dates in April, April Fool’s Day seemed like the perfect fit! We wanted our wedding to feel inviting and welcoming. I am from the east coast and Scott is from Arkansas, so we knew many people would be traveling. We wanted to make sure that they felt taken care of and welcome and understood how grateful we were that they travelled to come celebrate with us. We tried to tie in different elements from our respective families and homes as well. We called the hogs at the wedding (an Arkansas tradition) and everyone cheered with excitement when the band played it!
We thought purposefully about seating arrangements and where to put people so they got to know other great guests. We also had several guests that we knew had something in common or would get along and wanted to create a way to make sure they were able to visit with one another. At dinner, we had something called The Hunger Games – we put little known facts that we thought would bring out conversation, get people talking, or make the small world connections known. It would say something like “Someone at this table…” and then apply to multiple people, a cool story about someone, a connection to the bride/groom etc. We felt it added to the atmosphere of making everyone feel welcome and like a true guest.
From Eventi Floral & Events… We wanted to give Melissa and Scott something they could put up in their home so we opted to have Amanda Day Rose create a watercolor of the club that held their reception and have guests sign around it. We then used the watercolor design throughout the day on the seating chart display, the bar menus and a few other places. It really helped tie everything together. We also has a ring bearer pillow made out of the same map print of the Chesapeake Bay from the invitation envelope liner.
From the Bride… Some of my favorite memories include:
Getting ready with my friends and my mom and taking pictures on our back lawn. The wind made for great photos and it was so relaxing and fun!
I did a first look with my dad and my friends. No one had seen my wedding dress and it was so wonderful to surprise everyone. My dad started crying, which of course made me cry.
Getting ready to walk in, and start the ceremony my bridesmaids and parents were hanging out in a room upstairs. They had a window that looked out onto the entrance and we got to see everyone walk in. That was so much fun seeing all the guests arrive – I could feel the anticipation and excitement.
As the guests approached we had bagpipes playing. That element was super special. My parents had them at their wedding and we are a very Scottish family and my husband’s name is Scott – so it added to the “Scottish” element!
Walking down the aisle and seeing Scott for the first time was very emotional. We decided not to do a first look because he wanted to see me for the first time in that moment and I’m glad we waited. It truly was what you dream about as a kid.
Walking in to see the tent for the first time was amazing. I had not been able to fully imagine how incredible it was going to look and it was really breathtaking. After all that planning, and planning remotely you just trust your wedding planner/designer that it will all work out and she really did more than I could have ever imagined. Getting to see it put to life was underrated. Even for Scott, he had some idea about things but was also in the dark about a few and getting to see his reaction of all the hard work everyone had done was just as wonderful. It was like getting to experience that happiness twice!
Being announced was easily one of my favorite memories and I didn’t anticipate it being that way. The way we walked into the tent we walked through a line of our friends and they were clapping and high fiveing and patting us on the back. We felt the love from everyone that day in a whole new way.
Our first dance and then having everyone come out onto the dance floor was so memorable. It felt like the party was getting started and I could feel how excited and happy people were to be there. I felt very much like a host throughout the whole wedding and wanted to make sure everyone was having a good time and their needs were taken care of, getting the dance party started and dancing with Scott as husband and wife was the BEST.
The confetti during our last dance was AWESOME. It was like being inside a snow globe and was the best way to end the night.
Photography: Abby Jiu Photography | Videography: Lee Russell Films | Event Planning + Design: Eventi Floral & Events | Floral Design: Eventi Floral & Events | Wedding Dress: Amsale | Invitations: mlc designs, llc | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Jenny Yoo | Catering: Gibson Island Club | Hair + Makeup: Behind The Veil | Calligraphy: Shotgunning for Love Letters | Entertainment: DJ Jake Sherman | Band: Infusion By Washington Talent | Men's Attire: Menguin | Transportation: American Limo | Venue: Gibson Island Club | Tent: Loane Brothers | Ceremony Musicians: Washington Talent - Da Vinci Strings | Custom Watercolor: Amanda Day Rose | Dessert: Sugar Bakers Cakes | Linens: BBJ La Tavola | Linens: BBJ La Tavola | Photography - Assistance: Abby Jiu Photography | Rentals: Party Rental LTD | Rentals: Select Event Group | Rentals: Revolution Event Design And Production